OCT  4    1920 
■%05/CAL  StlJ^" 


Division    3"^  ''  ^  ^ 
Section 


THE  KORAN: 


COMMONLY    CALLED 

THE  ALCORAN  OF  MOHAMMED; 

TRANSLATED   INTO   ENGLISH   IMMEDIATELY   FROM   THE   ORKIINAL   ARABIC; 

WITH 

EXPLANATORY  NOTES, 

TAKEN   FROM    THE    MOST   APPROVED    COMMENTATORS. 
TO    WHICH   IS   PREFIXED 

A  PEELIMINAET  DISCOURSE. 

BY  GEOKGE  SALE,  GENT. 

"  Nulla  falsa  doctrina  est,  qua  non  aliquid  veri  permisceat."— Adodbtin.  Qu^est.  Evang.  1.  2,  c.  40. 


%  Mm  (KHtinU; 


WITH 


A  MEMOIR  OF  THE  TRANSLATOR, 


AND  WITH   VARIOUS  READINGS   AND  ILLUSTRATIVE   NOTES   FROM  SAVARY  3   VERSION  0? 
THE  KORAN. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.  W.  MOORE,  193,   CHESNUT   STREET. 

1850. 


TO  THE 

EIGHT  HON.  JOHN  LORD  CAETEllET, 

ONE   OF   THE   LORDS   OF   HIS   MAJESTY's   MOST   HONOURABLE   PRIVY    COUNCIL 


My  Lord, 

Notwithstanding  the  great  honour  and  respect  generally  and 
deservedly  paid  to  the  memories  of  those  who  have  founded  states, 
or  obliged  a  people  by  the  institution  of  laws  which  have  made 
them  prosperous  and  considerable  in  the  world,  yet  the  legislator  of 
the  Arabs  has  been  treated  in  so  very  different  a  manner  by  all 
who  acknowledge  not  his  claim  to  a  divine  mission,  and  by  Christians 
especially,  that  were  not  your  lordship's  just  discernment  sufficiently 
known,  I  should  think  myself  under  a  necessity  of  making  an 
apology  for  presenting  the  following  translation. 

The  remembrance  of  the  calamities  brought  on  so  many  nations 
by  the  conquests  of  the  Arabians  may  possibly  raise  some  indig- 
nation against  him  who  formed  them  to  empire;  but  this,  being 
equally  applicable  to  all  conquerors,  could  not,  of  itself,  occasion 
all  the  detestation  with  which  the  name  of  Mohammed  is  loaded. 
He  has  given  a  new  system  of  religion,  which  has  had  still  greater 
success  than  the  arms  of  his  followers,  and  to  establish  this  religion 
made  use  of  an  imposture ;  and  on  this  account  it  is  supposed  that 
he  must  of  necessity  have  been  a  most  abandoned  villain,  and  his 
memory  is  become  infamous.  But  as  Mohammed  gave  his  Arabs 
the   best  religion   he  could,  as  well  as   the  best  laws,  preferable, 

(iii) 


IV  DEDICATION. 

at  least,  to  those  of  the  ancient  pagan  lawgivers,  I  confess  I  cannot 
see  why  he  deserves  not  equal  respect,  though  not  with  Moses  or 
Jesus  Christ,  whose  laws  came  really  from  heaven,  yet  with  Minos 
or  Numa,  notwithstanding  the  distinction  of  a  learned  writer,  who 
seems  to  think  it  a  greater  crime  to  make  use  of  an  imposture  to 
set  up  a  new  religion,  founded  on  the  acknowledgment  of  one  true 
God,  and  to  destroy  idolatry,  than  to  use  the  same  means  to  gain 
reception  to  rules  and  regulations  for  the  more  orderly  practice  of 
heathenism  already  established. 

To  be  acquainted  with  the  various  laws  and  constitutions  of 
civilized  nations,  especially  of  those  who  flourish  in  our  own  time, 
is,  perhaps,  the  most  useful  part  of  knowledge:  wherein  though 
your  lordship,  who  shines  with  so  much  distinction  in  the  noblest 
assembly  in  the  world,  peculiarly  excels;  yet  as  the  law  of 
Mohammed,  by  reason  of  the  odium  it  lies  under,  and  the  strange- 
ness of  the  language  in  which  it  is  written,  has  been  so  much 
neglected,  I  flatter  myself  some  things  in  the  following  sheets  may 
be  new  even  to  a  person  of  your  lordship's  extensive  learning ;  and 
if  what  I  have  written  may  be  any  way  entertaining  or  acceptable 
to  your  lordship,  I  shall  not  regret  the  pains  it  has  cost  me. 

I  join  with  the  general  voice  in  wishing  your  lordship  all  the 
honour  and  happiness  your  known  virtues  and  merit  deserve,  and 
am  with  perfect  respect, 

My  Lord, 
Your  lordship's  most  humble 

And  most  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  SALE. 


TO  THE  READER. 


I  IMAGINE  it  almost  needless  either  to  make  an  apology  for  publishing 
the  following  translation,  or  to  go  about  to  prove  it  a  work  of  use  as  well 
as  curiosity.  They  must  have  a  mean  opinion  of  the  Christian  religion, 
or  be  but  ill  grounded  therein,  who  can  apprehend  any  danger  from  so 
manifest  a  forgery :  and  if  the  religious  and  civil  institutions  of  foreign 
nations  are  worth  our  knowledge,  those  of  Mohammed,  the  lawgiver  of 
the  Arabians,  and  founder  of  an  empire  which  in  less  than  a  century 
spread  itself  over  a  greater  part  of  the  world  than  the  Romans  were 
ever  masters  of,  must  needs  be  so ;  whether  we  consider  their  extensive 
obtaining,  or  our  frequent  intercourse  with  those  who  are  governed 
thereby.  I  shall  not  here  inquire  into  the  reasons  why  the  law  of 
]\Iohammed  has  met  with  so  unexampled  a  reception  in  the  world  (for 
they  are  greatly  deceived  who  imagine  it  to  have  been  propagated  by 
the  sword  alone),  or  by  what  means  it  came  to  be  embraced  by  nations 
which  never  felt  the  force  of  the  Mohammedan  arms,  and  even  by 
those  which  stripped  the  Arabians  of  their  conquests,  and  put  an  end 
to  the  sovereignty  and  very  being  of  their  Kalifs :  yet  it  seems  as 
if  there  was  something  more  than  what  is  vulgarly  imagined,  in  a 
religion  which  has  made  so  surprising  a  progress.  But  whatever  use  an 
impartial  version  of  the  Koran  may  be  of  in  other  respects,  it  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  undeceive  those  who  from  the  ignorant  or  unfair 
translations  which  have  appeared,  have  entertained  too  favourable  an 
opinion  of  the  original,  and  also  to  enable  us  effectually  to  expose  the 
imposture :  none  of  those  who  have  hitherto  undertaken  that  province, 
not  excepting  Dr.  Prideaux  himself,  having  succeeded  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  judicious,  for  want  of  being  complete  masters  of  the  controversy. 
The  writers  of  the  Romish  communion,  in  particular,  are  so  far  from 
having  done  any  service  in  their  refutations  of  Mohammedanism,  that  by 
endeavouring  to  defend  their  idolatry  and  other  superstitions,  they  have 
rather  contributed  to  the  increase  of  that  aversion  which  the  Moham- 
medans in  general  have  to  the  Christian  religion,  and  given  them  great 
advantages  in  the  dispute.  The  protcstants  alone  are  able  to  attack  the 
Koran  with  success ;  and  for  them,  I  trust.  Providence  has  reserved  the 
glory  of  its  overthrow.  In  the  mean  time,  if  I  might  presume  to  lay 
down  rules  to  be  observed  by  those  who  attempt  the  conversion  of  the 
Mohammedans,  thev  should  be  the  same  which  the  learned  and  worthy 

(V) 


VI  TO    THE    READER. 

bishop  Kidder*  has  prescribed  for  the  conversion  of  the  Jews,  and  which 
may,  mutatis  mutandis,  be  equally  applied  to  the  former,  notwithstanding 
the  despicable  opinion  that  writer,  for  want  of  being  better  acquainted 
with  them,  entertained  of  those  people,  judging  them  scarce  fit  to  te 
argued  with.  The  first  of  these  rules  is,  To  avoid  compulsion;  which 
though  it  be  not  in  our  power  to  employ  at  present,  I  hope  will  not 
be  made  use  of  when  it  is.  The  second  is,  To  avoid  teaching  doctrines 
against  common  sense;  the  Mohammedans  not  being  such  fools  (whatever 
we  may  think  of  them)  as  to  be  gained  over  in  this  case.  The  worshipping 
of  images  and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  are  great  stumbling-blocks 
to  the  Mohammedans,  and  the  church  which  teacheth  them  is  very  unfit  to 
bring  those  people  over.  The  third  is.  To  avoid  weak  arguments :  for  the 
Mohammedans  are  not  to  be  converted  with  these,  or  hard  words.  We 
must  use  them  with  humanity,  and  dispute  against  them  with  arguments 
that  are  proper  and  cogent.  It  is  certain  that  many  Christians,  who  have 
written  against  them,  have  been  very  defective  this  way :  many  have  used 
arguments  that  have  no  force,  and  advanced  propositions  that  are  void 
of  truth.  This  method  is  so  far  from  convincing  that  it  rather  serves 
to  harden  them.  The  Mohammedans  will  be  apt  to  conclude  we  have 
little  to  say,  when  we  urge  them  with  arguments  that  are  trifling  or 
untrue.  We  do  but  lose  ground  when  we  do  this;  and  instead  of 
gaining  them,  we  expose  ourselves  and  our  cause  also.  We  must  not 
give  them  ill  words  neither ;  but  must  avoid  all  reproachful  language, 
all  that^is  sarcastical  and  biting:  this  never  did  good  from  pulpit  or  press. 
The  softest  words  will  make  the  deepest  impression  ;  and  if  we  think 
it  a  fault  in  them  to  give  ill  language,  we  cannot  be  excused  when  we 
imitate  them.  The  fourth  rule  is,  Not  to  quit  any  article  of  the  Christian 
faith  to  gain  the  Mohammedans.  It  is  a  fond  conceit  of  the  Socinians, 
that  we  shall  upon  their  principles  be  most  like  to  prevail  upon  the 
Mohamm.edans :  it  is  not  true  in  matter  of  fact.  We  must  not  give 
up  any  article  to  gain  them :  but  then  the  church  of  Rome  ought  to 
part  with  many  practices  and  some  doctrines.  We  are  not  to  design 
to  gain  the  Mohammedans  over  to  a  system  of  dogmas,  but  to  the  ancient 
and  primitive  faith.  I  believe  nobody  will  deny  but  that  the  rules 
here  laid  down  are  just:  the  latter  part  of  the  third,  which  alone  my 
design  has  given  me  occasion  to  practise,  I  think  so  reasonable,  that 
I  have  not,  in  speaking  of  Mohammed  or  his  Koran,  allowed  myself 
to  use  those  opprobrious  appellations,  and  unmannerly  expressions,  which 
seem  to  be  the  strongest  arguments  of  several  who  have  written  against 
them.  On  the  contrary,  I  have  thought  myself  obliged  to  treat  both 
with  common  decency,  and  even  to  approve  such  particulars  as  seemed 
to  me  to  deserve  approbation :  for  how  criminal  soever  Mohammed  may 
have  been  in  imposing  a  false  religion  on  mankind,  the  praises  due  to 
his   real  virtues  ought   not   to   be   denied  him ;   nor  can  I  do  otherwise 

*  In  his  Demonstr.  of  the  Messias,  part  3,  chap.  2. 


TO    THE    READER.  VU 

than  applaud  the  candour  of  the  pious  and  learned  Spanhemius,  who, 
though  he  owned  him  to  have  been  a  wicked  impostor,  yet  acknowledged 
him  to  have  been  richly  furnished  with  natural  endowments,  beautiful 
in  his  person,  of  a  subtle  wit,  agreeable  behaviour,  showing  liberality  to  the 
poor,  courtesy  to  every  one,  fortitude  agamst  his  enemies,  and  above  all  a 
high  reverence  for  the  name  of  God  ;  severe  against  the  perjured,  adulterers, 
murderers,  slanderers,  prodigals,  covetous,  false  witnesses,  &c.  a  great 
jireacher  of  patience,  charity,  mercy,  beneficence,  gratitude,  honouring  of 
parents  and  superiors,  and  a  frequent  celebrator  of  the  divine  praises.* 

Of  the  several  translations  of  the  Koran  now  extant,  there  is  but 
one  which  tolerably  represents  the  sense  of  the  original ;  and  that 
being  in  Latin,  a  new  version  became  necessary,  at  least  to  an  English 
reader.  What  Bibliander  published  for  a  Latin  translation  of  that  book 
deserves  not  the  name  of  a  translation ;  the  unaccountable  liberties  therein 
taken,  and  the  numberless  faults,  both  of  omission  and  commission, 
leaving  scarce  any  resemblance  of  the  original.  It  was  made  near  six 
hundred  years  ago,  being  finished  in  1143,  by  Robertus  Retenensis,  an 
Englishman,  with  the  assistance  of  Hermannus  Dalmata,  at  the  request 
of  Peter,  abbot  of  Clugny,  who  paid  them  well  for  their  pains. 

From  this  Latin  version  was  taken  the  Italian  of  Andrea  Arrivabene, 
notwithstanding  the  pretences  in  his  dedication  of  its  being  done  imme- 
diately from  the  Arabic  ;|  wherefore  it  is  no  wonder  if  the  transcript  be  yet 
more  faulty  and  absurd  than  the  copy  .J 

About  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  Johannes  Andreas,  a  native 
of  Xativa  in  the  kingdom  of  Valencia,  who  from  a  Mohammedan  doctor 
became  a  Christian  priest,  translated  not  only  the  Koran,  but  also  its 
glosses,  and  the  seven  books  of  the  Sonna,  out  of  Arabic  into  the 
Arragonian  tongue,  at  the  command  of  Martin  Garcia,  §  bishop  of 
Barcelona,  and  inquisitor  of  Arragon.  Whether  this  translation  were 
ever  published  or  not  I  am  wholly  ignorant ;  but  it  may  be  presumed 
to  have  been  the  better  done  for  being  the  work  of  one  bred  up  in  the 
Mohammedan  religion  and  learning ;  though  his  refutation  of  that  religion, 
which  has  had  several  editions,  gives  no  great  idea  of  his  abilities. 

Some  years  within  the  last  century,  Andrew  du  Ryer,  who  had  been 
consul  of  the  French  nation  in  Egypt,  and  was  tolerably  skilled  in  the 

*ld  certum,  naturalibus  egregie  dotibus  instructum  Miihammedem,  forma  prajstanti. 
ingenio  callido,  moribus  facetis,  ac  prae  se  ferentem  liberalitatem  in  egenos,  comitatem  in 
singulos,  fortitudinem  in  hostes,  ac  prce  caeteris  reverentiam  divini  nominis. — Severus  fait 
in  perjuros,  adulteros,  homicidas,  obtrectatores,  prodigos,  avaros,  falsos  testes, &c.  Mag- 
nus idem  patientiae,  charitatis,  misericordiae,  beneficientiae,  gratitudinis,  honoris  in  paren- 
tes  ac  superiores  praeco,  ut  et  divinarum  laudum. — Hist.  Ecclcs.  sec.  7,  c.  7,  lem.  5,  et  7. 

tHis  words  are :  "  Questo  libro,  che  gia  liavevo  a  commune  utilita  di  molti  fatto  dal 
proprio  testo  Arabo  tradurre  nella  nostra  volgar  lingua  Italiana,"  «fec.  And  afterwards : 
"  Questo  e  I'Alcorano  di  Macometto,  il  quale,  come  ho  gia  detto,  ho  fatto  dal  suo  idioma 
tradurre,"  &c. 

t  Vide  Joseph.  Scalig.  Epist.  361  et  362 ;  et  Selden.  de  Success,  ad  Leges  Ebrasor.  p.  9. 

^  J.  Andreas,  in  prcef.  ad  Tractat.  suum  de  Confusione  Sectae  Mahometanae. 


Vlll  TO    THE    READER. 

Turkish  and  Arabic  languages,  took  the  pains  to  translate  the  Koran  into 
his  own  tongue :  but  his  performance,  though  it  be  beyond  comparison  pre- 
ferable to  that  of  Rctencnsis,  is  far  from  being  a  just  translation  ;  there  being 
mistakes  in  every  page,  besides  frequent  transpositions,  omissions,  and  addi- 
tions,* faults  unpardonable  in  a  work  of  this  nature.  And  what  renders  it  still 
more  incomplete,  is  the  want  of  notes  to  explain  a  vast  number  of  passages, 
some  of  which  are  difficult,  and  others  impossible  to  be  understood  without 
proper  explications,  were  they  translated  ever  so  exactly;  which  the  author 
is  so  sensible  of,  that  he  often  refers  his  readers  to  the  Arabic  commentators.! 

The  English  version  is  no  other  than  a  translation  of  du  Ryer's,  and  that 
a  very  bad  one ;  for  Alexander  Ross,  who  did  it,  being  utterly  unacquainted 
with  the  Arabic,  and  no  great  master  of  the  French,  has  added  a  number 
of  fresh  mistakes  of  his  own  to  those  of  du  Ryer ;  not  to  mention  the  mean- 
ness of  his  language,  which  would  make  a  better  book  ridiculous. 

In  1698,  a  Latin  translation  of  the  Koran,  made  by  Father  Lewis  Mar- 
racci,  who  had  been  confessor  to  Pope  Innocent  XI.,  was  published  at 
Padua,  together  with  the  original  text,  accompanied  by  explanatory  notes 
and  a  refutation.  This  translation  of  Marracci's,  generally  speaking,  is 
very  exact ;  but  adheres  to  the  Arabic  idiom  too  literally  to  be  easily  under- 
stood, unless  I  am  much  deceived,  by  those  who  are  not  versed  in  the 
Mohammedan  learning.J  The  notes  he  has  added  are  indeed  of  great  use  ; 
but  his  refutations,  which  swell  the  work  to  a  large  volume,  are  of  little  or 
none  at  all,  being  often  unsatisfactory,  and  sometimes  impertinent.  The 
work,  however,  with  all  its  faults,  is  very  valuable,  and  I  should  be  guilty  of 
ingratitude,  did  I  not  acknowledge  myself  much  obliged  thereto ;  but  still, 
being  in  Latin,  it  can  be  of  no  use  to  those  who  understand  not  that  tongue. 

*  Vide  Windet,  de  Vita  Functorem  statu,  sect.  9. 

t  "  If, "  says  Savary ,  "the  Koran,  which  is  extolled  throughout  the  East  for  the  perfec- 
tion of  its  style,  and  the  magnificence  of  its  imagery,  seems,  under  the  penof  du  Ryer,  to 
be  only  a  dull  and  tiresome  rhapsody,  the  blame  must  be  laid  on  his  manner  of  translat- 
ing. This  book  is  divided  into  verses,  like  the  Psalms  of  David.  This  kind  of  writing, 
which  was  adopted  by  the  prophets,  enables  prose  to  make  use  of  the  bold  terms  and  the 
figurative  expressions  of  poetry.  Du  Ryer,  paying  no  respect  whatever  to  the  text,  has 
connected  the  verses  together,  and  made  of  them  a  continuous  discourse.  To  accomplish 
this  misshapen  assemblage,  he  has  had  recourse  to  frigid  conjunctions,  and  to  trivial 
phrases,  which,  destroying  the  dignity  of  the  ideas,  and  the  charm  of  the  diction,  render 
it  impossible  to  recognize  the  original.  While  reading  his  translation,  no  one  could 
ever  imagine  that  the  Koran  is  the  masterpiece  of  the  Arabic  language,  which  is  fertile 
in  fine  writers  ;  yet  this  is  the  judgment  which  antiquity  has  passed  on  it." 

t  Of  Marracci's  translation  Savary  says :  "  Marracci,  that  learned  monk,  who  spent 
forty  years  in  translating  and  refuting  the!Koran,  proceeded  on  the  right  system.  He  di- 
vided it  into  verses,  according  to  the  text ;  but,  neglecting  the  precepts  of  a  great  master, 

'  Nee  verbum  verbo  curabis  reddere,  fidus 
Interpres,'  &,c. 

he  translated  it  literally.  He  has  not  expressed  the  ideas  of  the  Koran,  but  travestied 
the  words  of  it  into  barbarous  Latin.  Yet,  though  all  the  beauties  of  the  origmal  are 
lost  in  this  translation,  it  is  preferable  to  that  by  du  Ryer." 


TO    THE    READER.  IX 

Having  therefore  undertaken  a  new  translation,  I  have  endeavoured  to 
do  the  original  impartial  justice,  not  having,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge, 
represented  it  in  any  one  instance,  either  better  or  worse  than  it  really  is. 
I  have  thought  myself  obliged,  indeed,  in  a  piece  which  pretends  to  be  the 
Word  of  God,  to  keep  somewhat  scrupulously  close  to  the  text ;  by  which 
means  the  language  may,  in  some  places,  seem  to  express  the  Arabic  a 
little  too  literally  to  be  elegant  English :  but  this,  I  hope,  has  not  happened 
often ;  and  I  flatter  myself  that  the  style  I  have  made  use  of  will  not  only 
give  a  more  genuine  idea  of  the  original  than  if  I  had  taken  more  liberty 
(which  would  have  been  much  more  for  my  ease),  but  will  soon  become 
familiar ;  for  we  must  not  expect  to  read  a  version  of  so  extraordinary  a 
book  with  the  same  ease  and  pleasure  as  a  modern  composition. 

In  the  notes  my  view  has  been  briefly  to  explain  tl^  text,  and  especially 
the  diflicult  and  obscure  passages,  from  the  most  approved  commentators, 
and  that  generally  in  their  own  words,  for  whose  opinions  or  expressions, 
where  liable  to  censure,  I  am  not  answerable ;  my  province  being  only  fair- 
ly to  represent  their  expositions,  and  the  little  I  have  added  of  my  own,  or 
from  European  writers,  being  easily  discernible.  Where  I  met  with  any 
circumstance  which  I  imagined  might  be  curious  or  entertaining,  I  have 
not  failed  to  produce  it. 

The  Preliminary  Discourse  will  acquaint  the  reader  with  the  most 
material  particulars  proper  to  be  known  previously  to  entering  on  the 
Koran  itself,  and  which  could  not  so  conveniently  have  been  thrown  into 
the  notes.  And  I  have  taken  care  both  in  the  Preliminary  Discourse  and 
the  notes,  constantly  to  quote  my  authorities  and  the  writers  to  whom  I 
have  been  beholden ;  but  to  none  have  I  been  more  so  than  to  the  learned 
Dr.  Pocock,  whose  Specimen  Historise  Arabum  is  the  most  useful  and 
accurate  work  that  has  been  hitherto  published  concerning  the  antiquities 
of  that  nation,  and  ought  to  be  read  by  every  curious  inquirer  into  them. 

As  I  have  had  no  opportunity  of  consulting  public  libraries,  the  manu- 
scripts of  which  I  have  made  use  throughout  the  whole  work  have  been 
such  as  I  had  in  my  own  study,  except  only  the  Commentary  of  al  Bei- 
dawi,  and  the  gospel  of  St.  Barnabas.  The  first  belongs  to  the  library  of 
the  Dutch  church  in  Austin  Friars,  and  for  the  use  of  it  I  have  been  chiefly 
indebted  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bolton,  one  of  the  ministers  of  that  church :  the 
other  was  very  obligingly  lent  me  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Holme,  rector  of  Hedly 
in  Hampshire ;  and  I  take  this  opportunity  of  returning  both  those  gentle- 
men my  thanks  for  their  favours.  The  merit  of  al  Beidawi's  Commentary 
will  appear  from  the  frequent  quotations  I  have  made  thence ;  but  of  the 
gospel  of  St.  Barnabas  (which  I  had  not  seen  when  the  little  I  have  said 
of  it  in  the  Preliminary  Discourse,*  and  the  extract  I  had  borrowed  from 
M.  de  la  Monnoye  and  Mr.  Toland,!  were  printed  ofli'),  I  must  beg  leave 
to  give  some  further  account. 

*  Sect.  iv.  p.  53.  t  In  not.  ad  cap.  3,  p.  42. 


X  TO   THE    KEADER. 

The  book  is  a  moderate  quarto,  in  Spanish,  written  in  a  very  legible 
hand,  but  a  little  damaged  towards  the  latter  end.  It  contains  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-two  chapters  of  unequal  length,  and  four  hundred  and 
twenty  pages ;  and  is  said,  in  the  front,  to  be  translated  from  the  Italian, 
by  an  Arragonian  IMoslcm,  named  Mostafa  de  Aranda.  There  is  a  preface 
prefixed  to  it,  wherein  the  discoverer  of  the  original  MS.,  who  was  a  Chris- 
tian monk,  called  Fra  Marino,  tells  us,  that  having  accidentally  met  with 
a  writing  of  Irenseus  (among  others),  wherein  he  speaks  against  St.  Paul, 
alleging,  for  his  authority,  the  gospel  of  St.  Barnabas,  he  became  exceedingly 
desirous  to  find  this  gospel ;  and  that  God,  of  his  mercy,  having  made  him 
very  intimate  with  Pope  Sixtus  V.,  one  day,  as  they  were  together  in  that 
Pope's  library,  his  holiness  fell  asleep,  and  he,  to  employ  himself,  reaching 
down  a  book  to  read,  the  first  he  laid  his  hand  on  proved  to  be  the  very 
gospel  he  wanted ;  overjoyed  at  the  discovery,  he  scrupled  not  to  hide  his 
prize  in  his  sleeve,  and  on  the  Pope's  awaking  took  leave  of  him,  carrying 
with  him  that  celestial  treasure,  by  reading  of  which  he  became  a  convert 
to  Mohammedism. 

This  gospel  of  Barnabas  contains  a  complete  history  of  Jesus  Christ  from 
his  birth  to  his  ascension ;  and  most  of  the  circumstances  of  the  four  real 
gospels  are  to  be  found  therein,  but  many  of  them  turned,  and  some  artfully 
enough,  to  favour  the  Mohammedan  system.  From  the  design  of  the 
whole,  and  the  frequent  interpolations  of  stories  and  passages  wherein 
Mohammed  is  spoken  of  and  foretold  by  name,  as  the  messenger  of  God, 
and  the  great  prophet  who  was  to  perfect  the  dispensation  of  Jesus,  it 
appears  to  be  a  most  barefaced  forgery.  One  particular  I  observe  therein 
induces  me  to  believe  it  to  have  been  dressed  up  by  a  renegade  Christian, 
slightly  instructed  in  his  new  religion,  and  not  educated  a  Mohammedan 
(unless  the  fault  be  imputed  to  the  Spanish,  or  perhaps  the  Italian  translator, 
and  not  to  the  original  compiler),  I  mean  the  giving  to  Mohammed  the  title 
of  Messiah,  and  that  not  once  or  twice  only,  but  in  several  places ;  whereas 
the  title  of  the  Messiah,  or,  as  the  Arabs  write  it,  al  Masih,  i.  e.  Christ,  is 
appropriated  to  .Tesus  in  the  Koran,  and  is  constantly  applied  by  the 
Mohammedans  to  him,  and  never  to  their  own  prophet.  The  passages 
produced  from  the  Italian  MS.  by  M.  de  la  Monnoye  are  to  be  seen  in  this 
Spanish  version  almost  word  for  word. 

But  to  return  to  the  following  work.  Though  I  have  freely  censured  the 
former  translation  of  the  Koran,  I  would  not  therefore  be  suspected  of  a 
design  to  make  my  own  pass  as  free  from  faults :  I  am  very  sensible  it  is 
not ;  and  I  make  no  doubt  but  the  few  who  are  able  to  discern  them,  and 
know  the  difficulty  of  the  undertaking,  will  give  me  fair  quarter.  I  like- 
wise flatter  myself  that  they,  and  all  considerate  persons,  will  excuse  the 
delay  which  has  happened  in  the  publication  of  this  work,  when  they  are 
informed  that  it  was  carried  out  at  leisure  times  only,  and  amidst  the 
necessary  avocations  of  a  troublesome  profession. 


A  SKETCH 


OF    THE 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE  SALE, 


Of  the  life  of  George  Sale,  a  man  of  extensive  learning,  and  con- 
siderable literary  talent,  very  few  particulars  have  been  transmitted  to  u.s 
by  his  contemporaries.  He  is  said  to  have  been  born  in  the  county  of 
Kent,  and  the  time  of  his  birth  must  have  been  not  long  previous  to  the 
close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  His  education  he  received  at  the 
King's  School,  Canterbury.  Voltaire,  who  bestows  high  praise  on  the 
version  of  the  Koran,  asserts  him  to  have  spent  five  and  twenty  years  in 
Arabia,  and  to  have  acquired  in  that  country  his  profound  knowledge  of 
the  Arabic  language  and  customs.  On  what  authority  this  is  asserted,  it 
would  now  be  fruitless  to  endeavour  to  ascertain.  But  that  the  assertion 
is  an  erroneous  one,  there  can  be  no  reason  to  doubt ;  it  being  opposed  by 
the  stubborn  evidence  of  dates  and  facts.  It  is  almost  certain  that  Sale 
was  brought  up  to  the  law,  and  that  he  practised  it  for  many  years,  if  not 
till  the  end  of  his  career.  He  is  said,  by  a  co-existing  writer,  to  have 
quitted  his  legal  pursuits,  for  the  purpose  of  applying  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  eastern  and  other  languages,  both  ancient  and  modern.  His 
guide  through  the  labyrinth  of  the  oriental  dialects  was  Mr.  Dadiclii,  the 
king's  interpreter.  If  it  be  true  that  he  ever  relinquished  the  practice  of 
the  law,  it  would  appear  that  he  must  have  resumed  it  before  his  decease  ; 
for,  in  his  address  to  the  reader,  prefixed  to  the  Koran,  he  pleads,  as  an 
apology  for  the  delay  which  had  occurred  in  publishing  the  volume,  that 

(xi) 


xii  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  SALE. 

the  work  "  was  carried  on  at  leisure  times  only,  and  amidst  the  necessary 
avocations  of  a  troublesome  profession."  This  alone  would  suffice  to 
show  that  Voltaire  was  in  error.  But  to  this  must  be  added,  that  the 
existence  of  Sale  was  terminated  at  an  early  period,  and  that  in  at  least 
his  latter  years,  he  was  engaged  in  literary  labours  of  no  trifling  mag- 
nitude. The  story  of  his  having,  during  a  quarter  of  a  century,  resided 
in  Arabia,  becomes,  therefore,  an  obvious  impossibility,  and  must  be 
dismissed  to  take  its  place  among  those  fictions  by  which  biography  has 
often  been  encumbered  and  disgraced. 

Among  the  few  productions  of  which  Sale  is  known  to  be  the  author,  is 
a  part  of  "The  General  Dictionary,"  in  ten  volumes,  folio.  To  the 
translation  of  Bayle,  which  is  incorporated  with  this  voluminous  work,  he 
is  stated  to  have  been  a  large  contributor. 

When  the  plan  of  the  Universal  History  was  arranged,  Sale  was  one  of 
those  who  were  selected  to  carry  it  into  execution.  His  coadjutors  were 
Swinton,  eminent  as  an  antiquary,  and  remarkable  for  absence  of  mind : 
Shelvocke,  originally  a  naval  officer ;  the  well-informed,  intelligent,  and 
laborious  Campbell ;  that  singular  character,  George  Psalmanazar ;  and 
Archibald  Bower,  who  afterwards  became  an  object  of  unenviable  noto- 
riety. The  portion  of  the  history  which  was  supplied  by  Sale  comprises 
"  The  Introduction,  containing  the  Cosmogony,  or  Creation  of  the  World ;" 
and  the  whole,  or  nearly  the  whole,  of  the  succeeding  chapter,  which 
traces  the  narrative  of  events  from  the  creation  to  the  flood.  In  the  per- 
formance of  his  task,  he  displays  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  his 
subject;  and  his  style,  though  not  polished  into  elegance,  is  neat  and 
perspicuous.  In  a  French  biographical  dictionary,  of  anti-liberal  prin- 
ciples, a  writer  accuses  him  of  having  adopted  a  system  hostile  to  tradition 
and  the  scriptures,  and  composed  his  account  of  the  Cosmogony  with  the 
view  of  giving  currency  to  his  heretical  opinions.  Either  the  accuser 
never  read  the  article  which  he  censures,  or  he  has  wilfully  misrepresented 
it ;  for  it  affiDrds  the  fullest  contradiction  to  the  charge,  as  does  also  the 
sequent  chapter ;  and  he  must,  therefore,  be  contented  to  choose  between 
the  demerit  of  being  a  slanderer  through  blundering  and  reckless  igno- 
rance, or  through  sheer  malignity  of  heart. 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE  SALE.  xiii 

though  his  share  in  these  publications  affords  proof  of  the  erudition 
and  ability  of  Sale,  it  probably  would  not  alone  have  been  sufficient  to 
preserve  his  name  from  oblivion.  His  claim  to  be  remembered  rests 
principally  on  his  version  of  the  Koran,  which  appeared  in  November, 
1734,  in  a  quarto  volume,  and  was  inscribed  to  Lord  Carteret.  The 
dedicator  does  not  disgrace  himself  by  descending  to  that  fulsome 
adulatory  style  which  was  then  too  frequently  employed  in  addressing  the 
great.  As  a  translator,  he  had  the  field  almost  entirely  to  himself;  there 
being  at  that  time  no  English  translation  of  the  Mohammedan  civil  and 
spiritual  code,  except  a  bad  copy  of  the  despicable  one  by  Du  Ryer.  His 
performance  was  universally  and  justly  approved  of,  still  remains  in 
repute,  and  is  not  likely  to  be  superseded  by  any  other  of  the  kind.  It 
may,  perhaps,  be  regretted,  that  he  did  not  preserve  the  division  into 
verses,  as  Savary  has  since  done,  instead  of  connecting  them  into 
a  continuous  narrative.  Some  of  the  poetical  spirit  is  unavoidably 
lost  by  the  change.  But  this  is  all  that  can  be  objected  to  him.  It 
is,  I  believe,  admitted,  that  he  is  in  no  common  degree  faithful 
to  his  original ;  and  his  numerous  notes,  and  Preliminary  Discourse, 
manifest  such  a  perfect  knowledge  of  Eastern  habits,  manners,  traditions, 
and  laws,  as  could  have  been  acquired  only  by  an  acute  mind,  capable  of 
submitting  to  years  of  patient  toil. 

But,  though  his  work  passed  safely  through  the  ordeal  of  criticism,  it 
has  been  made  the  pretext  for  a  calumny  against  him.  It  has  been 
declared,  that  he  puts  the  Christian  religion  on  the  same  footing  with  the 
Mohammedan  ;  and  some  charitable  persons  have  even  supposed  him  to 
have  been  a  disguised  professor  of  the  latter.  The  origin  of  this  slander 
we  may  trace  back  to  the  strange  obliquity  of  principles,  and  the  blind 
merciless  rage,  which  are  characteristic  of  bigotry.  Sale  was  not  one  of 
those  who  imagine  that  the  end  sanctifies  the  means,  and  that  the  best 
interests  of  mankind  can  be  advanced  by  violence,  by  railing,  or  by 
deviating  from  the  laws  of  truth,  in  order  to  blacken  an  adversary.  He 
enters  into  the  consideration  of  the  character  of  Mohammed  with  a  calm 
philosophic  spirit;  repeatedly  censuring  his  imposture,  touching  upon  his 


XIV  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  SALE. 

subterfuges  and  inventions,  but  doing  justice  to  him  on  those  points 
on  which  the  pretended  prophet  is  really  worthy  of  praise.  The  rules 
which,  in  his  address  to  the  reader,  he  lays  down  for  the  conversion 
of  Mohammedans,  arc  dictated  by  sound  sense  and  amiable  feelings. 
They  are,  however,  not  calculated  to  satisfy  those  who  think  the  sword 
and  the  faggot  to  be  the  only  proper  instruments  for  the  extirpation 
of  heresy.  That  he  places  Islamism  on  an  equality  with  Christianity  is 
a  gross  falsehood.  "As  Mohammed,"  says  he,  "  gave  his  Arabs  the  best 
religion  he  could,  preferable,  at  least,  to  those  of  the  ancient  pagan  law- 
givers, I  confess  I  cannot  see  why  he  deserves  not  equal  respect,  thoTsgh 
not  with  Moses  or  Jesus  Christ,  whose  laws  came  really  from  heaven,  yet 
with  Minos  or  Numa,  notwithstanding  the  distinction  of  a  learned  writer, 
who  seems  to  think  it  a  greater  crime  to  make  use  of  an  imposture  to  set 
up  a  neiv  religion,  founded  on  the  acknowledgment  of  one  true  God,  and 
to  destroy  idolatry  than  to  use  the  same  means  to  gain  reception  to  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  more  orderly  practice  of  heathenism  already  estab- 
lished." This,  and  no  more,  is  *'  the  very  head  and  front  of  his 
offending  ;"  and  from  this  it  would,  I  think,  be  difficult  to  extract  any 
proof  of  his  belief  in  the  divine  mission  of  Mohammed.  If  the  charge 
brought  against  him  be  not  groundless,  he  must  have  added  to  his  other 
sins  that  of  being  a  consummate  hypocrite,  and  that,  too,  without  any 
obvious  necessity ;  he  having  been,  till  the  period  of  his  decease,  a  member 
of  the  Society  for  the  Promoting  of  Christian  Knowledge. 

In  1736  a  society  was  established  for  the  encouragement  of  learning. 
It  comprehended  many  noblemen,  and  some  of  the  most  eminent  literary 
men  of  that  day.  Sale  was  one  of  the  founders  of  it,  and  was  appointed 
on  the  first  committee.  The  meetings  were  held  weekly,  and  the  com- 
mittee decided  upon  what  works  should  be  printed  at  the  expense  of  the 
society,  or  with  its  assistance,  and  what  should  be  the  price  of  them. 
When  the  cost  of  printing  was  repaid,  the  property  of  the  work  reverted 
to  the  author.  This  establishment  did  not,  I  imagine,  exist  for  any  length 
of  time.  The  attention  of  the  public  has  been  recently  called  to  a  plan  of 
a  similar  kind. 


LIFE  OF  GEORGE  SALE.  Xy 

Sale  did  not  long  survive  the  carrying  of  this  scheme  into  efToct.  He 
died  of  a  fever,  on  the  13th  of  November,  1736,  at  his  house  in  Surrey- 
street,  Strand,  after  an  iHness  of  only  eight  days,  and  was  buried  at 
St.  Clement  Danes.  He  was  under  the  age  of  forty  when  he  was  thus 
suddenly  snatched  from  his  family,  which  consisted  of  a  wife  and  five 
children.  Of  his  sons,  one  was  educated  at  New  College,  Oxford,  of 
which  he  became  Fellow,  and  he  was  subsequently  elected  to  a  Fellow- 
ship in  Winchester  College.  Sale  is  described  as  having  had  "  a  healthy 
constitution,  and  a  communicative  mind  in  a  comely  person."  His 
library  was  valuable,  and  contained  many  rare  and  beautiful  manuscripts 
in  the  Persian,  Turkish,  Arabic,  and  other  languages ;  a  circumstance 
which  seems  to  show,  that  poverty,  so  often  the  lot  of  men  whose  lives  are 
devoted  to  literary  pursuits,  was  not  one  of  the  evils  with  which  lie  was 
compelled  to  encounter. 

R.  A.  DAVENPORT. 


ADVERTISEMENT, 


The  present  Edition  of  Sale's  Translation  of  the  Koran  will,  it 
is  hoped,  be  found  to  possess  some  advantages  over  every  other. 
Many  useful  notes,  and  several  hundred  various  readings,  are  added 
from  the  French  version  by  Savary.  Of  the  various  readings,  the 
major  part  give  a  different  meaning  from  that  which  is  adopted  by 
the  English  translator ;  while  the  others,  though  agreeing  with  his 
idea  of  the  text,  are  more  poetically  expressed.  Great  care  has 
been  taken  to  prevent  the  work  from  being  disfigured  by  typo- 
graphical errors,  which  are  peculiarly  objectionable  in  a  work  of 
this  kind,  because  they  render  it  unsafe  to  be  consulted.  A  Sketch 
of  the  Life  of  Sale  is  also  prefixed,  which,  though  brief,  contains 
several  particulars  not  hitherto  stated  by  any  of  his  biographers, 
and  vindicates,  and  it  is  believed  satisfactorily,  his  memory  from 
some  aspersions  that  have  been  illiberally  cast  upon  it  by  the  pre- 
judiced or  the  ignorant. 


(xvi) 


CONTENTS. 


A  TABLE 


SECTIONS  OF  THE  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE. 


Sect.  Page. 

1.  Of  the  Arabs  before  Mohammed ;  or,  as  they  express  it,  in  the  Time  of  Ignorance ; 

their  History,  Religion,  Learning,  and  Customs 1 

2.  Of  the  State  of  Christianity,  particularly  of  the  Eastern  Churches,  and  Judaism, 

at  the  time  of  Mohammed's  appearance  ;  and  of  the  methods  taken  by  him  for 
the  establishing  his  Rehgion,  and  the  circumstances  which  concurred  thereto. .  •     23 

3.  Of  the  Koran  itself,  the  Peculiarities  of  that  book ;  the  Manner  of  its  being  written 

and  published,  and  the  general  Design  of  it " 40 

4.  Of  the  Doctrines  and  positive  Precepts  of  the  Koran  which  relate  to  Faith  and 

Rehgious  Duties 50 

5.  Of  certain  negative  Precepts  in  the  Koran 87 

6.  Of  the  Institutions  of  the  Koran  in  Civil  Affairs 94 

7.  Of  the  Months  commanded  by  the  Koran  to  be  kept  sacred;  and  of  the  setting 

apart  Friday  for  the  especial  service  of  God 105 

8.  Of  the  principal  Sects  among  the  Mohammedans ;  and  of  those  who  have  pretended 

to  Prophecy  among  the  Arabs,  in  or  since  the  time  of  Mohammed 107 


(xvii) 


A  TABLE  OF  THE  CHAPTERS 


THE  KORAN.* 


Chap.  Page. 

1.  Intitled,  The  Preface,  or  Introduction ;  containing  7  verses 1 

2.  Intitled,  The  Cow  ;  containing  286  verses 2 

3.  Intitled,  The  Family  of  Imran ;  containing  200  (199)  verses 35 

4.  Inthled,  Women  ;  containing  175  verses 59 

5.  Intitled,  The  Table  ;  containing  120  verses 81 

6.  Intitled,  Cattle  (Flocks);  containing  165  verses 98 

7.  Intitled,  Al  Araf ;  containing  206  (205)  verses 116 

8.  Intitled,  The  Spoils ;  containing  76  verses 138 

9.  Intitled,  The  Declaration  of  Immunity  (Conversion) ;   containing   139  (130) 

verses 148 

10.  Inthled,  Jonas;  containing  109  verses 166 

11.  Intitled,  Hud;  containing  123  verses 175 

12.  Intitled,  Joseph;  containing  111  verses 187 

13.  Intitled,  Thunder ;  containing  43  verses 200 

14.  Intitled,  Abraham ;  containing  52  verses 204 

15.  Intitled,  Al  Hejr;  containing  99  (100)  verses 209 

16.  Intitled,  The  Bee  (The  Bees) ;  containing  128  verses 214 

17.  Intitled,  The  Night  Journey ;  containing  110  (111)  verses 226 

18.  Intitled,  The  Cave;  containing  111  (110)  verses 237 

19.  Intitled,  Mary  ;  containing  80  (98)  verses 248 

20.  Intitled,  T.  H.;  containing  134  (135)  verses 255 

21.  Intitled,  The  Prophets ;  containing  112  verses 264 

22.  Intitled,  The  Pilgrimage  ;  containing  78  verses 273 

23.  Intitled,  The  True  Believers ;  containing  118  verses 281 

24.  Intitled,  Light ;  containing  74  (64)  verses 287 

25.  Inthled,  Al  Forkan  (T^e  Koran) ;  containing  77  verses 296 

26.  Intitled,  The  Poets ;  containing  227  (228)  verses. 301 

27.  Intitled,  The  Ant ;  containing  93  (95)  verses 309 

28.  Intitled,  The  Story  {The  History) ;  containing  87  (88)  verses 316 

29.  Intitled,  The  Spider ;  containing  69  verses 325 

30.  Intitled,  The  Greeks  ;  containing  60  verses 330 

31.  Intitled,  Lokman;  containing  34  verses 335 

32.  Intitled,  Adoration ;  containing  29  (30)  verses 338 

33.  Inthled,  The  Confederates  {The  Conspirators) ;  containing  73  verses 341 

34.  Intitled,  Saba;  containing  54  verses 351 

*  The  titles  and  figures  within  parentheses  are  those  which  are  given  in  the  translation  by  Savary. 

(xviii"> 


TABLE  OF  THE  CHAPTERS.  xix 

^^'lap-      ^  Pago 

35.  Intitled,  The  Creator  {The  Angels) ;  containing  45  verses 357 

36.  Intitled,  Y.  S.  (I.  S.);  containing  83  verses 361 

37.  Intitled,  Those  who  rank  themselves  in  Order  {The  Classes);  containing  182  verses  365 

38.  Intitled,  S. ;  containing  86  (88)  verses 37I 

39.  Intitled,  The  troops  ;  containing  75  verses 377 

40.  Intitled.  The  True  Believer ;  containing  85  verses 383 

41.  Intitled,  Are  distinctly  explained  {The  Explanation) ;  containing  54  (55)  verses. .  389 

42.  Intitled,  Consultation  {The  Council) ;  containing  53  verses 393 

43.  Intitled,  The  Ornaments  of  Gold  {Dress) ;  containing  89  verses 397 

44.  Intitled,  Smoke  ;  containing  57  (59)  verses 402 

45.  Intitled,  The  Kneeling ;  containing  36  verses 404 

46.  Intitled,  AI  Ahkaf;  containing  35  verses 406 

47.  Intitled,  Mohammed  {The  Battle) ;  containing  38  (40)  verses 410 

48.  Intitled,  The  Victory ;  containing  29  verses 413 

49.  Intitled,  The  Inner  Apartments  {The  Sanctuary) ;  containing  18  verses 417 

50.  Intitled,  K.;  containing  45  verses 420 

51.  Intitled,  The  Dispersing  {The  Breath  of  the  Winds) ;  containing  60  verses 422 

52.  Intitled,  The  Mountain  ;  containing  48  (49)  verses 425 

53.  Intitled,  The  Star;  containing  61  verses 427 

54.  Intitled,  The  Moon ;  containing  55  verses 429 

55.  Intitled,  The  Merciful;  containing  78  verses 432 

56.  Intitled,  The  Inevitable  {The  Judgment) ;  containing  99  (96)   verses 435 

57.  Intitled,  Iron ;  containing  29  verses 433 

58.  Intitled,  She  who  disputed  {The  Complaint) ;  containing  22  verses 439 

59.  Inthled,  The  Emigration  {The  Assembly);  containing  24  (25)  verses 443 

60.  Intitled,  She  who  is  tried  (TAe  Proo/);  containing  13  verses 446 

61.  Intitled,  Battle  Array  {The  Array) ;  containing  14  verses 449 

62.  Intitled,  The  Assembly  (Przia?/) ;  containing  11  verses 450 

63.  Intitled,  The  Hypocrites  {The  Impious) ;  containing  11  verses 451 

64.  Intitled,  Mutual  Deceit  {Knavery)  ;  containing  18  verses 452 

65.  Intitled,  Divorce ;  containing  12  verses 454 

66.  Intitled,  Prohibition  ;  containing  12  verses 455 

67.  Intitled,  The  Kingdom;  containing  30  verses 458>- 

68.  Intitled,  The  Pen ;  containing  52  verses 460 

69.  Intitled,  The  Infallible  {The  Inevitable  Day) ;  containing  52  verses 462 

70.  Intitled,  The  Steps  {The  Classes  or  The  Orders) ;  containing  44  verses 464 

71.  Intitled,  Noah;  containing  28  verses 466 

72.  Intitled,  The  Genii;  containing  28  verses 467 

73.  Intitled,  The  Wrapped  up  {The  Prophet  clothed  in  his  Dress);  containing  19 


80 


(20) verses 


469 


74.  Intitled,  The  Covered  ( The  Mantle) ;  containing  55  verses 471 

75.  Intitled,  The  Resurrection;  containing  40  verses 473^ 

76.  Intitled,  Man;  containing  31  (30)  verses 474 

77.  Intitled,  Those  which  are  sent  {The  Messengers) ;  containing  50  verses 476 

78.  Intitled,  The  News  {The  Important  News) ;  containing  40  (41)  verses 477 

79.  Intitled,  Those  who  tear  forth  {The  Ministers  of  Vengeance) ;  containing  46  (47) 


verses ^yg 


Intitled,  He  Frowned  {The  Frowning  Brow) ;  containing  42  verses 479 

81.  Intitled,  The  Folding  up  {The  Darkness) ;  containing  29  (28)  verses 480 

82.  Intitled,  The  Cleaving  asunder  {The  Breaking) ;  oontaining  19  verses 482 

83.  Intitled,  Those  who  give  short  Measure  or  Weight  {The  Unjust  Measure); 

containing  36  verses 4Q2 

84.  Intitled,  The  Rending  in  sunder  {The  Opening) ;  containing  23  (25)  verses  ....  484 

85.  Intitled,  The  Celestial  Signs  ;  containing  22  verses 485 

86.  Intitled,  The  Star  which  appeareth  by  Night  {The  Nocturnal  Star) ;  containing 

17  verses ^og 


XX  TABLE  OF  THE  CHAPTERS. 

Chap.  Page. 

87.  Intitled,  The  Most  High  ;  containing  19  verses 486 

88.  Intitled,  The  Overwhehning  {The  Gloomy  Veil) ;  containing  26  (27)  verses  .. .  487 

89.  Intitled,  The  Day-break;  containing  30  verses 468 

90.  Intitled,  The  'i'erritory  {The  City) ;  containing  20  verses 490 

91.  Intitled,  The  Sun  ;  containing  15  (16)  verses 491 

92.  Intitled,  The  Night;  containing  21  verses 491 

93.  Intitled,  The  Brightness  {The  Su7i  in  his  Meridian) ;  containing  11  verses  • . .  492 

94.  Intitled,  Have  we  not  opened  (T/je  Expanding) ;  containing  8  verses 493 

95.  lr\m\ed,  The  F'\g  (The  Fig-tree) ',  containing  8  verses 493 

96.  Inthled,  Congealed  Blood  (TAe  Union  of  the  Sexes) ;  containing  19  verses 491 

97.  Intitled,  Al  Kadr  {The  Celebrated  Night) ;  containing  5  verses 495 

98.  Intitled,  The  Evidence ;  containing  8  verses 495 

99.  Intitled ,  The  Earthquake  ;  containing  8  verses 496 

100.  Intitled,  The  War  Horses  which  run  swiftly  {The  Coursers);  con.  11  verses. .  497 

101.  Intitled,  The  Striking  {The  Day  of  Calamities) ;  containing  10  (8)  verses 497 

102.  Intitled,  The  Emulous  Desire  of  Multiplying  {The  Love  of  Gain) ;  con.  8  verses  498 

103.  Intitled,  The  Afternoon ;  containing  3  verses 498 

104.  Intitled,  The  Slanderer ;  containing  9  verses 499 

105.  Intitled,  The  Elephant ;  containing  5  verses 499 

106.  lr\i\\\edi,Koxe\sh.  {The  Koreishites);  containing  4  verses 501 

107.  Intitled,  Necessaries  {The  Succouring  Hand) ;  containing  7  verses 501 

108.  Intitled,  Al  Cawthar ;  containing  3  verses 502 

109.  Intitled,  The  Unbelievers  ;  containing  6  verses 503 

110.  Intitled,  Assistance  ;  containing  3  verses 503 

111.  Intitled,  Abu  Laheb  ;  containing  5  verses 504 

112.  Intitled,  The  Declaration  of  God's  unity  {Unity) ;  containing  4  verses 504 

113.  Intitled,  The  Day-break  {The  God  of  Morning);  containing  5  verses 505 

114.  Intitled,  Men  ;  containing  6  verses 505 


THE 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE 


SECTION  I 


OF    THE   ARABS    BEFORE    MOHAMMED,    OR,    AS    THEY    EXPRESS    IT,    IN    THE    TIME 
OF    IGNORANCE^    THEIR    HISTORY,    RELIGION,    LEARNING,    AND    CUSTOMS. 


The  Arabs,  and  the  country  they  inhabit,  which  themselves  call  Jezirat  al 
Arab,  or  the  Peninsula  of  the  Arabians,  but  we  Arabia,  were  so  named  from 
Araba,  a  small  territory  in  the  province  of  Tehama;  ^  to  which  Yarab  the  son  of 
Kahtan,  the  father  of  the  ancient  Arabs,  gave  his  name,  and  where,  some 
ao-es  after,  dwelt  Ismael  the  son  of  Abraham  by  Hagar.  The  Christian 
writers  for  several  centuries  speak  of  them  under  the  appellation  of  Saxons ; 
the  most  certain  derivation  of  which  word  is  from  shark,  the  east,  v/here 
the  descendants  of  Joctan,  the  Kahtan  of  the  Arabs,  are  placed  by  Moscs,- 
and  in  which  quarter  they  dwelt  in  respect  to  the  Jews.^ 

The  name  of  Arabia  (used  in  a  more  extensive  sense)  sometimes  com- 
prehends all  that  large  tract  of  land  bounded  by  the  river  Euphrates,  the 
Persian  gulf,  the  Sindian,  Indian,  and  Red  Seas,  and  part  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean :  above  two-thirds  of  which  country,  that  is,  Arabia  properly  so 
called,  the  Arabs  have  possessed  almost  from  the  flood ;  and  have  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  rest,  either  by  settlements,  or  continual  incur- 
sions ;  for  which  reason  the  Turks  and  Persians  at  this  day  call  the  whole 
Arabistan,  or  the  country  of  the  Arabs. 

But  the  limits  of  Arabia,  in  its  more  usual  and  proper  sense,  are  much 
narrower,  as  reaching  no  farther  northward  than  the  Isthmus,  which  runs 
Irom  Aila  to  the  head  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  and  the  borders  of  the  territory 
of  Cufa ;  which  tract  of  land  the  Greeks  nearly  comprehended  under  the 
name  of  Arabia  the  Happy.  The  eastern  geographers  make  Arabia  PctrrL-a 
to  belong  partly  to  Egypt,  and  partly  to  Sham  or  Syria,  and  the  desert 
Arabia  they  call  the  deserts  of  Syria.'* 

Proper  Arabia  is  by  the  oriental  writers  generally  divided  into  five  pro- 
vinces,^ viz.  Yaman,  Hejaz,  Tehama,  Najd,  and  Yamama ;  to  which  some 
add  Bahrein,  as  a  sixth,  but  this  province  the  more  exact  make  part  of 

•  Pocock,  Specim.  Hist.  Arab.  33.  ^  Gen.  x.  30.  =  See  Pocock,  Specim.  33.  34. 
*  Golius  ad  Alfragan.  78,  79.  '  Strabo  says  Arabia  Felix  was  in  his  linic  divided  into 
five  kingdoms,  lib.  16,  p.  1129. 

(I) 


2  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

Irak  :^  others  reduce  them  all  to  two,  Yaman  and  Hejaz,  the  last  including 
the  three  other  provinces  of  Tehama,  Najd,  and  Yamama. 

The  province  of  Yaman,  so  called  either  from  its  situation  to  the  right 
hand,  or  south  of  the  temple  of  Mecca,  or  else  from  the  happiness  and 
verdure  of  its  soil,  extends  itself  along  the  Indian  Ocean  from  Aden  to  cape 
Rasalgat;  part  of  the  Red  Sea  bounds  it  on  the  west  and  south  sides,  and 
the  province  of  Hejaz  on  the  north.'  It  is  subdivided  into  several  lesser 
provinces,  as  Hadramaut,  Shihr,  Oman,  Najran,  &c.  of  which  Shihr  alone 
produces  the  frankincense.^  The  metropolis  of  Yaman  is  Sanaa,  a  very 
ancient  city,  in  former  times  called  Ozal,  and  much  celebrated  for  its 
delightful  situation ;  but  the  prince  at  present  resides  about  five  leagues 
northward  from  thence,  at  a  place  no  less  pleasant,  called  Hisn  almawaheb, 
or  the  Castle  of  delights.^ 

This  country  has  been  famous  from  all  antiquity  for  the  happiness  of  its 
climate,  its  fertility  and  riches,^  which  induced  Alexander  the  Great,  after 
his  return  from  his  Indian  expedition,  to  form  a  design  of  conquering  it, 
and  fixing  there  his  royal  seat ;  but  his  death,  which  happened  soon  after, 
prevented  the  execution  of  this  project.^  Yet  in  reality,  great  part  of  the 
riches  which  the  ancients  imagined  were  the  produce  of  Arabia,  came  really 
from  the  Indies,  and  the  coasts  of  Africa ;  for  the  Egyptians,  who  had  en- 
grossed that  trade,  which  was  then  carried  on  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea,  to 
themselves,  industriously  concealed  the  truth  of  the  matter,  and  kept  their 
ports  shut,  to  prevent  foreigners  penetrating  into  those  countries,  or  receiving 
any  information  thence :  and  this  precaution  of  theirs  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  deserts,  unpassable  to  strangers,  on  the  other,  were  the  reason  why 
Arabia  was  so  little  known  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  The  delightfulness 
and  plenty  of  Yaman  are  owing  to  its  mountains ;  for  all  that  part  which 
lies  along  the  Red  Sea  is  a  dry,  barren  desert,  in  some  places  ten  or  twelve 
leagues  over,  but  in  return  bounded  by  those  mountains,  which  being  well 
watered,  enjoy  an  almost  continual  spring,  and  besides  coffee,  the  j^eculiar 
produce  of  this  country,  yield  great  plenty  and  variety  of  fruits,  and  in  par- 
ticular excellent  corn,  grapes,  and  spices.  There  are  no  rivers  of  note  in 
this  country,  for  the  streams  which  at  certain  times  of  the  year  descend 
from  the  mountains,  seldom  reach  the  sea,  being  for  the  most  part  drunk 
up  and  lost  in  the  burning  sands  of  that  coast.'* 

The  soil  of  the  other  provinces  is  much  more  barren  than  that  of  Yaman  ; 
the  greater  part  of  their  territories  being  covered  with  dry  sands,  or  rising 
into  rocks,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  some  fruitful  spots,  which 
receive  their  greatest  advantages  from  their  water  and  palm  trees. 

The  province  of  Hejaz,  so  named  because  it  divides  Najd  from  Tehama, 
is  bounded  on  the  south  by  Yaman  and  Tehama,  on  the  west  by  the  Red 
Sea,  on  the  north  by  the  deserts  of  Syria,  and  on  the  east  by  the  province 
of  Najd."^  This  province  is  famous  for  its  two  chief  cities,  Mecca  and 
Medina,  one  of  which  is  celebrated  for  its  temple,  and  having  given  birth 
to  Mohammed ;  and  the  other  for  being  the  place  of  his  residence,  for  the 
last  ten  years  of  his  life,  and  of  his  interment. 

Mecca,  sometimes  also  called  Becca,  which  words  are  synonymous,  and 
signify  a  place  of  great  concourse,  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  ancient  citicvs 
in  the  world :  it  is  by  some^  thought  to  be  the  Mesa  of  the  Scripture,^  a 

«  Gol.  ad  Alfragan.  79.         '  La  Roque,  Voyage  de  I'Arab.  heur.  121.  '  Gol.  ad 

Alfragan.  79.  87.  "  Voyage  de  I'Arab.  heur.  232.  ^  Vide  Dionvs.  Perieges. 

V.  927,  &c.  ^  Strabo,  lib.  16. 'p.  1132.  Arrian.  161.  ^  Voyage  de  I'Arab.  heur.  121. 
123.  153,  '  Vide  Gol.  ad  Alfrag.  98.  Abulfeda  Descr.  Arab.  p.  5.  *  R.  Saadias  in 
version.  Arab.  Pentat.  Sefer  Juchasin.  135  b.        *  Gen.  x.  30. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  3 

name  not  unknown  to  the  Arabians,  and  supposed  to  be  taken  from  one  of 
Ismael's  sons.'^  It  is  seated  in  a  stony  and  barren  valley,  surrounded  on  all 
sides  with  mountains.^  The  length  of  Mecca,  from  south  to  north,  is  about 
two  miles,  and  its  breadth,  from  the  foot  of  the  mountain  Ajyad  to  the  top 
of  another  called  Koaikaan,  about  a  mile.^  In  the  midst  of  this  space 
stands  the  city,  built  of  stone  cut  from  the  neighbouring  mountains.' 
There  being  no  springs  at  Mecca,^  at  least  none  but  what  are  bitter  and 
unfit  to  drink,^  except  only  the  well  Zemzem,the  water  of  which,  thougii 
far  the  best,  yet  cannot  be  drank  for  any  continuance,  being  brackish,  and 
causing  eruptions  in  those  who  drink  plentifully  of  it,'*  the  inliubitants  arc 
obliged  to  use  rain-water  which  they  catch  in  cisterns.^  But  this  not  being 
sufficient,  several  attempts  were  made  to  bring  water  thither  from  other 
places  by  aqueducts  ;  and  particularly  about  Mohammed's  time  ;  Zobair, 
one  of  the  principal  men  of  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  endeavoured  at  a  great 
expense  to  supply  the  city  with  water  from  mount  Arafat,  but  without 
success;  yet  this  was  effected  not  many  years  ago,  being  begun  at  the 
charge  of  a  wife  of  Soliman  the  Turkish  emperor.^  But,  long  before  this, 
another  aqueduct  had  been  made  from  a  spring  at  a  considerable  distance, 
which  was,  after  several  years'  labour,  finished  by  the  Khalif  al  Moktader.'^ 

The  soil  about  Mecca  is  so  very  barren  as  to  produce  no  fruits  but  what 
are  common  in  the  deserts^  though  the  prince  or  Sharif  has  a  garden  well 
planted  at  his  castle  of  Marbaa,  about  three  miles  westward  from  the  city, 
where  he  usually  resides.  Having  therefore  no  corn  or  grain  of  their  own 
growth,  they  are  obliged  to  fetch  it  from  other  places  ;§  and  Hashem,  Mo- 
hammed's great-grandfather,  then  prince  of  his  tribe,  the  more  effectually 
to  supply  them  with  provisions,  appointed  two  caravans  to  set  out  yearly 
for  that  purpose,  the  one  in  summer,  and  the  other  in  winter  :9  these  ca- 
ravans of  purveyors  are  mentioned  in  the  Koran.  The  provisions  brought 
by  them  were  distributed  also  twice  a  year,  viz.  in  the  month  of  Rajeb,  and 
at  the  arrival  of  the  pilgrims.  They  are  supplied  with  dates  in  great  plenty 
from  the  adjacent  country,  and  with  grapes  from  Tayef,  about  sixty  miles 
distant,  very  few  growing  at  Mecca.  The  inhabitants  of  this  city  are  gene- 
rally very  rich,  being  considerable  gainers  by  the  prodigious  concourse  of 
people  of  almost  all  nations  at  the  yearly  pilgrimage,  at  which  time  there 
is  a  great  fair  or  mart  for  all  kinds  of  merchandise.  They  have  also  great 
numbers  of  cattle,  and  particularly  of  camels  :  however,  the  poorer  sort 
cannot  but  live  very  indifferently  in  a  place  where  almost  every  necessary 
of  life  must  be  purchased  with  money.  Notwithstanding  this  great  ste- 
rility near  Mecca,  yet  you  are  no  sooner  out  of  its  territory  than  you  meet 
on  all  sides  with  plenty  of  good  springs  and  streams  of  running  water, 
with  a  great  many  gardens  and  cultivated  lands. ^ 

The  temple  of  Mecca,  and  the  reputed  holiness  of  this  territory,  will 
be  treated  of  in  a  more  proper  place. 

Medina,  which  till  Mohammed's  retreat  thither  was  called  Yathreb,  is  a 
walled  city  about  half  as  big  as  Mecca,^  built  in  a  plain,  salt  in  many 
places,  yet  tolerably  fruitful,  particularly  in  dates,  but  more  especially  near 
the  mountains,  two  of  which,  Ohod  on  the  north,  and  Air  on  the  south, 
are  about  two  leagues  distant.    Here  lies  Mohammed  interred^  in  a  mag- 

'  Gol.  ad  Alfrag.  82.     See  Gen.  xxv.  15.  ^  Gol.  ib.  98.     See  Pitts'  account  of  the 

religion  and  manners  of  the  Mohammedans,  p.  96.  "  Sharif  al  Edrisi  apud.  Poc. 

Specim.  122.         '  Ibid.         ^  Gol.  ad  Alfragan.  99.  =  Sharif  al  Edrisi  ubi  supra,  124. 

*  Ibid,  and  Pitts  ubi  supra,  p.  107.  '  Gol.  al  Alfrag.  99.  <=  Ibid.  ■"  Sharif  al 

Edrisi  ul)i  supr.  «  Idem  ib.  »  Poc.  Specim.  51.  '  Sharif  al  Edrisi  ubi  supra,  125. 
-  Id  Vulgo  Geogr.  Nubierisis,  5. 

"  Though  the  notion  of  Mohammed's  being  buried  at  Mecca  has'been  ao  long  exploded, 


4  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

nificent  building,  covered  with  a  cupola,  and  adjoining  to  the  east  side 
of  the  great  temple,  which  is  built  in  the  midst  of  the  city.'* 

The  province  of  Tehama  was  so  named  from  the  vehement  heat  of  its 
sandy  soil,  and  is  also  called  Gaur  from  its  low  situation  ;  it  is  bounded 
on  the  west  by  the  Red  Sea,  and  on  the  other  sides  by  Hejaz  and  Yaman, 
extending  almost  from  Mecca  to  Aden.^ 

The  province  of  Najd,  which  word  signifies  a  rising  country,  lies  be- 
tween those  of  Yamama,  Yaman,  and  Hejaz,  and  is  bounded  on  the  east 
by  Irak.e 

The  province  of  Yamama,  also  called  Arud  from  its  oblique  situation, 
in  respect  of  Yaman,  is  surrounded  by  the  provinces  of  Najd,  Tehama, 
Bahrein,  Oman,  Shihr,  Hadramaut,  and  Saba.  The  chief  city  is  Yama- 
ma,  which  gives  name  to  the  province :  it  was  anciently  called  Jaw,  and 
is  particularly  famous  for  being  the  residence  of  Mohammed's  competi- 
tor, the  false  prophet,  Moseilama."' 

The  Arabians,  the  inhabitants  of  this  spacious  country,  which  they  have 
possessed  from  the  most  remote  antiquity,  are  distinguished  by  their  own 
writers  into  two  classes,  viz.  the  old  lost  Arabians,  and  the  present. 

The  former  were  very  numerous,  and  divided  into  several  tribes,  which 
are  now  all  destroyed,  or  else  lost  and  swallowed  up  among  the  other 
tribes,  nor  are  any  certain  memoirs  or  records  extant  concerning  them  ;^ 
though  the  memory  of  some  very  remarkable  events  and  the  catastrophe 
of  some  tribes  have  been  preserved  by  tradition,  and  since  confirmed  by 
the  authority  of  the  Koran. 

The  most  famous  tribes  amongst  these  ancient  Arabians  were  Ad,  Tha- 
mud,  Tasm,  Jadis,  the  former  Jorham,  and  Amalek. 

The  tribe  of  Ad  were  descended  from  Ad,  the  son  of  Aws,°  the  son  of 
Aram,^  the  son  of  Sem,  the  son  of  Noah,  who  after  the  confusion  of 
tongues  settled  in  al  Ahkaf,  or  the  winding  sands,  in  the  province  of 
Hadramaut,  where  his  posterity  greatly  multiplied.  Their  first  king  was 
Shedad  the  son  of  Ad,  of  whom  the  eastern  writers  deliver  many  fabulous 
things,  particularly  that  he  finished  the  magnificent  city  his  father  had  be- 
gun, wherein  he  built  a  fine  palace,  adorned  with  delicious  gardens,  to  em- 
bellish which  he  spared  neither  cost  nor  labour,  purposing  thereby  to  create 
in  his  subjects  a  superstitious  veneration  of  himself  as  a  God.'^  This  gar- 
den or  paradise  was  called  the  garden  of  Irem,  and  is  mentioned  in  the 
Koran,^  and  often  alluded  to  by  the  oriental  writers.    The  city,  they  tell 

yet  several  modern  writers,  whether  through  ignorance  or  negHgence  I  will  not  determine, 
have  fallen  into  it.  I  shall  here  take  notice  only  of  two;  one  is  Dr.  Smith,  who  having 
lived  some  time  in  Turkey,  seems  to  be  inexcusable :  that  gentleman  in  his  Epistles  de 
moribus  ac  institutis  Turcarum,  no  less  than  thrice  mentions  the  Mohammedans  visiting 
the  tomb  of  their  prophet  at  Mecca,  and  once  his  being  born  at  Medina,  the  reverse  of 
vvhich  is  true  (see  Ep.  1.  p.  22.  Ep.  2.  p.  63  and  64).  The  other  is  the  publislier  of  the 
last  edition  of  Sir  J.  Mandevile's  travels,  who,  on  his  author's  saying  very  truly  (p.  50) 
that  the  said  tomb  was  at  Methone  (i.  e.  Medina),  undertakes  to  correct  the  name  of  the 
town,  which  is  something  corrupted,  by  putting  at  the  bottom  of  the  page,  Mecca.  The 
Abbot  de  Vertot  in  his  history  of  the  order  of  Malta  (vol.  i.  p.  410,  ed.  8vo.)  seems  also  to 
have  confounded  these  two  cities  together,  though  he  had  before  mentioned  Mohammed's 
sepulchre  at  Medina.  However,  he  is  certainly  mistaken,  when  he  says  that  one  point 
of  the  religion,  both  of  the  Christians  and  Mohammedans,  was  to  visit,  at  least  once  in 
their  lives,  the  tomb  of  the  author  of  their  respective  faith.  Whatever  may  be  the  opinion 
of  some  Christians,  I  am  well  assured  the  Mohammedans  think  themselves  under  no 
manner  of  obligation  in  this  respect. 

"  Gol.  ad  Alirag.  97.     Abulfeda  Descr.  Arab.  p.  40.  *  Gol.  ubi  sup.  95.  *  Gol. 

ubi  sup.  S4.        '  lb.  95.  «  Abulfarag.  p.  159.  ^  Or  Uz.  Gen.  x.  22,  23.        *  Vide 

Kor.  c.  89.  Some  make  Ad  the  son  of  Amalek,  the  son  of  Ham  ;  but  the  other  is  the 
received  opinion.     See  D'Herbel.  51.  ^  Vide  Eund.  498.  ==  Cap.  89. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  5 

us,  Is  still  standing  in  the  deserts  of  Aden,  being  preserved  by  providence 
as  a  monument  of  divine  justice,  though  it  be  invisible,  unless  very  rare- 
ly, when  God  permits  it  to  be  seen  ;  a  favour  one  Colabah  pretended  to 
have  received  in  the  reign  of  the  Khalif  Moawiyah,  who  sending  for  him 
to  know  tlie  truth  of  the  matter,  Colabah  related  his  whole  adventure; 
that  as  he  was  seeking  a  camel  he  had  lost,  he  found  himself  on  a  sudden 
at  the  gates  of  this  city,  and  entering  it  saw  not  one  inhabitant,  at  which 
being  terrified,  he  stayed  no  longer  than  to  take  with  him  some  fine  stones 
which  he  showed  the  Khalif/ 

The  descendants  of  Ad  in  process  of  time  falling  from  the  worship  of 
the  true  God  into  idolatry,  God  sent  the  prophet  Hud  (who  is  generally 
agreed  to  be  Heber^)  to  preach  to  and  reclaim  them.  But  they  refusing 
to  acknowledge  his  mission,  or  to  obey  him,  God  sent  a  hot  and  suffocating 
wind,  which  blew  seven  nights  and  eight  days  together,  and  entering  at 
tiieir  nostrils  passed  through  their  bodies,^  and  destroyed  them  all,  a  very 
few  only  excepted,  who  had  believed  in  Hiid,  and  retired  with  him  to 
another  place.''  That  prophet  afterwards  returned  into  Hadramaut,  and 
was  buried  near  Hasec,  where  there  is  a  small  town  now  standing  called 
Kabr  Hud,  or  the  sepulchre  of  Hud.  Before  the  Adites  were  thus  severely 
punished,  God,  to  humble  them,  and  incline  them  to  hearken  to  the 
preaching  of  his  prophet,  afHicted  them  with  drought  for  four  years,  so 
that  all  their  cattle  perished,  and  themselves  were  very  near  it;  upon 
which  they  sentLokman  (different  from  one  of  the  same  name  who  lived 
in  David's  time)  with  sixty  others  to  Mecca  to  beg  rain,  which  they  not 
obtaining,  Lokman  with  some  of  his  company  staid  at  Mecca,  and  there- 
by escaped  destruction,  giving  rise  to  a  tribe  called  the  latter  Ad,  who 
were  afterwards  changed  into  monkeys.^ 

Some  commentators  on  the  Koran^  tell  us  these  old  Adites  were  of  pro- 
digious stature,  the  largest  being  a  hundred  cubits  high,  and  the  least 
sixty ;  which  extraordinary  size  they  pretend  to  prove  by  the  testimony 
of  the  Koran. ^ 

The  tribe  of  Thamud  were  the  posterity  of  Thamijd  the  son  of  Gather^ 
the  son  of  Aram,  who  falling  into  idolatry,  the  prophet  Saleh  was  sent  to 
bring  them  back  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  This  prophet  lived 
between  the  time  of  Hild  and  of  Abraham,  and  therefore  cannot  be  the 
same  with  the  patriarch  Selah,  as  M.D'Herbelot  imagines.^  The  learned 
Bochart  with  more  probability  takes  him  to  be  Phaleg.'  A  small  number 
of  the  people  of  Thamud  hearkened  to  the  remonstrances  of  Saleh,  but  the 
rest  requiring,  as  a  proof  of  his  mission,  that  he  should  cause  a  she-camel 
big  with  young  to  come  out  of  a  rock  in  their  presence,  he  accordingly 
obtained  it  of  God,  and  the  camel  was  immediately  delivered  of  a  young 
one  ready  weaned  ;  but  they,  instead  of  believing,  cut  the  hamstrings  of 
the  camel  and  killed  her  ;  at  which  act  of  impiety  God  being  highly  dis- 
pleased, three  days  after  struck  them  dead  in  their  houses  by  an  earthquake 
and  a  terrible  noise  from  heaven,  which,  some^  say,  was  the  voice  of  Ga- 
briel the  archangel  crying  aloud.  Die  all  of  you.  Saleh,  with  those  who 
were  reformed  by  him,  were  saved  from  this  destruction  ;  the  prophet  go- 
ing into  Palestine,  and  from  thence  to  Mecca,"  where  he  ended  his  days. 

This  tribe  first  dwelt  in  Yaman,  but  being  expelled  thence  by  Hamyar 

*  D'Herbel.  51.  '  The  Jews  acknowledge  Heber  to  have  been  a  great  prophet.  Seder 
Olam.  p.  2.  "^  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Poc.  Spec.  35,  (fcc.  Mbid.  3(3.         =*  Jallalo'ddiri 

ft  Zamakhshar).  '  Kor.  c.  7.  ^  Or  Gether.  Vide.  Gen.  x.  23.  'D'Herbel. 

Bibl.  Orient.  740.  '  Bochurt.  Geogr.  Sac.  '  See  D'Herbel.  360.  *  Ebii 

Shohnah. 


6  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

the  son  of  Saba,"'  they  settled  in  the  territory  of  Ilejr  in  the  province  of 
Hejaz,  where  their  habitations  cut  out  of  the  rocks,  mentioned  in  the 
Koran,^  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  also  the  crack  of  the  rock  whence  the 
camel  issued,  which,  as  an  eye  witness^  hath  declared,  is  sixty  cubits 
wide.  These  houses  of  the  Thamudites  being  of  the  ordinary  propor- 
tion, are  used  as  an  argument  to  convince  those  of  a  mistake,  who  make 
this  people  to  have  been  of  a  gigantic  stature.^ 

The  tragical  destructions  of  these  two  potent  tribes  are  often  insisted 
on  in  the  Koran,  as  instances  of  God's  judgment  on  obstinate  unbelievers. 

The  tribe  of  Tasai  were  the  posterity  of  Lud  the  son  of  Sem,  and  Jadis 
of  the  descendants  of  Jether.^  These  two  tribes  dwelt  promiscuously 
together  under  the  government  of  Tasm,  till  a  certain  tyrant  made  a  law, 
that  no  maid  of  the  tribe  of  Jadis  should  marry,  unless  first  delloured  by 
him  ;3  which  the  Jadisians  not  enduring,  formed  a  conspiracy,  and  inviting 
the  king  and  chiefs  of  Tasm  to  an  entertainment,  privately  hid  their  swords 
in  the  sand,  and  in  the  midst  of  their  mirth  fell  on  them  and  slew  them 
all,  and  extirpated  the  greatest  part  of  that  tribe  ;  however,  the  few  who 
escaped  obtaining  aid  of  the  king  of  Yaman,  then  (as  is  said)  Dhu  Hab- 
shan  Ebn  Akran,"*  assaulted  the  Jadis  and  utterly  destroyed  them,  there 
being  scarce  any  mention  made  from  that  time  of  either  of  those  tribes.^ 

The  former  tribe  of  Jorham  (whose  ancestor  some  pretend  was  one  of 
the  eighty  persons  saved  in  the  ark  with  Noah,  according  to  a  Mohamme- 
dan tradition^)  was  contemporary  with  Ad,  and  utterly  perished.^  The 
tribe  of  Amalek  were  descended  from  Amalek  the  son  of  Eliphaz  the  son 
of  Esau,^  though  some  of  the  oriental  authors  say  Amalek  was  the  son  of 
Ham  the  son  of  Noah,^  and  others  the  son  of  Azd  the  son  of  Sem.'  The 
posterity  of  this  person  rendered  themselves  very  powerful,^  and  before 
the  time  of  Joseph,  conquered  the  lower  Egypt  under  their  king  Walid, 
the  first  who  took  the  name  of  Pharaoh,  as  the  eastern  writers  tell  us  ;^ 
seeming  by  these  Amalekites  to  mean  the  same  people  which  the  Egyptian 
Iiistories  call  Phoenician  shepherds.'*  But  after  they  had  possessed  the 
throne  of  Egypt  for  some  descents,  they  were  expelled  by  the  natives,  and 
at  length  totally  destroyed  by  the  Israelites.^ 

The  present  Arabians,  according  to  their  own  historians,  are  sprung  from 
two  stocks,  Kahtan,  the  same  with  Joctan  the  son  of  Eber,®  and  Adnan 
descended  in  a  direct  line  from  Ismael  the  son  of  Abraham  and  Hagar ; 
the  posterity  of  the  former  they  call  al  Arab  al  Ariba,?  i.  e.  the  genuine  or 
pure  Arabs,  and  those  of  the  latter  al  Arab  al  mostareba,  i.e.  naturalized 
or  insititious  Arabs,  though  some  reckon  the  ancient  lost  tribes  to  have 
been  the  only  pure  Arabians,  and  therefore  call  the  posterity  of  Kahtan 
also  Motareba,  which  word  likewise  signifies  insititious  Arabs,  though  in 
a  nearer  degree  than  Mostareba  :  the  descendants  of  Ismael  being  the  more 
distant  grnlT. 

The  posterity  of  Ismael  have  no  claim  to  be  admitted  as  pure  Arabs ; 

'  Poc.  Spec.  57.  «  Kor.  cap.  xv.  ■"  Abu  Musa  al  Ashari.  '  Vide  Poc  Spec.  37. 
-  Abulfcda.  ^  A  like  custom  is  said  to  have  been  in  some  manors  in  England,  and  also 
in  Scotland,  where  it  was  called  Culliage,  or  Callage,  havino;  been  established  by  K.  Ewen, 
and  abolished  bv  Malcolm  III.     See  Bayle's  Diet.  Art.  Sixte  IV.  Rem.  H.  *  Poc. 

Spec.  60.  "  Ibid.  37,  &c.  «=  Ibid.  38.  '  Ebn  Shohnah.  «  Gen.  xxvi.  12. 

**  Vide  D'Herbelot,  p.  110.  '  Ebn  Shohnah.  -  Vide  Numb.  xxiv.  20.        ^  Mirat. 

Cainat.  *  Vide  Joseph,  cont.  Apion.  lib.  i.  =  Vide  Exod.  xvii.  18,  «fcc.  1  Sam.  xv. 
2,  &c.  lb.  xxvii.  8,  9^  1  Chron.  iv.  43.  «  R.  Saad.  in  vers.  Arab.  Pentat.  Gen.  x.  25. 
Some  writers  make  Kahtan  a  descendant  of  Ismael,  but  against  the  current  of  oriental 
historians.  See  Poc.  Spec.  39.  "  An  expression  somelhfng  like  that  of  St.  Paul,  who 
calls  himself  the  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews.     Phil.  iii.  5. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  7 

their  ancestor  being  by  origin  and  language  an  Hebrew,  but  having  made 
an  alliance  with  the  Jorhamites,  by  marrying  a  daughter  of  Modad,  and 
accustomed  himself  to  their  manner  of  living  and  language,  his  descend- 
ants bccatne  blended  with  them  into  one  nation.  The  uncertainty  of  the 
descents  between  Ismael  and  Adnan,  is  the  reason  why  they  seldom  trace 
their  genealogies  higher  than  the  latter,  whom  they  acknowledge  as  father 
of  their  tribes ;  the  descents  from  him  downwards  being  pretty  certain 
and  uncontroverted.^ 

The  genealogy  of  these  tribes  being  of  great  use  to  illustrate  the  Ara- 
bian history,  I  have  taken  the  pains  to  form  a  genealogical  table  from 
their  most  approved  authors;  to  which  I  refer  the  curious. 

Besides  these  tribes  of  Arabs,  mentioned  by  their  own  authors,  who 
were  all  descended  from  the  race  of  Sem,  others  of  them  were  the  posterity 
of  Ham  by  his  son  Cush,  which  name  is  in  scripture  constantly  given  to 
the  Arabs  and  their  country,  though  our  version  renders  it  Ethiopia;  but 
strictly  speaking,  the  Cushites  did  not  inhabit  Arabia  properly  so  called, 
but  the  banks  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  whither  they  came 
from  Chuzestan  or  Susiana,  the  original  settlement  of  their  father.''  They 
might  probably  mix  themselves  in  process  of  time  with  the  Arabs  of  the 
other  race,  but  the  eastern  writers  take  little  or  no  notice  of  them. 

The  Arabians  were  for  some  centuries  under  the  government  of  the 
descendants  of  Kahtan ;  Yarab,  one  of  his  sons,  founding  the  kingdom 
of  Yaman,  and  Jorham,  another  of  them,  that  of  Hejaz. 

The  province  of  Yaman,  or  the  better  part  of  it,  particularly  the  pro- 
vinces of  Saba  and  Hadramaut,  was  governed  by  princes  of  the  tribe  of 
Hamyar,  though  at  length  the  kingdom  was  translated  to  the  descendants 
of  Cahlan  his  brother,  who  yet  retained  the  title  of  king  of  Hamyar,  and 
had  all  of  them  the  general  title  of  Tobba,  which  signifies  successor,  and 
was  affected  to  this  race  of  princes,  as  that  of  Caesar  was  to  the  Roman 
emperors,  and  Khalif  to  the  successors  of  Mohammed.  There  were  se- 
veral lesser  princes  who  reigned  in  other  parts  of  Yaman,  and  were  mostly, 
if  not  altogether,  subject  to  the  king  of  Hamyar,  whom  they  called  the 
great  king,  but  of  these  history  has  recorded  nothing  remarkable  or  that 
may  be  depended  upon.^ 

The  first  great  calamity  that  befell  the  tribes  settled  in  Yaman  was  the 
inundation  of  Aram,  which  happened  soon  after  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great,  and  is  famous  in  the  Arabian  history.  No  less  than  eight  tribes  were 
forced  to  abandon  their  dwellings  upon  this  occasion,  some  of  which  gave 
rise  to  the  two  kingdoms  of  Ghassan  and  Hira.  And  this  was  probably  the 
lime  of  the  migration  of  those  tribes  or  colonies  which  were  led  into  Meso- 
potamia by  three  chiefs.  Beer,  Modar,  and  Rabia,  from  whom  the  three  pro- 
vinces of  that  country  are  still  named  Diyar  Beer,  Diyar  Modar,  and  Diyar 
Rabia.2  Abdshems,  surnamed  Saba,  having  built  the  city  from  him  called 
Saba,  and  afterwards  Mareb,  made  a  vast  mound  or  dam^  to  serve  as  a  basin 
or  reservoir  to  receive  the  water  which  came  down  from  the  mountains,  not 
only  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants,  and  watering  their  lands,  but  also  to 
keep  the  country  they  had  subjected  in  greater  awe  by  being  masters  of 
the  water.  This  building  stood  like  a  mountain  above  their  city,  and  was- 
hy them  esteemed  so  strong,  that  they  were  in  no  apprehension  of  its  ever 
failing.  The  water  rose  to  the  height  of  almost  twenty  fathoms,  and  was 
kept  in  on  every  side  by  a  work  so  solid,  that  many  of  the  inhabitants  had 
their  houses  built  upon  it.     Every  family  had  a  certain  portion  of  this 

»  Poc.  Spec.  p.  40.  »  Vide  Hyde  Hist.  Rel.  veter.  Persar.  p.  37,  «fec.  '  Poc. 

Spec.  p.  65,  66.  »  Vide  Gol.  ad  Alfrag.  p.  232.  =  Poc.  Spec.  p.  57. 


8  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

water  distributed  by  aqueducts.  But  at  length  God  being  highly  dis- 
pleased at  their  great  pride  and  insolence,  and  resolving  to  humble  and 
disperse  them,  sent  a  mighty  ilood,  which  broke  down  the  mound  at  night 
while  the  inhabitants  were  asleep,  and  carried  away  the  whole  city  with 
the  neighbouring  towns  and  people."* 

The  tribes  which  remained  in  Yaman  after  this  terrible  devastation  still 
continued  under  the  obedience  of  the  former  princes,  till  about  70  years 
before  Mohammed,  when  the  king  of  Ethiopia  sent  over  forces  to  assist 
the  Christians  of  Yaman  against  the  cruel  persecution  of  their  king  Dhu 
Nowas,  a  bigoted  Jew,  whom  they  drove  to  that  extremity,  that  he  forced 
his  horse  into  the  sea,  and  so  lost  his  life  and  crown  ;5  after  which  the 
country  was  governed  by  four  Ethiopian  princes  successively,  till  Self  the 
son  of  Dhu  Yazan  of  the  tribe  of  Hamyar,  obtaining  succours  from  Khos- 
rii  Anushirwan  king  of  Persia,  which  had  been  denied  him  by  the  empe- 
ror Heraclius,  recovered  the  throne  and  drove  out  the  Ethiopians,  but  was 
himself  slain  by  some  of  them  who  were  left  behind.  The  Persians  ap- 
pointed the  succeeding  princes  till  Yamah  fell  into  the  hands  of  Moham- 
med, to  whom  Bazan,  or  rather  Badhan,  the  last  of  them,  submitted,  and 
embraced  his  new  religion.^ 

This  kingdom  of  the  Hamyarites  is  said  to  have  lasted  2020  years,'^  or 
as  others  say  above  3000;^  the  length  of  the  reign  of  each  prince  being 
very  uncertain. 

It  has  been  already  observed  that  two  kingdoms  were  founded  by  those 
who  left  their  country  on  occasion  of  the  inundation  of  Aram  ;  they  were 
both  out  of  the  proper  limits  of  Arabia.  One  of  them  was  the  kingdom  of 
Ghassan.  The  founders  of  this  kingdom  were  of  the  tribe  of  Azd,  who 
settling  in  Syria  Damascena  near  a  water  called  Ghassan,  thence  took  their 
name,  and  drove  out  the  Dejaamian  Arabs  of  the  tribe  of  Salih,  who  before 
possessed  the  country  f  where  they  maintained  their  kingdom  400  years, 
as  others  say  600,  or  as  Abulfeda  more  exactly  computes  616.  Five  of 
these  princes  were  named  Hareth,  which  the  Greeks  write  Aretas :  and 
one  of  them  it  was  whose  governor  ordered  the  gates  of  Damascus  to  be 
watched  to  take  St.  Paul.^  This  tribe  were  Christians,  their  last  king 
being  Jabalah  the  son  of  al  Ayham,  who  on  the  Arabs'  successes  in  Syria 
professed  Mohammedism  under  the  Khalif  Omar ;  but  receiving  a  disgust 
from  him,  returned  to  his  former  faith,  and  retired  to  Constantinople.^ 

The  other  kingdom  was  that  of  Hira,  which  was  founded  by  Malec  of 
the  descendants  of  Cahlan^  in  Chaldea  or  Irak  ;  but  after  three  descents 
the  throne  came  by  marriage  to  the  Lakhmians,  called  also  the  Mondars 
(the  general  name  of  those  princes),  who  preserved  their  dominion,  not- 
withstanding some  small  interruption  by  the  Persians,  till  the  Khalifat  of 
Abubecr,  when  al  Mondar  al  Maghrur,  the  last  of  them,  lost  his  life  and 
crown  by  the  arms  of  Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid.  This  kingdom  lasted  622 
years  eight  months."*  Its  princes  were  under  the  protection  of  the  kings  of 
Persia,  whose  lieutenants  they  were  over  the  Arabs  of  Irak,  as  the  kings 
of  Ghassan  were  for  the  Roman  emperors  over  those  of  Syria.^ 

Jorham  the  son  of  Kahtan  reigned  in  Hejaz,  where  his  posterity  kept 
the  throne  till  the  time  of  Ismael,  but  on  his  marrying  the  daughter  of 
Modad,  by  whom  he  had  twelve  sons,  Kidar,  one  of  them,  had  the  crown 

*  Geogr.  Nubiens.  p.  52.  ^  See  Prideaux's  life  of  Moham.  p.  61.  *  Poc.  Spec. 

p.  63,  64.  ■"  Abulfeda.  *  Al  Jannabi  and  Abmed  Ebn  Yusef  ^  Poc.  Spec.  p.  76. 
^  2  Cor.  xi.  32.     Acts  ix.  24.  ^  Vide  Ockley's  History  of  the  Saracens,  vol  i.  p.  174. 

'  Poc.  Spec.  p.  66.       *  lb.  p.  74.       '  lb.  and  Procop.  in  Pcrs.  aoud.  Photium.  p.  71,  &c. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  9 

resigned  to  him  by  his  uncles  the  Jorhamites,^  though  others  say  the  de- 
scendants of  Ismael  expelled  that  tribe,  who  retiring  to  Johainah,  were, 
after  various  fortune,  at  last  all  destroyed  by  an  inundation^ 

Of  the  kings  of  Hamyar,  Flira,  Ghassan,  and  Jorham,  Dr.  Pocock  has 
given  us  catalogues  tolerably  exact,  to  which  I  refer  the  curious.^ 

After  the  expulsion  of  the  Jorhamites,  the  government  of  Hejaz  seems 
not  to  have  continued  for  many  centuries  in  the  hands  of  one  prince,  but 
to  have  been  divided  among  the  heads  of  tribes  ;  almost  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  Arabs  of  the  desert  are  governed  at  this  day.  x\.t  Mecca  an 
aristocracy  prevailed,  where  the  chief  management  of  affairs  till  the  time 
of  Mohammed  was  in  the  tribe  of  Koreish ;  especially  after  they  had 
gotten  the  custody  of  the  Caaba  from  the  tribe  of  Khozaah.^ 

Besides  the  kingdoms  which  have  been  taken  notice  of,  there  were  some 
other  tribes,  which,  in  latter  times,  had  princes  of  their  own,  and  formed 
states  of  lesser  note ;  particularly  the  tribe  of  Kenda :'  but  as  I  am  not 
writing  a  just  history  of  the  Arabs,  and  an  account  of  them  would  be  of 
no  great  use  to  my  present  purpose,  I  shall  waive  any  further  mention  of 
them. 

After  the  time  of  Mohammed,  Arabia  was  for  about  three  centuries  un- 
der the  Khalifs  his  successors.  But  in  the  year  325  of  the  Hejra,  great 
part  of  that  country  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Karmatians,^  a  new  sect  who 
had  committed  great  outrages  and  disorders  even  in  Mecca,  and  to  whom 
the  Khalifs  were  obliged  to  pay  tribute,  that  the  pilgrimage  thither  might 
be  performed  :  of  this  sect  I  may  have  occasion  to  speak  in  another  place. 
Afterwards  Yaman  was  governed  by  the  house  of  Thabateba,  descended 
from  Ali  the  son-in-law  of  Mohammed,  whose  sovereignty  in  Arabia  some 
place  so  high  as  the  time  of  Charlemagne.  However,  it  was  the  poste- 
rity of  Ali,  or  pretenders  to  be  such,  who  reigned  in  Yaman  and  Egypt 
so  early  as  the  tenth  century.  The  present  reigning  family  in  Yaman  is 
probably  that  of  Ayub,  a  branch  of  which  reigned  there  in  the  thirteenth 
century,  and  took  the  title  of  Khalif  and  Imam,  which  they  still  retain.' 
They  are  not  possessed  of  the  whole  province  of  Yaman,^  there  being 
several  other  independent  kingdoms  there,  particularly  that  of  Fartach. 
The  crown  of  Yaman  descends  not  regularly  from  father  to  son,  but  the 
prince  of  the  blood  royal  who  is  most  in  favour  with  the  great  ones,  or 
has  the  strongest  interest,  generally  succeeds.^ 

The  governors  of  Mecca  and  Medina,  who  have  always  been  of  the 
race  of  Mohammed,  also  threw  off  their  subjection  to  the  Khalifs,  since 
which  time  four  principal  families,  all  descended  from  Hasan  the  son  of 
Ali,  have  reigned  there  under  the  title  of  Sharif  which  signifies  noble, 
as  they  reckon  themselves  to  be  on  account  of  their  descent.  These  are 
Banu  Kader,  Banu  Musa  Thani,  Banu  Hashem,  and  Banu  Kitada  ;°  which 
last  family  now  is,  or  lately  was,  in  the  throne  of  Mecca,  where  they  have 
reigned  above  500  years.  The  reigning  family  at  Medina  are  the  Banu 
Hashem,  who  also  reigned  at  Mecca  before  those  of  Kitada.'^ 

The  kings  of  Yaman,  as  well  as  the  princes  of  Mecca  and  Medina,  are 
absolutely  independent,^  and  not  at  all  subject  to  the  Turk,  as  some  late 
authors  have  imagined.^  These  princes  often  making  cruel  wars  among 
themselves,  gave  an  opportunity  to  Selim  I.  and  his  son  Soliman,  to  make 
themselves  masters  of  the  coasts  of  Arabia  on  the  Red  Sea,  and  of  part  of 

<»  Poc.  Spec.  p.  45.  Mb.  p.  79.  Mb.  p.  55.  seq.  »  Vide  lb.  p.  41,  and  Pri- 

deaux's  Life  of  Moham.  p.  2.  '■  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  79,  &c.  *  Vide  Elmacin.  in  vita 
al  Radi.  ="  Vovage  de  1' Arab.  heur.  p.  255.  *  lb.  153,  273.  '  lb.  254.         «  lb 

143.  '  lb.  145.  8  lb.  143,  148.  «  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  477. 


10  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

Yaman,  by  means  of  a  fleet  built  at  Sues :  but  their  successors  have  not 
been  able  to  maintain  their  conquests  ;  for,  except  the  port  of  Jadda,  where 
they  have  a  Basha  whose  authority  is  very  small,  they  possess  nothing  con- 
siderable in  Arabia. '° 

Thus  have  the  Arabs  preserved  their  liberty,  of  which  few  nations  can 
produce  so  ancient  monuments,  with  very  little  interruption  from  the  very 
deluge  ;  for  though  very  great  armies  have  been  sent  against  them,  all 
attempts  to  subdue  them  were  unsuccessful.  The  Assyrian  or  Median 
empires  never  got  footing  among  them.^  The  Persian  monarchs,  though 
they  were  their  friends,  and  so  far  respected  by  them  as  to  have  an  annual 
present  of  frankincense,^  yet  could  never  make  them  tributary  f  and  were 
so  far  from  being  their  masters,  that  Cambyses,  on  his  expedition  against 
Egypt,  was  obliged  to  ask  their  leave  to  pass  through  their  territories  ;^  and 
when  Alexander  had  subdued  that  mighty  empire,  yet  the  Arabians  had  so 
little  apprehension  of  him,  that  they  alone,  of  all  the  neighbouring  nations, 
sent  no  ambassadors  to  him,  either  first  or  last ;  which,  with  a  desire  of 
possessing  so  rich  a  country,  made  him  form  a  design  against  it,  and  had 
he  not  died  before  he  could  put  it  in  execution,^  this  people  might  possibly 
have  convinced  him  that  he  was  not  invincible  ;  and  I  do  not  find  that  any 
of  his  successors  either  in  Asia  or  Egypt,  ever  made  any  attempt  against 
them.^  The  Romans  never  conquered  any  part  of  Arabia  properly  so 
called  ;  the  most  they  did  was  to  make  some  tribes  in  Syria  tributary  to 
them,  as  Pompey  did  one  commanded  by  Sampsiceramus  or  Shams'  alke- 
ram  who  reigned  at  Hems  or  Emesa  ;'^  but  none  of  the  Romans,  or  any 
other  nations  that  we  know  of,  ever  penetrated  so  far  into  Arabia  as  ^lius 
Gallus  under  Augustus  Csesar  ;^  yet  he  was  so  far  from  subduing  it,  as 
some  authors  pretend,^  that  he  was  soon  obliged  to  return  without  effecting 
any  thing  considerable,  having  lost  the  best  part  of  his  army  by  sickness 
and  other  accidents.^  This  ill  success  probably  discouraged  the  Romans 
from  attacking  them  any  more  ;  for  Trajan,  notwithstanding  the  flatteries 
of  the  historians  and  orators  of  his  time,  and  the  medals  struck  by  him, 
did  not  subdue  the  Arabs;  the  province  of  Arabia,  which  it  is  said  he 
added  to  the  Roman  empire,  scarce  reaching  farther  than  Arabia  Petraea, 
or  the  very  skirts  of  the  country.  And  we  are  told  by  one  author,^  that 
this  prince  marching  against  the  Agarens,  who  had  revolted,  met  with 
such  a  reception  that  he  was  obliged  to  return  without  doing  any  thing. 

The  religion  of  the  Arabs  before  Mohammed,  which  they  call  the  state 
of  ignorance,  in  opposition  to  the  knowledge  of  God's  true  worship  re- 
vealed to  them  by  their  prophet,  was  chiefly  gross  idolatry ;  the  Sabian 
religion  having  almost  overrun  the  whole  nation,  though  there  were  also 
great  numbers  of  Christians,  Jews,  and  Magians,  among  them. 

I  shall  not  here  transcribe  what  Dr.  Prideaux^  has  written  of  the  ori- 
ginal of  the  Sabian  religion ;  but  instead  thereof  insert  a  brief  account 
of  the  tenets  and  worship  of  that  sect.  They  do  not  only  believe  one  God, 
but  produce  many  strong  arguments  for  his  unity  ;  though  they  also  pay  an 
adoration  to  the  stars,  or  the  angels  and  intelligences  which  they  suppose 
reside  in  them,  and  govern  the  world  under  the  supreme  Deity.  They  en- 
deavour to  perfect  themselves  in  the  four  intellectual  virtues,  and  believe 

»°  Voy.  de  I'Arab-  heur.  p.  148.  »  Diodor.  Sic.  lib.  2.  p.  131.  ^  Herodot.  lib.  3.  c.  97. 
'  Idem  ib.  c.  91.  Diodor.  ubi  sup.  *  Herodot.  lib.  3.  c.  8  and  98.  =  Strabo,  lib.  16.  p. 
1276.1132.  «  Vide  Deodor.  Sic.  ubi  supra.  ^  Strabo,  lib.  16.  p.  1092.  »  DJon 

Cassius,  lib.  53.  p.  m.  516.  *  Huet  Hist.du  commerce  et  de  la  navigation  des  anciens,  c, 
50.  '  See  the  whole  expedition  described  at  large  by  Strabo,  lib.  16,  p.  1126,  &c.  ^  Xi- 
.philin.  epit.  =■  Connect,  of  the  Hist,  of  the  Old  and  New  Test.  p.  1.  b.  iii. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  H 

the  souls  of  wicked  men  will  be  punished  for  9000  ages,  but  will  after- 
wards be  received  to  mercy.  They  are  obliged  to  pray  three  times'*  a  day, 
the  first,  half  an  hour  or  less  before  sun-rise,  ordering  it  so  that  they  may, 
just  as  the  sun  rises,  finish  eight  adorations,  each  containing  three  pros- 
trations f  the  second  prayer  they  end  at  noon,  when  the  sun  begins  to  de- 
cline, in  saying  which  they  perform  five  such  adorations  as  tlie  former; 
and  the  same  they  do  the  third  time,  ending  just  as  the  sun  sets.  They 
fast  three  times  a  year,  the  first  time  thirty  days,  the  next  nine  days,  and 
the  last  seven.  They  offer  many  sacrifices,  but  eat  no  part  of  them,  burn- 
ing them  all.  They  abstain  from  beans,  garlick,  and  some  other  pulse 
and  vegetables.^  As  to  the  Sabian  Kebla,  or  part  to  which  they  turn  their 
faces  in  praying,  authors  greatly  differ;  one  will  have  it  to  be  the  north," 
another  the  south,  a  third  Mecca,  and  a  fourth  the  star  to  which  they  pay 
their  devotions  ;8  and  perhaps  there  may  be  some  variety  in  their  practice 
in  this  respect.  They  go  on  pilgrimage  to  a  place  near  the  city  of  Har- 
ran  in  Mesopotamia,  where  great  numbers  of  them  dwell,  and  they  also 
have  a  great  respect  for  the  temple  at  Mecca,  and  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  ;^ 
fancying  these  last  to  be  the  sepulchres  of  Seth,  and  of  Enoch  and  Sabi 
his  two  sons,  whom  they  look  on  as  the  first  propagators  of  their  religion  ; 
at  these  structures  they  sacrifice  a  cock  and  a  black  calf,  and  ofifer  up  in- 
cense.'  Besides  the  iDook  of  Psalms,  the  only  true  scripture  they  read, 
they  have  other  books  which  they  esteem  equally  sacred,  particularly  one 
in  the  Chaldee  tongue  w^hich  they  call  the  book  of  Seth,  and  is  full  of 
moral  discourses.  This  sect  say  they  took  the  name  of  Sabians  from  the 
above  mentioned  Sabi,  though  it  seems  rather  to  be  derived  from  X3i*  Sa- 
ba2  or  the  host  of  heaven,  which  they  worship.^  Travellers  commonly 
call  them  Christians  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  whose  disciples  also  they 
pretend  to  be,  using  a  kind  of  baptism,  which  is  the  greatest  mark  they 
bear  of  Christianity.  This  is  one  of  the  religions  the  practice  of  which 
Mohammed  tolerated  (on  paying  tribute),  and  the  professors  of  it  are  often 
included  in  that  expression  of  the  Koran,  those  to  whom  the  scriptures 
have  been  given,  or  literally,  the  people  of  the  book. 

The  idolatry  of  the  Arabs  then,  as  Sabians,  chiefly  consisted  in  worship- 
ping the  fixed  stars  and  planets,  and  the  angels  and  their  images,  which 
they  honoured  as  inferior  deities,  and  whose  intercession  they  begged,  as 
their  mediators  with  God.  For  the  Arabs  acknowledged  one  supreme  God, 
the  Creator  and  Lord  of  the  universe  whom  they  call  Allah  Taala,  the  most 
high  God,  and  their  other  deities,  who  were  subordinate  to  him,  they  called 
simply  al  Ilahat,  i.  e.  the  goddesses;  which  words  the  Grecians  not  un- 
derstanding, and  it  being  their  constant  custom  to  resolve  the  religion  of 
every  other  nation  into  their  own,  and  find  out  gods  of  theirs  to  match  the 
others,  they  pretend  that  the  Arabs  worshipped  only  two  deities,  Orotalt 
and  Alilat,  as  those  names  are  corruptly  written,  whom  they  will  have  to 
be  the  same  with  Bacchus  and  Urania  ;  pitching  on  the  former  as  one  of 
the  greatest  of  their  own  gods,  and  educated  in  Arabia,  and  on  the  other, 
because  of  the  veneration  shown  by  the  Arabs  to  the  stars."* 

*  Some  say  seven.  See  D'Herbelot,  p.  72G,  and  ITyde  do  rel.  vet.  Pers.  p.  12S. 
^  Others  say  they  use  no  incurvations  or  prostrations  at  all.  Vide  Hyde,  ib.  '^  Abul- 
farag.  Hist.  Dynast,  p.  281,  &c.  '^  Idem  ib.  'Hyde,  ubi  supr.  p.  124,  &c. 

^  D'Herbel  ubi  supr.  '■  See  Greave*s  Pyramidogr.  p.  6,  7.  *  Vide  Poo.  Spec.  p.  138. 
'  Thabet  Ebn  Korrah,  a  famous  astronomer,  and  himself  a  Sabian,  wrote  a  treatise  in 
Syriac,  concerning  the  doctrines,  rites,  and  ceremonies  of  this  sect ;  from  which,  if  it  could 
be  recovered,  we  mitrht  e.xpect  much  better  information  than  any  taken  from  the  Arabian 
writers.     Vide  Abuliarag,  ubi  sup.  "  Vide  Herodot.  lib.  3.  c.  8.  Arrian,  p.  161,  1G2. 

and  Strab.  lib.  16. 


12  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

That  they  acknowledged  one  supreme  God  appcvirs,  to  omit  other  proof, 
iVom  their  usual  Ibrm  of  addressing  themselves  to  him,  which  was  this, 
"  I  dedicate  myself  to  thy  service,  O  God  !  I  dedicate  myself  to  thy  ser- 
vice, O  God  !  Thou  hast  no  companion,  except  thy  companion  of  whom 
thou  art  absolute  master,  and  of  whatever  is  his."5  So  that  they  suppose 
the  idols  not  to  be  sui  juris,  though  they  offered  sacrifices  and  other  offer- 
ings to  them,  as  well  as  to  God,  who  was  also  often  put  off  with  the  least 
portion,  as  Mohammed  upbraids  them.  Thus,  when  they  planted  fruit 
trees,  or  sowed  a  field,  they  divided  it  by  a  line  into  two  parts,  setting  one 
apart  for  their  idols,  and  the  other  for  God  ;  if  any  of  the  fruits  happened 
to  fall  from  the  idol's  part  into  God's,  they  made  restitution  ;  but  if  from 
God's  part  into  the  idol's,  they  made  no  restitution.  So  when  they  watered 
the  idol's  grounds,  if  the  water  broke  over  the  channels  made  for  that 
purpose,  and  ran  on  God's  part,  they  dammed  it  up  again  ;  -but  if  the  con- 
trary, they  let  it  run  on,  saying  they  wanted  what  was  God's,  but  he  want- 
ed nothing.^  In  the  same  manner,  if  the  offering  designed  for  God  hap- 
pened to  be  better  than  that  designed  for  the  idol,  they  made  an  exchange, 
but  not  otherwise.'' 

It  was  from  this  gross  idolatry,  or  the  worship  of  inferior  deities,  or 
companions  of  God,  as  the  Arabs  continue  to  call  them,  that  Mohammed 
reclaimed  his  countrymen,  establishing  the  sole  worship  of  the  true  God 
among  them  ;  so  that  how  much  soever  the  Mohammedans  are  to  blame 
in  other  points,  they  are  far  from  being  idolaters,  as  some  ignorant  writers 
have  pretended. 

The  worship  of  the  stars  the  Arabs  might  easily  be  led  into,  from  their 
observing  the  changes  of  weather  to  happen  at  the  rising  or  setting  of  cer- 
tain of  thcm,^  which,  after  a  long  course  of  experience,  induced  them  to 
ascribe  a  divine  power  to  those  stars,  and  to  think  themselves  indebted  to 
them  for  their  rains,  a  very  great  benefit  and  refreshment  to  their  parched 
country  :  this  superstition  the  Koran  particularly  takes  notice  of.^ 

The  ancient  Arabians  and  Indians,  between  which  two  nations  was  a 
great  conformity  of  religions,  had  seven  celebrated  temples,  dedicated  to 
the  seven  planets;  one  of  which  in  particular, called  Beit  Ghomdan,  was 
built  in  Sanaa  the  metropolis  of  Yaman,  by  Dahac,  to  the  honour  of  al 
Zoharah  or  the  planet  Venus,  and  was  demolished  by  the  Khalif  Othman  ;^ 
by  whose  murder  was  fulfilled  the  prophetical  inscription  set,  as  is  report- 
ed, over  his  temple,  viz.  Ghomdan,  he  who  destroyeth  thee,  shall  be  slain.^ 
The  temple  of  Mecca  is  also  said  to  have  been  consecrated  to  Zohal  or 
Saturn.^ 

Though  these  deities  were  generally  reverenced  by  the  whole  nation, 
yet  each  tribe  chose  someone  as  the  more  popular  object  of  their  worship. 

Thus,  as  to  the  stars  and  planets,  the  tribe  of  Hamyar  chiefly  worshipped 
the  sun  ;  Misam,"*  al  Dabaran  or  the  bull's  eye  ;  Lakhm  and  Jodam,  al 
Moshtari  or  Jupiter  ;  Tay,  Sohail  or  Canopus  ;  Kais,  Sirius  or  the  dog-star; 
and  Asad,  Otared  or  Mercury.^  Among  the  worshippers  of  Sirius,  one 
Abu  Cabsha  was  very  famous;  some  will  have  him  to  be  the  same  with 
Waheb,  Mohammed's  grandfather  by  the  mother,  but  others  say  he  was  of 
the  tribe  of  Khozaah.  This  man  used  his  utmost  endeavours  to  persuade 
the  Koreish  to  leave  their  images  and  worship  this  star;  for  which  reason 
Mohammed,  who  endeavoured  also  to  make  them  leave  their  images,  was 

*  Al  Shahrestani.         «  Nodhm  al  dorr.  '  Al  Beidawi.  »  Vide  Post.         '  Vide 

Poc.  Spec.  p.  163.  *  Shahrestani.  *  Al  Jannabi.  ^  Shahrestani.  *  This  name 
seems  to  be  corrupted,  there  being  no  such  among  the  Arab  tribes.  Poc.  Spec.  p.  130. 
-  Abulfarag,  p.  160. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  13 

hy  them  nicknamed  the  son  of  Abu  Cabsha.^  The  worship  of  this  star 
is  particularly  hinted  at  in  the  Korcln.^ 

Of  the  angels  or  intelligences  which  they  worshipped,  the  Koran^  makes 
mention  only  of  three,  which  were  worshipped  under  female  names;'-' 
Aliat,  al  Uzza,  and  Manah.  These  were  by  them  called  goddesses,  and 
the  daughters  of  God  ;  an  appellation  they  gave  not  only  to  the  angels, 
but  also  to  their  images,  which  they  either  believed  to  be  inspired  with 
life  by  God,  or  else  to  become  the  tabernacles  of  the  angels,  and  to  be 
animated  by  them;  and  they  gave  them  divine  worship,  because  they 
imagined  they  interceded  for  them  with  God. 

Allat  was  the  idol  of  the  tribe  of  Thakif  who  dwelt  at  Tayef,  and  had  a 
temple  consecrated  to  her  in  a  place  called  Nakhlah.  The  idol  al  Mog- 
hcirah  destroyed  by  Mohammed's  order,  who  sent  him  and  Abu  Sofian  on 
that  commission  in  the  ninth  year  of  Hcjra.^  The  inhabitants  of  Tayef, 
especially  the  women,  bitterly  lamented  the  loss  of  this  their  deity,  which 
they  were  so  fond  of,  that  they  begged  Mohammed,  as  a  condition  of  peace, 
that  it  might  not  be  destroyed  for  three  years,  and  not  obtaining  that, 
asked  only  a  month's  respite ;  but  he  absolutely  denied  it.^  There  are 
several  derivations  of  this  word,  which  the  curious  may  learn  from  Dr. 
Pocock.^  It  seems  most  probably  to  be  derived  from  the  same  root  witii 
Allah,  to  which  it  may  be  a  feminine,  and  will  then  signify  the  goddess. 

Al  Uzza,  as  some  athrm,  was  the  idol  of  the  tribes  of  Koreish  and  Ke- 
nanah,'*and  part  of  the  tribes  of  Salim  :*  others^  tell  us  it  was  a  tree  called 
the  Egyptian  thorn,  or  Acacia,  worshiped  by  the  tribe  of  Ghatfan,  first 
consecrated  by  one  Dhalem,  who  built  a  chapel  over  it,  called  Boss,  so 
contrived  as  to  give  a  sound  when  any  person  entered.  Khaled  Ebn  Wa- 
lid  being  sent  by  Mohammed  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Hejra,  to  destroy 
this  idol,  demolished  the  chapel,  and  cutting  down  this  tree  or  image, 
burnt  it :  he  also  slew  the  priestess,  who  ran  out  with  her  hair  dishevel- 
led, and  her  hands  on  her  head  as  a  suppliant.  Yet  the  author  who  re- 
lates this,  in  another  place  says,  the  chapel  was  pulled  down,  and  Dhalem 
himself  killed  by  one  Zohair,  because  he  consecrated  this  chapel  with 
design  to  draw  the  pilgrims  thither  from  Mecca,  and  lessen  the  reputation 
of  the  Kaaba.  The  name  of  this  deity  is  derived  from  the  root  azza,  and 
signifies  the  most  mighty. 

Manah  was  the  object  of  worship  of  the  tribes  of  Hodhail  and  Kho- 
zaah,'  who  dwelt  between  Mecca  and  Medina,  and  as  some  say,^  of  the 
tribes  of  Aws,  Khazraj,  and  Thakif  also.  This  idol  was  a  large  stone, 
demolished  by  one  Saad  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Hejra,  a  year  so  fatal 
to  the  idols  of  Arabia.  The  name  seems  to  be  derived  from  mana  to  flow, 
from  the  flowing  of  the  blood  of  the  victims  sacrificed  to  the  deity; 
whence  the  valley  of  Mina'  near  Mecca  had  also  its  name,  where  the  pil- 
grims at  this  day  slay  their  sacrifices.^ 

Before  we  proceed  to  the  other  idols,  let  us  take  notice  of  five  more, 
which,  with  the  former  three,  are  all  that  the  Koran  mentions  by  name,  and 
they  are  Wadd,  Sawa,  Yaghuth,  Yiiuk,  and  Nasr.  These  are  said  to  have 
been  antediluvian  idols,  which  Noah  preached  against,  and  were  afterwards 

'  Poc.  Spec.  p.  132.  '  Cap.  53.  »  Ibid.  '  Ibid.  '  Dr.  Prideaux  mentions 

this  expedition,  but  names  only  Abu  Sofian,  and  mistaking  the  name  of  the  idol  for  an 
appellative,  supposes  he  went  only  to  disarm  the  Tayefiens  of  their  weapons  and  instru- 
ments of  war.  See  his  life  of  IVIoham.  p.  98.  "^  Abulfeda,  Vit.  Moham.  p.  127. 
^  Spec.  p.  90.  *  Al  Jauhari,  apud  eund.  p.  91.  '  Al  Shahrestani.  ib.  ^  Al 
Firauzabadi.  ib.  ■"  Al  Jauhari.  '  Al  Shahrestani,  Abulfeda,  &c.  '  Al  Beidawi, 
al  Zaraakhshari.  '  Poc.  Spec.  91,  &c.  ^  Ibid. 
C 


14  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

taken  by  the  Arabs  for  gods,  having  been  men  of  great  merit  and  piely 
in  their  time,  whose  statutes  they  reverenced  at  first  with  a  civil  honour 
only,  which,  in  process  of  time,  became  heightened  to  a  divine  worship.* 

Wadd  was  supposed  to  be  the  heaven,  and  was  worshipped  under  the 
form  of  a  man  by  the  tribe  of  Calb  in  Daumat  al  Jandal.'^ 

Sawa  was  adored  under  the  shape  of  a  woman,  by  the  tribe  of  Hama- 
dan,  or,  as  others^  write,  of  Hodhail  in  Rohat.  This  idol,  lying  under 
water  for  some  time  after  the  deluge,  was  at  length,  it  is  said,  discovered 
by  the  devil,  and  was  worshipped  by  those  of  Hodhail,  who  instituted  pil- 
grimages to  it.^ 

Yaghuth  was  an  idol  in  the  shape  of  a  lion,  and  was  the  deity  of  the 
tribe  of  Madhaj  and  others  who  dwelt  in  Yaman.'^  Its  name  seems  to  be 
derived  from  ghatha,  which  signifies  to  help. 

Yiiuk  was  worshipped  by  the  tribe  of  Morad,  or  according  to  others,  by 
that  of  Hamadan,^  under  the  figure  of  a  horse.  It  is  said  he  v.as  a  man 
of  great  piety,  and  his  death  much  regretted  ;  whereupon  the  devil  ap- 
peared to  his  friends  in  a  human  form,  and  undertaking  to  represent  him 
to  the  life,  persuaded  them,  by  way  of  comfort,  to  place  his  effigies  in 
their  temples,  that  they  might  have  it  in  view  when  at  their  devotions. 
This  was  done,  and  seven  others  of  extraordinary  merit  had  the  same 
honours  shown  them,  till  at  length  their  posterity  made  idols  of  them  in 
earnest,^  The  name  Yauk  probably  comes  from  the  verb  aka,  to  prevent 
or  avert. ' 

Nasr  was  a  deity  adored  by  the  tribe  of  Hamyar,  or  at  Dhu'l  Kalaah, 
in  their  territories,  under  the  image  of  an  eagle,  which  the  name  signifies. 

There  are,  or  were,  two  statues  at  Bamiyan,  a  city  of  Cabul  in  the  In- 
dies, fifty  cubits  high,  which  some  writers  suppose  to  be  the  same  with 
Y^aghuth  and  Yauk,  or  else  wkh  Manah  and  Allat;  and  they  also  speak 
of  a  third  standing  near  the  others,  but  something  less,  in  the  shape  of 
an  old  woman,  called  Nesrem  or  Nesr.  These  statues  were  hollov/  with- 
in, for  the  secret  giving  of  oracles  f  but  they  seem  to  have  been  different 
from  the  Arabian  idols.  There  was  also  an  idol  at  Sumenat  in  the  Indies, 
called  Lat  or  al  Lat,  whose  statue  was  fifty  fathoms  high,  of  a  single 
stone,  and  placed  in  the  midst  of  a  temple  supported  by  fifty-six  pillars 
of  massy  gold  :  this  idol  Mahmud  Ebn  Sebecteghin,  who  conquered  that 
part  of  India,  broke  to  pieces  with  his  own  hands.^ 

Besides  the  idols  we  have  mentioned,  the  Arabs  worshipped  also  great 
numbers  of  others,  which  would  take  up  too  much  time  to  have  distinct 
accounts  given  of  them,  and  not  being  named  in  the  Koran,  are  not  so 
much  to  our  present  purpose  :  for  besides  that  every  housekeeper  had  his 
household  god,  or  gods,  which  he  last  took  leave  of,  and  first  saluted  at  his 
going  abroad  and  returning  home,"*  there  were  no  less  than  360  idols,^ 
equalling  in  number  the  days  of  their  year,  in  and  about  the  Caaba  of 
Mecca;  tiie  chief  of  whom  was  Hobal,'  brought  from  Belka  in  Syria, 
into  Arabia,  by  Amru  Ebn  Lohai,  pretending  it  would  procure  them  rain 
when  they  wanted  it.''  It  was  the  statue  of  a  man  made  of  red  agate, 
which  having  by  some  accident  lost  a  hand,  the  Koreish  repaired  it  with 
one  of  gold  :  he  held  in  his  hand  seven  arrows  without  heads  or  feathers, 
such  as  the  Arabs  used  in  divination,^   This  idol  is  supposed  to  have  been 

^  Koran,  c.  71.  Comment.  Persic,  Vide  Hyde  de  rel.  vet.  Pers.  p.  133.  *  Al  Jau- 
hari,  al  Staahrestnni.  ^  Idem,  al  Firauzabadi,  and  Safio'ddin.  «  Al  Firauzab.  ''  Shah- 
restani.  ^  Al  Jauhari.  '  Al  Firauzabadi.  *  Poc.  Spec.  94.  ^  See  Hyde  de  rel. 
vet.  Per?,  p.  132.  =  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  512.  *  Al  Mostatraf.  '  Al  Jan- 
nab.        «  Abulfed.  Shahrest.  &c,        '  Poc.  Spec.  95.        «  Safio'ddin. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  15 

the  same  with  the  image  of  Abraham,^  found  and  destroyed  by  Mohammed 
in  the  Caaba,  on  his  enterincr  it,  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Ilcjra,  when  he 
took  Mecca,'  and  surrounded  with  a  great  number  of  angels  and  prophets, 
as  inferior  deities;  among  whom,  as  some  say,  was  Ismael  with  divining 
arrows  in  his  hand  also. 2 

Asaf  and  Nayelah,  the  former  the  image  of  a  man,  the  latter  of  a  wo- 
man, were  also  two  idols  brought  with  Hobal  from  Syria,  and  placed 
the  one  on  mount  Safa,  and  the  other  on  mount  Merwa.  They  tell  us 
Asaf  was  the  son  of  Amru,  and  Nayelah  the  daughter  of  Sahal,  both  of 
the  tribe  of  Jorham,  who  committing  whoredom  together  in  the  Caaba, 
were  by  God  converted  into  stone,''  and  afterwards  worshipped  by  the  Ko- 
reish,  and  so  much  reverenced  by  them,  that  though  this  superstition  was 
condemned  by  Mohammed,  yet  he  was  forced  to  allow  them  to  visit  those 
mountains  as  monuments  of  divine  justice.^ 

I  shall  mention  but  one  idol  more  of  this  nation,  and  that  was  a  lump 
of  dough  worshipped  by  the  tribe  of  Hanifa ;  who  used  it  with  more  re- 
spect than  the  papists  do  theirs,  presuming  not  to  eat  it  till  they  were 
compelled  to  it  by  famine.^ 

Several  of  their  idols,  as  Manah  in  particular,  were  no  more  than  large 
rude  stones,  the  worship  of  which  the  posterity  of  Ismael  first  introduced  ; 
for  as  they  multiplied,  and  the  territory  of  Mecca  grew  too  strait  for  them, 
great  numbers  were  obliged  to  seek  new  abodes  ;  and  on  such  migrations 
it  was  usual  for  them  to  take  with  them  some  of  the  stones  of  that  reputed 
holy  land,  and  set  them  up  in  the  places  where  they  fixed ;  and  these 
stones  they  at  first  only  compassed  out  of  devotion,  as  they  had  accus- 
tomed to  do  the  Caaba.  But  this  at  last  ended  in  rank  idolatry,  the 
Ismaelites  forgetting  the  religion  left  them  by  their  father  so  far,  as  to  pay 
divine  v/orship  to  any  fine  stone  they  met  with.^ 

Some  of  the  pagan  Arabs  believed  neither  a  creation  past,  nor  a  resur- 
rection to  come,  attributing  the  origin  of  things  to  nature,  and  their  dis- 
solution to  age.  Others  believed  both;  among  whom  were  those,  who 
when  they  died  had  their  camel  tied  by  their  sepulchre,  and  so  left  with- 
out meat  or  drink  to  perish,  and  accompany  them  to  the  other  world,  lest 
they  should  be  obliged,  at  the  resurrection,  to  go  on  foot,  which  was  reck- 
oned very  scandalous.'  Some  believed  a  metempsychosis,  and  that  of  the 
blood  near  the  dead  person's  brain,  was  formed  a  bird  named  Hamah, 
which  once  in  a  hundred  years  visited  the  sepulchre ;  though  others  say, 
this  bird  is  animated  by  the  soul  of  him  that  is  unjustly  slain,  and  conti- 
nually cries,  "  Oscuni,  Oscuni,"  that  is,  "  Give  me  to  drink,"  meaning  of 
the  murderer's  blood,  till  his  death  be  revenged;  and  then  it  flies  away. 
This  was  forbidden  by  Mohammed  to  be  believed.^ 

I  might  here  mention  several  superstitious  rites  and  customs  of  the 
ancient  Arabs,  some  of  which  were  abolished,  and  others  retained  by  Mo- 
hammed ;  but  I  apprehend  it  will  be  more  convenient  to  take  notice  of 
them  hereafter  occasionally,  as  the  negative  or  positive  precepts  of  the 
Koran,  forbidding  or  allowing  such  practices,  shall  be  considered. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  view  from  the  idolatrous  Arabs,  to  those  among 
them,  who  had  embraced  more  rational  religions. 

Tiie  Persians  had,  by  their  vicinity  and  frequent  intercourse  with  the 
Arabians,  introduced  the  Magian  religion  among  some  of  their  tribes,  par- 

»  Poc.  Spec.  97.  '  Abulfeda.  ^  Ebn  al  Athir.  al  Jannab.  &c.  ^  Poo.  Spec.  98. 
*  Koran,  cap.  2.  *  Al  Mostatraf,  al  Jauhari.  ^  Al  Mostatraf.  al  Jannabi.  '  Abul- 
farag.  p.  IGO.        ^  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  135. 


16  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

ticularly  {hat  of  Tamin,^  a  long  time  before  Mohammed,  who  was  so  far 
from  being  unacquainted  with  that  religion,  that  he  borrowed  many  of  his 
own  institutions  from  it,  as  will  be  observed  in  the  progress  of  this  work. 
I  refer  those  w  ho  arc  desirous  to  have  some  notion  of  Magism  to  Dr. 
Hyde's  curious  account  of  it;'  a  succinct  abridgement  of  which  may  be 
read  with  much  pleasure,  in  another  learned  performance.^ 

The  Jews,  who  fled  in  great  numbers  into  Arabia,  from  the  fearful  de- 
struction of  their  country  by  the  Romans,  made  proselytes  of  several  tribes, 
those  of  Kenanah,  al  Hareth  Ebn  Caaba,  and  Kendah^  in  particular,  and 
in  time  became  very  powerful,  and  possessed  of  several  towns  and  fort- 
resses there.  But  the  Jewish  religion  was  not  unknown  to  the  Arabs,  at 
least  above  a  century  before  ;  Abu  Carb  Asad,  taken  notice  of  in  the  Ko- 
ran,* who  was  king  of  Yaman,  about  700  years  before  Mohammed,  is  said 
to  have  introduced  Judaism  among  the  idolatrous  Hamyarites.  Some  of 
his  successors  also  embraced  the  same  religion,  one  of  whom,  Yusef,  sur- 
named  Dhu  Nowas,^  was  remarkable  for  his  zeal,  and  terrible  persecution 
of  all  who  would  not  turn  Jews,  putting  them  to  death  by  various  tor- 
tures, the  most  common  of  which  was  throwing  them  into  a  glowing  pit 
of  fire,  whence  he  had  the  opprobrious  appellation  of  the  "  Lord  of  the 
pit."     This  persecution  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Koran.* 

Christianity  had  likewise  made  a  very  great  progress  among  this  nation, 
before  Mohammed.  Whether  St.  Paul  preached  in  any  part  of  Arabia,  pro- 
perly so  called,'  is  uncertain;  but  the  persecutions  and  disorders  which 
happened  in  the  eastern  church,  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the  third 
century,  obliged  great  numbers  of  Christians  to  seek  for  shelter  in  that 
country  of  liberty  ;  who  being  for  the  most  part  of  the  Jacobite  communion, 
that  sect  generally  prevailed  among  the  Arabs.^  The  principal  tribes  that 
embraced  Christianity  were  Hamyar,  Ghassan,  Rabia,  Taghlab,  Bara,  To- 
nuch,^  part  of  the  tribes  of  Tay  and  Kodaa,  the  inhabitants  of  Najran, 
and  the  Arabs  of  Hira.'  As  to  the  two  last,  it  may  be  observed,  that 
those  of  Najran  became  Christians  in  the  time  of  Dhu  Nowas,^  and  very 
probably,  if  the  story  be  true,  were  some  of  those  who  were  converted  on 
the  following  occasion,  which  happened  about  that  time,  or  not  long  before. 
The  Jews  of  Hamyar  challenged  some  neighbouring  Christians  to  a  public 
disputation,  which  was  held  sub  dio  for  three  days,  before  the  king  and  his 
nobility,  and  all  the  people;  the  disputants  being  Gregcntius,  bishop  of 
Tephra  (which  I  take  to  be  Dhafar)  for  the  Christians,  and  Herbanus  for 
the  Jews.  On  the  third  day,  Herbanus,  to  end  the  dispute,  demanded  that 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  if  he  were  really  living,  and  in  heaven,  and  could  hear 
the  prayers  of  his  worshippers,  should  appear  from  heaven  in  their  sight, 
and  they  would  then  believe  him ;  the  Jews  crying  out  with  one  voice, 
"  Show  us  your  Christ,  alas,  and  we  will  become  Christians."  Whereupon, 
after  a  terrible  storm  of  thunder  and  lightning,  Jesus  Christ  appeared  in 
the  air,  surrounded  with  rays  of  glory,  walking  on  a  purple  cloud,  having  a 
sword  in  his  hand,  and  an  inestimable  diadem  on  his  head,  and  spake  these 
words  over  the  heads  of  the  assembly — "  Behold  I  appear  to  you  in  your 
sight,  I,  who  was  crucified  by  your  fathers."  After  which  the  cloud  re- 
ceived him  from  their  sight.    The  Christians  cried  out, "  Kyrie  eleeson," 

*  Al  Mostatraf.  '  In  his  Hist,  relig.  vet.  Persar.  '^  Dr.  Prideaux's  Connect,  of  the 
Old  and  New  Test.  Part.  I.  Book  4.  ^  Al  Mostatraf.  *  Chap.  50.  >  See  before, 
p.  8.  and  Baronii  annal.  ad  sect.  6.  «  Chap.  85.  ■"  See  Gal.  i.  17.  '  Abulfarag. 

p.  149.  »  Al  Mostatraf.  '  Vide  Poe.  Spec.  p.  137.  *  Al  Jannab.  apud  Poc.  Spec, 
p.  63. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  17 

that  is,  "  Lord  have  mercy  upon  us!"  but  the  Jews  were  stricken  blind, 
and  recovered  not,  till  they  were  all  baptized.^ 

The  Christians  atllira  received  a  great  accession  by  several  tribes,  who 
fled  thither  for  refuge  from  tlie  persecution  of  Dhu  Nowas.  Al  Nooman, 
surnained  Abu  Kabus,  king  of  llira,  who  was  slain  a  few  months  before 
Mohammed's  birth,  professed  himself  a  Christian  on  the  following  occasion. 
This  prince,  in  a  drunken  fit,  ordered  two  of  his  intimate  companions,  who 
overcome  with  liquor  had  fallen  asleep,  to  be  buried  alive.  When  he  came 
to  himself,  he  was  extremely  concerned  at  what  he  had  done,  and  to  expiate 
his  crime,  not  only  raised  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  his  friends,  but  set 
apart  two  days,  one  of  which  he  called  the  unforlimate,  and  tiie  other  the 
fortunate  day ;  making  it  a  perpetual  rule  to  himself,  that  whoever  met  him 
on  the  former  day  should  be  slain,  and  his  blood  sprinkled  on  the  monu- 
ment, but  he  that  met  him  on  the  other  day  should  be  dismissed  in  safety 
with  magnificent  gifts.  On  one  of  these  unfortunate  days,  there  came  be- 
fore him  accidentally  an  Arab,  of  the  tribe  of  Tay,  who  had  once  enter- 
tained this  king,  when  fatigued  with  hunting,  and  separated  from  his  at- 
tendants. The  king,  who  could  neither  discharge  him,  contrary  to  the 
order  of  the  day,  nor  put  him  to  death,  against  the  laws  of  hosi)itality, 
which  the  Arabians  religiously  observe,  proposed,  as  an  expedient,  to  give- 
the  unhappy  man  a  year's  respite,  and  to  send  him  home  with  rich  gifts, 
for  the  support  of  his  family,  on  condition  that  he  found  a  surety  for  his 
returning  at  the  year's  end,  to  suffer  death.  One  of  the  prince's  court, 
out  of  compassion,  offered  himself  as  his  surety,  and  the  Arab  was  dis- 
charged. When  the  last  day  of  the  term  came,  and  no  news  of  the  Arab, 
the  king,  not  at  all  displeased  to  save  his  host's  life,  ordered  the  surety  to 
prepare  himself  to  die.  Those  who  were  by  represented  to  the  king  that 
the  day  was  not  yet  expired,  and  therefore  he  ought  to  have  patience  till 
the  evening:  but  in  the  middle  of  their  discourse,  the  Arab  appeared. 
The  king,  admiring  the  man's  generosity,  in  offering  himself  to  certain 
death,  which  he  might  have  avoided  by  letting  his  surety  suffer,  asked 
him,  what  was  his  motive  for  so  doing?  to  which  he  answered,  that  he 
had  been  taught  to  act  in  that  manner,  by  the  religion  he  professed  ;  and 
al  Nooman  demanding  what  religion  that  was,  he  replied  the  Christian. 
Whereupon  the  king,  desiring  to  have  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  ex- 
plained to  him,  was  baptized,  he  and  his  subjects  ;  and  not  only  pardoned 
the  man  and  his  surety,  but  abolished  his  barbarous  custom.^  This  prince, 
however,  was  not  the  first  king  of  Hira  who  embraced  Christianity;  al 
Mondar,  his  grandfather,  having  also  professed  the  same  faith,  and  built 
large  churches  in  his  capital.^ 

Since  Christianity  had  made  so  great  a  progress  in  Arabia,  we  may  con- 
sequently suppose  they  had  bishops  in  several  parts,  for  the  more  orderly 
governing  of  the  churches.  A  bishop  of  Dhafar  has  been  already  named, 
and  we  are  told  that  Najran  was  also  a  bishop's  see.®  The  Jacobites  (of 
which  sect  we  have  observed  the  Arabs  generally  were)  had  two  bishops  of 
the  Arabs  subject  to  their  Mafrian,  or  metropolitan  of  the  east;  one  was 
called  the  bishop  of  the  Arabs  absolutely,  whose  seat  was  for  the  most  part 
at  Akula,  which  some  authors  make  the  same  with  Cufa,'^  others  a  different 
town  near  Baghdad.^  The  other  had  the  title  of  the  Bishop  of  the  Scenite 
Arabs,  of  the  tribe  of  Thaalab  in  Hira,  or  Ilirta,  as  the  Syrians  call  it,  whose 
seat  was  in  that  city.     The  Nestorians  had  but  one  bishop,  who  presided 

^  Vide  Gregentii  disput.  cum  Herbano  Judaco.  *  Al  Meidani  and  Ahmed  Ebn  Yuset", 
apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  72.  '  Abult'eda  ap.  eund.  p.  74.  "^  Safio'ddin  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p. 
137.        '  Abulfarag.  in  Chron.  Syriac,  ES.        *  Abulfeda  in  descr.  Iracae. 


18  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

over  both  these  dioceses,  of  Hira  and  Akula,  and  was  immediately  sub- 
ject to  tiieir  patriarch.^ 

These  were  the  principal  religions  which  obtained  among  the  ancient 
Arabs;  but  as  freedom  of  thought  was  the  natural  consequence  of  their 
political  liberty  and  independence,  some  of  them  fell  into  other  different 
opinions.  The  Koreish,  in  particular,  were  infected  with  Zendicism,^  an 
error  supposed  to  have  very  near  affinity  with  that  of  the  Sadducces  among 
the  Jews,  and,  perhaps,  not  greatly  different  from  deism  ;  for  there  were 
several  of  that  tribe,  even  before  the  time  of  Mohammed,  who  worship- 
ped one  God,  and  were  free  from  idolatry ,2  and  yet  embraced  none  of  the 
other  religions  of  the  country. 

The  Arabians  before  Mohammed  were,  as  they  yet  are,  divided  into  two 
sorts,  those  who  dwell  in  cities  and  towns,  and  those  who  dwell  in  tents. 
The  former  lived  by  tillage,  the  cultivation  of  palm  trees,  breeding  and 
feeding  of  cattle,  and  the  exercise  of  all  sorts  of  trades,'  particularly  mer- 
chandizing,^ Avherein  they  were  very  eminent,  even  in  the  time  of  Jacob. 
The  tribe  of  Koreish  were  much  addicted  to  commerce,  and  Moiiammed, 
in  his  younger  years,  was  brought  up  to  the  same  business  ;  it  being  cus- 
tomary for  the  Arabians  to  exercise  the  same  trade  that  their  parents  did.^ 
The  Arabs  who  dwelt  in  tents  employed  themselves  in  pasturage,  and 
sometimes  in  pillaging  of  passengers ;  they  lived  chiefly  on  the  milk  and 
flesh  of  camels;  they  often  changed  habitations,  as  the  convenience  of 
water  and  of  pasture  for  their  cattle  invited  them,  staying  in  a  place  no 
longer  than  that  lasted,  and  then  removing  in  search  of  other.^  They 
generally  wintered  in  Irak,  and  the  confines  of  Syria.  This  way  of  life 
is  what  the  greater  part  of  Ismael's  posterity  have  used,  as  more  agreea- 
ble to  the  temper  and  way  of  life  of  their  father;  and  is  so  well  described 
by  a  late  author,T  that  I  cannot  do  better  than  refer  the  reader  to  his  ac- 
count of  them. 

The  Arabic  language  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  the 
world,  and  arose  soon  after,  if  not  at,  the  confusion  of  Babel.  There  were 
several  dialects  of  it,  very  different  from  each  other  :  the  most  remarkable 
were  that  spoken  by  the  tribes  of  Hamyar  and  the  other  genuine  Arabs,  and 
that  of  the  Koreish.  The  Hamyaritic  seems  to  have  approached  nearer  to 
the  purity  of  the  Syriac  than  the  dialect  of  any  other  tribe  ;  for  the  Arabs 
acknowledge  their  father  Yarab  to  have  been  the  first  whose  tongue  devi- 
ated from  the  Syriac  (which  was  his  mother  tongue,  and  is  almost  gene- 
rally acknowledged  by  the  Asiatics  to  be  the  most  ancient)  to  the  Arabic. 
The  dialect  of  the  Koreish  is  usually  termed  the  pure  Arabic,  or,  as  the 
Koran,  which  is  written  in  this  dialect,  calls  it,  the  perspicuous  and  clear 
Arabic;  perhaps,  says  Dr.  Pocock,  because  Ismael,  their  father,  brought 
the  Arabic  he  had  learned  of  the  Jorhamites  nearer  to  the  original  He- 
brew. But  the  politeness  and  elegance  of  the  dialect  of  the  Koreish  is 
rather  to  be  attributed  to  their  having  the  custody  of  the  Caaba,  and  dwell- 
ing in  Mecca,  the  centre  of  Arabia  ;  as  well  more  remote  from  intercourse 
with  foreigners,  who  might  corrupt  their  language,  as  frequented  by  the 
Arabs  from  the  country  all  around,  not  only  on  a  religious  account,  but  also 
for  the  composing  of  their  differences,  from  whose  discourse  and  verses 

'  Vide  Assemani  Bibl.  Orient.  T.  2.  in  Dissert,  de  Monophysitis ;  and  p.  459.  *  Al 

Mnstatraf,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  136.  '^  Vide  Reland.  de  Relig.  Moham.  p.  270,  and 

Millium  de  Mohammedismo  ante  Moham.  p.  311.  ^  These  seem  to  be  the  same  whom 
J\I.  La  Roque  calls  Moors.  Vov.  dans  la  Palestine,  p.  110.  "  See  Prideaux's  Life  of 
Moham.  p.  6.  =  Strabo,  Hb.  16.  p.  1129.  «  lb.  lib.  16,  p.  1084.  '  La  Roque, 

Voyage  dans  la  Palestine,  p.  109,  &c. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  10 

Ihey  took  whatever  words  or  phrases  they  judged  more  pure  and  elegant  ; 
by  which  means  the  beauties  of  the  whole  tongue  became  transfused  into 
this  dialect.  The  Arabians  are  full  of  the  commendations  of  their  Ian- 
guage,  and  not  altogether  without  reason  ;  for  it  claims  the  preference  of 
most  others  in  many  respects,  as  being  very  harmonious  and  expressive, 
and  withal  so  copious,  that  they  say  no  man,  without  inspiration,  can  be 
perfect  master  of  it  in  its  utmost  extent;  and  yet  they  tell  us,  at  the  same 
time,  that  the  greatest  part  of  it  has  been  lost ;  which  will  not  be  thought 
strange  if  we  consider  how  late  the  art  of  writing  was  practised  among 
them.  For  though  it  was  known  to  Job,^  their  countryman,  and  also  to 
the  Hamyarites  (who  used  a  perplexed  character  called  al  Mosnad,  where- 
in the  letters  were  not  distinctly  separate,  and  which  was  neither  publicly 
taught,  nor  suffered  to  be  used  without  permission  first  obtained)  many 
centuries  before  Mohammed,  as  appears  from  some  ancient  monuments 
said  to  be  remaining  in  their  character;  yet  the  other  Arabs,  and  those 
of  Mecca  in  particular,  were,  for  many  ages,  perfectly  ignorant  of  it,  un- 
less such  of  them  as  were  Jews  or  Christians  :^  Moramer  Ebn  Morra  of 
Anbar,  a  city  of  Irak,  who  lived  not  many  years  before  Mohammed,  was 
the  inventor  of  the  Arabic  character,  which  Bashar  the  Kendian  is  said  to 
have  learned  from  those  of  Anbar,  and  to  have  introduced  at  Mecca  but 
a  little  while  before  the  institution  of  Mohammedism.  These  letters  of 
Moramer  were  ditlerent  from  the  Hamyaritic  ;  and  though  they  were  very 
rude,  being  either  the  same  with  or  very  much  like  the  Cufic,"  which 
character  is  still  found  in  inscriptions,  and  some  ancient  books,  yet  they 
were  those  which  the  Arabs  used  for  many  years,  the  Koran  itself  being 
at  first  written  therein;  for  the  beautiful  character  they  now  use  was  first 
formed  from  the  Cufic  by  Ebn  Moklah,  Wazir  (or  Visir)  to  the  Khalifs  al 
Moktader,  al  Kaher,  and  al  Radi,  who  lived  about  300  years  after  Mo- 
hammed, and  was  brought  to  great  perfection  by  Ali  Ebn  Bowab,^  who 
flourished  in  the  following  century,  and  whose  name  is  yet  famous  among 
them  on  that  account;  yet  it  is  said,  the  person  who  completed  it,  and 
reduced  it  to  its  present  form,  was  Yakut  al  Mostasemi,  secretary  to  al 
Mostasem,  the  last  of  the  Khalifs  of  the  family  of  Abbas,  for  w^hich  rea- 
son he  was  surnamed  al  Khattat,  or  the  scribe. 

The  accomplishments  the  Arabs  valued  themselves  chiefly  on  were, 
1.  Eloquence,  and  a  perfect  skill  in  their  own  tongue  ;  2.  Expertness  in  the 
use  of  arms  and  horsemanship;  and,  3.  Hospitality.^  The  first  they  exer- 
cised themselves  in  by  composing  of  orations  and  poems.  'J'heir  orations 
were  of  two  sorts,  metrical,  or  prosaic,  the  one  being  compared  to  pearls 
strung,  and  tlie  other  to  loose  ones.  They  endeavoured  to  excel  in  both, 
and  whoever  was  able,  in  an  assembly,  to  persuade  the  people  to  a  great  en- 
terprise, or  dissuade  them  from  a  dangerous  one,  or  gave  them  other  whole- 
some advice,  was  honoured  with  the  title  of  Khateb,  or  orator,  which  is  now 
given  to  the  Mohammedan  preachers.  They  pursued  a  method  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  orators;  their  sentences  being 
like  loose  gems,  without  connexion,  so  that  this  sort  of  composition  struck 
the  audience  chiefly  by  the  fulness  of  the  periods,  the  elegance  of  the  ex- 
.pression,  and  the  acuteness  of  the  proverbial  sayings;  and  so  persuaded 
were  they  of  their  excelling  in  this  way,  that  they  would  not  allow  any 
nation  to  understand  the  art  of  speaking  in  public  except  themselves  and 

"  Job  xix.  23,  24.  ^  See  Prideaux's  life  of  .Moliam.  p.  29,  30.  '  A  sjiecimen  of 

the  Cufic  character  may  be  seen  in  Sir  J.  Chardiii's  travels,  vol.  ill.  p.  119.  -  Ebn 

Khalican.  Yet  others  attribute  the  honour  of  the  invention  of  this  character  to  Ebn  Mok- 
lah's  brother,  Abdallah  al  Hasan;  and  the  perfecting  of  it  to  lObn  Amid  al  K'atrh,  after 
it  had  been  reduced  to  near  the  present  form  by  Abd'alhaniid.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl. 
Orient,  p.  590,  108,  and  194.  '  Poc.  Orat.  ante  Carmen  Tograi,  p.  10. 


20  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

the  Persians,  which  last  were  reckoned  much  inferior  in  that  respect  to  the 
Arabians.'*  Poetry  was  in  so  great  esteem  among  them,  that  it  was  a  great 
accomplishment,  and  a  proof  of  ingenuous  extraction  to  be  able  to  ex- 
press one's  self  in  verse  with  ease  and  elegance  on  any  extraordinary  oc- 
currence, and  even  in  their  common  discourse  they  made  frequent  appli- 
cations of  celebrated  passages  of  their  famous  poets.  In  their  poems  were 
preserved  the  distinction  of  descents,  the  rights  of  tribes,  the  memory  of 
great  actions,  and  the  propriety  of  their  language  ;  for  which  reasons  an 
excellent  poet  reflected  an  honour  on  his  tribe,  so  that  as  soon  as  anyone 
began  to  be  admired  for  his  performances  of  this  kind  in  a  tribe,  the  other 
tribes  sent  publicly  to  congratulate  them  on  the  occasion,  and  themselves 
made  entertainments,  at  which  the  women  assisted,  dressed  in  their  nuptial 
ornaments,  singing  to  the  sound  of  timbrels  the  happiness  of  their  tribe, 
who  had  now  one  to  protect  their  honour,  to  preserve  their  genealogies 
and  the  purity  of  their  language,  and  to  transmit  their  actions  to  posterity ,5 
for  this  was  all  performed  by  their  poems,  to  which  they  were  solely  obliged 
for  their  knowledge  and  instructions,  moral  and  economical,  and  to  which 
they  had  recourse,  as  to  an  oracle,  in  all  doubts  and  differences.^  No 
wonder  then  that  a  public  congratulation  was  made  on  this  account,  which 
honour  they  yet  were  so  far  from  making  cheap,  that  they  never  did  it  but 
on  one  of  these  three  occasions,  which  wer€  reckoned  great  points  of  fe- 
licity ;  viz.  on  the  birth  of  a  boy,  the  rise  of  a  poet,  and  the  fall  of  a  foal 
of  generous  breed.  To  keep  up  an  emulation  among  their  poets,  the  tribes 
had,  once  a  year,  a  general  assembly  at  Ocadh,'  a  place  famous  on  this 
account,  and  where  they  kept  a  weekly  mart  or  fair,  which  was  held  on 
our  Sunday. 8  This  annual  meeting  lasted  a  whole  month,  during  which 
time  they  employed  themselves,  not  only  in  trading,  but  in  repeating  their 
poetical  compositions,  contending  and  vying  with  each  other  for  the  prize  ; 
Avhence  the  place,  it  is  said,  took  its  name.^  The  poems  that  were  judged 
to  excel  were  laid  up  in  their  king's  treasuries,  as  were  the  seven  cele- 
brated poems,  thence  called  al  Moallakat,  rather  than  from  their  being 
hung  up  on  the  Caaba,  which  honour  they  also  had  by  public  order,  being 
written  on  Egyptian  silk,  and  in  letters  of  gold;  for  which  reason  they 
had  also  the  name  of  al  Modhahabat,  or  the  golden  verses.' 

The  fair  and  assembly  at  Ocadh  were  suppressed  by  Mohammed,  in 
whose  time,  and  for  some  years  after,  poetry  seems  to  have  been  in  some 
degree  neglected  by  the  Arabs,  who  were  then  employed  in  their  conquests; 
which  being  completed,  and  themselves  at  peace,  not  only  this  study  was 
revived,^  but  almost  all  sorts  of  learning  were  encouraged  and  greatly  im- 
proved by  them.  This  interruption,  however,  occasioned  the  loss  of  most 
of  their  ancient  pieces  of  poetry,  which  were  then  chiefly  preserved  by 
memory,  the  use  of  writing  being  rare  among  them  in  their  time  of  igno- 
rance.^ Though  the  Arabs  were  so  early  acquainted  with  poetry,  they  did 
not  at  first  use  to  write  poems  of  a  just  length,  but  only  expressed  them- 
selves in  verse  occasionally  ;  nor  was  their  prosody  digested  into  rules  till 
some  time  after  Mohammed  ;^  for  this  was  done,  as  it  is  said,  by  al  Khalil 
Ahmed  al  Farahidi,  who  lived  in  the  reign  of  the  Khalif  Hariln  al  Rashid.' 

*  Poc.  Spec.  161.  5  Ebn  Rashik,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  160.  «  Poc.  Orat.  praefix. 

Carm.  Tograi,  ubi  supra.  '  Idem,  Spec.  p.  159.  *  Geogr.  Nub.  p.  51.  '  Poc. 

Spec.  159.  '  Ibid,  and  p.  381.  Et  in  calce  Notar.  in  Carmen  Tograi,  p.  233.  '^  Jal- 
lalo'ddin  al  Soyuti,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  159,  &c.  =  lb.  160.  ^  lb.  161.     Al  Safadi 

confirms  this  by  a  story  of  a  grammarian,  named  Abu  Jaafar,  who  sitting  by  the  Mikyas 
or  Nilometer  in  Egypt,  in  a  year  when  the  Nile  did  not  rise  to  its  usual  height,  so  that 
a  famine  was  apprehended,  and  dividing  a  piece  of  poetry  into  its  parts  or  feet,  to  examine 
them  by  the  rules  of  art,  some  who  passed  by,  not  understanding  him,  imagined  he  was 
uttering  a  charm  to  hinder  the  rise  of  the  river,  and  pushed  him  into  the  water,  where  he 
lost  his  life.     *  Vide  Clericum  de  Prosod.  Arab.  p.  2. 


SECT.  I.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  21 

The  exercise  of  arms  and  horsemanship  they  were  in  a  manner  obliged 
to  practise  and  encourage,  by  reason  of  the  independence  of  their  tribes, 
whose  frequent  jarrings  made  wars  ahiiost  continual ;  and  they  chiefly 
ended  their  disputes  in  field  battles  ;  it  being  an  usual  saying  among  them, 
that  God  had  bestowed  four  peculiar  things  on  the  Arabs,  that  their  tur- 
bans should  be  to  them  instead  of  diadems,  their  tents  instead  of  walls 
and  houses,  their  swords  instead  of  intrenchments,  and  their  poems  in- 
stead of  written  laws.^ 

Hospitality  was  so  habitual  to  them,  and  so  much  esteemed,  that  the 
examples  of  this  kind  among  them  exceed  whatever  can  be  produced  from 
other  nations.  Hatem  of  the  tribe  of  Tay,^  and  Hasn  of  that  of  Fezarah,^ 
were  particularly  famous  on  this  account ;  and  the  contrary  vice  was  so 
much  in  contempt,  that  a  certain  poet  upbraids  the  inhabitants  of  VVaset, 
as  with  the  greatest  reproach,  that  none  of  their  men  had  the  heart  to  give, 
nor  their  women  the  heart  to  deny.^ 

Nor  were  the  Arabs  less  prepense  to  liberality  after  the  coming  of  Mo- 
hammed than  their  ancestors  had  been.     I  could  produce  many  remark- 
able  instances  of  this  commendable  quality  among  them,'  hut  shall  content 
myself  with  the  following.    Three  men  were  disputing  in  the  court  of  the 
Caaba  which  was  the  most  liberal  person  among  the  Arabs.    One  gave  the 
preference  to  Abdallah,  the  son  of  Jaafar,  the  uncle  of  Mohammed  ;  an- 
other to  Kais  Ebn  Saad  Ebn  Obadah  ;  and  the  third  gave  it  to  Arabah  of 
the  tribe  of  Aws.     After  much  debate,  one  that  was  present,  to  end  the 
dispute,  proposed  that  each  of  them  should  go  to  his  friend  and  ask  his 
assistance,  that  they  might  see  what  every  one  gave,  and  form  a  judgment 
accordingly.     This  was  agreed  to;  and  Abdallah's  friend  going  to  him, 
found  him  with  his  foot  in  the  stirrup,  just  mounting  his  camel  for  a  jour- 
ney, and  thus  accosted  him  :  Son  of  the  uncle  of  the  apostle  of  God,  I  am 
travelling  and  in  necessity.    Upon  which  Abdallah  alighted,  and  bid  him 
take  the  camel  with  all  that  was  upon  her,  but  desired  him  not  to  part 
with  a  sword  that  happened  to  be  fixed  to  the  saddle,  because  it  had  be- 
longed to  Ali  the  son  of  Abutaleb.     So  he  took  the  camel,  and  found  on 
her  some  vests  of  silk,  and  four  thousand  pieces  of  gold  ;  but  the  thing  of 
greatest  value  was  the  sword.    The  second  went  to  Kais  Ebn  Saad,  whose 
servant  told  him  that  his  master  was  asleep,  and  desired  to  know  his  bu- 
siness.   The  friend  answered  that  he  came  to  ask  Kais's  assistance,  being 
in  want  on  the  road.     Whereupon  the  servant  said,  that  he  had  rather 
supply  his  necessity  than  wake  his  master,  and  gave  him  a  purse  of  seven 
thousand  pieces  of  gold,  assuring  him  that  it  was  all  the  money  then  in  the 
house.     He  also  directed  him  to  go  to  those  who  had  the  charge  of  the 
camels,  with  a  certain  token,  and  take  a  camel,  and  a  slave,  and  return 
home  with  them.     When  Kais  awoke,  and  his  servant  informed  him  of 
what  he  had  done,  he  gave  him  his  freedom,  and  asked  him  why  he  did 
not  call  him,  for,  says  he,  I  would  have  given  him  more.    The  thi  d  man 
went  to  Arabah,  and  met  him  coming  out  of  his  house,  in  order  to  go  to 
prayers,  and  leaning  on  two  slaves,  because  his  eye-sight  failed  him.    The 
friend  no  sooner  made  known  his  case,  but  Arabah  let  go  the  slaves,  and 
clapping  his  hands  together,  loudly  lamented  his  misfortune  in  having  no 
money,  but  desired  him  to  take  the  two  slaves;  which  the  man  refused 
to  do,  till  Arabah  protested  that  if  he  would  not  accept  of  them,  he  gave 


G  Pocock.  in  calce  Notar.  ad  Carmen  Tograi.  '  Vide  Gentii  Noias  in  Gulistan  sheikh 
Sadi,  p.  4^6.  &c.  «  Poc.  Spec.  p.  48.  ^  Ebn  al  Hobeirali,  apud  Poc.  in  Not.  ad  Lar- 
men  Tograi,  p.  107.  '  Several  may  be  found  in  D'Herbelot's  Bibl.  Orient,  particularly 
in  the  articles  of  Hasan  the  son  of  Ali,  Maan,  Fadhel,  and  Ebn  Yahya. 


22  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  i. 

them  their  liberty ;  and,  leaving  the  slaves,  groped  his  way  along  by  the 
wall.  On  the  return  of  the  adventurers,  judgment  was  unanimously,  and 
with  great  justice,  given  by  all  who  were  present,  that  Arabah  was  the 
most  generous  of  the  three. 

Nor  were  these  the  only  good  qualities  of  the  Arabs ;  they  are  com- 
mended by  the  ancients  for  being  most  exact  to  their  words,^  and  respect- 
ful to  their  kindred.^  And  they  have  always  been  celebrated  for  their 
quickness  of  apprehension  and  penetration,  and  the  vivacity  of  their  wit; 
especially  those  of  the  desert."* 

As  the  Arabs  had  their  excellencies,  so  have  they,  like  other  nations, 
their  defects  and  vices.  Their  own  writers  acknowledge  that  they  have  a 
natural  disposition  to  war,  bloodshed,  cruelty  and  rapine  ;  being  so  much 
addicted  to  bear  malice,  that  they  scarce  ever  forget  an  old  grudge  ;  wliich 
vindictive  temper  some  physicians  say  is  occasioned  by  their  frequent 
feeding  on  camel's  flesh  (the  ordinary  diet  of  the  Arabs  of  the  desert,  who 
are  therefore  observed  to  be  most  inclined  to  these  vices),  that  creature 
being  most  malicious  and  tenacious  of  anger  ;5  which  account  suggests  a 
good  reason  for  a  distinction  of  meats. 

The  frequent  robberies  committed  by  these  people  on  merchants  and 
travellers  have  rendered  the  name  of  an  Arab  almost  infamous  in  Europe  ; 
this  they  are  sensible  of,  and  endeavour  to  excuse  themselves  by  alleging 
the  hard  usage  of  their  father  Ismael,  who  being  turned  out  of  doors  by 
Abraham,  had  the  open  plains  and  deserts  given  him  by  God  for  his  patri- 
mony, with  permission  to  take  whatever  he  could  find  there.  And  on  this 
account  they  think  they  may,  with  a  safe  conscience,  indemnify  them- 
selves, as  well  as  they  can,  not  only  on  the  posterity  of  Isaac,  but  also  on 
every  body  else  ;  always  supposing  a  sort  of  kindred  between  themselves 
and  those  they  plunder.  And  in  relating  their  adventures  of  this  kind, 
they  think  it  sufficient  to  change  the  expression,  and  instead  of,  I  robbed 
a  man  of  such  or  such  a  thing,  to  say,  I  gained  it.^  We  must  not,  how- 
ever, imagine  that  they  are  the  less  honest  for  this  among  themselves,  or 
towards  those  whom  they  receive  as  friends  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  strictest 
probity  is  observed  in  their  camp,  where  everything  is  open,  and  nothing 
ever  known  to  be  stolen."^ 

The  sciences  the  Arabians  chiefly  cultivated  before  Mohammedism  were 
three  ;  that  of  their  genealogies  and  history,  such  a  knowledge  of  the  stars 
as  to  foretell  the  changes  of  weather,  and  the  interpretation  of  dreams.^ 
They  used  to  value  themselves  excessively  on  account  of  the  nobility  of 
their  families,  and  so  many  disputes  happened  on  that  occasion,  that  it  is 
no  wonder  if  they  took  great  pains  in  settling  their  descents.  What  know- 
ledge they  had  of  the  stars  was  gathered  from  long  experience,  and  not 
from  any  regular  study,  or  astronomical  rules.^  The  Arabians,  as  the  In- 
dians also  did,  chiefly  applied  themselves  to  observe  the  fixed  stars,  con- 
trary to  other  nations,  whose  observations  were  almost  confined  to  the 
planets;  and  they  foretold  their  efl'ects  from  their  influences,  not  their 
nature  ;  and  hence,  as  has  been  said,  arose  the  difference  of  the  idolatry  of 
the  Greeks  and  Chaldeans,  who  chiefly  worshipped  the  planets,  and  that 
of  the  Indians,  who  worshipped  the  fixed  stars.  The  stars  or  asterisms 
they  most  usually  foretold  the  weather  by  were  those  they  call  anvva,  or 
the  houses  of  the  moon.     These  are  twenty-eight  in  number,  and  divide 

2  Herodot.  lib.  iii.  c.  8.  ^  Strabo,  lib.  xvi.  p.  1129.  '.Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient, 
p.  121.  '  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  87.     Bochart,  Hierozoic,  lib.  ii.  c.  1.  "^  Voyage  dans 

la  Palest,  p.  220,  &c.  '  Ibid.  p.  213,  &c.  «  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Pocock  Orat. 

ubi  sup.  p.  9,  and  Spec.  164.        '  Abulfarag,  p.  161. 


SECT.  11.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  23 

the  zodiac  into  as  many  parts,  through  one  of  which  the  moon  passes 
every  night;'  as  some  of  them  set  in  the  morning,  others  rise  opposite  to 
them,  Avhicii  happens  every  thirteenth  night,  and  from  their  rising  and 
setting  the  Arabs,  by  long  experience,  observed  what  changes  happened 
in  the  air;  and  at  length,  as  lias  been  said,  came  to  ascribe  divine  power 
to  them,  saying,  that  their  rain  was  from  such  or  such  a  star;  which  ex- 
pression Mohammed  condemned,  and  absolutely  forbade  them  to  use  it  in 
the  old  sense,  unless  they  meant  no  more  by  it  than  that  God  had  so 
ordered  the  seasons,  that  when  the  moon  was  in  such  or  such  a  mansion 
or  house,  or  at  the  rising  or  setting  of  such  and  such  a  star,  it  should  rain 
or  be  windy,  hot  or  cold.^ 

The  old  Arabians,  therefore,  seem  to  have  made  no  further  progress  in 
astronomy,  which  science  they  afterwards  cultivated  with  so  much  success 
and  apphiuse,  than  to  observe  the  influence  of  the  stars  on  the  weather,  and 
to  give  them  names ;  and  this  it  was  obvious  for  them  to  do  by  reason  of 
their  pastoral  way  of  life,  lying  night  and  day  in  the  open  plains.  The 
names  tliey  imposed  on  the  stars  generally  alluded  to  cattle  and  flocks,  and 
they  were  so  nice  in  distinguishing  them,  that  no  language  has  so  many 
names  of  stars  and  asterisms  as  the  Arabic  ;  for  though  they  have  since 
borrowed  the  names  of  several  constellations  from  the  Greeks,  yet  the  far 
greater  part  are  of  their  own  growth,  and  much  more  ancient,  particularly 
those  of  the  raofe  conspicuous  stars,  dispersed  in  several  constellations, 
and  those  of  the  lesser  constellations  which  are  contained  within  the 
greater,  and  were  not  observed  or  named  by  the  Greeks.^ 

Thus  have  I  given  the  most  succinct  account  I  have  been  able,  of  the 
state  of  the  ancient  Arabians  before  Mohammed,  or,  to  use  their  expres- 
sion, in  the  time  of  ignorance.  I  shall  now  proceed  briefly  to  consider 
the  state  of  religion  in  the  east,  and  of  the  two  great  empires  which  di- 
vided that  part  of  the  world  between  them,  at  the  time  of  Mohammed's 
setting  up  for  a  prophet,  and  what  were  the  conducive  circumstances  and 
accidents  that  favoured  his  success. 


SECTION  II. 

OF  THE  STATE  OE  CHRISTIANITY,  PARTICULARLY  OF  THE  EASTERN 
CHURCHES,  AND  OF  JUDAISM,  AT  THE  TIME  OF  MOHAMMED* S  AP- 
PEARANCE; AND  OF  THE  METHODS  TAKEN  BY  HIM  FOR  THE  ESTAB- 
LISHING OF  HIS  RELIGION,  AND  THE  CIRCUMSTANCES  WHICH  CON- 
CURRED   THERETO. 

If  we  look  into  the  ecclesiastical  historians  even  from  the  third  century, 
we  shall  find  the  Christian  world  to  have  then  had  a  very  diff'ercnt  aspect 
from  what  some  authors  have  represented;  and  so  far  from  being  endued 
with  active  grace,  zeal,  and  devotion,  and  established  within  itself  with 
purity  of  doctrine,  union,  and  firm  profession  of  the  faith,"*  that,  on  the 
contrary,  what  by  the  ambition  of  the  clergy,  and  what  by  drawing  the 
abstrusest  niceties  into  controversy,  and  dividing  and  subdividing  about 
them  into  endless  schisms  and  contentions,  they  had  so  destroyed  that 
peace,  love,  and  charity  from  among  them,  which  the  gospel  was  given  to 
promote  ;  and   instead  thereof  continually  provoked  each  other  to  that 

^  Vide  Hyde,  in  not.  ad  Tabulas  stellar.  lixar.  Ulugh  Beigh,  p.  5.        °  Vide  Poc.  Spec, 
p.  163,  &.C.  ^  Vide  Hyde  ubi  sup.  p.  4.         ="  Ricaui's  State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire, 

p.  187. 


24  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

malice,  rancour,  and  every  evil  work;  that  they  had  lost  the  whole  sub- 
stance of  their  religion,  while  they  thus  eagerly  corttended  for  their  own 
imaginations  concerning  it;  and  in  a  manner  quite  drove  Christianity  out 
of  the  world  by  those  very  controversies  in  which  they  disputed  with  each 
other  about  it.^  In  these  dark  ages  it  was  that  most  of  those  superstitions 
and  corruptions  we  now  justly  abhor  in  the  church  of  Rome  were  not 
only  broached,  but  established  ;  which  gave  great  advantages  to  the  pro- 
pagation of  Mohanimedism.  The  worship  of  saints  and  images,  in  par- 
ticular, was  then  arrived  of  such  a  scandalous  pitch,  that  it  even  surpassed 
what  is  now  practised  among  the  Romanists.^ 

After  the  Nicene  council,  the  eastern  church  was  engaged  in  perpetual 
controversies,  and  torn  to  pieces  by  the  disputes  of  the  Arians,  Sabellians, 
Nestorians,  and  Eutychians :  the  heresies  of  the  two  last  of  which  have 
been  shown  to  have  consisted  more  in  the  words  and  form  of  expression 
than  in  the  doctrines  themselves;'  and  were  rather  the  pretences  than 
real  motives  of  those  frequent  councils,  to  and  from  which  the  contentious 
prelates  were  continually  riding  post,  that  they  might  bring  every  thing 
to  their  own  will  and  pleasure.^  And  to  support  themselves  by  depend- 
ants and  bribery,  the  clergy  in  any  credit  at  court  undertook  the  protec- 
tion of  some  officer  in  the  army,  under  the  colour  of  which  justice  was 
publicly  sold,  and  all  corruption  encouraged. 

In  the  western  church,  Damasus  and  Ursicinus  carried  their  contests  at 
Rome  for  the  episcopal  seat  so  high,  that  they  came  to  open  violence  and 
murder,  which  Viventius  the  governor  not  being  able  to  suppress,  he 
retired  into  the  country,  and  left  them  to  themselves,  till  Damasus  prevail- 
ed. It  is  said  that  on  this  occasion,  in  the  church  of  Sicininus,  there 
were  no  less  than  137  found  killed  in  one  day.  And  no  wonder  they  were 
so  fond  of  these  seats,  when  they  became  by  that  means  enriched  by  the 
presents  of  matrons,  and  went  abroad  in  their  chariots  and  sedans  in  great 
state,  feasting  sumptuously  even  beyond  the  luxury  of  princes,  quite  con- 
trary to  the  way  of  the  living  of  the  country  prelates,  who  alone  seemed 
to  have  some  temperance  and  modesty  left.^ 

These  dissensions  were  greatly  owing  to  the  emperors,  and  particularly 
to  Constantius,  who,  confounding  the  pure  and  simple  Christian  religion 
with  anile  superstitions,  and  perplexing  it  with  intricate  questions,  instead 
of  reconciling  different  opinions,  excited  many  disputes,  which  he  fo- 
mented as  they  proceeded  with  infinite  altercations.'  This  grew  worse 
in  the  time  of  Justinian,  who,  not  to  be  behind  the  bishops  of  the  fifth 
and  sixth  centuries  in  zeal,  thought  it  no  crime  to  condemn  to  death  a 
man  of  a  different  persuasion  from  his  own.^ 

This  corruption  of  doctrine  and  morals  in  the  princes  and  clergy  was 
necessarily  followed  by  a  general  depravity  of  the  people  f  those  of  all  con- 
ditions making  it  their  sole  business  to  get  money  by  any  means,  and  then 
to  squander  it  away,  when  they  had  got  it,  in  luxury  and  debauchery.^ 

But,  to  be  more  particular  as  to  the  nation  we  are  now  writing  of, 
Arabia  was  of  old  famous  for  heresies  f  which  might  be  in  some  measure 

*  Prideaux's  Pref.  to  his  Life  of  Mohammed.  *  Vide  La  vie  de  Mohammed,  par 

Boulainvilliers,  d.  219,  &,c.  ■"  Vide  Simon,  Hist.  Crit.  de  la  creance,  &c.  des  nations 

du  Levant.  *  Ammian.  Marcellin.  lib.  21.  Vide  etiam  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  8.  c. 
1.  Sozom.  lib.  1,  c.  14,  &c.  Hilar,  and  Sulpic.  Sever,  in  Hist.  Sacr.  p.  112,  &c.  'Am- 
mian. Marcellin.  lib.  27.  '  Idem.  lib.  21.  =  Procop.  in  Anecd.  p.  60.  =*  See 
an  instance  of  the  wickedness  of  the  Christian  army  even  when  they  were  under  the  ter- 
ror of  the  Saracens,  in  Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Sarac.  vol.  i.  p.  239.  *  Vide  Boulainvil!. 
Vie  de  Moh.  ubi.  sup.  *  Vide  Sozomen.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  1.  c.  16,  17.  Sulpic.  Sever, 
ubi  supra. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE. 


25 


attributed  to  the  liberty  and  independency  of  the  tribes.  Some  of  the 
Christians  of  that  nation  believed  the  soul  died  with  the  body,  and  was  to 
be  raised  again  with  it  at  the  last  day  :^  these  Origen  is  said  to  have  con- 
vinced.'^ Among  tlie  Arabs  it  was  that  the  heresies  of  Ebion,  Beryllus, 
and  the  Nazaraeans,^  and  also  that  of  the  Collyridians,  were  broached,  or 
at  least  propagated ;  the  latter  introduced  the  Virgin  Mary  for  God,  or 
worshipped  her  as  such,  offering  her  a  sort  of  twisted  cake  called  collyris^ 
whence  the  sect  had  its  name.^ 

This  notion  of  the  divinity  of  the  virgin  Mary  was  also  believed  by  some 
at  the  council  of  Nice,  who  said  there  were  two  gods  besides  the  Father, 
viz.  Christ  and  the  virgin  Mary,  and  were  thence  named  Mariamites.^ 
Others  imagined  her  to  be  exempt  from  humanity,  and  deified ;  wliich  goes 
but  little  beyond  the  popish  superstition  in  calling  her  the  complement  of 
the  Trinity,  as  if  it  were  imperfect  without  her.  This  foolish  imagination 
is  justly  condemned  in  the  Koran ^  as  idolatrous,  and  gave  a  handle  to 
Mohammed  to  attack  the  Trinity  itself. 

Other  sects  there  were  of  many  denominations  within  the  borders  of 
Arabia,  which  took  refuge  there  from  the  proscriptions  of  the  imperial 
edicts ;  several  of  whose  notions  Mohammed  incorporated  with  his  religion, 
as  may  be  observed  hereafter. 

Though  the  Jews  were  an  inconsiderable  and  despised  people  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  yet  in  Arabia,  whither  many  of  them  fled  from  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem,  they  grew  very  powerful,  several  tribes  and 
princes  embracing  their  religion ;  which  made  Mohammed  at  first  show 
great  regard  to  them,  adopting  many  of  their  opinions,  doctrines,  and  cus- 
toms ;  thereby  to  draw  them,  if  possible,  into  his  interest.  But  that  people, 
agreeably  to  their  wonted  obstinacy,  were  so  far  from  being  his  proselytes, 
that  they  were  some  of  the  bitterest  enemies  he  had,  waging  continual  war 
with  him,  so  that  their  reduction  cost  him  infinite  trouble  and  danger,  and 
at  last  his  life.  This  aversion  of  theirs  created  at  length  as  great  a  one  in 
him  to  them,  so  that  he  used  them,  for  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  much 
worse  than  he  did  the  Christians,  and  frequently  exclaims  against  them  in 
his  Koran ;  his  followers  to  this  day  observe  the  same  difference  between 
them  and  the  Christians,  treating  the  former  as  the  most  abject  and  con- 
temptible people  on  earth. 

It  has  been  observed  by  a  great  politician,^  that  it  is  impossible  a  person 
should  make  himself  a  prince  and  found  a  state  without  opportunities.  If  the 
distracted  state  of  religion  favoured  the  designs  of  Mohammed  on  that  side, 
the  weakness  of  the  Roman  and  Persian  monarchies  might  flatter  him  with 
no  less  hopes  in  any  attempt  on  those  once  formidable  empires,  either  of 
which,  had  they  been  in  their  full  vigour,  must  have  crushed  Mohammedism 
in  its  birth;  v/hereas  nothingnourished  it  more  than  the  success  the  Arabians 
met  with  in  theirenterprisesagainstthose  powers,  which  success  they  failed 
not  to  attribute  to  their  new  religion  and  the  divine  assistance  thereof. 

The  Roman  empire  declined  apace  after  Constantine,  whose  successors 
were  for  the  generality  remarkable  for  their  ill  qualities,  especially 
cowardice  and  cruelty.  By  Mohammed's  time  the  western  half  of  the 
empire  was  overrun  by  the  Goths;  and  the  eastern  so  reduced  by  the 
Huns  on  the  one  side,  and  the  Persians  on  the  other,  that  it  was  not  in  a 
capacity  of  stemming  the  violence  of  a  powerful  invasion.  The  emperor 
Maurice  paid  tribute  to  the  Khagan  or  king  of  the  Huns  ;  and  after  Phocas 

*  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  lib.  6,  c.  33.  ''  Idem,  ibid.  c.  37.  *  Epiphan.  de  Hseresi, 

lib.  1,  Haer.  40.      "  Idem,  ibid.  lib.  3,  Hseres.  75,  79.        '  Elm.acin.  Eutych.       *  Cap.  5. 
*  Machiavelli,  Princ.  c.  6,  p.  19. 


26  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

had  murdered  his  master,  such  lamentable  havoc  there  was  among  the 
soldiers,  that  when  Heraclius  came,  not  above  seven  years  after,,  to  muster 
the  army,  there  were  only  two  soldiers  left  alive,  of  all  those  who  had 
borne  arms  when  Phocas  first  usurped  the  empire.  And  though  Her- 
aclius was  a  prince  of  admirable  courage  and  conduct,  and  had  done 
what  possibly  could  be  done  to  restore  the  discipline  of  the  army,  and 
had  had  great  success  against  the  Persians,  so  as  to  drive  them  not  only  out 
of  his  own  dominions,  but  even  out  of  part  of  their  own  ;  yet  still  the  very 
vitals  of  the  empire  seemed  to  be  mortally  wounded  ;  that  there  could  no 
time  have  happened  more  fatal  to  the  empire,  or  more  favourable  to  the 
enterprises  of  the  Arabs  ;  who  seem  to  have  been  raised  up  on  purpose  by 
God,  to  be  a  scourge  to  the  Christian  church,  for  not  living  answerably  to 
that  most  holy  religion  which  they  had  received.'* 

The  general  luxury  and  degeneracy  of  manners,  into  which  the  Grecians 
were  sunk,  also  contributed  not  a  little  to  the  enervating  their  forces, 
which  were  still  further  drained  by  those  two  great  destroyers,  monachism 
and  persecution. 

The  Persians  had  also  been  in  a  declining  condition  for  some  time  before 
Mohammed,  occasioned  chiefly  by  their  intestine  broils\  and  dissensions; 
great  part  of  which  arose  from  the  devilish  doctrines  of  Manes  and 
Mazdak.  The  opinions  of  the  former  are  tolerably  well  known  :  the  latter 
lived  in  the  reign  of  Khosru  Kobad,  and  pretended  himself  a  prophet  sent 
from  God  to  preach  a  community  of  women  and  possessions,  since  all  men 
were  brothers  and  descended  from  the  same  common  parents.  This  he 
imagined  would  put  an  end  to  all  feuds  and  quarrels  among  men,  which 
generally  arose  on  account  of  one  of  the  two.  Kobad  himself  embraced 
the  opinions  of  this  impostor,  to  whom  he  gave  leave,  according  to  his  new 
doctrine,  to  lie  with  the  queen  his  wife;  which  permission  Anushirwan, 
his  son,  with  much  difficulty  prevailed  on  Mazdak  not  to  make  use  of. 
These  sects  had  certainly  been  the  immediate  ruin  of  the  Persian  empire, 
had  not  Anushirwan,  as  soon  as  he  succeeded  his  father,  put  Mazdak  to 
death  with  all  his  followers,  and  the  Manicheans  also,  restoring  the  ancient 
Magian  religion.^ 

In  the  reign  of  this  prince,  deservedly  surnamed  the  just,  Mohammed  was 
born.  He  was  the  last  king  of  Persia  who  deserved  the  throne,  which  after 
him  was  almost  perpetually  contended  for,  till  subverted  by  the  Arabs. 
His  son  Hormuz  lost  the  love  of  his  subjects  by  his  excessive  cruelty  : 
having  had  his  eyes  put  out  by  his  wife's  brothers,  he  was  obliged  to  resign 
the  crown  to  his  son  Khorsu  Parviz,  who  at  the  instigation  of  Bahram 
Chubin  had  rebelled  against  him,  and  was  afterwards  strangled.  Parviz 
was  soon  obliged  to  quit  the  throne  to  Bahram;  but  obtaining  succours  of 
the  Greek  emperor  Maurice,  he  recovered  the  crown  :  yet  towards  the 
latter  end  of  a  long  reign  he  grew  so  tyrannical  and  hateful  to  his  subjects, 
that  they  held  a  private  correspondence  with  the  Arabs ;  and  he  was  at 
length  deposed,  imprisoned,  and  slain  by  his  son  Shiruyeh.^  After  Parviz 
no  less  than  six  princes  possessed  the  throne  in  less  than  six  years.  These 
domestic  broils  effectually  brought  ruin  upon  the  Persians ;  for  though 
they  did,  rather  by  the  weakness  of  the  Greeks  than  their  own  force, 
ravage  Syria  and  sack  Jerusalem  and  Damascus  under  Khosru  Parviz ; 
and,  while  the  Arabs  were  divided  and  independent,  had  some  power  in 
the  province  of  Yaman,  where  they  set  up  the  four  last  kings  before 

*  Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Saracens,  vol.  i.  p.  19,  &c..  ^  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  70. 

"  Vide  Teixeira,  Rdaciones  de  Ids  Reyes  de  Persia,  p.  195,  &c. 


SECT.  11.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  27 

Mohammed ;  yet  when  attacked  by  the  Greeks  under  Heraclius,  they  not 
only  lost  their  new  conquests,  but  part  of  their  own  dominions,  and  no 
sooner  were  the  Arabs  united  by  Mohammedism,  than  they  beat  them  in 
every  battle,  and  in  a  few  years  totally  subdued  them. 

As  these  empires  were  weak  and  declining,  so  Arabia,  at  Mohammed's 
setting  up,  was  strong  and  flourishing;  having  been  peopled  at  the  expense 
of  the  Grecian  empire,  whence  the  violent  proceedings  of  the  domineering 
sects  forced  many  to  seek  refuge  in  a  free  country,  as  Arabia  then  was, 
where  they  who  could  not  enjoy  tranquillity  and  their  conscience  at  home, 
found  a  secure  retreat.  The  Arabians  were  not  only  a  populous  nation, 
but  unacquainted  with  the  luxury  and  delicacies  of  the  Greeks  and 
Persians,  and  inured  to  hardships  of  all  sorts ;  living  in  a  most  parsimonious 
manner,  seldom  eating  any  flesh,  drinking  no  wine,  and  sitting  on  the 
ground.  Their  political  government  was  also  such  as  favoured  the  designs 
of  Mohammed;  for  the  division  and  independency  of  their  tribes  were  so 
necessary  to  the  first  propagation  of  his  religion,  and  the  foundation  of  his 
power,  that  it  would  have  been  scarce  possible  for  him  to  have  effected 
either,  had  the  Arabs  been  united  in  one  society.  But  when  they  had 
embraced  his  religion,  the  consequent  union  of  their  tribes  was  no  less 
necessary  and  conducive  to  their  future  conquests  and  grandeur. 

This  posture  of  public  affairs  in  the  eastern  world,  both  as  to  its  religious 
and  political  state,  it  is  more  than  probable  Mohammed  was  well  ac- 
quainted with;  he  having  had  sufficient  opportunities  of  informing  himself 
in  those  particulars,  in  his  travels  as  a  merchant  in  his  younger  years:  and 
though  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  his  views  at  first  were  so  extensive  as 
afterwards,  when  they  were  enlarged  by  his  good  fortune,  yet  he  might 
reasonably  promise  himself  success  in  his  first  attempts  from  thence.  As 
he  was  a  man  of  extraordinary  parts  and  address,  he  knew  how  to  make 
the  best  of  every  incident,  and  turn  what  might  seem  dangerous  to  another 
to  his  own  advantage. 

Mohammed  came  into  the  world  under  some  disadvantages,  which  he  soon 
surmounted.  His  father  Abd'allah  was  a  younger  son"^  of  Abd'alrnotalleb, 
and  dying  very  young  and  in  his  father's  lifetime,  left  his  widow  and  infant 
son  in  very  mean  circumstances ;  his  whole  substance  consisting  but  of  five 
camels  and  one  Ethiopian  she-slave.^  Abd'alrnotalleb  was  therefore  obliged 
to  take  care  of  his  grandchild  Mohammed,  which  he  not  only  did 
during  his  life,  but  at  his  death  enjoined  his  eldest  son  Abu  Taleb,  who 
was  brother  to  Abd'allah  by  the  same  mother,  to  provide  for  him  for  the 
future ;  which  he  very  affectionately  did,  and  instructed  him  in  the  business 
of  a  merchant,  which  he  followed  ;  and  to  that  end  he  took  him  with  him 
into  Syria  when  he  was  but  thirteen,  and  afterward  recommended  him  to 
Khadijah,  a  noble  and  rich  widow,  for  her  factor,  in  whose  service  he 
behaved  himself  so  well,  that  by  making  him  her  husband  she  soon  raised 
him  to  an  equality  with  the  richest  in  Mecca. 

After  he  began  by  this  advantageous  match  to  live  at  his  ease  it  was  that 
he  formed  the  scheme  of  establishing  a  new  religion,  or,  as  he  expressed  it, 
of  replanting  the  only  true  and  ancient  one,  professed  by  Adam,  Noah, 
Abraham,  Moses,  Jesus,  and  all  the  prophets,^  by  destroying  the  gross 
idolatry  into  which  the  generality  of  his  countrymen  had  fallen,  and 

■'  He  was  not  his  eldest  son,  as  Dr.  Prideaux  tells  us;  whose  reflections  built  on  that 
foundation  must  necessarily  fail  (see  his  life  of  Mohammed,  p.  9  ;)  nor  yet  his  youngest  son, 
as  M.  de  Boulainvilliers  (Vie  de  Mohammed,  p.  182,  &,c.)  supposes  ;  for  Hamza  and  al 
Abbas  were  both  younger  than  Abd'allah. 

«  Abulfeda,  Vit.  Moham.  p.  2.  «  See  Koran,  c.  2. 


28  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

weeding  out  the  corruptions  and  superstitions  which  the  latter  Jews  and 
Christians  had,  as  he  thought,  introduced  intotheir  religion,  and  reducing 
it  to  its  original  purity,  which  consisted  chiefly  in  the  worship  of  one 
only  God. 

Whether  this  was  the  effect  of  enthusiasm,  or  only  a  design  to  raise 
himself  to  the  supreme  government  of  his  country,  1  will  not  pretend  to 
determine.  The  latter  is  the  general  opinion  of  Christian  writers,  who 
agree  that  ambition  and  the  desire  of  satisfying  his  sensuality  were  the 
motives  of  his  undertaking.  It  may  be  so;  yet  his  first  views  perhaps  were 
not  so  interested.  His  original  design  of  bringing  the  pagan  Arabs  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  was  certainly  noble,  and  highly  to  be  com- 
mended ;  for  I  cannot  possibly  subscribe  to  the  assertion  of  a  late  learned 
writer,!  that  he  made  that  nation  exchange  their  idolatry  for  another 
religion  altogether  as  bad.  Mohammed  was  no  doubt  fully  satisfied  in  his 
conscience  of  the  truth  of  his  grand  point,  the  unity  of  God,  which  was 
what  he  chiefly  attended  to ;  all  his  other  doctrines  and  institutions  being 
rather  accidental  and  unavoidable,  than  premeditated  and  designed. 

Since  then  Mohammed  was  certainly  himself  persuaded  of  his  grand 
article  of  faith,  which  in  his  opinion  was  violated  by  all  the  rest  of  the 
world ;  not  only  by  the  idolaters,  but  by  the  Christians,  as  well  those  who 
rightly  worshipped  Jesus  as  God,  as  those  who  superstitiously  adored  the 
Virgin  Mary,  saints,  and  images;  and  also  by  the  Jews,  who  are  accused  in 
the  Koran  of  taking  Ezra  for  the  son  of  God  ;  2  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that 
he  might  think  it  a  meritorious  work  to  rescue  the  world  from  such 
ignorance  and  superstition  ;  and  by  degrees,  with  the  help  of  a  warm 
imagination,  which  an  Arab  seldom  wants,^  to  suppose  himself  destined 
by  Providence  for  the  effecting  that  great  reformation.  And  this  fancy  of 
his  might  take  still  deeper  root  in  his  mind,  during  the  solitude  he  there- 
upon affected,  usually  retiring  for  a  month  in  the  year  to  a  cave  in  Mount 
Hara  near  Mecca.  One  thing  which  may  be  probably  urged  against  the 
enthusiasm  of  this  prophet  of  the  Arabs,  is  the  wise  conduct  and  great 
prudence  he  all  along  showed  in  pursuing  his  design,  which  seem  incon- 
sistent with  the  wild  notions  of  a  hot-brained  religionist.  But  though  all 
enthusiasts  or  madmen  do  not  behave  with  the  same  gravity  and  circum- 
spection that  he  did,  yet  he  will  not  be  the  first  instance,  by  several,  of  a 
person  who  has  been  out  of  the  way  only  quoad  hoc^  and  in  all  other 
respects  acted  with  the  greatest  decency  and  precaution. 

The  terrible  destruction  of  the  eastern  churches,  once  so  glorious  and 
flourishing,  by  the  sudden  spreading  of  Mohammedism,  and  the  great 
successes  of  its  professors  against  the  Christians,  necessarily  inspire  a 
horror  of  that  religion  in  those  to  whom  it  has  been  so  fatal ;  and  no  wonder 
if  they  endeavour  to  set  the  character  of  its  founder,  and  its  doctrines,  in  the 
most  infamous  light.  But  the  damage  done  by  Mohammed  to  Christianity 
seems  to  have  been  rather  owing  to  his  ignorance  than  malice ;  for  his 
great  misfortune  was,  his  not  having  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  real 
and  pure  doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion,  which  was  in  his  time  so 
abominably  corrupted,  that  it  is  not  surprising  if  he  went  too  far,  and 
resolved  to  abolish  what  he  might  think  incapable  of  reformation. 

It  is  scarce  to  be  doubted  but  that  Mohammed  had  a  violent  desire 
of  being  reckoned  an  extraordinary  person,  which  he  could  attain  to  by  no 
means  more  effectually  than  by  pretending  to  be  a  messenger  sent  from 
God,  to  inform  mankind  of  his  will.     This  might  be  at  first  his  utmost 

*  Prideaux's  Life  of  Moham.  p.  76.  ^  Koran,  c.  9.  ^  See  Casaub.  of  Enthusiasm, 
p.  148. 


SECT.  II.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  29 

ambition,  and  had  his  fellow  citizens  treated  him  less  injuriously,  and  not 
obliged  him  by  their  persecutions  to  seek  refuge  elsewhere,  and  to  take  up 
arms  against  them  in  his  own  defence,  he  had  perhaps  continued  a  private 
person,  and  contented  himself  with  the  veneration  and  respect  due  to  his 
prophetical  office;  but  being  once  got  at  the  head  of  a  little  army,  and  en- 
couraged by  success,  it  is  no  wonder  if  he  raised  his  thoughts  to  attempt 
what  had  never  before  entered  into  his  imagination. 

That  Mohammed  was,  as  the  Arabs  are  by  complexion,''  a  great  lover  of 
women,  we  are  assured  by  his  own  confession ;  and  he  is  constantly 
upbraided  with  it  by  the  controversial  writers,  who  fail  not  to  urge  the 
number  of  women  with  whom  he  had  to  do  as  a  demonstrative  argument 
of  his  sensuality,  which  they  think  sufficiently  proves  him  to  have  been  a 
wicked  man,  and  consequently  an  impostor.  But  it  must  be  considered, 
that  polygamy,  though  it  be  forbidden  by  the  Christian  religion,  was  in 
Mohammed's  time  frequently  practised  in  Arabia  and  other  parts  of  the 
east,  and  was  not  counted  an  immorality,  nor  was  a  man  the  worse  esteemed 
on  that  account;  for  which  reason  Mohammed  permitted  the  plurality  of 
wives,  with  certain  limitations,  among  his  own  followers,  who  argue  for  the 
lawfulness  of  it  from  several  reasons,  and  particularly  from  the  examples  of 
persons  allowed  on  all  hands  to  have  been  good  men;  some  of  whom  have 
been  honoured  with  the  divine  correspondence.  The  several  laws  relating 
to  marriages  and  divorces,  and  the  peculiar  privileges  granted  to  Mohammed 
in  his  Koran,  were  almost  all  taken  by  him  from  the  Jewish  decisions,  as 
will  appear  hereafter ;  and  therefore  he  might  think  those  institutions  the 
more  just  and  reasonable,  as  he  found  them  practised  or  approved  by  the 
professors  of  a  religion  which  was  confessedly  of  divine  original. 

But  whatever  were  his  motives,  Mohammed  had  certainly  the  personal 
qualifications  which  were  necessary  to  accomplish  his  undertaking.  The 
Mohammedan  authors  are  excessive  in  their  commendations  of  him,  and 
speak  much  of  his  religious  and  moral  virtues;  as  his  piety,  veracity, 
justice,  liberality,  clemency,  humility,  and  abstinence.  His  charity  in  par- 
ticular, they  say,  was  so  conspicuous,  that  he  had  seldom  any  money  in  his 
house,  keeping  no  more  for  his  own  use  than  was  just  sufficient  to  maintain 
his  family;  and  he  frequently  spared  even  some  part  of  his  own  provisions 
to  supply  the  necessities  of  the  poor ;  so  that  before  the  year's  end  he  had 
generally  little  or  nothing  left.^  "God,"  says  al  Bokhari,  "offered  him  the 
keys  of  the  treasures  of  the  earth,  but  he  would  not  accept  them."  Though 
the  eulogies  of  these  writers  are  justly  to  be  suspected  of  partiality,  yet  this 
much,  I  think,  may  be  inferred  from  thence,  that  for  an  Arab  who  had  been 
educated  in  paganism,  and  had  but  a  very  imperfect  knowledge  of  his  duty, 
he  was  a  man  of  at  least  tolerable  morals,  and  not  such  a  monster  of  wick- 
edness as  he  is  usually  represented.  And  indeed  it  is  scarce  possible  to 
conceive  that  a  wretch  of  so  profligate  a  character  should  ever  have  suc- 
ceeded in  an  enterprise  of  this  nature ;  a  little  hypocrisy  and  saving  of 
appearances,  at  least,  must  have  been  absolutely  necessary ;  and  the  sin- 
cerity of  his  intentions  is  what  I  pretend  not  to  inquire  into. 

He  had  indisputably  a  very  piercing  and  sagacious  wit,  and  was  thoroughly 
versed  in  all  the  arts  of  insinuation.^  The  eastern  historians  describe  him 
to  have  been  a  man  of  an  excellent  judgment,  and  a  happy  memory  ;  and 
these  natural  parts  were  improved  by  a  great  experience  and  knowledge  of 
men,  and  the  observations  he  had  made  in  his  travels.    They  say  he  was  a 

*  Ammian.  Marcel!,  lib.  14,  c.  4.  '  Vide  Abu'lfeda  Vit.  Moham.  p.  144,  &c. 

•  Vide  Prid.  Life  of  Mohammed,  p.  105. 
D 


30  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

person  of  few  words,  of  an  equal,  cheerful  temper,  pleasant  and  familiar  in 
conversation,  of  inofifensive  behaviour  towards  his  friends,  and  of  great  con- 
descension towards  his  inferiors.''  To  all  which  were  joined  a  comely, 
agreeable  person,  and  a  polite  address  ;  accomplishments  of  no  small  ser- 
vice in  preventing  those  in  his  favour  whom  he  attempted  to  persuade. 

As  to  acquired  learning,  it  is  confessed  he  had  none  at  all;  having  had 
no  other  education  than  what  was  customary  in  his  tribe,  who  neglected, 
and  perhaps  despised,  what  we  call  literature;  esteeming  no  language  in 
comparison  with  their  own,  their  skill  in  which  they  gained  by  use  and  not 
by  books,  and  contenting  themselves  with  improving  their  private  ex- 
perience, by  committing  to  memory  such  passages  of  their  poets  as  they 
judged  might  be  of  use  to  them  in  life.  This  defect  was  so  far  from  being 
prejudicial  or  putting  a  slop  to  his  design,  that  he  made  the  greatest  use  of 
it ;  insisting  that  the  writings  which  he  produced  as  revelations  from  God, 
could  not  possibly  be  a  forgery  of  his  own ;  because  it  was  not  conceivable 
that  a  person  who  could  neither  write  nor  read  should  be  able  to  compose 
a  book  of  such  excellent  doctrine,  and  in  so  elegant  a  style  ;  and  thereby 
obviating  an  objection  that  might  have  carried  a  great  deal  of  weight.* 
And  for  this  reason  his  followers,  instead  of  being  ashamed  of  their  master's 
ignorance,  glory  in  it  as  an  evident  proof  of  his  divine  mission,  and  scruple 
not  to  call  him  (as  he  is  indeed  called  in  the  Koran  itself")  the  illiterate 
j>rophet. 

The  scheme  of  religion  which  Mohammed  framed,  and  the  design  and 
artful  contrivance  of  those  written  revelations  (as  he  pretended  them  to  be) 
which  compose  his  Koran,  shall  be  the  subject  of  the  following  sections:  I 
shall,  therefore,  in  the  remainder  of  this  relate,  as  briefly  as  possible, 
the  steps  he  took  towards  the  effecting  of  his  enterprise,  and  the  accidents 
v/hich  concurred  to  his  success  therein. 

Before  he  made  any  attempt  abroad,  he  rightly  judged  that  it  was 
necessary  for  him  to  begin  by  the  conversion  of  his  own  household. 
Having  therefore  retired  with  his  family,  as  he  had  done  several  times 
before,  to  the  above-mentioned  cave  in  Mount  Hara,  he  there  opened  the 
secret  of  his  mission  to  his  wife  Khadijah  :  and  acquainted  her  that  the 
angel  Gabriel  had  just  before  appeared  to  him,  and  told  him  that  he  was  ap- 
pointed the  apostle  of  God  :  he  also  repeated  to  her  a  passage '  which  he 
pretended  had  been  revealed  to  him  by  the  ministry  of  the  angel,  with 
those  other  circumstances  of  his  first  appearance  which  are  related  by  the 
Mohammedan  writers.  Khadijah  received  the  news  with  great  joy;* 
swearing  by  him  in  whose  hands  her  soul  was,  that  she  trusted  he  would 
be  the  prophet  of  his  nation :  and  immediately  communicated  what  she 
had  heard  to  her  cousin  Warakah  Ebn  Nawfal,  who,  being  a  Christian, 
could  write  in  the  Hebrew  character,  and  was  tolerably  well  versed  in  the 
Scriptures  ;^  and  he  as  readily  came  into  her  opinion,  assuring  her  that  the 
same  angel  who  had  formerly  appeared  unto  Moses  was  now  sent  to 
Mohammed.^  This  first  overture  the  prophet  made  in  the  month  of  Rama- 
dan, in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  which  is  therefore  usually  called 
the  year  of  his  mission. 

■*  Vide  Abulfed.  ubi  sup.      «  See  Koran,  chap.  xxix.     Prid.  Life  of  Moham.  p.  28,  &c. 
"  Chap.  vii.  »  This  passage  is  jgfenerally  agreed  to  be  the  first  five  verses  of  the  96th 

chapter.  ^  I  do  not  remember  to  have  read  in  any  eastern  author,  that  Khadijah  ever 

rejected  her  husband's  pretences  as  delusions,  or  suspected  him  of  any  imposture.  Yet  see 
Prideaux's  Life  of  Mohammed,  p.  11  ;  &c.  ^  Vide  Foe.  Spec.  p.  157.  *  Vide  Abulfed. 
Vit.  Moham.  p.  16.  Where  the  learned  translator  has  mistaken  the  meaning  of  this 
passage. 


SECT.  n.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  31 

Encouraged  by  so  good  a  beginning,  he  resolved  to  proceed,  and  try  for 
some  time  what  he  could  do  by  private  persuasion,  not  daring  to  hazard  the 
whole  affair  by  exposing  it  too  suddenly  to  the  public.  He  soon  made 
j^roselytes  of  those  under  his  own  roof,  viz.  his  wife  Khadijah,  his  servant 
Zeid  Ebn  Ilaretha(to  whom  he  gave  his  freedom^  on  that  occasion,  which 
afterwards  became  a  rule  to  his  followers),  and  his  cousin  and  pupil  Ali, 
the  son  of  Abu  Taleb,  though  then  very  young:  but  this  last,  making  no 
account  of  the  other  two,  used  to  style  himself  the  first  of  believers.  The 
next  person  Mohammed  applied  to  was  Abdallah  Ebn  Abi  Kohafa,  sur- 
named  Abu  Beer,  a  man  of  great  authority  among  the  Koreish,  and  one 
whose  interest  he  well  knew  would  be  of  great  service  to  him,  as  it  soon 
appeared;  for  Abu  Beer  being  gained  over,  prevailed  also  on  Othman  Ebn 
Ati'an,  Abd'alrahman  Ebn  Awf,  Saad  Ebn  Abi  VVakkas,  al  Zobeir  Ebn  a! 
Awam,and  Telha  Ebn  Obeid'allah,  all  principal  men  in  Mecca,  to  follow 
his  example.  These  men  were  the  six  chief  companions,  who,  with  a  few 
more,  were  converted  in  the  space  of  three  years;  at  the  end  of  which 
Mohammed  having,  as  he  hoped,  a  sufficient  interest  to  support  him,  made 
his  mission  no  longer  a  secret,  but  gave  out  that  God  had  commanded  him 
to  admonish  his  near  relations,^  and  in  order  to  do  it  with  more  convenience 
and  prospect  of  success,  he  directed  Ali  to  prepare  an  entertainment,  and 
invite  the  sons  and  descendants  of  Abd'almotalleb,  intending  then  to  open 
his  mind  to  them ;  this  was  done,  and  about  forty  of  them  came,  but  Abu 
Laheb,  one  of  his  uncles,  making  the  company  break  up  before  Mohammed 
had  an  opportunity  of  speaking,  obliged  him  to  give  them  a  second  invita- 
tion the  next  day;  and  when  they  were  come,  he  made  them  the  following 
speech  :  "I  know  no  man  in  all  Arabia  who  can  offer  his  kindred  a  more 
excellent  thing  than  I  now  do  you  ;  I  offer  you  happiness  both  in  this  life, 
and  in  that  which  is  to  come  ;  God  Almighty  hath  commanded  me  to  call 
you  unto  him ;  who,  therefore,  among  you  will  be  assisting  to  me  herein, 
and  become  my  brother,  and  my  vicegerent?"  All  of  them  hesitating,  and 
declining  the  matter,  Ali  at  length  rose  up,  and  declared  that  he  would  be 
his  assistant;  and  vehemently  threatened  those  who  should  oppose  him. 
Mohammed  upon  this  embraced  Ali  with  great  demonstrations  of  affection, 
and  desired  all  who  were  present  to  hearken  to  and  obey  him  as  his  deputy ; 
at  which  the  company  broke  out  into  great  laughter,  telling  Abu  Taleb 
that  he  must  now  pay  obedience  to  his  son. 

This  repulse,  however,  was  so  far  from  discouraging  Mohammed,  that  he 
began  to  preach  in  public  to  the  people,  who  heard  him  with  some  patience, 
till  he  came  to  upbraid  them  with  the  idolatry,  obstinacy,  and  perverseness 
of  themselves  and  their  fathers;  which  so  highly  provoked  them,  that  they 
declared  themselves  his  enemies,  and  would  soon  have  procured  his  ruin, 
had  he  not  been  protected  by  Abu  Taleb.  The  chief  of  the  Koreish 
w^armly  solicited  this  person  to  desert  his  nephew,  making  frequent  remon- 
strances against  the  innovations  he  was  attempting;  which  proving  in- 
effectual, they  at  length  threatened  him  with  an  open  rupture  if  he  did  not 
prevail  on  Mohammed  to  desist.  At  this  Abu  Taleb  was  so  far  moved 
that  he  earnestly  dissuaded  his  nephew  from  pursuing  the  affair  any  farther, 
representing  the  great  danger  he  and  his  friends  must  otherwise  run.  But 
Mohammed  was  not  to  be  intimidated,  telling  his  uncle  plainly,  that  if  they 
set  the  sun  against  him  on  his  right  hand,  and  the  moon  on  his  left,  he 
would  not  leave  his  enterprise:  and  Abu  Taleb,  seeing  him  so  firmly 

*  For  he  was  his  purchased  slave,  as  Abulfeda  expressly  tells  us;  and  not  his  cousin- 
german,  as  M.  de  Boulainvilliers  asserts  (Vie  de  Moham.  p.  273).  *  Koran,  c.  74. 

See  the  notes  thereon. 


32  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

resolved  to  proceed,  used  no  further  arguments,  but  promised  to  stand  by 
him  against  all  his  enemies.'^ 

The  Koreish  finding  they  could  prevail  neither  by  fair  words  nor 
menaces,  tried  what  they  could  do  by  force  and  ill  treatment ;  using 
JMohammed's  followers  so  very  injuriously  that  it  was  not  safe  for  them  to 
continue  at  Mecca  any  longer;  whereupon  Mohammed  gave  leave  to  such 
of  them  as  had  not  friends  to  protect  them  to  seek  for  refuge  elsewhere. 
And  accordingly  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  prophet's  mission,  sixteen  of  them, 
four  of  whom  were  women,  fled  into  Ethiopia:  and  among  them  Othman 
Ebn  Affan  and  his  wife  Rakiah,  Mohammed's  daughter.  This  was  the 
first  flight ;  but  afterwards  several  others  followed  them,  retiring  one  after 
another,  to  the  number  of  eighty-three  men  and  eighteen  women,  besides 
children,^  These  refugees  were  kindly  received  by  the  Najashi,^  or  king 
of  Ethiopia,  who  refused  to  deliver  them  up  to  those  whom  the  Koreish 
sent  to  demand  them,  and  as  the  Arab  writers  unanimously  attest,  even 
professed  the  Mohammedan  religion. 

In  the  sixth  year  of  his  mission^  Mohammed  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
his  party  strengthened  by  the  conversion  of  his  uncle  Hamza,  a  man  of 
great  valour  and  merit,  and  of  Omar  Ebn  al  Khattab,  a  person  highly 
esteemed,  and  once  a  violent  opposer  of  the  prophet.  As  persecution 
generally  advances  rather  than  obstructs  the  spreading  of  a  religion, 
Islamism  made  so  great  a  progress  among  the  Arab  tribes,  that  the 
Koreish,  to  suppress  it  effectually,  if  possible,  in  the  seventh  year  of 
Mohammed's  mission,^  made  a  solemn  league  or  covenant  against  the 
Hashemites  and  the  family  of  Al  Motalleb,  engaging  themselves  to  contract 
no  marriages  with  any  of  them,  and  to  have  no  communication  with  them  ; 
and  to  give  it  the  greater  sanction,  reduced  it  into  writing,  and  laid  it  up  in 
the  Caaba.  Upon  this  the  tribe  became  divided  into  two  factions;  and  the 
family  of  Hashem  all  repaired  to  Abu  Taleb,  as  their  head,  except  only 
Abd'al  Uzza,  surnamed  Abu  Laheb,  who,  out  of  his  inveterate  hatred  to 
his  nephew  and  his  doctrine,  went  over  to  the  opposite  party,  whose  chief 
was  Abu  Sofian  Ebn  Harb,  of  the  family  of  Ommeya. 

The  families  continued  thus  at  variance  for  three  years;  but  in  the  tenth 
year  of  his  mission,  Mohammed  told  his  uncle  Abu  Taleb,  that  God  had 
manifestly  showed  his  disapprobation  of  the  league  which  the  Koreish  had 
made  against  them,  by  sending  a  worm  to  eat  out  every  word  of  the 
instrument  except  the  name  of  God.  Of  this  accident  Mohammed  had 
probably  some  private  notice,  for  Abu  Taleb  went  immediately  to  the 
Koreish  and  acquainted  them  with  it;  offering,  if  it  proved  false,  to 
deliver  his  nephew  up  to  them  ;  but  in  case  it  were  true,  he  insisted  that 
they  ought  to  lay  aside  their  animosity,  and  annul  the  league  they  had  made 
against  the  Hashemites.  To  this  they  acquiesced,  and,  going  to  inspect 
the  writing,  to  their  great  astonishment  found  it  to  be  as  Abu  Taleb  had 
said  ;  and  the  league  was  thereupon  declared  void. 

In  the  same  year  Abu  Taleb  died,  at  the  age  of  above  fourscore;  and  it 
is  the  general  opinion  that  he  died  an  infidel,  though  others  say,  that  when 
he  was  at  the  point  of  death  he  embraced  Mohammedism,  and  produced 
some  passages  out  of  his  poetical  compositions  to  confirm  their  assertion. 
About  a  month,  or,  as  some  write,  three  days  after  the  death  of  this  great 
benefactor  and  patron,  Mohammed  had  the  additional  mortification  to  lose 

■"  Abulfeda  ubi  supra.  ^  Idem,  Ebn  Shohnah.  '  Dr.  Prideaux  seems  (o  take  this 
word  for  a  proper  name,  but  it  is  only  the  title  the  Arabs  give  to  every  king  of  this  country. 
See  his  Life  of  Mohammed,  p.  55.         '  Ebn  Shohnah.        '  Al  Jannabi. 


SECT.  II.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  33 

his  wife  Khadijah,  who  had  so  generously  made  his  fortune.     For  which 
reason  this  year  is  called  the  year  of  mourning.* 

On  the  death  of  these  two  persons,  the  Koreish  began  to  be  more 
troublesome  than  ever  to  their  prophet,  and  especially  some  who  had 
formerly  been  his  intimate  friends;  insomuch  that  he  found  himself  obliged 
to  seek  for  shelter  elsewhere,  and  first  pitched  upon  Tayef,  about  sixty 
miles  east  from  Mecca,  for  the  place  of  his  retreat.  Thither  therefore 
he  went,  accompanied  by  his  servant  Zeid,  and  applied  himself  to  two  of 
the  chief  of  the  tribe  of  Thakif,  who  were  the  inhabitants  of  that  place,  but 
they  received  him  very  coldly.  However,  he  stayed  there  a  month  ;  and 
some  of  the  more  considerate  and  better  sort  of  men  treated  him  with 
a  little  respect:  but  the  slaves  and  inferior  people  at  length  rose  against 
him,  and  bringing  him  to  the  wall  of  the  city,  obliged  him  to  depart,  and 
return  to  Mecca,  where  he  put  himself  under  the  protection  of  al  Motaani 
Ebn  Adi.4 

This  repulse  greatly  discouraged  his  followers:  however,  Mohammed 
was  not  wanting  to  himself,  but  boldly  continued  to  preach  to  the  public 
assemblies  at  the  pilgrimage,  and  gained  several  proselytes,  and  among 
them  six  of  the  inhabitants  of  Yathreb  of  the  Jewish  tribe  of  Khazraj, 
who,  on  their  return  home,  failed  not  to  speak  much  in  commendation 
of  their  new  religion,  and  exhorted  their  fellow-citizens  to  embrace  the 
same. 

In  the  twelfth  year  of  his  mission  it  was  that  Mohammed  gave  out  that 
he  had  made  his  night  journey  from  Mecca  to  Jerusalem,  and  thence 
to  heaven,^  so  much  spoken  of  by  all  that  write  of  him.  Dr.  Prideaux^ 
thinks  he  invented  it  either  to  answer  the  expectations  of  those  who 
demanded  some  miracle  as  a  proof  of  his  mission ;  or  else,  by  pretending  to 
have  conversed  with  God,  to  establish  the  authority  of  whatever  he  should 
think  fit  to  leave  behind  by  way  of  oral  tradition,  and  make  his  sayings  to 
serve  the  same  purpose  as  the  oral  law  of  the  Jews.  But  I  do  not  find 
that  Mohammed  himself  ever  expected  so  great  a  regard  should  be  paid  to 
his  sayings  as  his  followers  have  since  done:  and  seeing  he  all  along 
disclaimed  any  power  of  performing  miracles,  it  seems  rather  to  have  been 
a  fetch  of  policy  to  raise  his  reputation,  by  pretending  to  have  actually  con- 
versed with  God  in  heaven,  as  Moses  had  heretofore  done  on  the  Mount, 
and  to  have  received  several  institutions  immediately  from  him,  whereas 
before  he  contented  himself  with  persuading  them  that  he  had  all  by  the 
ministry  of  Gabriel. 

However,  this  story  seemed  so  absurd  and  incredible  that  several  of  his 
followers  left  him  upon  it,  and  it  had  probably  ruined  his  whole  design,  had 
not  Abu  Beer  vouched  for  its  veracity,  and  declared  that  if  Mohammed 
aflSrmed  it  to  be  true,  he  verily  believed  the  whole.  Which  happy  incident 
not  only  retrieved  the  prophet's  credit,  but  increased  it  to  such  a  degree, 
that  he  was  secure  of  being  able  to  make  his  disciples  swallow  whatever  he 
pleased  to  impose  on  them  for  the  future.  And  I  am  apt  to  think  this 
fiction,  notwithstanding  its  extravagance,  was  one  of  the  most  artful 
contrivances  Mohammed  ever  put  in  practice,  and  what  chiefly  contributed 
to  the  raising  of  his  reputation  to  that  great  height  to  which  it  afterwards 
arrived. 

In  this  year,  called  by  Mohammedans  the  accepted  year,  twelve  men  of 
Y^'athreb  or  Medina,  of  whom  ten  were  of  the  tribe  of  Khazraj,  and  the 


=  Abulfed.  p.  28.     Ebn  Shohnah.  "  Ebn  Shohnah.  '  See  the  notes  on  the  17th 

chap,  of  the  Koran.        *  Life  of  Moham.  p.  41,  51,  &c. 


34  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

other  two  of  that  of  Aws,  came  to  Mecca,  and  took  an  oath  of  fidelity  to 
Mohammed  at  al  Akaha,  a  hill  on  the  north  of  that  city.  Tijis  oath  was 
called  the  women's  oath ;  not  that  any  women  were  present  at  this  time, 
but  because  a  man  was  not  thereby  obliged  to  take  up  arms  in  defence  of 
Mohammed  or  his  religion  ;  it  being  the  same  oath  that  was  afterwards 
exacted  of  the  women,  the  form  of  which  we  have  in  the  Koran,''  and  is  to 
this  effect,  viz.  — "That  they  should  renounce  all  idolatry;  that  they  should 
not  steal,  nor  commit  fornication,  nor  kill  their  children  (as  the  pagan 
Arabs  used  to  do  when  they  apprehended  they  should  not  be  able  to 
maintain  them^),  nor  forge  calumnies;  and  that  they  should  obey  the 
prophet  in  all  things  that  were  reasonable."  When  they  had  solemnly 
engaged  to  do  all  this,  Mohammed  sent  one  of  his  disciples,  named  Masab 
Ebn  Omair,  home  with  them,  to  instruct  them  more  fully  in  the  grounds 
and  ceremonies  of  his  new  religion. 

Masab,  being  arrived  at  Medina,  by  the  assistance  of  those  who  had 
been  formerly  converted,  gained  several  proselytes,  particularly  Osaid  Ebn 
Hodeira,  a  chief  man  of  the  city,  and  Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  prince  of  the 
tribe  of  Aws;  Mohammedism  spreading  so  fast,  that  there  was  scarce  a 
house  wherein  there  were  not  some  who  had  embraced  it. 

The  next  year,  being  the  thirteenth  of  Mohammed's  mission,  Masab 
returned  to  Mecca,  accompanied  by  seventy-three  men  and  two  women  of 
Medina  who  had  professed  Islamism,  besides  some  others  who  were  as  yet 
unbelievers.  On  their  arrival,  they  immediately  sent  to  Mohammed,  and 
offered  him  their  assistance,  of  which  he  was  now  in  great  need,  for  his 
adversaries  were  by  this  time  grown  so  powerful  in  Mecca,  that  he  could  not 
stay  there  much  longer  without  imminent  danger.  Wherefore  he  accepted 
their  proposal,  and  met  them  one  night,  by  appointment,  at  al  Akaba  above- 
mentioned,  attended  by  his  uncle  al  Abbas,  who,  though  he  was  not  then  a 
believer,  wished  his  nephew  well,  and  made  a  speech  to  those  of  Medina, 
wherein  he  told  them,  that  as  Mohammed  was  obliged  to  quit  his  native 
city,  and  seek  an  asylum  elsewhere,  and  they  had  offered  him  their  protec- 
tion, they  would  do  well  not  to  deceive  him ;  and  that  if  they  were  not 
firmly  resolved  to  defend  and  not  betray  him,  they  had  better  declare  their 
minds,  and  let  him  provide  for  his  safety  in  some  other  manner.  Upon 
their  protesting  their  sincerity,  Mohammed  swore  to  be  faithful  to  them;  on 
condition  that  they  should  protect  him  against  all  insults,  as  heartily 
as  they  would  their  own  wives  and  families.  They  then  asked  him  what 
recompense  they  were  to  expect  if  they  should  happen  to  be  killed  in  his 
quarrel ;  he  answered  paradise.  Whereupon  they  pledged  their  faith  to 
him,  and  so  returned  home  ;'  after  Mohammed  had  chosen  twelve  out 
of  their  number,  who  were  to  have  the  same  authority  among  them  as 
the  twelve  apostles  of  Christ  had  among  his  disciples.^ 

Hitherto  Mohammed  had  propagated  his  religion  by  fair  means,  so  that 
the  whole  success  of  his  enterprise  before  his  flight  to  Medina  must  be  at- 
tributed to  persuasion  only,  and  not  to  compulsion.  For  before  this  second 
oath  of  fealty  or  inauguration  at  al  Akaba,  he  had  no  permission  to  use  any 
force  at  all ;  and  in  several  places  of  the  Koran,  which  he  pretended 
were  revealed  during  his  stay  at  Mecca,  he  declares  his  business  was  only 
to  preach  and  admonish,  that  he  had  no  authority  to  compel  any  person 
to  embrace  his  religion ;  and  that  whether  people  believed,  or  not,  was  none 
of  his  concern,  but  belonged  solely  untoGod.  And  he  was  so  far  from  allow- 
ing his  followers  to  use  force,  that  he  exhorted  them  to  bear  patiently  those 

'  Cap.  60.        «  Vide  Koran,  chap.  6.  »  Abulfeda.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  40,  &c. 

» Ebn  Ishak. 


SECT.  II.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  35 

injuries  which  were  offered  them  on  account  of  their  faith  ;  and  when  per- 
secuted himself,  chose  rather  to  quit  the  place  of  his  birth  and  retire 
to  Medina,  than  to  make  any  resistance.  But  this  great  passiveness  and 
moderation  seems  entirely  owing  to  his  want  of  power,  and  the  great  supe- 
riority of  his  opposers  for  the  first  twelve  years  of  his  mission  ;  for  no 
sooner  was  he  enabled,  by  the  assistance  of  those  of  Medina,  to  make  head 
against  his  enemies,  than  he  gave  out,  that  God  had  allowed  him  and 
his  followers  to  defend  themselves  against  the  infidels;  and  at  length, 
as  his  forces  increased,  he  pretended  to  have  the  divine  leave  even  to 
attack  them  and  to  destroy  idolatry,  and  set  up  the  true  faith  by  the 
sword ;  finding,  by  experience,  that  his  designs  would  otherwise  proceed 
very  slowly,  if  they  were  not  utterly  overthrown ;  and  knowing  on  the 
other  hand  that  innovators,  when  they  depend  solely  on  their  own  strength, 
and  can  compel,  seldom  run  any  risk ;  from  whence,  the  politician  ob- 
serves, it  follows,  that  all  the  armed  prophets  have  succeeded,  and  the  un- 
armed ones  have  failed.  Moses,  Cyrus,  Theseus,  and  Romulus  would  not 
have  been  able  to  establish  the  observance  of  their  institutions  for  any 
length  of  time,  had  they  not  been  armed.2  The  first  passage  of  the  Koran 
which  gave  Mohammed  the  permission  of  defending  himself  by  arms  is 
said  to  have  been  that  in  the  twenty-second  chapter ;  after  which  a  great 
number  to  the  same  purpose  were  revealed. 

That  Mohammed  had  a  right  to  take  up  arms  for  his  own  defence  against 
his  unjust  persecutors,  may  perhaps  be  allowed ;  but  whether  he  ought 
afterwards  to  have  made  use  of  that  means  for  the  establishing  of  his  reli- 
gion is  a  question  I  will  not  here  determine.  How  far  the  secular  power 
may  or  ought  to  interpose  in  affairs  of  this  nature  mankind  are  not  agreed. 
The  method  of  converting  by  the  sword  gives  no  very  favourable  idea  of 
the  faith  which  is  so  propagated,  and  is  disallowed  by  every  body  in  those 
of  another  religion,  though  the  same  persons  are  willing  to  admit  of  it  for 
the  advancement  of  their  own ;  supposing  that  though  a  false  religion  ought 
not  to  be  established  by  authority,  yet  a  true  one  may ;  and  accordingly 
force  is  almost  as  constantly  employed  in  these  cases  by  those  who  have  the 
power  in  their  hands,  as  it  is  constantly  complained  of  by  those  who  suffer 
the  violence.  It  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  convincing  proofs  that  Moham- 
medism  was  no  other  than  a  human  invention,  that  it  owed  its  progress  and 
establishment  almost  entirely  to  the  sword ;  and  it  is  one  of  the  strongest 
demonstrations  of  the  divineoriginal  of  Christianity,  that  it  prevailed  against 
all  the  force  and  powers  of  the  world  by  the  mere  dint  of  its  own  truth, 
after  having  stood  the  assaults  of  all  manner  of  persecutions,  as  well  as 
other  oppositions,  for  three  hundred  years  together,  and  at  length  made  the 
Roman  emperors  themselves  submit  thereto  •,'  after  which  time  indeed  this 
proof  seems  to  fail,  Christianity  being  then  established  and  paganism 
abolished  by  public  authority,  which  has  had  great  influence  in  the  pro- 
pagation of  the  one  and  destruction  of  the  other  ever  since."  But  to 
return. 

Mohammed  havrng  provided  for  the  security  of  his  companions  as  well  as 
his  own,  by  the  league  offensive  and  defensive  which  he  had  now  concluded 
with  those  of  Medina,  directed  them  to  repair  thither,  which  they  accord- 
ingly did  ;  but  himself  with  Abu  Beer  and  Ali  staid  behind,  having  not  yet 
received  the  divine  permission,  as  he  pretended,  to  leave  Mecca.  The 
Koreish,  fearing  the  consequence  of  this  new  alliance,  began  to  think  it  ab- 
solutely necessary  to  prevent  Mohammed's  escape  to  Medina,  and  having 

^  Machiavelli,  Princ.  c.  vi.  '  See  Prideaux's  Letter  to  the  Deists,  p.  220,  &c. 

*  See  Bayle's  Diet.  Hist.  Art.  Moham.  Rem.  O. 


36  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ir. 

held  a  council  thereon,  after  several  milder  expedients  had  been  rejected, 
they  came  to  a  resolution  that  he  should  be  killed  ;  and  agreed  that  a  man 
should  be  chosen  out  of  every  tribe  for  the  execution  of  this  design,  and  that 
each  man  should  have  a  blow  at  him  with  his  sword,  that  the  guilt  of  his 
blood  might  fall  equally  on  all  the  tribes,  to  whose  united  power  the 
Hashemi tes  were  much  inferior,  and  therefore  durst  not  attempt  to  re- 
venge their  kinsman's  death. 

This  conspiracy  was  scarce  formed  when  by  some  means  or  other  it  came 
to  Mohammed's  knowledge,  and  he  gave  out  that  it  was  revealed  to  him  by 
the  angel  Gabriel,  who  had  now  ordered  him  to  retire  to  Medina.  Where- 
upon, to  amuse  his  enemies,  he  directed  Ali  to  lie  down  in  his  place  and 
wrap  himself  up  in  his  green  cloak,  which  he  did,  and  Mohammed  escaped 
miraculously  as  they  pretend,5  to  Abu  Beer's  house,  unperceived  by  the 
conspirators,  who  had  already  assembled  at  the  prophet's  door.  They  in 
the  mean  time,  looking  through  the  crevice  and  seeing  Ali,  whom  they  took 
to  be  Mohammed  himself,  asleep,  continued  watching  there  till  morning, 
when  Ali  arose  and  they  found  themselves  deceived. 

From  Abu  Beer's  house  Mohammed  and  he  went  to  a  cave  in  mount 
Thur,  to  the  south-east  of  Mecca,  accompanied  only  by  Arner  Ebn  Foheirah, 
Abu  Beer's  servant,  and  Abd'allah  Ebn  Oreikat,  an  idolater,  whom  they 
had  hired  for  a  guide.  In  this  cave  they  lay  hid  three  days  to  avoid 
the  search  of  their  enemies,  which  they  very  narrowly  escaped,  and  not 
without  the  assistance  of  more  miracles  than  one  ;  for  some  say  that  the 
Koreish  were  struck  with  blindness,  so  that  they  could  not  find  the  cave  ; 
others,  that  after  Mohammed  and  his  companions  were  got  in,  two  pigeons 
laid  their  eggs  at  the  entrance,  and  a  spider  covered  the  mouth  of  the  cave 
with  her  web,^  which  made  them  look  no  farther.^  Abu  Beer  seeing  the 
prophet  in  such  imminent  danger  became  very  sorrowful,  whereupon 
Mohammed  comforted  him  with  these  words,  recorded  in  the  Koran,^ — 
"  Be  not  grieved,  for  God  is  with  us."  Their  enemies  being  retired,  they 
left  the  cave  and  set  out  for  Medina,  by  a  by-road,  and  having  fortunately, 
or  as  the  Mohammedans  tell  us,  miraculously  escaped  some  who  were  sent 
to  pursue  them,  arrived  safely  in  the  city ;  whither  Ali  followed  them  in 
three  days,  after  he  had  settled  some  affairs  at  Mecca.^ 

The  first  thing  Mohammed  did  after  his  arrival  at  Medina  was  to  build  a 
temple  for  his  religious  worship  ;  and  a  house  for  himself,  which  he  did  on 
a  parcel  of  ground  which  had  before  served  to  put  camels  in,  or  as  others  tell 
us,  for  a  burying  ground,  and  belonged  to  Sahal  and  Soheil  the  sons 
of  Amru,  who  were  orphans.'  This  action  Dr.  Prideaux  exclaims  against, 
representing  it  as  a  flagrant  instance  of  injustice,  for  that,  says  he,  he 
violently  dispossessed  these  poor  orphans,  the  sons  of  an  inferior  artificer, 
(whom  the  author  he  quotes^  call  a  carpenter)  of  this  ground,  and  so 
founded  the  first  fabric  of  his  worship  with  the  like  wickedness  as  he  did  his 
religion.^  But  to  say  nothing  of  the  improbability  that  Mohammed  should 
act  in  so  impolitic  a  manner  at  his  first  coming,  the  Mohammedan  writers 
set  this  affair  in  a  quite  different  light ;  one  tells  us  that  he  treated  with  the 
lads  about  the  price  of  the  ground,  but  they  desired  he  would  accept  it  as 

^  See  the  notes  to  chap.  8.  and  36. 

^  It  is  observable  that  the  Jews  have  a  like  tradition  concerning  David,  when  he  fled  from 
Saul  into  the  cave  ;  and  the  Targuni  paraphrases  these  words  of  the  second  verse  of 
Psalm  Ivii.,  (which  was  composed  on  occasion  of  that  deliverance)  "  I  will  pray  before  the 
most  high  God  that  performeth  all  things  for  me,"  in  this  manner  ;  "  I  will  pray  before  the 
most  high  God,  who  called  a  spider  to  weave  a  web  for  my  sake  in  the  mouth  of  the  cave." 

■"  Al  Beidawi  in  Kor.  cap.  9.     Vide  d'Herbel  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  445.  ^  Chap.  9. 

^  Abulfeda  Vit.  Moham.  p.  50,  Slc.  Ebn  Shohnah.  '  Abulfeda,  ib.  p.  52,  53.  ^  Dispu- 
tatio  Christiani  contra  Saracen,  cap.  iv.  ^  Prideaux's  Life  of  Moham.  p.  58. 


SECT.  ir.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  37 

a  present; 4  however,  as  historians  of  good  credit  assure  us,  he  actually 
bought  it,5  and  the  money  was  paid  by  Abu  Becr.e  Besides,  had  Moham- 
med accepted  it  as  a  present,  the  orphans  were  in  circumstances  sufficient 
to  have  afibrded  it ;  for  they  were  of  a  very  good  family,  of  the  tribe  Naj- 
jar, one  of  the  most  illustrious  among  the  Arabs,  and  not  the  sons  of 
a  carpenter,  as  Dr.  Prideaux's  author  writes,  who  took  the  word  Najjar, 
which  signifies  a  carpenter,  for  an  appellative,  whereas  it  is  a  proper 


name. 


Mohammed  being  securely  settled  at  Medina,  and  able  not  only  to 
defend  himself  against  the  insults  of  his  enemies,  but  to  attack  them,  began 
to  send  out  small  parties  to  make  reprisals  on  the  Koreish  ;  the  first  party 
consisting  of  no  more  than  nine  men,  who  intercepted  and  plundered  a 
caravan  belonging  to  that  tribe,  and  in  the  action  took  two  prisoners. 
But  what  established  his  affairs  very  much,  and  was  the  foundation  on 
which  he  built  all  his  succeeding  greatness,  was  the  gaining  of  the  battle  of 
Bedr,  which  was  fought  in  the  second  year  of  the  Hejra,  and  is  so  famous 
in  the  Mohammedan  history.^  As  my  design  is  not  to  write  the  life  of 
Mohammed,  but  only  to  describe  the  manner  in  which  he  carried  on  his 
enterprise,  I  shall  not  enter  into  any  detail  of  his  subsequent  battles  and 
expeditions,  which  amounted  to  a  considerable  number.  Some  reckon  no 
less  than  twenty-seven  expeditions  wherein  Mohammed  was  personally 
present,  in  nine  of  which  he  gave  battle,  besides  several  other  expeditions 
in  whicli  he  was  not  present:^  some  of  them  however  will  be  necessarily 
taken  notice  of  in  explaining  several  passages  of  the  Koran.  His  forces 
he  maintained  partly  by  the  contributions  of  his  followers  for  this  purpose, 
which  he  called  by  the  name  of  zacat  or  alms,  and  the  paying  of  which  he 
very  artfully  made  one  main  article  of  his  religion  ;  and  partly  by  ordering 
a  fifth  part  of  the  plunder  to  be  brought  into  the  public  treasury  for  that 
purpose,  in  which  matter  he  likewise  pretended  to  act  by  the  divine 
direction. 

In  a  few  years,  by  the  success  of  his  arms  (notwithstanding  he  some- 
times came  off  by  the  worst),  he  considerably  raised  his  credit  and  power. 
In  the  sixth  year  of  the  Hejra  he  set  out  with  1400  men  to  visit  the 
temple  of  Mecca,  not  with  any  intent  of  committing  hostilities,  but  in  a 
peaceable  manner.  However  when  he  came  to  al  Hodeibiya,  which  is 
situate  partly  within  and  partly  without  the  sacred  territory,  the  Koreish 
sent  to  let  him  know  that  they  would  not  permit  him  to  enter  Mecca, 
unless  he  forced  his  way  ;  whereupon  he  called  his  troops  about  him,  and 
they  all  took  a  solemn  oath  of  fealty  or  homage  to  him,  and  he  resolved  to 
attack  the  city  ;  but  those  of  Mecca  sending  Arwa  Ebn  Masud,*  prince  of 
the  tribe  of  Thakif,  as  their  ambassador  to  desire  peace,  a  truce  was  con- 
cluded between  them  for  ten  years,  by  which  any  person  was  allowed 
to  enter  into  league  either  with  Mohammed  or  with  the  Koreish  as  he 
thought  fit. 

It  may  not  be  improper,  to  show  the  inconceivable  veneration  and 
respect  the  Mohammedans  by  this  time  had  for  their  prophet,  to  mention 
the  account  which  the  above-mentioned  ambassador  gave  the  Koreish,  at 
his  return,  of  their  behaviour.  He  said  he  had  been  at  the  courts  both  of 
the  Roman  emperor  and  of  the  king  of  Persia,  and  never  saw  any  prince  so 
highly  respected  by  his  subjects  as  Mohammed  was  by  his  companions ; 

*  Al  Bokhari  in  Sonna.  »  Al  Jannabi.  «  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef.  '  Vide  Gagnier, 
jNlot.  in  Abulfed.  de  Vit.  Mahom.  p.  52,  53.  «  See  the  notes  on  the  Koran,  chap.  3. 
p.  36.         «  Vide  Abulfed,  vit.  Moh.  p.  158. 

*  This  is  erroneous.     The  ambassador  was  Sohail  Ebn  Amru.     See  note,  chap.  48. 


38  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  ii. 

for  whenever  he  made  the  ablution,  in  order  to  say  his  prayers,  they  ran 
and  catched  the  water  that  he  had  used;  and  whenever  he  spit,  they 
immediately  licked  it  up,  and  gathered  every  hair  that  fell  from  him  with 
great  superstition.' 

In  the  seventh  year  of  the  Hejra,  Mohammed  began  to  think  of  propa- 
gating his  religion  beyond  the  bounds  of  Arabia,  and  sent  messengers  to 
the  neighbouring  princes  with  letters  to  invite  them  to  Mohammedism. 
Nor  was  this  project  without  some  success.  Khosru  Parviz,  then  king  of 
Persia,  received  his  letter  with  great  disdain,  and  tore  it  in  a  passion, 
sending  away  the  messenger  very  abruptly;  which,  when  Mohammed 
heard,  he  said,  God  shall  tear  his  kingdom.  And  soon  after  a  messenger 
came  to  Mohammed  from  Badhan  king  of  Yaman,  who  was  a  dependant 
on  the  Persians,^  to  acquaint  him  that  he  had  received  orders  to  send  him 
to  Khosru.  Mohammed  put  off  his  answer  till  the  next  morning,  and 
then  told  the  messenger  it  had  been  revealed  to  him  that  night,  that  Khosru 
was  slain  by  his  son  Shiruyeh ;  adding  that  he  was  well  assured  his  new 
religion  and  empire  should  rise  to  as  great  a  height  as  that  of  Khosru; 
and  therefore  bid  him  advise  his  master  to  embrace  Mohammedism.  The 
messenger  being  returned,  Badhan  in  a  few  days  received  a  letter  from 
Shiruyeh  informing  him  of  his  father's  death,  and  ordering  him  to  give  the 
prophet  no  further  disturbance.  Whereupon  Badhan  and  the  Persians 
with  him  turned  Mohammedans.^ 

The  emperor  Heraclius,  as  the  Arabian  historians  assure  us,  received 
Mohammed's"  letter  with  great  respect,  laying  it  on  his  pillow,  and  dis- 
missed the  bearer  honourably.  And  some  pretend  that  he  would  have 
professed  this  new  faith,  had  he  not  been  afraid  of  losing  his  crown.^ 

Mohammed  wrote  to  the  same  effect  to  the  king  of  Ethiopia,  though  he 
had  been  converted  before,  according  to  the  Arab  writers  ;  and  to  Mokaw- 
kas,  governor  of  Egypt,  who  gave  the  messenger  a  very  favourable 
reception,  and  sent  several  valuable  presents  to  Mohammed,  and  among  the 
rest  two  girls,  one  of  which,  named  Mary,^  became  agreat  favourite  with  him. 
He  also  sent  letters  of  the  like  purport  to  several  Arab  princes,  particu- 
larly one  to  al  Hareth  Ebn  Abi  Shamer^  king  of  Ghassan,  who  returning  for 
answer  that  he  would  go  to  Mohammed  himself,  the  prophet  said,  May  his 
kingdom  perish ;  another  to  Hawdha  Ebn  Ali,  king  of  Yamama,  who  was 
a  Christian,  and  having  some  time  before  professed  Islamism,  had  lately 
returned  to  his  former  faith;  this  prince  sent  back  a  very  rough  answer, 
upon  which,  Mohammed  cursing  him,  he  died  soon  after;  a  third  to  al 
Mondar  Ebn  Sawa,  king  of  Bahrein,  who  embraced  Mohammedism,  and 
all  the  Arabs  of  that  country  followed  his  example."^ 

The  eighth  yearof  the  Hejra  was  a  very  fortunate  year  to  Mohammed.  In 
the  beginning  of  it  Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid  and  Amru  Ebn  al  As,  both  excellent 
soldiers,  the  first  of  whom  afterwards  conquered  Syria  and  other  countries, 
and  the  latter  Egypt,  became  proselytes  of  Mohammedism.  And  soon  after 
the  prophet  sent  3000  men  against  the  Grecian  forces,  to  revenge  the  death 
of  one  of  his  ambassadors,  who  being  sent  to  the  governor  of  Bosra,  on  the 
same  errand  as  those  who  went  to  the  above-mentioned  princes,  was  slain 
by  an  Arab  of  the  tribe  of  Ghassan  at  Muta,  a  town  in  the  territory  of 
Balka  in  Syria,  about  three  days'  journey  eastward  from  Jerusalem,  near 

»  Abulfeda.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  85.  ^  See  before,  p.  8.  '  Abulfeda  Vit.  Moh.  p.  92,  &c. 
*  Al  Jannabi.  =  It  is  however  a  different  name  from  that  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  which 
the  orientals  always  write  Maryam  or  Miriam,  whereas  this  is  written  Mariya.  ^  I'his 
prince  is  omitted  in  Dr.  Pocock's  list  of  the  kings  of  Ghassan,  Spec.  p.  77.  '  Abulfeda, 
ubi  sup.  p.  94,  &c. 


SECT.  II.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  39 

which  town  they  encountered.  The  Grecians  being  vastly  superior  in 
number  (for,  including  the  auxiliary  Arabs,  they  had  an  army  of  100,000 
men),  the  Mohammedans  were  repulsed  in  the  first  attack,  and  lost  succes- 
sively three  of  their  generals,  viz.  Zeid  Ebn  Haretha,  Mohammed's  freed 
man,  Jaafar  the  son  of  Abu  Taleb,  and  Abdallah  Ebn  Rawaha;  but 
Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid  succeeding  to  the  command  overthrew  the  Greeks 
with  a  great  slaughter,  and  brought  away  abundance  of  rich  spoil  ;8  on 
occasion  of  which  action  Mohammed  gave  him  the  honourable  title  of  Seif 
min  soyuf  Allah,  one  of  the  swords  of  God.^ 

In  this  year  also  Mohammed  took  the  city  of  Mecca,  the  inhabitants  where- 
of had  broken  the  truce  concluded  on  two  years  before.  For  the  tribe  of 
Beer,  who  were  confederates  of  the  Koreish,  attacking  those  of  Khozaah, 
who  were  allies  of  Mohammed,  killed  several  of  them,  being  supported  in 
the  action  by  a  party  of  the  Koreish  themselves.  The  consequence  of  tiiis 
violation  was  soon  apprehended  ;  and  Abu  Sofian  himself  made  a  journey 
to  Medina  on  purpose  to  heal  the  breach  and  renew  the  truce  ,-^  but  in 
vain  ;  for  Mohammed,  glad  of  this  opportunity,  refused  to  see  him  ;  where- 
upon he  applied  to  Abu  Beer  and  Ali,  but  they  giving  him  no  answer,  he 
was  obliged  to  return  to  Mecca  as  he  came. 

Mohammed  immediately  gave  orders  for  preparations  to  be  made,  that 
he  might  surprise  the  Meccans  while  they  were  unprovided  to  receive  him  : 
in  a  little  time  he  began  his  march  thither,  and  by  that  time  he  came  near 
the  city  his  forces  were  increased  to  10,000  men.  Those  of  Mecca  being 
not  in  a  condition  to  defend  themselves  against  so  formidable  an  army, 
surrendered  at  discretion ;  and  Abu  Sofian  saved  his  life  by  turning 
Mohammedan.  About  twenty-eight  of  the  idolaters  were  killed  by  a  party 
under  the  command  of  Khaled ;  but  this  happened  contrary  to  Mohammed's 
orders,  who,  when  he  entered  the  town,  pardoned  all  the  Koreish  on  their 
submission,  except  only  six  men  and  four  women,  who  were  more  obnoxious 
than  ordinary  (some  of  them  having  apostatized),  and  were  solemnly  pro- 
scribed by  the  prophet  himself;  but  of  these  no  more  than  three  men  and 
one  woman  were  put  to  death,  the  rest  obtaining  pardon  on  their  embracing 
Mohammedism.  and  one  of  the  women  making  her  escape. 

The  remainder  of  this  year  Mohammed  employed  in  destroying  the  idols 
in  and  round  about  Mecca,  sending  several  of  his  generals  on  expeditions 
for  that  purpose,  and  to  invite  the  Arabs  to  Islamism ;  wherein  it  is  no 
wonder  if  they  now  met  with  success. 

The  next  year,  being  the  ninth  of  the  Hejra,  the  Mohammedans  call 
the  year  of  embassies  :  for  the  Arabs  had  been  hitherto  expecting  the  issue 
of  the  war  between  Mohammed  and  the  Koreish  ;  but  so  soon  as  that  tribe, 
the  principal  of  the  whole  nation,  and  the  genuine  descendants  of  Tshmael, 
whose  prerogatives  none  ofl^ered  to  dispute,  had  submitted,  they  were  satis- 
fied  that  it  was  not  in  their  power  to  oppose  Mohammed,  and  therefore 
began  to  come  in  to  him  in  great  numbers,  and  to  send  embassies  to  make 
their  submissions  to  him,  both  to  Mecca  while  he  stayed  there,  and  also  to 
Medina  whither  he  returned  this  year.'  Among  the  rest,  five  kings  of 
the  tribe  of  Hamyar  professed  Mohammedism,  and  sent  embassadors  to 
notify  the  same.'' 

In  the  tenth  year  Ali  was  sent  into  Yaman  to  propagate  the  Moham- 

\  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  99,  100,  &c.  »  Al  Bokhari  in  Sonna.  *  This  circumstance  is  a 
plain  proof  that  the  Koreish  had  actually  broken  the  truce,  and  that  it  was  not  a  mere 
pretence  of  Mohammed's,  as  Dr.  Prideaux  insinuates.     Life  of  Moh.  p.  94.  ^  Vide 

Abulfed.  ubi  sup.  c.  51,  52.        '  Vide  Gagnier,  Not.  ad  Abulfed.  p.  121.         *  Abulfeda. 
ubi  sup.  p.  128. 


40  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iii. 

medan  faith  there,  and,  as  it  is  said,  converted  the  whole  tribe  of  Hamdan 
in  one  day.  Their  example  was  quickly  followed  by  all  the  inhabitants  of 
that  province,  except  only  those  of  Najran,  who,  being  Christians,  chose 
rather  to  pay  tribute.^ 

Thus  was  Mohammedism  established,  and  idolatry  rooted  out,  even  in 
Mohammed's  life-time  (for  he  died  the  next  year)  throughout  all  Arabia, 
except  only  Yamama ;  where  Moseilama,  who  set  up  also  for  a  prophet  as 
Mohammed's  competitor,  had  a  great  party,  and  was  not  reduced  till  the 
Khalifat  of  Abu  Beer.  And  the  Arabs  being  then  united  in  one  faith  and 
under  one  prince,  found  themselves  in  a  condition  of  making  those  con- 
quests which  extended  the  Mohammedan  faith  over  so  great  a  part  of  the 
world. 


SECTION  III, 


OF  THE  KORAN  ITSELF,  THE  PECULIARITIES  OF  THAT  BOOK ',  THE  MANNER 
OF  ITS  BEING  WRITTEN  AND  PUBLISHED,  AND  THE  GENERAL  DESIGN 


OF  IT. 


The  word  Koran,  derived  from  the  verb  karaa,  to  read,  signifies  properly 
in  Arabic,  the  reading,  or  rather,  that  which  ought  to  be  read  ;  by  which 
name  the  Mohammedans  denote  not  only  the  entire  book  or  volume  of  the 
Koran,  but  also  any  particular  chapter  or  section  of  it ;  just  as  the  Jews 
call  either  the  whole  scripture  or  any  part  of  it  by  the  name  of  Karah,  or 
Mikra,^  words  of  the  same  origin  and  import.  Which  observation  seems 
to  overthrow  the  opinion  of  some  learned  Arabians,  who  would  have  the 
Koran  so  named,  because  it  is  a  collection  of  the  loose  chapters  or  sheets 
which  compose  it ;  the  verb  karaa  signifying  also  to  gather  or  collect  i"^  and 
may  also,  by  the  way,  serve  as  an  answer  to  those  who  object^  that  the 
Koran  must  be  a  book  forged  at  once,  and  could  not  possibly  be  revealed 
by  parcels  at  different  times,  during  the  course  of  several  years,  as  the 
Mohammedans  affirm ;  because  the  Koran  is  often  mentioned,  and  called 
by  that  name,  in  the  very  book  itself.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe, 
that  the  syllable  Al  in  the  word  Alkoran  is  only  the  Arabic  article, 
signifying  the ;  and  therefore  ought  to  be  omitted  when  the  English  article 
is  prefixed. 

Besides  this  peculiar  name,  the  Koran  is  also  honoured  with  several 
appellations  common  to  other  books  of  scripture  :  as  al  Forkan,  from  the 
verb  faraka,  to  divide  or  distinguish  ;  not  as  the  Mohammedan  doctors  say, 
because  those  books  are  divided  into  chapters  or  sections,  or  distinguish 
between  good  and  evil,  but  in  the  same  notion  that  the  Jews  use  the  word 
Perek,  or  Pirka,  from  the  same  root,  to  denote  a  section  or  portion  of 
Scripture.9  It  is  also  called  al  Moshaf,  the  volume,  and  al  Kitab,  the  book, 
by  way  of  eminence,  which  answers  to  the  Biblia  of  the  Greeks  ;  and 
p.1  Dhikr,  the  admonition,  which  name  is  also  given  to  the  Pentateuch  and 
Gospel. 

The  Koran  is  divided  into  one  hundred  and  fourteen  larger  portions  of 

*  Abulfeda,  ubi  sup.  p.  129.         *  This  name  was  at  first  given  to  the  Pentateuch  only. 
Nehem.  viii.  Vide  Simon.  Hist.  Crit,  du  Vieux  Test.  hb.  1.  c.  9.  '  Vide  Erpen.  Not. 

ad  Hist.  Joseph,  p.  2.  ®  Marracc.  de  Alcor.  p.  41.  *  Vide  Gol.  in  append,  ad 

Gram.  Arab.  Erpen.  175.     A  chapter  or  sub-division  of  the  Massictoth  of  the  Mishnu  is 
also  called  Perek.  Maimon.  praef  in  Seder  Zeraim,  p.  57. 


SECT.  III.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  •     41 

very  unequal  length,  which  we  call  chapters,  but  the  Arabians  Sowar,  in 
the  singular  Sura,  a  word  rarely  used  on  any  other  occasion,  and  properly 
signifying  a  row,  order,  or  regular  series  ;  as  a  course  of  bricks  in  building, 
or  a  rank  of  soldiers  in  an  army  ;  and  is  the  same  in  use  and  import  with 
the  Sura,  or  Tora  of  the  Jews,  who  also  call  the  fifty-three  sections  of  the 
Pentateuch  Sedarim,  a  word  of  the  same  signification.^ 

These  chapters  are  not  in  the  manuscript  copies  distinguished  by  their 
numerical  order,  though,  for  the  reader's  ease,  they  are  numbered  in  this 
edition,  but  by  particular  titles,  which  (except  that  of  the  first,  which  is  the 
initial  chapter,  or  introduction  to  the  rest,  and  by  the  old  Latin  translator 
not  numbered  among  the  chapters)  are  taken  sometimes  from  a  particular 
matter  treated  of,  or  person  mentioned  therein  ;  but  usually  from  the  first 
word  of  note,  exactly  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Jews  have  named  their 
Sedarim  ;  though  the  word  from  which  some  chapters  are  denominated  be 
very  far  distant,  towards  the  middle,  or  perhaps  the  end  of  the  chapter, 
which  seems  ridiculous.  But  the  occasion  of  this  seems  to  have  been,  that 
the  verse  or  passage  wherein  such  word  occurs  was,  in  point  of  time, 
revealed  and  committed  to  writing  before  the  other  verses  of  the  same 
chapter  which  precede  it  in  order  ;  and  the  title  being  given  to  the  chapter 
before  it  was  completed,  or  the  passages  reduced  to  their  present  order,  the 
verse  from  whence  such  title  was  taken  did  not  always  happen  to  begin 
the  chapter.  Some  chapters  have  two  or  more  titles,  occasioned  by  the 
difference  of  the  copies. 

Some  of  the  chapters  having  been  revealed  at  Mecca,  and  others  at 
Medina,  the  noting  this  difference  makes  a  part  of  the  title :  but  the  reader 
will  observe  that  several  of  the  chapters  are  said  to  have  been  revealed 
partly  at  Mecca,  and  partly  at  Medina  ;  and  as  to  others,  it  is  yet  a  dispute 
among  the  commentators  to  which  place  of  the  two  they  belong. 

Every  chapter  is  subdivided  into  smaller  portions,  of  very  unequallength 
also,  which  we  customarily  call  verses;  but  the  Arabic  word  is  Ayat,  the 
same  with  the  Hebrew  Ototh,  and  signifies  signs,  or  wonders  ;  such  as  are 
the  secrets  of  God,  his  attributes,  works,  judgments,  and  ordinances,  de- 
livered in  those  verses;  many  of  which  have  their  particular  titles  also, 
imposed  in  the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  chapters. 

Notwithstanding  this  subdivision  is  common,  and  well  known,  yet  I 
have  never  yet  seen  any  manuscript  wherein  the  verses  are  actually  num- 
bered ;  though  in  some  copies  the  number  of  verses  in  each  chapter  is  set 
down  after  the  title,  which  we  have  therefore  added  in  the  table  of  the 
chapters.  And  the  Mohammedans  seem  to  have  some  scruple  in  making 
an  actual  distinctionintheir  copies,  because  the  chief  disagreement  between 
their  several  editions  of  the  Koran  consists  in  the  division  and  number 
of  the  verses;  and  for  this  reason  I  have  not  taken  upon  me  to  make  any 
such  division. 

Having  mentioned  the  different  editions  of  the  Koran,  it  may  not  be 
amiss  here  to  acquaint  the  reader,  that  there  are  seven  principal  editions, 
if  I  may  so  call  them,  or  ancient  copies  of  that  book  ;  two  of  which  were 
published  and  used  at  Medina,  a  third  at  Mecca,  a  fourth  at  Cufii,  a  fifth 
at  Basra,  a  sixth  in  Syria,  and  a  seventh  called  the  common  or  vulgar 
edition.  Of  these  editions,  the  first  of  Medina  makes  the  whole  number  of 
the  verses  six  thousand;  the  second  and  fifth,  six  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fourteen ;  the  third,  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  nineteen ;  the  fourth, 

»  Vide  Gol.  ubi  sup.  177.  Each  of  the  six  grand  divisions  of  the  Mishna  is  also  called. 
Seder.  Maimon.  ubi  sup.  p.  55. 


42  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iii. 

six  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-six ;  the  sixth,  six  thousand  two 
hundred  and  twenty-six;  and  the  last,  six  thousand  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five.  But  they  are  all  said  to  contain  the  same  number  of  words, 
namely,  seventy-seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-nine,'^  and  the  same 
number  of  letters,  viz.  three  hundred  and  twenty-three  thousand  and 
fifteen  :^  for  the  Mohammedans  have  in  this  also  imitated  the  Jews,  that 
they  have  superstitiously  numbered  the  very  words  and  letters  of  their 
law  ,•  nay,  they  have  taken  the  pains  to  compute  (how  exactly  I  know  not) 
the  number  of  times  each  particular  letter  of  the  alphabet  is  contained  in 
the  Koran. "^ 

Besides  these  unequal  divisionsof  chapter  and  verse,  the  Mohammedans 
have  also  divided  their  Koran  into  sixty  equal  portions,  which  they  call 
Ahzab,  in  the  singular  Hizb,  each  subdivided  into  four  equal  parts  ;  which 
is  also  an  imitation  of  the  Jews,  who  have  an  ancient  division  of  their 
Mishna  into  sixty  portions  called  Massictoth:^  but  the  Koran  is  more 
usually  divided  into  thirty  sections  only,  named  Ajza,  from  the  singular 
Joz,  each  of  twice  the  length  of  the  former,  and  in  the  like  manner  sub- 
divided into  four  parts.  These  divisions  are  for  the  use  of  the  readers  of 
the  Koran  in  the  royal  temples,  or  in  the  adjoining  chapels  where  the 
emperors  and  great  men  are  interred.  There  are  thirty  of  these  readers 
belonging  to  every  chapel,  and  each  reads  his  section  every  day,  so  that  the 
whole  Koran  is  read  over  once  a  day.«  I  have  seen  several  copies  divided 
in  this  manner,  and  bound  up  in  as  many  volumes;  and  have  thought  it 
proper  to  mark  these  divisions  in  the  margin  of  this  translation  by  nu- 
meral letters. 

Next  after  the  title,  at  the  head  of  every  chapter  except  only  the  ninth, 
is  prefixed  the  following  solemn  form,  by  the  Mohammedans  called  the 
Bismillah,  "  In  the  name  of  the  most  merciful  God  ;"  which  form  they 
constantly  place  at  the  beginning  of  all  their  books  and  writings  in  general, 
as  a  peculiar  mark  or  distinguishing  characteristic  of  their  religion,  it  being 
counted  a  sort  of  impiety  to  omit  it.  The  Jews  for  the  same  purpose  make 
use  of  the  form,  In  the  name  of  the  Lord,  or,  in  the  name  of  the  great 
God :  and  the  eastern  Christians  that  of,  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  But  I  am  apt  to  believe  Mohammed 
really  took  this  form,  as  he  did  many  other  things,  from  the  Persian  Magi, 
who  used  to  begin  their  books  in  these  words,  Benam  Yezdan  bakhshaish- 
gher  dadar,  that  is,  In  the  name  of  the  most  merciful,  just  God.' 

This  auspicatory  form,  and  also  the  titles  of  the  chapters,  are  by  the 
generality  of  the  doctors  and  commentators  believed  to  be  of  divine  original, 
no  less  than  the  text  itself;  but  the  more  moderate  are  of  opinion  they 
are  only  human  additions,  and  not  the  very  word  of  God. 

Thereare  twenty-nine  chapters  of  the  Koran,  which  have  this  peculiarity, 
that  they  begin  with  certain  letters  of  the  alphabet,  some  with  a  single 
one,  others  with  more.  These  letters  the  Mohammedans  believe  to  be  the 
peculiar  marks  of  the  Koran,  and  to  conceal  several  profound  mysteries,  the 
certain  understanding  of  which,  the  more  intelligent  confess  has  not  been 
communicated  to  any  mortal,  their  prophet  only  excepted.  Notwith- 
standing which,  some  will  take  the  liberty  of  guessing  at  their  meaning  by 

"  Or  as  others  reckon  ihem,  ninety-nine  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-four.  Reland, 
de  Rel.  Moh.  p.  25.  ^  Or  according  to  another  computation,  three  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  one  hundred  and  thirteen.  Ibid.  V.  Gol.  ubi  sup.  p.  178.  D'Herbelot,  Bibl. 
Orient,  p.  87.  *  Vide  Reland.  de  Rehg.  Moh.  p.  25.  '  Vide  Gol.  ubi  sup.  p.  178. 

Maimon.  praef  in  Seder  Zeraim,  p.  57.  *  Vide  Smith,  De  Moribus  et  Instit.  Turcar. 

p.  58.        '  Hyde,  Hist.  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  14. 


SECT.  m.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  43 

that  species  of  Cabbala  called  by  the  Jews  Notarikon,^  and  suppose  the 
letters  to  stand  for  as  many  words  expressing  the  names  and  attributes  of 
God,  his  worlvs,  ordinances,  and  decrees;  and  therefore  these  mysterious 
letters,  as  well  as  the  verses  themselves,  seem  in  the  Koran  to  be  called 
signs.  Others  explain  the  intent  of  those  letters  from  their  nature  or  organ, 
or  else  from  their  value  in  numbers,  according  to  another  species  of  the 
Jewish  Cabbala  called  Gematria;^  the  uncertainty  of  which  conjectures 
sufficiently  appears  from  their  disagreement.  Thus  for  example,  five  chap-  l.,-'-^ 
ters,  one  of  which  is  the  second,  begin  with  these  letters,  A.  L.  M.  which 
some  imagine  to  stand  for  Allah  latif  magid ;  God  is  gracious  and  to  be 
glorified;  or.  Ana  li  minni,  to  me  and  from  me,  viz.  belongs  all  perfection, 
and  proceeds  all  good :  or  else  for  Ana  Allah  alam,  I  am  the  most  wise 
God,  taking  the  first  letter  to  mark  the  beginning  of  the  first  word,  the 
second  the  middle  of  the  second  word,  and  the  third  the  last  of  the  third 
word ;  or  for  Allah,  Gabriel,  Mohammed,  the  author,  revealer,  and  preacher 
of  the  Koran.  Others  say,  that  as  the  letter  A  belongs  to  the  lower  part 
of  the  throat,  the  first  of  the  organs  of  speech  ;  L  to  the  palate,  the  middle 
organ ;  and  M  to  the  lips,  which  are  the  last  organ ;  so  these  letters  signify 
that  God  is  the  beginning,  middle,  and  end,  or  ought  to  be  praised  in  the 
beginning,  middle,  and  end,  of  all  our  words  and  actions :  or,  as  the  total 
value  of  those  three  letters  in  numbers  is  seventy-one,  they  signify  that  in 
the  space  of  so  many  years,  the  religion  preached  in  the  Koran  should  be 
fully  established.  The  conjecture  of  a  learned  Christian^  is  at  least  as 
certain  as  any  of  the  former,  who  supposes  these  letters  were  set  there  by 
the  amanuensis,  for  Amar  li  Mohammed,  i.  e.  At  the  command  of 
Mohammed,  as  the  five  letters  prefixed  to  the  nineteenth  chapter  seem  to 
be  there  written  by  a  Jewish  scribe,  for  Cob  Yaas,  i.  e.  Thus  he  com- 
manded. 

ThfiJCoran  is  universallyallowed  to  be  written  with  the. uirnogt  elegance 
and  puritj  oT'language,  in  the"  dialect  ofthe  tribe  of  Koreish,  the^iiost  T 
*Tn3t3te~an3  poHte  of  all  the  Arabians,  but  with  some  mixture,  though  very 
rarely,  of  other  dialects.  It  is  confessedly  the  standard  of  the  Arabic 
tongue,  and  as  the  more  orthodox  believe,  and  are  taught  by  the  book 
itself,  inimitable  by  any  human  pen  (though  some  sectaries  have  been  of 
another  opinion,)^  and  therefore  insisted  on  as  a  permanent  miracle, 
greater  than  that  of  raising  the  dead,^  and  alone  sufficient  to  convince  the 
world  of  its  divine  original. 

And  to  this  miracle  dir)  IVTr^h^vrnnipH  hinrig^liLxiIiiefly  appeal  for  the  con- 
firmation of  his  mission,  publicly  challenging  the  most  eloquent  men  in  ^ 
Arabia,  which  was  at  this  time  stocked  with  thousands  whose  sole  study 
and  ambition  it  was  to  excel  in  elegance  of  style  and  composition,*  to 
produce  even  a  single  chapter  that  might  be  compared  with  it.^  I  will 
mention  but  one  instance  out  of  several,  to  show  that  this  book  was  really 
admired  for  the  beauty  of  its  composure  by  those  who  must  be  allowed 
to  have  been  competent  judges.  A  poem  of  Labid  Ebn  Rabia,  one  of  the 
greatest  wits  in  Arabia  in  Mohammed's  time,  being  fixed  up  on  the  gate  of 

'  Vide  Buxtorf.    Lexicon   Rabbin.  '  Vide   lb.     See  also  Schickardi  Bechinat 

happerushim,  p.  62,  &c.  '■  Golius  in  append,  ad  Gram.  Erp.  p.  182,         *  See  after. 

'  Ahmed  Abd'alhalim  apud  Marracc.  de  Ale.  p.  43.  *  A  noble  writer  therefore  mistakes 
the  question  when  he  says,  these  eastern  religionists  leave  their  sacred  writ  the  sole  standard 
of  hterate  performance,  by  extinguishing  all  true  learning.  For  though  they  were  destitute 
of  what  we  call  learning,  yet  they  were  far  from  being  ignorant,  or  unable  to  compose  ele- 
gantly in  their  own  tongue.  See  L.  Shaftesbury's  Characteristics,  vol.  iii.  p.  235.  •  Al 
Gazali,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  19L   See  Koran  c.  17,  and  also  c.  2.  p.  3.  and  c.  II,  &,c. 


44  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  m. 

the  temple  of  Mecca,  an  honour  allowed  to  none  but  the  most  esteemed 
performances,  none  of  the  other  poets  durst  offer  any  of  their  own  in  com- 
petition with  it.  But  the  second  chapter  of  the  Koran  being  fixed  up  by 
it  soon  after,  Labid  himself  (then  an  idolater)  on  reading  the  first  verses 
only,  was  struck  with  admiration,  and  immediately  professed  the  religion 
taught  thereby,  declaring  that  such  words  could  proceed  from  an  inspired 
person  only.  This  Labid  was  afterwards  of  great  service  to  Mohammed, 
in  writing  answers  to  the  satires  and  invectives  that  were  made  on  him 
and  his  religion  by  the  infidels,  and  particularly  by  Amri  al  Kais,^  prince 
of  the  tribe  of  Asad,"^  and  author  of  one  of  those  seven  famous  poems 
called  al  Moallakat.^ 

The  style  of  the  Koran  is  generally  beautiful  and  fluent,  especially  where 
it  imitates  the  prophetic  manner,  and  scripture  phrases.  It  is  concise,  and 
often  obscure,  adorned  with  bold  figures  after  the  eastern  taste^  enlivened 
with  florid  and  sententious  expressions,  and  in  many  places,  especially 
where  the  majesty  and  attributes  of  God  are  described,  sublime  and  mag- 
nificent; of  which  the  reader  cannot  but  observe  several  instances,  though 
he  must  not  imagine  the  translation  comes  up  to  the  original,  notwith- 
standing my  endeavours  to  do  it  justice. 

Though  it  be  written  in  prose,  yet  the  sentences  generally  conclude  in  a 
long  continued  rhyme,  for  the  sake  of  which  the  sense  is  often  interrupted, 
and  unnecessary  repetitions  too  frequently  made,  which  appear  still  more 
ridiculous  in  a  translation,  where  the  ornament,  such  as  it  is,  for  whose 
sake  they  were  made,  cannot  be  perceived.  However  the  Arabians  are 
so  mightily  delighted  with  this  jingling,  that  they  employ  it  in  their  most 
elaborate  compositions,  which  they  also  embellish  with  frequent  passages 
of  and  allusions  to  the  Koran,  so  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  under- 
stand them  without  being  well  versed  in  this  book. 

It  is  probable  the  harmony  of  expression  which  the  Arabians  find  in  the 
Koran  might  contribute  not  a  little  to  make  them  relish  the  doctrine  there- 
in taught,  and  give  an  efficacy  to  arguments,  which,  had  they  been  nakedly 
proposed  without  this  rhetorical  dress,  might  not  have  so  easily  prevailed. 
Very  extraordinary  effects  are  related  of  the  power  of  words  well  chosen 
and  artfully  placed,  which  are  no  less  powerful  either  to  ravish  or  amaze 
than  music  itself;  wherefore  as  much  has  been  ascribed  by  the  best  orators 
to  this  part  of  rhetoric  as  to  any  other.^  He  must  have  a  very  bad  ear,  who 
is  not  uncommonly  moved  with  the  very  cadence  of  a  well-turned  sentence ; 
and  Mohammed  seems  not  to  have  been  ignorant  of  the  enthusiastic  opera- 
tion of  rhetoric  on  the  minds  of  men ;  for  which  reason  he  has  not  only 
employed  his  utmost  skill  in  these  his  pretended  revelations,  to  preserve 
that  dignity  and  sublimity  of  style,  which  might  seem  not  unworthy  of  the 
majesty  of  that  Being,  whom  he  gave  out  to  be  the  author  of  them;  and  to 
imitate  the  prophetic  manner  of  the  Old  Testament;  but  he  has  not  neg- 
lected even  the  other  parts  of  oratory;  wherein  he  succeeded  so  well,  and 
so  strangely  captivated  the  minds  of  his  audience,  that  several  of  his 
opponents  thought  it  the  effect  of  witchcraft  and  enchantment,  as  he 
sometimes  comi)lains.^ 

"The  general  design  of  the  Koran,"  (to  use  the  words  of  a  very  learned 
person),  "seems  to  be  this.  To  unite  the  professors  of  the  three  different 
religions  then  followed  in  the  populous  country  of  Arabia,  who  for  the  most 
part  lived  promiscuously,  and  wandered  without  guides,  the  far  greater 
number  being  idolaters,  and  the  rest  Jews    and  Christians    mostly  of 

"  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  512,  &c.  ■»  Poc.  Spec.  p.  80.  «  See  before,  p.  20. 

®  See  Casaubon,  of  Enthusiasm,  chap.  iv.         *  Koran,  chap.  15,  21,  &c. 


SECT.  m.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  45 

erroneous  and  he^ojodox  belief,  in  the  knowledge  and  worship  of  one 
eternal,  invisible  God,  by  whose  power  all  things  were  made,  and  those 
which  are  not,  may  be,  the  supreme  Governor,  Judge,  and  absolute  Lord  of 
the  creation  ;  established  under  the  sanction  of  certain  laws,  and  tlie  out- 
ward signs  of  certain  ceremonies,  partly  of  ancient  and  partly  of  novel 
institution,  and  enforced  by  setting  before  them  rewards  and  punishments, 
both  temporal  and  eternal  :  and  to  bring  them  all  to  the  obedience  of 
Mohammed,  as  the  prophet  and  ambassador  of  God,  who  after  the  repeated 
admonitions,  promises  and  threats  of  former  ages,  was  at  last  to  establish 
and  propagate  God's  religion  on  earth  by  force  of  arms,  and  to  be  ac- 
knowledged chief  pontift*  in  spiritual  matters,  as  well  as  supreme  prince 
in  temporal. "2 

The  great  doctrine  then  of  the  Koran  is  the  unity  of  God  ;  to  restore 
which  point  Mohammed  pretended  was  the  chief  end  of  his  mission  ;  it 
being  laid  down  by  him  as  a  fundamental  truth,  that  there  never  was 
nor  ever  can  be  more  than  one  true  orthodox  religion.  For  though  the 
particular  laws  or  ceremonies  are  only  temporary,  and  subject  to  alteration 
according  to  the  divine  direction,  yet  the  substance  of  it  being  eternal  truth, 
is  not  liable  to  change,  but  continues  immutably  the  same.  And  he  taught 
that  whenever  this  religion  became  neglected,  or  corrupted  in  essentials, 
God  had  the  goodness  to  reinform  and  readmonish  mankind  thereof,  by- 
several  prophets,  of  whom  Moses  and  Jesus  were  the  most  distinguished, 
till  the  appearance  of  Mohammed,  who  is  their  seal,  no  other  being  to  be 
expected  after  him.  And  the  more  effectually  to  engage  people  to  hearken 
to  him,  great  part  of  the  Koran  is  employed  in  relating  examples  of  dread- 
ful punishments  formerly  inflicted  by  God  on  those  who  rejected  and 
abused  his  messengers;  several  of  which  stories  or  some  circumstances 
of  them  are  taken  from  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  but  many  more  from 
the  apocryphal  books  and  traditions  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  of  those 
ages,  set  up  in  the  Koran  as  truths  in  opposition  to  the  scriptures,  which 
the  Jews  and  Christians  are  charged  with  having  altered ;  and  I  am  apt 
to  believe  that  few  or  none  of  the  relations  or  circumstances  in  the  Koran 
were  invented  by  Mohammed,  as  is  generally  supposed,  it  being  easy  to 
trace  the  greatest  part  of  them  much  higher,  as  the  rest  might  be, 
were  more  of  those  books  extant,  and  it  was  worth  while  to  make  the 
inquiry. 

The  other  part  of  the  Koran  is  taken  up  in  giving  necessary  laws 
and  directions,  in  frequent  admonitions  to  moral  and  divine  virtues,  and 
above  all  to  the  worshipping  and  reverencing  of  the  only  true  God,  and 
resignation  to  his  will;  among  which  are  many  excellent  things  inter- 
mixed, not  unworthy  even  a  Christian's  perusal. 

But  besides  these,  there  are  a  great  number  of  passages  which  are  occa- 
sional, and  relate  to  particular  emergencies.  For  whenever  any  thing  hap- 
pened which  perplexed  and  gravelled  Mohammed,  and  which  he  could  not 
otherwise  get  over,  he  had  constant  recourse  to  a  new  revelation,  as  an  in- 
fallible expedient  in  all  nice  cases  ;  and  he  found  the  success  of  this  method 
answer  his  expectation.  It  was  certainly  an  admirable  and  politic  con- 
trivance of  his  to  bring  down  the  whole  Koran  at  once  to  the  lowest 
heaven  only,  and  not  to  the  earth,  as  a  bungling  prophet  would  have  done  ; 
for  if  the  whole  had  been  published  at  once,  innumerable  objections  might 
have  been  made,  which  it  would  have  been  very  hard,  if  not  impossible, 
for  him  to  solve:  but  as  he  pretended  to  have  received  it  by  parcels, 
as  God  saw  proper  that  they  should  be  published  for  the  conversion  and 

'  Golius,  in  append,  ad  Gram.  Erp.  p.  176. 


; 


46  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  m. 

instruction  of  the  people,  he  had  a  sure  way  to  answer  all  emergencies,  and 
to  extricate  himself  with  honour  from  any  difficulty  which  might  occur. 
If  any  objection  be  hence  made  to  that  eternity  of  the  Koran,  which 
the  IMohammedans  are  taught  to  believe,  they  easily  answer  it  by  their 
doctrine  of  absolute  predestination  ;  according  to  which  all  the  accidents 
for  the  sake  of  which  these  occasional  passages  were  revealed  were  pre- 
determined by  God  from  all  eternity. 

That  Mohammed  was  really  the  author  and  chief  contriver  of  the  Koran, 
is  beyond  dispute  ;  though  it  is  highly  probable  that  he  had  no  small  as- 
sistance in  his  design  from  others,  as  his  countrymen  failed  not  to  object  to 
him;'  however  ihey  dilfered  so  much  in  their  conjectures  as  to  the 
particular  persons  who  gave  him  such  assistance,*  that  they  were  not  able, 
it  seems,  to  prove  the  charge;  Mohammed,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  having 
taken  his  measures  too  well  to  be  discovered.  Dr.  Prideaux^  has  given  the 
most  probable  account  of  this  matter,  though  chiefly  from  Christian  writers, 
who  generally  mix  such  ridiculous  fables  with  what  they  deliver,  that  they 
deserve  not  much  credit. 

However  it  be,  the  Mohammedans  absolutely  deny  the  Koran  was  com- 
posed by  their  prophet  himself,  or  any  other  for  him  ;  it  being  their  general 
and  orthodox  belief  that  it  is  of  divine  original,  nay  that  it  is  eternal  and 
uncreated,  remaining,  as  some  express  it,  in  the  very  essence  of  God  ;  that 
the  first  transcript  has  been  from  everlasting  by  God's  throne,  written  on  a 
table  of  vast  bigness,  called  the  preserved  table,  in  which  are  also  recorded 
the  divine  decrees  past  and  future  ;  that  a  copy  from  this  table,  in  one 
volume  on  paper,  was  by  the  ministry  of  the  angel  Gabriel  sent  down  to 
the  lowest  heaven,  in  the  month  of  Ramadan,  on  the  night  of  power  :^  from 
whence  Gabriel  revealed  it  to  Mohammed  by  parcels,  some  at  Mecca  and 
some  at  Medina,  at  different  times,  during  the  space  of  twenty-three  years, 
as  the  exigency  of  affairs  required  :  giving  him  however  the  consolation  to 
show  him  the  whole  (which  they  tell  us  was  bound  in  silk,  and  adorned 
with  gold  and  precious  stones  of  paradise)  once  a  year ;  but  in  the  last  year 
of  his  life  he  had  the  favour  to  see  it  twice.  They  say  that  iew  chapters 
were  delivered  entire,  the  most  part  being  revealed  piece-meal,  and  written 
down  from  time  to  time  by  the  prophet's  amanuensis  in  such  or  such  a  part 
of  such  or  such  a  chapter  till  they  were  completed,  according  to  the  direc- 
tions of  the  angel.''  The  first  parcel  that  was  revealed  is  generally  agreed 
to  have  been  the  first  five  verses  of  the  ninety-sixth  chapter,^ 

After  the  new  revealed  passages  had  been  from  the  prophet's  mouth 
taken  down  in  writing  by  his  scribe,  they  were  published  to  his  followers, 
several  of  whom  took  copies  for  their  private  use,  but  the  far  greater  num- 
ber got  them  by  heart.  The  originals,  when  returned,  were  put  promis- 
cuously into  a  chest,  observing  no  order  of  time,  for  which  reason  it  is 
uncertain  when  many  passages  were  revealed. 

When  Mohammed  died,  he  left  his  revelations  in  the  same  disorder  I  have 
mentioned,  and  not  digested  into  the  method,  such  as  it  is,  wliich  we  now 
find  them  in.  This  was  the  work  of  his  successor  Abu  Beer,  who  consider- 
ing that  a  great  number  of  passages  were  committed  to  the  memory  of  Mo- 
hammed's followers,  many  of  whom  were  slain  in  their  wars,  ordered  the 

'  Vido  Koran,  chap.  16.  and  chap.  25.  *  See  the  notes  on  those  passages.  ^  Life 
of  Moham.  p.  31,  &c.  *  Vide  Koran,  c.  97,  and  note  ibid.  ■"  Therefore  it  is  a 

mistake  of  Dr.  Prideaux  to  say  it  was  brought  hinn  chapter  by  chapter.  Life  of  Moham. 
p.  6.  The  Jews  also  say  the  law  was  given  to  Moses  by  parcels.  Vide  Millium,  de  Mo- 
hammedismo  ante  Moham.  p.  365.  '  Not  the  whole  chapter,  as  GoUus  says.  Append, 
ad  Gr.  Erp.  p.  180. 


SECT.  III.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  47 

whole  to  be  collected,  not  only  from  the  palm-lcavcs  and  skins  on  which 
they  had  been  written,  and  which  were  kept  between  two  boards  or  covers, 
but  also  from  the  mouths  of  such  as  had  gotten  them  by  heart.  And  this 
transcript,  when  completed,  he  committed  to  the  custody  of  Ilafsa  the 
daughter  of  Omar,  one  of  the  prophet's  widows.^ 

From  this  relation  it  is  generally  imagined  that  Abu  Beer  was  really  the 
compiler  of  the  Koran  ;  thougli  for  aught  appears  to  the  contrary  Moham- 
med left  the  chapters  comi)lete  as  we  now  have  them,  excepting  sucii 
passages  as  his  successor  might  add  or  correct  from  those  who  had  gotten 
them  by  heart;  what  Abu  Beer  did  else  being  perhaps  no  more  than  to 
range  the  chapters  in  tlieir  present  order,  which  he  seems  to  have  done 
without  any  regard  to  time,  having  generally  placed  the  longest  first. 

However  in  the  thirtieth  year  of  the  Hejra,  Othman  being  then  Khalif, 
and  observing  the  great  disagreement  in  the  copies  of  the  Koran  in  the 
several  provinces  of  the  empire,  those  of  Irak,  for  example,  follow- 
ing the  reading  of  Abu  Musa  al  Ashari,  and  the  Syrians  that  of 
Macdad  Ebn  Aswad,  he,  by  advice  of  the  companions,  ordered  a 
great  number  of  copies  to  be  transcribed  from  that  of  Abu  Beer,  in 
Hafsa's  care,  under  tiie  inspection  of  Zeid  Ebn  Thabet,  Abd'allah  Ebn 
Zobair,  Said  Ebn  al  As,  and  Abd'alrahman  Ebn  al  Hareth  the  Makhzu- 
mite;  whom  he  directed  that  wherever  they  disagreed  about  any  word, 
they  should  write  it  in  the  dialect  of  the  Koreish,  in  which  it  was  at  first 
delivered.^  These  copies  when  made  were  dispersed  in  the  several  pro- 
vinces of  the  empire,  and  the  old  ones  burnt  and  suppressed.  Though 
many  things  in  Hafsa's  copy  were  corrected  by  the  above-mentioned  su- 
pervisors, yet  some  few  various  readings  still  occur;  the  most  material  of 
which  will  be  taken  notice  of  in  their  proper  places. 

The  want  of  vowels  2  in  the  Arabic  character  made  Mokris,  or  readers, 
whose  peculiar  study  and  profession  it  was  to  read  the  Koran  with  its  pro- 
per vowels,  absolutely  necessary.     But  these  differing  in  their  manner  of 
reading,  occasioned  still  further  variations  in  the  copies  of  the  Koran,  as 
they  are  now  written  with  the  vowels  ;  and  herein  consist  much  the  greater 
part  of  the  various  readings  throughout  the  book.     The  readers  whose 
authority  the  commentators  chiefly  allege,  in  admitting  these  various  read- 
ings, are  seven  in  number. 
^    ^t  There  being  some  passages  in  the  Koran  which  are  contradictory,  the 
^  ^Mohammedan  doctors  obviate  any  objection  from  thence,  by  the  doctrine 
,y    of  abrogation  ;  for  they  say,  that  God  in  the  Koran  commanded  several 
j'^'-l^    things  which  were  for  good  reasons  afterward  revoked  and  abrogated. 

Passages  abrogated  are  distinguished  into  three  kinds :  the  first,  where 
the  letter  and  sense  are  both  abrogated  ;  the  second,  where  the  letter  only 
is  abrogated,  but  the  sense  remains ;  and  the  third  where  the  sense  is 
abrogated,  though  the  letter  remains. 

Of  the  first  kind  were  several  verses,  which  by  the  tradition  of  Malec  Ebn 
Ans  were  in  the  prophet's  lifetime  read  in  the  chapter  of  repentance,  but 
are  not  now  extant,  one  of  which,  being  all  he  remembered  of  them,  was 
the  following,  "  If  a  son  of  Adam  had  two  rivers  of  gold,  he  would  covet 
yet  a  third  ;  and  if  he  had  three,  he  would  covet  yet  a  fourth  (to  be  added) 
unto  them  ;  neither  shall  the  belly  of  a  son  of  Adam  be  filled,  but  with 

'  Elmacin.  in  Vita  Abu  Beer.  Abiilfeda.  '  Abulfeda,  in  Viiis  Abubecr  and  Othman. 
*  The  characters  or  marks  of  the  Arabic  vowels  were  not  used  till  several  years  after  Mo- 
hammed. Some  ascribe  the  invention  of  them  to  Yahya  Ebn  Yamer,  some  to  Nasr  Ebn 
Asam,  surnamed  al  Leithi,  and  others  to  Abu'lasvvad  al  Dili;  all  three  of  whom  were 
doctors  of  Basra,  and  immediately  succeeded  the  companions.  See  D'lierbel.  Bibl. 
Orient,  p.  87. 


48  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  hi. 

dust.  God  will  turn  unto  him  who  shall  repent."  Another  instance  of  this 
kind  we  have  frota  the  tradition  of  Abd'aliah  Ebn  Masud,  who  reported 
that  the  prophet  gave  him  a  verse  to  read  which  he  wrote  down  ;  but  the 
next  morning  looking  in  his  book,  he  found  it  was  vanished,  and  the  leaf 
blank:  this  he  acquainted  Mohammed  with,  who  assured  him  tlie  verse 
was  revoked  tiie  same  night. 

Of  the  second  kind  is  a  verse  called  the  verse  of  stoning,  which  according 
to  the  tradition  of  Omar,  afterwards  Khalif,  was  extant  wiiiie  Mohammed 
was  living,  though  it  be  not  now  to  be  found.  The  words  are  these,  "Ab- 
hor not  your  parents,  for  this  would  be  ingratitude  in  you.  If  a  man  and 
woman  of  reputation  commit  adultery,  ye  shall  stone  them  both;  it  is 
a  punishment  ordained  by  God  ;  for  God  is  mighty  and  wise." 

Of  the  last  kind  are  observed  several  verses  in  sixty-three  diiferent  chap- 
ters, to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-five.  Such  as  the  precepts 
of  turning  in  prayer  to  Jerusalem ;  fasting  after  the  old  custom ;  forbear- 
ance towards  idolaters;  avoiding  the  ignorant,  and  the  like.^  The  pas- 
sages of  this  sort  have  been  carefully  collected  by  several  writers,  and 
are  most  of  them  remarked  in  their  proper  places. 

Though  it  is  the  belief  of  the  Sonnites  or  orthodox  that  the  Koran  is  un- 
created and  eternal,  subsisting  in  the  very  essence  of  God,  and  J\Iohammed 
himself  is  said  to  have  pronounced  him  an  infidel  who  asserted  the  con- 
trary,^ yet  several  have  been  of  a  different  opinion  ;  particularly  the  sect  of 
the  Motazalites,^  and  the  followers  of  Isa  Ebu  Sobeih  Abu  Musa,  surnamed 
al  Mozdar,  who  stuck  not  to  accuse  those  who  held  the  Koran  to  be  un- 
created of  infidelity,  as  asserters  of  two  eternal  beings.^ 

This  point  was  controverted  with  so  much  heat  that  it  occasioned  many 
calamities  under  some  of  the  Khalifs  of  the  family  of  Abbas,  al  Mamun^ 
making  a  public  edict  declaring  the  Koran  to  be  created,  which  was  con- 
firmed by  his  successors  al  Motasem^  and  al  Wathek,^  who  whipt,  impri- 
.soned,  and  put  to  death  those  of  the  contrary  opinion.  But  at  length 
al  Motawakkel,'  who  succeeded  al  Wathek,  put  an  end  to  these  persecu- 
tions, by  revoking  the  former  edicts,  releasing  those  that  were  imprisoned 
on  that  account,  and  leaving  every  man  at  liberty  as  to  his  belief  in  this 
point.2 

Al  Ghazali  seems  to  have  tolerably  reconciled  both  opinions,  saying,  that 
the  Koran  is  read  and  pronounced  with  the  tongue,  written  in  books,  and 
kept  in  memory;  and  is  yet  eternal,  subsisting  in  God's  essence,  and  not 
possible  to  be  separated  thence  by  any  transmission  into  men's  memories  or 
the  kaves  of  books ;'  by  which  he  seems  to  mean  no  more  than  that  the 
original  idea  of  the  Koran  only  is  really  in  God,  and  consequently  co- 
essential  and  co-eternal  with  him,  but  that  the  copies  are  created,  and  the 
work  of  man. 

The  opinion  of  al  Jahedh,  chief  of  a  sect  bearing  his  name,  touching  the 
Koran,  is  too  remarkable  to  be  omitted :  he  used  to  say  it  was  a  body, 
which  might  sometimes  be  turned  into  a  man,*  and  sometimes  into  a 

'  Abu  Hashem  Hebatallah,  apud  Marracc.  de  Ale.  p.  42.  *  Apud.  Poc.  Spec.  220. 

'  See  after  in  sect.  viii.  «  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  219,  &c.  ■"  Anno  IIpj.  218.  Abul- 

farag.  p.  245.  v.  etiam  Ehnacin.  in  Vita  al  Mamiin.  "  In  the  time  of  al  Motasem,  a 

doctor  named  Abu  Haruii  Ebn  al  Baca  found  out  a  distinction  to  screen  himself,  by  affirm- 
ing that  the  Koran  was  ordained^  because  it  is  said  in  that  book,  "  And  I  have  ordained 
thee  the  Koran."  He  went  still  ffirther  to  allow  that  what  was  ordained  was  created,  and 
yet  he  denied  it  thence  followed  that  the  Koran  was  created.  Abulfarag.  p.  253.  ^  Ibid. 
p.  257.  '  Anno^riej.  242.  ^  AhuHarag.  p.  262.  ^  Al  Ghazali  in  prof  fid. 

*  The  Khalif  al  Walid  Ebn  Yazid,  who  was  the  eleventh  of  the  race  of  Ommeya,  and  is 
looked  on  by  the  Mohammedans  as  a  reprobate,  and  one  of  no  religion,  seems  to  have 
treated  this  book  os  a  rational  creature.    For  dipping  into  it  one  day,  the  first  words  he  met 


SECT.  HI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  49 

beast  ;^  which  seems  to  ai^ree  with  the  notion  of  those  who  assert  the 
Koidn  to  have  two  faces,  one  of  a  man,  the  other  of  beast  ;^  thereby,  as  I 
conceive,  intimating  the  double  interpretation  it  will  admit  of,  according 
to  the  letter  or  the  spirit. 

As  some  have  held  the  Koran  to  be  created,  so  there  have  not  been 
wanting  those  who  have  asserted  that  there  is  nothing  miraculous  in  that 
book  in  respect  to  style  or  composition,  excepting  only  the  prophetical  rela- 
tions of  thidgs  past,  and  predictions  of  tilings  to  come ;  and  that  iuul  God 
left  men  to  tlieir  natural  liberty,  and  not  restrained  them  in  that  particular, 
the  Arabians  could  have  composed  something  not  only  equal,  but  superior 
to  the  Koran  in  eloquence,  method,  and  purity  of  language.  This  was 
another  opinion  of  the  JNlotazalites,  and  in  particular  of  al  Mozdar  above- 
mentioned  and  al  Nodham.''^ 

The  Koran  being  the  Mohammedans'  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  it  is  no 
wonder  its  expositors  and  commentators  are  so  very  numerous.  And  it 
may  not  be  amiss  to  take  notice  of  the  rules  they  observe  in  expounding  it. 

One  of  the  most  learned  commentators^  distinguishes  the  contents  of  the 
Koran  into  allegorical  and  literal.  The  former  comprehends  the  more 
obscure,  parabolical,  and  enigmatical  passages,  and  such  as  are  repealed 
or  abrogated  ;  the  latter  those  which  are  plain,  perspicuous,  liable  to  no 
doubt,  and  in  full  force. 

To  exptain  these  severally  in  a  right  manner,  it  is  necessary  from  tradi- 
tion and  study  to  know  the  time  when  each  passage  w^as  revealed,  its  cir- 
cumstances, state,  and  history,  and  the  reasons  or  particular  emergencies  for 
the  sake  of  which  it  was  revealed.^  Or  more  explicitly,  whether  the  pas- 
sage was  revealed  at  Mecca,  or  at  Medina  ;  whether  it  be  abrogated,  or  does 
itself  abrogate  any  other  passage;  whether  it  be  anticipated  in  order  of 
tiitae,  or  postponed  ;  whether  it  be  distinct  from  the  context,  or  depends 
ihereon  ;  whether  it  be  particular  or  general ;  and  lastly  whether  it  be  im- 
plicit by  intention,  or  explicit  in  words. ^ 

By  what  has  been  said  the  reader  may  easily  believe  this  book  is  in  the 
greatest  reverence  and  esteem  among  the  Mohammedans.  They  dare  not 
so  much  as  touch  it  without  being  first  washed  or  legally  purified  ;2  which 
lest  they  should  do  by  inadvertence,  they  write  these  words  on  the  cover  or 
label,  "Let  none  touch  it,  but  they  who  are  clean."  They  read  it  with 
great  care  and  respect,  never  holding  it  below  their  girdles.  They  swear 
by  it,  consult  it  in  their  weighty  occasions,^  carry  it  with  them  to  war, 
write  sentences  of  it  on  their  banners,  adorn  it  with  gold  and  precious 
stones,  and  knowingly  suffer  it  not  to  be  in  the  possession  of  any  of  a 
different  persuasion. 

The  Mohammedans,  far  from  thinking  the  Koran  to  be  profaned  by 


with  were  these  ;  "  Every  rebellious  perverse  person  shall  not  prosper  :"  Whereupon  he 
stuck  it  on  a  lance  and  shot  it  to  pieces  with  arrows,  repeating  these  verses ; 

"  Dost  thou  rebuke  every  rebellious  perverse  person  ?  behold,  1  am  that  rebellious  per- 
verse person. 

"  When  thou  appearest  before  thy  Lord  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  say,  O  Lord,  al 
Walid  has  torn  me  thus."— Ebn  Shohnah.  v.  Poc.  Spec.  223.  *  Poc.  Spec.  p.  222. 

•  Herbelot.  p.  87.  ''  Abulfeda,  Shahrestani,  cVc.  apud.  Poc.  Spec.  p.  222,  et  Marracc. 

de  Kor.  p.  44.  »  Al  Zamakhshari.  Vide  Koran,  chap.  3.  p.  35.  '  Ahmed  Ebn  Mo- 
ham,  al  Thalabi,  in  princip.  Expos.  Ale.  '  Yahya  Ebn  al  Salam  al  Basri,  in  Princip. 
Expos  Ale.  ^  The  Jews  have  the  same  veneration  for  their  law  ;  not  daring  to  touch  it 
with  unwashed  hands,  nor  then  neither  without  a  cover.  Vide  Millium,  dc  Mohammed- 
ismo  ante  Moham.  p.  366.  *  This  they  do  by  dipping  into  it,  and  taking  an  omen  from 
the  words  which  they  first  light  on ;  which  practice  they  also  learned  of  the  Jews,  who 
do  the  same  with  the  scriptures.     Vide  Millium,  ubi  sup. 


50  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

a  translation,  as  some  authors  have  written,'*  have  taken  care  to  have  their 
scriptures  translated  not  only  into  the  Persian  tongue,  but  into  several 
others,  particularly  the  Javan  and  Malayan,^  though  out  of  respect  to  the 
original  Arabic,  these  versions  are  generally  (if  not  always)  interlineary. 


SECTION   IV. 

WHICH 
RELATE  TO  FAITH  AND  RELIGIOUS  DUTIES. 

It  has  been  already  observed  more  than  once,  that  the  fundamental 
position  on  which  Mohammed  erected  the  superstructure  of  his  religion 
was,  that  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  world  there  has  been,  and 
for  ever  will  be,  but  one  true  orthodox  belief;  consisting,  as  to  matter 
of  faith,  in  the  acknowledging  of  the  only  true  God,  and  the  believing  in 
and  obeying  such  messengers  or  prophets  as  he  should  from  time  to  time 
send,  with  proper  credentials,  to  reveal  his  will  to  mankind  ;  and  as  to 
matter  of  practice,  in  the  observance  of  the  immutable  and  eternal  laws 
of  right  and  wrong,  together  with  such  other  precepts  and  ceremonies 
as  God  should  think  fit  to  order  for  the  time  being,  according  to  the 
different  dispensations  in  different  ages  of  the  world  :  for  these  last  he 
allowed  were  things  indifferent  in  their  own  nature,  and  became  obligatory 
by  God's  positive  precept  only;  and  were  therefore  temporary  and  subject 
to  alteration  according  to  his  will  and  pleasure.  And  to  this  religion 
he  gives  the  name  of  Islam,  which  word  signifies  resignation,  or  submission 
to  the  service  and  commands  of  God;^  and  is  used  as  the  proper  name  of 
the  Mohammedan  religion,  which  they  will  also  have  to  be  the  same 
at  bottom  with  that  of  all  the  prophets  from  Adam.  Under  pretext 
that  this  eternal  religion  was  in  his  time  corrupted,  and  professed  in  its 
purity  by  no  one  sect  of  men,  Mohammed  pretended  to  be  a  prophet  sent 
by  God,  to  reform  those  abuses  which  had  crept  into  it,  and  to  reduce  it  to 
its  primitive  simplicity;  with  the  addition  however  of  peculiar  laws  and 
ceremonies,  some  of  which  had  been  used  in  former  times,  and  others  were 
now  first  instituted.  And  he  comprehended  the  whole  substance  of  his 
doctrine  under  these  two  propositions,  or  articles  of  faith ;  viz.  that  there  is 
but  one  God,  and  that  himself  was  the  apostle  of  God;  in  consequence  of 
which  latter  article,  all  such  ordinances  and  institutions  as  he  thought  fit 
to  establish  must  be  received  as  obligatory  and  of  divine  authority. 

The  Mohammedans  divide  their  religion,  which  as  I  just  now  said  they 
call  Islam,  into  two  distinct  parts  ;  Imdn,  i.e.  faith,  or  theory,  and  Din^ 
i.e.  religion,  or  practice;  and  teach  that  it  is  built  on  five  fundamental 
points,  one  belonging  to  faith,  and  the  other  four  to  practice. 

The  first  is  that  confession  of  faith  which  I  have  already  mentioned; 
t4iat  "  there  is  no  God  but  the  true  God  ;  and  that  Mohammed  is  his 
apostle."  Under  which  they  comprehend  six  distinct  branches;  viz. 
1.  Belief  in  God;  2.  In  his  angels;  3.  In  his  scriptures;  4.  In  his  pro- 

*  Sionita.  de  Urb.  Orient,  p.  41.  el  Marracc.  de  Ale.  p.  23.  >  Reland,  de  Rel.  Mob. 
p.  265.  *  The  root  Salama,  from  whence  Islam  is  formed,  in  the  first  and  fourth  con- 
jugations, signifies  also  to  be  saved,  or  to  enter  into  a  state  of  salvation;  according  to 
■which,  Islam  may  be  translated  the  religion  or  state  of  salvation  :  but  the  other  sense  is 
more  approved  by  the  Mohammedans,  and  alluded  to  in  the  Koran  itself.  See  c.  2,  p. 
16,  and  c.  3,  p.  37. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  51 

phets ;  5.  In  the  resurrection  and  day  of  judgment ;  and,  6.  In  God's 
absolute  decree  and  predetermination  both  of  good  and  evil. 

The  four  points  relating  to  practice  are,  1.  Prayer,  under  which  arc 
comprehended  those  washings  or  purifications  which  are  necessary  pre- 
parations required  before  prayer;  2.  Alms;  3.  Fasting;  and,  4.  The 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca.     Of  each  of  these  I  shall  speak  in  their  order. 

That  both  Mohammed  and  those  among  his  followers  who  are  reckoned 
orthodox  had  and  continue  to  have  just  and  true  notions  of  God  and 
his  attributes(always  excepting  their  olDstinate  and  impious  rejecting  of  the 
Trinity)  appears  so  plain  from  the  Koran  itself,  and  all  the  Mohammedan 
divines,  that  it  would  be  loss  of  time  to  refute  those  who  suppose  the  God 
of  Mohammed  to  be  different  from  the  true  God,  and  only  a  fictitious  deity 
or  idol  of  his  own  creation.'  Nor  shall  I  here  enter  into  any  of  the 
Mohammedan  controversies  concerning  the  divine  nature  and  attributes, 
because  I  shall  have  a  more  proper  opportunity  of  doing  it  elsewhere.^ 

The  existence  of  angels  and  their  purity  are  absolutely  required  to 
be  believed  in  the  KdrfhTand  he  is  reckoned  an  infidel  who  denies  there 
are  such  beings,  or  hates  any  of  them,®  or  asserts  any  distinction  of  sexes 
among  them.  They  believe  them  to  have  pure  and  subtle  bodies,  created 
of  fire;'  that  they  neither  eat  nor  drink,  nor  propagate  their  species;  that 
they  have  various  forms  and  offices;  some  adoring  God  in  different  postures, 
others  singing  praises  to  him,  or  interceding  for  mankind.  They  hold  that 
some  of  them  are  employed  in  writing  down  the  actions  of  men;  others  in 
carrying  the  throne  of  God  and  other  services. 

The  four  angels  whom  they  look  on  as  more  eminently  in  God's  favour, 
and  often  mention  on  account  of  the  offices  assigned  them,  are  Gabriel,  to 
whom  they  give  several  titles,  particularly  those  of  the  holy  spirit^  and  the 
angel  of  revelations,^  supposing  him  to  be  honoured  by  God  with  a  greater 
confidence  than  any  other,  and  to  be  employed  in  writing  down  the  divine 
decrees;^  Michael,  the  friend  and  protector  of  the  Jews,^  Azrael,  the  angel 
of  deaths  who  separates  men's  souls  from  their  bodies;*  and  Israfil,  whose 
office  it  will  be  to  sound  the  trumpet  at  the  resurrection.''  The  Moham- 
medans also  believe  that  two  guardian  angels  attend  on  every  man,  to  ob- 
serve and  write  down  his  actions,^  being  changed  every  day,  and  therefore 
called  al  Moakkibat,  or  the  angels  who  continually  succeed  one  another. 

This  whole  doctrine  concerning  angels  Mohammed  and  his  disciples  have 
borrowed  from  the  Jews,  who  learned  the  names  and  offices  of  those  beings 
from  the  Persians,  as  themselves  confess.^  The  ancient  Persians  firmly 
believed  the  ministry  of  angels,  and  their  superintendence  over  the  affairs 
of  this  world  (as  the  Magians  still  do),  and  therefore  assigned  them  distinct 
charges  and  provinces,  giving  their  names  to  their  months  and  the  days  of 
their  months.  Gabriel  they  called  Soriish  and  Revan  bakhsh,  or  the  giver 
of  souls,  in  opposition  to  the  contrary  office  of  the  angel  of  death,  to  whom 
among  other  names  they  gave  that  of  Mordad,  or,  the  giver  of  death ; 
Michael  they  called  Beshter,  who  according  to  them  provides  sustenance  for 

'  ]\Iarracc.  in  Ale.  p.  102,  ^  Sect.  viii.  '  Koran,  c.  2,  p.  13.  '■  Ibid  c.  7, 

and  3S.  ^  Ibid  c.  2,  p.  12.  =•  See  the  notes,  ibid  p.  13.  *  Vide  Hyde,  Hist.  Rel.  Vet. 
Pers.  p.  2fi2.  '  Vide  ibid  p.  271,  and  note  in  Kor.  p.  13.  "  Vide  note  y,  ibid  p.  4. 

'•  Kor.  chap.  6,  13,  and  86.  The  offices  of  these  four  angels  are  described  almost  in  the 
same  manner  in  the  apocryphal  gospel  of  Barnabas ;  where  it  is  said  that  Gabriel  reveals 
the  secreis  of  God,  Michael  combats  against  his  enemies,  Raphael  receives  the  souls  of 
those  who  die,  and  Uriel  is  to  call  every  one  to  judgment  on  the  last  day.  See  the  Mena- 
giana.  torn.  iv.  p.  333.        *  Kor.  c.  10.         '  Talmud  Hieros.  in  Rosh  hashan. 


52  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

mankind.'  The  Jews  teach  that  the  angels  were  created  of  iire:^  that 
they  have  several  offices  ;^  that  they  intercede  for  men,-*  and  attend  them.^ 
The  angel  of  death  they  name  Duma,  and  say  he  calls  dying  persons  by 
their  respective  names  at  their  last  hour.° 

The  devil,  whom  Mohammed  names  Eblis,  from  his  despair^  was  once 
one  of  those  angels  who  are  nearest  to  God's  presence,  called  Azazil,'^  and 
fell,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Koran,  for  refusing  to  pay  homage 
to  Adam  at  the  command  of  God.s 

Besides  angels  and  devils,  the  Mohammedans  are  taught  by  the  Koran 
to  believe  the  existence  of  an  intermediate  order  of  creatures,  which  they 
call  Jin  or  Genii,  created  also  of  firc,^  but  of  a  grosser  fabric  than  angels: 
sincetlicy  eat  and  drink,  and  propagate  their  species,  and  are  subject 
to  death.'  Some  of  these  are  supposed  to  be  good,  and  others  bad,  and 
capable  of  future  salvation  or  damnation,  as  men  are;  whence  Mohammed 
pretended  to  be  sent  for  the  conversion  of  Genii  as  well  as  men.2  The 
Orientals  pretend  that  these  Genii  inhabited  the  world  for  many  ages 
before  Adam  was  created,  under  the  government  of  several  successive 
princes,  who  all  bore  the  common  name  of  Solomon;  but  falling  at  length 
into  an  almost  general  corruption,  Eblis  was  sent  to  drive  them  into  a 
remote  part  of  the  earth,  there  to  be  confined  ;  that  some  of  that  generation 
still  remaining,  were  by  Tahmurath,  one  of  the  ancient  kings  of  Persia, 
who  waged  war  against  them,  forced  to  retreat  into  the  famous  mountains 
of  Kaf.  Of  which  successions  and  wars  they  have  many  fabulous  and 
romantic  stories.  They  also  make  different  ranks  and  degrees  among 
these  beings  (if  they  be  not  rather  supposed  to  be  of  a  different  species), 
some  being  called  absolutely  Jin,  some  Peri  or  fairies,  some  Div  or  giants, 
others  Tacuins  or  fates.^ 

The  Mohammedan  notions  concerning  these  Genii  agree  almost  exactly 
with  wliat  the  Jews  write  of  a  sort  of  demons,  called  Shedim,  whom  some 
fancy  to  have  been  begotten  by  two  angels  named  Aza  and  Azael,  on 
Naamah  the  daughter  of  Lamech,  before  the  flood.*  However  the  Shedim, 
they  tell  us,  agree  in  three  things  with  the  ministering  angels;  for  that  like 
them,  they  have  wings,  and  fly  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other, 
and  have  some  knowledge  of  futurity  ;  and  in  three  things  they  agree  with 
men,  like  whom  they  eat  and  drink,  are  propagated,  and  die.^  They  also 
say  that  some  believe  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  are  consequently  good, 
and  that  others  of  them  are  infidels  and  reprobates.^ 

As  to  the  Scriptures,  the  Mohammedans  are  taught  by  the  Koran  that 
God,  in  divers  ages  of  the  world,  gave  revelations  of  his  will  in  writing 
to  several  prophets,  the  whole  and  every  word  of  which  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  a  good  Moslem  to  believe.  The  number  of  these  sacred 
books  was,  according  to  them,  104.  Of  which  ten  were  given  to  Adam, 
fifty  to  Seth,  thirty  to  Edris  or  Enoch,  ten  to  Abraham  ;  and  the  other 
four,  being  the  Pentateuch,  the  Psalms,  the  Gospel,  and  the  Koran,  were 
successively  delivered  to  Moses,  David,  Jesus,  and  Mohammed  ;  which  last 
being  the  seal  of  the  prophets,  those  revelations  are  now  closed,  and  no 
more  are  to  be  expected.    All  these  divine  books,  except  the  four  last,  they 

*  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  c.  xix.  and  xx.        '^  Gemar.  in  Hagig.  and  Bereshit  rabbah.  &c. 
Vide  Psalm  civ.  4.  ^  Yalkut  hadash.  *  Gemar.  in  Shebet,  and  Bava  Bathra,  &c. 

*  Midrash.  Yalkut  Shemuni.  *  Gemar.  Berachoth.  ■"  Vide  Reland.  de  Rel. 

Moh.  p.  189,  &c.  »  Koran,  c.  2,  p.  5.     See  also  c.  7,  38,  &c.  "  Koran,  c.  55. 

See  the  notes  there.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  in  Koran  c.  2,  and  18.  ^  Vide  Koran,  c.  55, 

72,  and  74.,  ==  See  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  369,  820,  &c.  *  In  libro  Zohar. 

'  Gemara,  in  Hagiga.        ^  Igrat  Baale  hayyim.  c.  15, 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  53 

agree  to  be  now  entirely  lost,  and  their  contents  unknown ;  though  the 
Sabians  have  several  books  which  they  attribute  to  some  of  the  antediluvian 
prophets.  And  of  tliose  four,  the  Pentateuch,  Psalms,  and  Gospel,  they 
say,  have  undergone  so  many  alterations  and  corruptions,  that  though  there 
may  possibly  be  some  part  of  the  true  word  of  God  therein,  yet  no  credit  is 
to  be  given  to  the  present  coi)ies  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews  and  Christians. 
The  Jews  in  particular  are  frequently  reflected  on  in  the  Koran  for 
falsifying  and  corrupting  their  copies  of  their  law;  and  some  instances  of 
such  pretended  corruptions,  both  in  that  book  and  the  two  others,  are  pro- 
duced by  Mohammedan  writers;  wherein  they  merely  follow  their  own 
prejudices,  and  the  fabulous  accounts  of  spurious  legends.  Whether  they 
have  any  copy  of  the  Pentateuch  among  them  different  from  that  of  the 
Jews  or  not,  I  am  not  entirely  satisfied,  since  a  person  who  travelled  into 
the  east  was  told,  that  they  had  the  books  of  Aioses,  though  very  much 
corrupted  ;'^  but  I  know  nobody  that  has  ever  seen  them.  However 
they  certainly  have  and  privately  read  a  book  which  they  call  the  Psalms 
of  David,  in  Arabic  and  Persian,  to  which  are  added  some  prayers  of 
Moses,  Jonas,  and  others.^  This  Mr.  Reland  supposes  to  be  a  translation 
from  our  copies  (though  no  doubt  falsified  in  more  places  than  one)  ;  but 
M.  DTIcrbelot  says  it  contains  not  the  same  Psalms  which  are  in  our 
Psalter,  being  no  more  than  an  extract  from  thence  mixed  with  other  very 
different  pieces.^  The  easiest  way  to  reconcile  these  two  learned  gentlemen 
is  to  presume  that  they  speak  of  different  copies.  The  Mohammedans" 
have  also  a  Gospel  in  Arabic,  attributed  to  St.  Barnabas,  wherein  the  history 
of  Jesus  Christ  is  related  in  a  manner  very  different  from  what  we  find  in 
the  true  Gospels,  and  correspondent  to  those  traditions  which  Mohammed 
has  followed  in  his  Koran.  Of  this  Gospel  the  Moriscoes  in  Africa  have  a 
translation  in  Spanish;^"  and  there  is  in  the  library  of  prince  Eugene 
of  Savoy  a  manuscript  of  some  antiquity,  containing  an  Italian  translation 
of  the  same  Gospel,^  made,  it  is  to  be  supposed,  for  the  use  of  renegades. 
This  book  appears  to  be  no  origi  nal  forgery  of  the  Mohammedans,  though  they 
have  no  doubt  interpolated  and  altered  it  since,  the  better  to  serve  their  pur- 
pose;  and  in  particular,  instead  of  the  Paraclete  or  Comforter,^  they  have  in 
this  apocryphal  gospel  inserted  the  word  Periclyte,  that  is,  the  famous  or  il- 
lustrious, by  which  they  pretend  their  prophet  was  foretold  by  name,  that 
being  the  signification  of  Mohammed  in  Arabic:^  and  this  they  say  to  justify 
that  passage  of  the  Koran,*  where  Jesus  Christ  is  formally  asserted  to  have 
foretold  his  coming,  under  his  other  name  of  Ahmed;  which  is  derived  from 
the  same  root  as  Mohammed,  and  of  the  same  import.  From  these  or  some 
other  forgeries  of  the  same  stamp  it  is  that  the  Mohammedans  quote  several 
passages  of  which  there  are  not  the  least  footsteps  in  the  New  Testament. 
But  after  all  we  must  not  hence  infer  that  the  Mohammedans,  much  less 
all  of  them,  hold  these  copies  of  theirs  to  be  the  ancient  and  genuine  Scrip- 
tures themselves.  If  any  argue,  from  the  corruption  which  they  insist  has 
happened  to  the  Pentateuch  and  Gospel,  that  the  Koran  may  possibly  be 
corrupted  also ;  they  answer,  that  God  has  promised  that  he  will  take  care 
of  the  latter,  and  preserve  it  from  any  addition  or  diminution  ;5  but  that 
he  left  the  two  others  to  the  care  of  men.  However  they  confess  there 
are  some  various  readings  in  the  Koran,^  as  has  been  observed. 

^  Terry's  voyage  to  the  East  Indies,  p.  277.  «  De  Rel.  Moham.  p.  23.  »  A  copy 
of  this  kind  he  tells  us  is  in  the  library  of  the  Duke  of  Tuscany,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  924. 
"  Reland.  ubi  sup.  '  Menagian.  torn.  iv.  p.  321,  &c.  *  John  xiv.  16,  2G,  xv.  26, 

and  xvi.  7,  compared  with  Luke,  xxiv.  49.  '  See  Toland's  Nazarenus,  the  first  eight 

chapters.        *  Chap.  61.        »  Kor.  c.  15.        «  Reland,  ubi  sup.  p.  24,  27. 


54  I'RELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.iv. 

Besides  the  books  above  mentioned,  the  Mohammedans  also  take  notice 
of  the  writings  of  Daniel  and  several  other  prophets,  and  even  make 
quotations  tlience :  but  these  they  do  not  believe  to  be  divine  scripture, 
or  of  any  authority  in  matters  of  religion.*^ 

The  number  of  the  prophets,  which  have  been  from  time  to  time  sent  by 
God  into  the  world,  amounts  to  no  less  than  224,000,  according  to  one 
Mohammedan  tradition,  or  to  124,000,  according  to  another ;  among  whom 
313  were  apostles,  sent  with  special  commissions  to  reclaini  mankind  from 
infidelity  and  superstition;  and  six  of  them  brought  new  laws  or  dispen- 
sations, which  successively  abrogated  the  preceding:  these  were  Adam, 
Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  Jesus,  and  Mohammed.  All  the  prophets  in 
general  the  Mohammedans  believe  to  have  been  free  from  great  sins,  and 
errors  of  consequence,  and  professors  of  one  and  the  same  religion,  that  is 
Islam,  notwithstanding  the  different  laws  and  institutions  which  they 
observed.  They  allow  of  degrees  among  them,  and  hold  some  of  them  to 
be  more  excellent  and  honourable  than  others.^  The  first  place  they  give 
to  the  revealers  and  establishers  of  new  dispensations,  and  tiie  next  to  the 
apostles. 

In  this  great  number  of  prophets,  they  not  only  reckon  divers  patriarchs 
and  persons  named  in  Scripture,  but  not  recorded  to  have  been  prophets, 
(wherein  the  Jewish  and  Christian  writers  have  sometimes  led  the  way  ^), 
as  Adam,  Seth,  Lot,  Ismael,  Nun,  Joshua,  &c.  and  introduce  some  of  them 
under  different  names,  as  Enoch,  Heber,  and  Jethro,  who  are  called  in  the 
Koran,  Edris,  Hud,  and  Shoaib ;  but  several  others,  whose  very  names  do 
not  appear  in  Scripture  (though  they  endeavour  to  find  some  persons  there 
to  fix  them  on),  as  Saleh,  Khedr,  Dhu'lkefl,  &;c.  Several  of  their  fabu- 
lous traditions  concerning  these  prophets  we  shall  occasionally  mention 
in  the  notes  on  the  Koran. 

As  Mohammed  acknowledged  the  divine  authority  of  the  Pentateuch, 
Psalms,  and  Gospel,  he  often  appeals  to  the  consonancy  of  the  Koran  with 
those  writings,  and  to  the  prophecies  which  he  pretended  were  therein  con- 
cerning himself,  as  proofs  of  his  mission,  and  he  frequently  charges  the 
Jews  and  Christians  with  stifling  the  passages  which  bear  witness  to  him.' 
His  followers  also  fail  not  to  produce  several  texts  even  from  our  present 
copies  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  to  support  their  master's  cause.^ 

The  next  article  of  faith  required  by  the  Koran  is  the  belief  of  a  general 
resurrection  and  aj\iture  judgment.  But  before  we  consider  the  Moham- 
medan tenets  in  those  points,  it  will  be  proper  to  mention  what  they  are 
taught  to  believe  concerning  the  intermediate  state,  both  of  the  body  and 
of  the  soul,  after  death. 

When  a  corpse  is  laid  in  the  grave,  they  say  he  is  received  by  an  angel, 
who  gives  him  notice  of  the  coming  of  the  two  Examiners  ;  who  are  two 
black  livid  angels,  of  a  terrible  appearance,  named  Monker  and  Nakir.. 
These  order  the  dead  person  to  sit  upright,  and  examine  him  concerning  ^v 
-his  faith,  as  to  the  unity  of  God,  and  the  mission  of  Mohammed  :  if  -^' 
he  answer  rightly,  they  suffer  the  body  to  rest  in  peace,  and  it  is  refreshed 
by  the  air  of  paradise;  but  if  not,  they  beat  him  on  the  temples  with  iron 
maces,  till  he  roars  out  for  anguish  so  loud,  that  he  is  heard  by  all  from 
east  to  west,  except  men  and  genii.     Then  they  press  the  earth  on  the 

■"  Reland,  ubi  sup.  p.  41.  ^  Kor.  c.  2,  p.  30,  &c.  '  Thus  Heber  is  said  to  have 

been  a  prophet  by  the  Jews;  (Seder.  01am.  p.  2.)  and  Adam  by  Epiphanius.     (Adv. 
Haeres.  p.  6  )     See  also  Joseph.  Ant.  hb.  i.  c.  2.  ^  Kor.  c.  2,  pp.  6,  12,-18,  c.  3,  &c. 

*  Some  of  these  texts  are  produced  by  Dr.  Prideaux  at  the  end  of  his  Life  of  Mohammed, 
and  more  by  Marracci  in  Alcor.  p.  26,  &c. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  55 

corpse,  which  is  gnawed  and  stung  till  the  resurrection  by  ninety-nine 
dragons  with  seven  heads  each  :  or,  as  others  say,  their  sins  will  become 
venomous  beasts,  the  grievous  ones  stinging  like  dragons,  the  smaller  like 
scorpions,  and  the  others  like  serpents:  circumstances  which  some  under- 
stand  in  a  figurative  sense.' 

This  examination  of  the  sepulchre  is  not  only  founded  on  an  express 
tradition  of  Mohammed,  but  is  also  plainly  hinted  at,  though  not  directly 
taught,  in  the  Koran,  as  the  commentators  agree.  It  is  therefore  believed 
by  the  orthodox  Mohammedans  in  general,  who  take  care  to  have  their 
graves  made  hollow,  that  they  may  sit  up  with  more  ease  while  they 
are  examined  by  the  angels;^  but  is  utterly  rejected  by  the  sect  of  the 
Motazalites,  and  perhaps  by  some  others. 

These  notions  Mohammed  certainly  borrowed  from  the  Jews,  among 
whom  they  were  very  anciently  received.^  They  say  that  the  angel  of  death 
coming  and  sitting  on  the  grave^  the  soul  immediately  enters  the  body  and 
raises Tt  on  its  feet;  that  he  then  examines  the  departed  person,  and  strikes 
him  with  a  chain  half  of  iron  and  half  of  fire;  at  the  first  blow  all  his  limbs 
are  loosened,  at  the  second  the  bones  are  scattered,  which  are  gathered  to- 
gether  again  by  angels,  and  the  third  stroke  reduces  the  body  to  dust  and 
ashes,  arfd  it  returns  into  the  grave.  This  rack  or  torture  they  call  Hibbut 
hakkeber,  or  the  beating  of  the  sepulchre,  and  pretend  that  all  men  in 
general  must  undergo  it,  except  only  those  who  die  on  the  evening  of  the 
sabbath,  or  have  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Israel.'' 

If  it  be  objected  to  the  Mohammedans  that  the  cry  of  the  persons  under 
such  examination  has  been  never  heard;  or  if  they  be  asked  how  those 
can  undergo  it  whose  bodies  are  burnt  or  devoured  by  beasts  or  birds,  or 
otherwise  consumed  without  burial ;  they  answer,  that  it  is  very  possible 
notwithstanding,  since  men  are  not  able  to  perceive  what  is  transacted 
on  the  other  side  the  grave ;  and  that  it  is  sufficient  to  restore  to  life  any 
part  of  the  body  which  is  capable  of  understanding  the  questions  put  by 
the  angels.^ 

As  to  the  soul,  they  hold  that  when  it  is  separated  from  the  body  by  the 
angel  of  death,  who  performs  his  office  with  ease  and  gentleness  towards 
the  good,  and  with  violence  towards  the  wicked,^  it  enters  into  that  state 
which  they  call  al  Berzakh,^  or  the  interval  between  death  and  the 
resurrection.  If  the  departed  person  was  a  believer,  they  say  two  angels 
meet  it,  who  convey  it  to  heaven,  that  its  place  there  may  be  assigned, 
according  to  its  merit  and  degree.  For  they  distinguish  the  souls  of  the 
faithful  into  three  classes  ;  the  first  of  prophets,  whose  souls  are  admitted 
into  paradise  immediately  ;  the  second  of  martyrs,  whose  spirits,  according 
to  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  rest  in  the  crops  of  green  birds  which  eat 
of  the  fruits  and  drink  of  the  river  of  paradise;  and  the  third  of  other 
believers,  concerning  the  state  of  whose  souls  before  the  resurrection  there 
,  are  various  opinions.  For,  1.  Some  say  they  stay  near  the  sepulchres,  with 
liberty  however  of  going  wherever  they  please  ;  which  they  confirm  from 
Mohammed's  manner  of  saluting  them  at  their  graves,  and  his  affirming 
that  the  dead  heard  those  salutations  as  well  as  the  living,  though  they 
could  not  answer.  Whence  perhaps  proceeded  the  custom  of  visiting 
the  tombs  of  relations,  so  common  among  the  Mohammedans.^     2.  Others 


3  Al  Ghazali.     Vide  Poc.  not.  in  Port.  Mofis,  p.  241,  &c.  *  Cap.  8.  and  47,  &c. 

s  Smith,  De  Morib.  et  Instit.  Turcar.  Ep.  ii.  p.  57.        "  Vide  Hyde,  in  nous  ad  Bot.ov.  de 
Visit  iEcrroi.  p.  19.  '  R.  Elias,  in  Tishbi.     See  also  Buxiorf.  Synag.  Judaic,  and 

Lexic.  Tllrnud.         «  Vide  Foe.  ubi  sup.         »  Kor.  c.  79.     The  Jews  say  the  same,  in 
Nishmat  bayim.  I  77.        '  Vide  Kor.  c.  23,  and  note  ibid.        *  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  247. 


56  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

imagine  they  are  with  Adam,  in  the  lowest  heaven;  and  also  support  their 
opinion  by  the  authority  of  their  prophet,  who  gave  out  that  in  his  return 
from  the  upper  heavens  in  his  pretended  night  journey,  he  saw  there  the 
souls  of  those  who  were  destined  to  paradise  on  the  right  hand  of  Adam, 
and  of  those  who  were  condemned  to  hell  on  his  Icft.^  3.  Others  fancy  the 
souls  of  believers  remain  in  the  well  Zemzem,  and  those  of  infidels  in 
a  certain  well  in  the  province  of  Hadramaut,  called  Borbut ;  but  this 
opinion  is  branded  as  heretical.  4.  Others  say  they  stay  near  the  graves 
for  seven  days ;  but  that  whither  they  go  afterwards  is  uncertain.  5.  Others 
that  they  are  all  in  the  trumpet,  whose  sound  is  to  raise  the  dead.  And, 
6.  Others  that  the  souls  of  the  good  dwell  in  the  forms  of  white  birds, 
under  the  throne  of  God.^  As  to  the  condition  of  the  souls  of  the  wicked, 
besides  the  opinions  that  have  been  already  mentioned,  the  more  orthodox 
hold  that  they  are  offered  by  the  angels  to  heaven,  from  whence  being  re- 
pulsed as  stinking  and  filthy,  they  are  offered  to  the  earth,  and  being  also 
refused  a  place  there,  are  carried  down  to  the  seventh  earth,  and  thrown 
into  a  dungeon,  which  they  call  Sajin,  under  a  green  rock,  or  according  to 
a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  under  the  devil's  jaw,^  to  be  there  tormented, 
till  they  are  called  up  to  be  joined  again  to  their  bodies. 

Though  some  among  the  Mohammedans  have  thought  that  the  resur- 
rection will  be  merely  spiritual,  and  no  more  than  the  returning  of  the  soul 
to  the  place  whence  it  first  came  (an  opinion  defended  by  EbnSina,^  and 
called  by  some  the  opinion  of  the  philosophers'') ;  and  others,  who  allow 
man  to  consist  of  body  only,  that  it  will  be  merely  corporeal;  the  received 
opinion  is,  that  both  body  and  soul  will  be  raised,  and  their  doctors  argue 
strenuously  for  the  possibility  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  and  dispute 
with  great  subtlety  concerning  the  manner  of  it.^  But  Mohammed  has 
taken  care  to  preserve  one  part  of  the  body,  whatever  becomes  of  the  rest, 
to  serve  for  a  basis  of  the  future  edifice,  or  rather  a  leaven  for  the  mass 
which  is  to  be  joined  to  it.  For  he  taught,  that  a  man's  body  was  entirely 
consumed  by  the  earth,  except  only  the  bone  called  Ajb,  which  we  name 
the  OS  coccygis,  or  rump-bone ;  and  that  as  it  was  the  first  formed  in  the 
human  body,  it  will  also  remain  uncorrupted  till  the  last  day,  as  a  seed 
from  whence  the  whole  is  to  be  renewed ;  and  this  he  said  will  be  effected 
by  a  forty  days'  rain  which  God  should  send,  and  which  would  cover  the 
earth  to  the  height  of  twelve  cubits,  and  cause  the  bodies  to  sprout  forth 
like  plants.^  Herein  also  is  Mohammed  beholden  to  the  Jews  ;  who  say 
the  same  things  of  the  bone  Luz,'  excepting  that  what  he  attributes  to  a 
great  rain  will  be  effected  according  to  them  by  a  dew^  impregnating  the 
dust  of  the  earth. 

The  time  of  the  resurrection  the  Mohammedans  allow  to  be  a  perfect 
secret  to  all  but  God  alone  ;  the  angel  Gabriel  himself  acknowledging  his 
ignorance  in  this  point  when  Mohammed  asked  him  about  it.  However 
they  say  the  approach  of  that  day  may  be  known  from  certain  signs  which 
are  to  precede  it.  These  signs  they  distinguish  into  two  sorts,  the  lesser, 
and  the  greater ;  which  I  shall  briefly  enumerate  after  Dr.  Pocock.^ 

The  lesser  signs  are,  1.  The  decay  of  faith  among  men.^  2.  The 
advancing  of  the  meanest  persons  to  eminent  dignity.  3.  That  a  maid- 
servant shall  become  the  mother  of  her  mistress  (or  master) ;  by  which  is 

^  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  248.  Consonant  hereto  are  the  Jewish  notions  of  the  souls  of  the 
just  being  on  high,  under  the  throne  of  glory.  Vide  ibid  p.  156.  *  Ibid  p.  250.  '  Al 
Beidawi.     Vide  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  252.  «  Or,  as  we  corruptly  name  him  Avicenna. 

'  Kenz  al  afrar.         ^  Vide  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  254.         ^  Idem,  ibid  p.  255,  &c.  ^  Bere- 

shit.  rabbah,  &c.     Vide  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  117,  &c.  '^  lidem  p.  258,  fcc.  =>  See 

Luke,  xviii.  8. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  57 

meant  either  that  towards  the  end  of  the  world  men  shall  be  much  given 
to  sensuality,  or  that  the  Mohammedans  shall  then  take  many  captives. 
4.  Tumults  and  seditions.  5.  A  war  with  the  Turks.  6.  Great  distress 
in  the  world,  so  that  a  man  when  he  passes  by  another's  grave  shall  say, 
Would  to  God  I  were  in  his  place  !  7.  That  the  provinces  of  Irak  and 
Syria  shall  refuse  to  pay  their  tribute.  And,  8.  That  the  buildings  of 
Medina  shall  reach  to  Ahab,  or  Yahab. 
The  greater  signs  are, 

1.  The  sun's  rising  in  the  west.  Which  some  have  imagined  it  origin- 
ally did." 

2.  The  appearance  of  the  beast,  which  shall  rise  out  of  the  earth,  in  the 
temple  of  Mecca,  or  on  mount  Safa,  or  in  the  territory  of  Tayef,  or  some 
other  place.  This  beast  they  say  is  to  be  sixty  cubits  high  ;  though 
others,  not  satisfied  with  so  small  a  size,  will  have  her  reach  to  the  clouds 
and  to  heaven,  when  her  head  only  is  out ;  and  that  she  will  appear  for 
three  days,  but  show  only  a  third  part  of  her  body.  They  describe  this 
monster,  as  to  her  form,  to  be  a  compound  of  various  species ;  having  the 
head  of  a  bull,  the  eyes  of  a  hog,  the  ears  of  an  elephant,  the  horns  of 
a  stag,  the  neck  of  an  ostrich,  the  breast  of  a  lion,  the  colour  of  a  tiger, 
the  back  of  a  cat,  the  tail  of  a  ram,  the  legs  of  a  camel,  and  the  voice  of  an 
ass.  Some  say  this  beast  is  to  appear  three  times  in  several  places,  and 
that  she  will  bring  with  her  the  rod  of  Moses,  and  the  seal  of  Solomon  ; 
and  being  so  swift  that  none  can  overtake  or  escape  her,  will  with  the  first 
strike  all  the  believers  on  the  face,  and  mark  them  with  the  word  Mumen, 
i.e.  believer ;  and  with  the  latter  will  mark  the  unbelievers  on  the  face 
likewise,  with  the  word  Cafer,  i.  e.  infidel^  that  every  person  may  be  known 
for  what  he  really  is.  They  add  that  the  same  beast  is  to  demonstrate  the 
vanity  of  all  religions  except  Islam,  and  to  speak  Arabic.  All  this  stuff 
seems  to  be  the  result  of  a  confused  idea  of  the  beast  in  the  Revelations.^ 

3.  War  with  the  Greeks,  and  the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  seventy 
thousand  of  the  posterity  of  Isaac,  who  shall  not  win  that  city  by  force  of 
arms,  but  the  walls  shall  fall  down  while  they  cry  out,  There  is  no  God 
but  God  :  God  is  most  great !  As  they  are  dividing  the  spoil,  news  will 
come  to  them  of  the  appearance  of  Antichrist ;  whereupon  they  shall  leave 
all,  and  return  back. 

4.  The  coming  of  Antichrist,  whom  the  Mohammedans  call  al  Masih  al 
Dajjal,  i.e.  the  false  or  lying  Christ,  and  simply  al  Dajjal.  He  is  to  be 
one-eyed,  and  marked  on  the  forehead  with  the  letters  C.  F.  R.  signifying 
Cafer,  or  infidel.  They  say  that  the  Jews  give  him  the  name  of  Messiah 
Ben  David,  and  pretend  he  is  to  come  in  the  last  days,  and  to  be  lord  both 
of  land  and  sea,  and  that  he  will  restore  the  kingdom  to  them.  According 
to  the  traditions  of  Mohammed,  he  is  to  appear  first  between  Irak  and 
Syria,  or  according  to  others,  in  the  province  of  Khorasan;  they  add  that 
he  is  to  ride  on  an  ass;  that  he  will  be  followed  by  seventy  thousand  Jews 
of  Ispahan,  and  continue  on  earth  forty  days,  of  which  one  will  be  equal  in 
length  to  a  year,  another  to  a  month,  another  to  a  week,  and  the  rest  will 
be  conmion  days;  that  he  is  to  lay  waste  all  places,  but  will  not  enter 
Mecca  or  Medina,  which  are  to  be  guarded  by  angels;  and  that  at  length 
he  will  be  slain  by  Jesus,  who  is  to  encounter  him  at  the  gate  of  Lud.  It 
is  said  that  Mohammed  foretold  several  Antichrists,  to  the  number  of 
about  thirty  ;  but  one  of  greater  note  than  the  rest. 

5.  The  descent  of  Jesus  on  earth.    They  pretend  that  he  is  to  descend 

*  See  Whiston's  Theory  of  the  Earth,  book  ii.  p.  98,  &c.  *  Chap.  13. 


58  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

near  the  white  tower  to  the  east  of  Damascus,  when  the  people  are  returned 
from  the  taking  of  Constantinople  ;  that  he  is  to  embrace  the  Mohammedan 
religion,  marry  a  wife,  get  children,  kill  Antichrist,  and  at  length  die  after 
forty  years',  or  according  to  others  twenty-four  years'^  continuance  on  earth. 
Under  him  they  say  there  will  be  great  security  and  plenty  in  the  world,  all 
hatred  and  malice  being  laid  aside  ;  when  lions  and  camels,  bears  and 
sheep,  shall  live  in  peace,  and  a  child  shall  play  with  serpents  unhurt.' 

6.  War  with  the  Jews;  of  whom  the  Mohammedans  are  to  make  a 
prodigious  slaughter,  the  very  trees  and  stones  discovering  such  of  them 
as  hide  themselves,  except  only  the  tree  called  Gharkad,  which  is  the 
tree  of  the  Jews. 

The  eruption  of  Gog  and  Magog,  or,  as  they  are  called  in  the  east, 
Yajuj  and  Majuj ;  of  whom  many  things  are  related  in  the  Koran,^  and  the 
traditions  of  Mohammed.  These  barbarians,  they  tell  us,  having  passed  the 
lake  of  Tiberias,  which  the  vanguard  of  their  vast  army  will  drink  dry,  will 
come  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  greatly  distress  Jesus  and  his  companions; 
till  at  his  request  God  will  destroy  them,  and  fill  the  earth  with  their  car- 
casses, which  after  some  time  God  will  send  birds  to  carry  away,  at  the 
prayers  of  Jesus  and  his  followers.  Their  bows,  arrows,  and  quivers  the 
Moslems  will  burn  for  seven  years  together;  and  at  last  God  will  send 
a  rain  to  cleanse  the  earth,  and  to  make  it  fertile. 

8.  A  smoke,  which  shall  fill  the  whole  earth.^ 

9.  An  eclipse  of  the  moon.  Mohammed  is  reported  to  have  said,  that 
there  would  be  three  eclipses  before  the  last  hour ;  one  to  be  seen  in  the 
east,  another  in  the  west,  and  the  third  in  Arabia. 

10.  The  returning  of  the  Arabs  to  the  worship  of  Allat  and  al  Uzza,  and 
the  rest  of  their  ancient  idols;  after  the  decease  of  every  one  in  whose 
heart  there  was  faith  equal  to  a  grain  of  mustard-seed,  none  but  the  very 
worst  of  men  being  left  alive.  For  God,  they  say,  will  send  a  cold  odori- 
ferous wind,  blowing  from  Syria  Damascena,  which  shall  sweep  away  the 
souls  of  all  the  faithful,  and  the  Koran  itself,  so  that  men  will  remain  in 
the  grossest  ignorance  for  a  hundred  years. 

11.  The  discovery  of  a  vast  heap  of  gold  and  silver  by  the  retreating 
of  the  Euphrates,  which  will  be  the  destruction  of  many. 

12.  The  demolition  of  the  Caaba,  or  temple  of  Mecca,  by  the  Ethio- 
pians.^ . 

13.  The  speaking  of  beasts  and  inanimate  things. 

14.  The  breaking  out  of  fire  in  the  province  of  Hejaz ;  or,  according 
to  others,  in  Yaman. 

15.  The  appearance  of  a  man  of  the  descendants  of  Kahtan,  who  shall 
drive  men  before  him  with  his  staff. 

16.  The  coming  of  the  Mohdi,  or  director  ;  concerning  whom  Moham- 
med prophesied,  that  the  world  should  not  have  an  end  till  one  of  his  own 
family  should  govern  the  Arabians,  whose  name  should  be  the  same  with 
his  own  name,  and  whose  father's  name  should  also  be  the  same  with  his 
father's  name;  and  who  should  fill  the  earth  with  righteousness.  This 
person  the  Shiites  believe  to  be  now  alive,  and  concealed  in  some  secret 
place,  till  the  time  of  his  manifestation ;  for  they  suppose  him  to  be  no  other 
than  the  last  of  the  twelve  Imams,  named  Mohammed  Abu'lkasem,  as 
their  prophet  was,  and  the  son  of  Hassan  al  Askeri,  the  eleventh  of  that 
succession.     He  was  born  at  Sermanrai  in  the  two  hundred  and  fifty-fifth 

"  Al  Thalabi,  in  Kor.  chap.  4.  ''  See  Isaiah  xi.  6,  &c.  "  Chap.  18.  and  21. 

^  See  Ezek.  xxxix.  9.     Revel,  xx.  8.  '  See  Koran,  chap.  44.  and  the  notes  tliereon. 

Compare  also  Joel  ii.  30,  and  Rev.  ix.  2.  *  See  after,  in  this  section. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  59 

year  of  the  Hejra.3  From  this  tradition,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  an  opinion 
pretty  current  among  the  Christians  took  its  rise,  that  the  Mohammedans 
are  in  expectation  of  their  prophet's  return. 

17.  A  wind  which  shall  sweep  away  the  souls  of  all  who  have  but 
a  grain  of  faith  in  their  hearts,  as  has  been  mentioned  under  the  tenth 
sign. 

These  are  the  greater  signs  which,  according  to  their  doctrine,  are  to  pre- 
cede  the  resurrection,  but  still  leave  the  hour  of  it  uncertain  :  for  the  im- 
mediate  sign  of  its  being  come  will  be  the  first  blast  of  the  trumpet,  which 
they  believe  will  be  sounded  three  times.  The  first  they  call  the  llast 
of  consternation ;  at  the  hearing  of  which  all  creatures  in  heaven  and  earth 
shall  be  struck  with  terror,  except  those  whom  God  shall  please  to  exempt 
from  it.  The  effects  attributed  to  this  first  sound  of  the  trumpet  are  very 
wonderful  :  for  they  say,  the  earth  will  be  shaken,  and  not  only  all  build- 
ings,  but  the  very  mountains,  levelled;  that  the  heavens  shall  melt,  the  sun 
be  darkened,  the  stars  fall,  on  the  death  of  the  angels,  who  as  some  imagine 
hold  them  suspended  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  sea  shall  be  trou- 
bled and  dried  up,  or,  according  to  others,  turned  into  flames,  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  being  thrown  into  it :  the  Koran,  to  express  the  greatness  of  the 
terror  of  that  day,  adds  that  women  who  give  suck  shall  abandon  the  care 
of  their  infants,  and  even  the  she-camels  which  have  gone  ten  months  with 
young  (a  most  valuable  part  of  the  substance  of  that  nation)  shall  be  ut- 
terly neglected.  A  farther  effect  of  this  blast  will  be  that  concourse  of 
beasts  mentioned  in  the  Koran,''  though  some  doubt  whether  it  be  to  pre- 
cede the  resurrection  or  not.  They  who  suppose  it  will  precede,  think 
that  all  kinds  of  animals,  forgetting  their  respective  natural  fierceness  and 
timidity,  will  run  together  into  one  place,  being  terrified  by  the  sound  of 
the  trumpet  and  the  sudden  shock  of  nature. 

The  Mohammedans  believe  that  this  first  blast  will  be  followed  by  a 
second,  which  they  call  the  blast  of  ex  animation  ;^  when  all  creatures  both 
in  heaven  and  earth  shall  die  or  be  annihilated,  except  those  which  God 
shall  please  to  exempt  from  the  common  fate  ;  and  this,  they  say,  shall 
happen  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  nay  in  an  instant;  nothing  surviving 
except  God  alone,  with  paradise  and  hell,  and  the  inhabitants  of  those 
two  places,  and  the  throne  of  glory ."^  The  last  who  shall  die  will  be  the 
angel  of  death. 

Forty  years  after  this  will  be  heard  the  blast  of  resurrection,  when  the 
trumpet  shall  be  sounded  the  third  time  by  Israfil,  who,  together  with  Ga- 
briel and  Michael,  will  be  previously  restored  to  life,  and  standing  on  the 
rock  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  shall  at  God's  command  call  together  all 
the  dry  and  rotten  bones,  and  other  dispersed  parts  of  the  bodies,  and  the 
very  hairs,  to  judgment.  This  angel  having,  by  the  divine  order,  set  the 
trumpet  to  his  mouth,  and  called  together  all  the  souls  from  all  parts,  will 
throw  them  into  his  trumpet,  from  whence,  on  his  giving  the  last  sound,  at 
the  command  of  God,  they  shall  fly  forth  like  bees,  and  fill  the  whole  space 
between  heaven  and  earth,  and  then  repair  to  their  respective  bodies,  which 
the  opening  earth  will  suffer  to  arise ;  and  the  first  who  shall  so  arise, 

'Vide  p'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  531.  *  Chap.  81.  'Several  writers  however 

make  no  distinction  between  this  blast  and  the  first,  supposing  the  trumpet  will  sound  but 
tv/ice.     See  the  notes  to  Kor.  chap.  39.  «  Kor.  chap.  39.  '  To  these  some 

add  the  spirit  who  bears  the  waters  on  which  the  throne  is  placed,  the  preserved  Table, 
wherein  the  decrees  of  God  are  registered,  and  the  pen  wherewith  they  are  written  ;  all 
which  things  the  ^Mohammedans  imagine  were  created  before  the  world.  '  In  this  cir- 
cumstance the  Mohammedans  follow  the  Jews,  who  also  agree  that  the  trumpet  will  sound 
more  than  once.    Vide  R.  Bechai  in  Biur  hattorah,  and  Otioth  shel  R.  Akiba. 


60  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

according  to  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  will  be  himself.  For  this  birth  the 
earth  will  be  prepared  by  the  rain  above-mentioned,  which  is  to  fall  conti- 
nually for  forty  years,®  and  will  resemble  the  seed  of  a  man,  and  be  supplied 
from  the  water  under  the  throne  of  God,  which  is  called  living  icater  ;  by 
the  efficacy  and  virtue  of  which  the  dead  bodies  shall  spring  forth  from 
their  graves,  as  they  did  in  their  mother's  womb,  or  as  corn  sprouts  forth 
by  common  rain,  till  they  become  perfect;  after  which,  breath  will  be 
breathed  into  them,  and  they  will  sleep  in  their  sepulchres  till  they  are 
raised  to  life  at  the  last  trump. 

As  to  the  length  of  the  day  of  judgment,  the  Koran  in  one  place  tells  us 
that  it  will  last  one  thousand  years,'  and  in  another  fifty  thousand.^  To 
reconcile  this  apparent  contradiction,  the  commentators  use  several  shifts : 
some  saying,  they  know  not  what  measure  of  time  God  intends  in  those 
passages  ;  others,  that  these  forms  of  speaking  are  figurative,  and  not  to  be 
strictly  taken,  and  were  designed  only  to  express  the  terribleness  of  that 
day,  it  being  usual  for  the  Arabs  to  describe  what  they  dislike  as  of  long 
continuance,  and  what  they  like  as  the  contrary  ;  and  others  suppose  them 
spoken  only  in  reference  to  the  difficulty  of  the  business  of  the  day,  which 
if  God  should  commit  to  any  of  his  creatures,  they  would  not  be  able  to 
go  through  it  in  so  many  thousand  years ;  to  omit  some  other  opinions 
which  we  may  take  notice  of  elsewhere. 

Having  said  so  much  in  relation  to  the  time  of  the  resurrection,  let  us 
now  see  who  are  to  be  raised  from  the  dead,  in  what  manner  and  form 
they  shall  be  raised,  in  what  place  they  shall  be  assembled,  and  to  what 
end  ;  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  Mohammedans. 

That  the  resurrection  will  be  general,  and  extend  to  all  creatures,  both 
angels,  genii,  men,' and  animals, is  the  received  opinion,  which  they  support 
by  the  authority  of  the  Koran  ;  though  that  passage  which  is  produced  to 
prove  the  resurrection  of  brutes  be  otherwise  interpreted  by  some.^ 

The  manner  of  their  resurrection  will  be  very  different.  Those  who  are 
destined  to  be  partakers  of  eternal  happiness  will  arise  in  honour  and  se- 
curity ;  and  those  who  are  doomed  to  misery,  in  disgrace  and  under  dis- 
mal apprehensions.  As  to  mankind,  they  say,  that  they  will  be  raised 
perfect  in  all  their  parts  and  members,  and  in  the  same  state  as  they  came 
out  of  their  mother's  wombs,  that  is,  barefooted,  naked,  and  uncircumcised ; 
which  circumstances  when  Mohammed  was  telling  his  wife  Ayesha,  she, 
fearing  the  rules  of  modesty  might  be  thereby  violated,  objected  that  it 
would  be  very  indecent  for  men  and  women  to  look  upon  one  another  in 
that  condition:  but  he  answered  her,  that  the  business  of  the  day  would  be 
too  weighty  and  serious  to  allow  them  the  making  use  of  that  liberty. 
Others  however  allege  the  authority  of  their  prophet  for  a  contrary  opinion 
as  to  their  nakedness,  and  pretend  he  asserted  that  the  dead  should  arise 
dressed  in  the  same  clothes  in  which  they  died;^  unless  we  interpret  these 
words,  as  some  do,  not  so  much  of  the  outward  dress  of  the  body,  as  the  in- 
ward clothing  of  the  mind;  and  understand  thereby  that  every  person  will 
rise  again  in  the  same  state  as  to  his  faith  or  infidelity,  liis  knowledge  or 
ignorance,  his  good  or  bad  works.  Mohammed  is  also  said  to  have  farther 
taught,  by  another  tradition,  that  mankind  shall  be  assembled  at  the  last 
day,  distinguished  into  three  classes.     The  first,  of  those  who  go  on  foot ; 

*  Elsewhere  (see  before,  p.  56)  this  rain  is  said  to  continue  only  forty  days  ;  but  it  rather 
seems  that  it  is  to  fall  during  the  whole  interval  between  the  second  and  third  blasts. 
'  Kor.  chap.  32.  "^  lb.  chap.  70.  ^  See  the  notes  to  Kor.  chap.  81.  and  the 

preceding  page.  *  In  this  also  they  follow  their  old  guides,  the  Jews  ;  who  say  that  if 
the  wheat  which  is  sown  naked  rise  clothed,  it  is  no  wonder  the  pious  who  are  buried  in 
their  clothes  should  rise  with  them.     Geraar.  Sanhedr.  fol.  90. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  61 

the  second,  of  those  who  ride ;  and  the  third,  of  those  who  creep  grovelling 
with  their  faces  on  the  ground.  Tiic  first  class  is  toconsistof  those  believers 
whose  good  works  have  been  few  ;  the  second  of  those  who  are  in  greater 
honour  with  God,  and  more  acceptable  to  him  ;  whence  Ali  affirmed  that 
the  pious,  when  they  come  forth  from  the  sepulchres,  shall  find  ready  pre- 
pared for  them  white  winged  camels,  with  saddles  of  gold  ;  wherein  are  to 
be  observed  some  footsteps  of  the  doctrine  of  the  ancient  Arabians;'^  and 
the  third  class,  they  say,  will  be  composed  of  the  infidels,  whom  God  shall 
cause  to  make  their  appearance  with  their  faces  on  the  earth,  blind,  dumb, 
and  deaf.  But  the  ungodly  will  not  be  thus  only  distinguished  ;  for,  ac- 
cording to  a  tradition  of  the  prophet,  there  will  be  ten  sorts  of  wicked  men 
on  whom  God  shall  on  that  day  fix  certain  discretory  marks.  The  first 
will  appear  in  the  form  of  apes;  these  are  the  professors  of  Zendicism;  the 
second  in  that  of  swine  ;  these  they  who  have  been  greedy  of  filthy  lucre, 
and  enriched  themselvesby  public  oppression:  the  third  will  be  brought  with 
their  heads  reversed,  and  their  feet  distorted;  these  are  the  usurers:  the 
fourth  will  wander  about  blind  ;  these  are  unjust  judges :  the  fifth  will  be 
deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  understanding  nothing;  these  are  they  who  glory 
in  their  works :  the  sixth  will  gnaw  their  tongues,  which  will  hang  down 
upon  their  breasts,  corrupted  blood  flowing  from  their  mouths  like  spittle, 
so  that  every  body  shall  detest  them ;  these  are  the  learned  men  and  doc- 
tors, whose  actions  contradict  their  sayings :  the  seventh  will  have  their 
hands  and  feet  cut  oflf;  these  are  they  who  have  injured  their  neighbours  : 
the  eighth  will  be  fixed  to  the  trunks  of  palm-trees  or  stakes  of  wood ; 
these  are  the  false  accusers  and  informers:  the  ninth  will  stink  worse  than 
a  corrupted  corpse ;  these  are  they  who  have  indulged  their  passions  and 
voluptuous  appetites,  but  refused  God  such  part  of  their  wealth  as  was 
due  to  him :  the  tenth  will  be  clothed  with  garments  daubed  with  pitch  ; 
and  these  are  the  proud,  the  vainglorious,  and  the  arrogant. 

As  to  the  place  where  they  are  to  be  assembled  to  judgment,  the  Koran 
and  the  traditions  of  Mohammed  agree  that  it  will  be  on  the  earth,  but  in 
what  part  of  the  earth  it  is  not  agreed.  Some  say  their  prophet  mentioned 
Syria  for  the  place;  others,  a  white  and  even  tract  of  land,  without  inhabi- 
tants or  any  signs  of  buildings.  Al  Ghazali  imagines  it  will  be  a  second 
earth,  which  he  supposes  to  be  of  silver  ;  and  others  an  earth  which  has 
nothing  in  common  with  ours,  but  the  name ;  having,  it  is  possible,  heard 
something  of  the  new  heavens  and  new  earth  mentioned  in  scripture : 
whence  the  Koran  has  this  expression,  "  on  the  day  wherein  the  earth 
shall  be  changed  into  another  earth. "^ 

The  end  of  the  resurrection  the  Mohammedans  declare  to  be,  that  they 
who  are  so  raised  may  give  an  account  of  their  actions,  and  receive  the 
reward  thereof.  And  they  believe  that  not  only  mankind,  but  the  genii 
and  irrational  animals  also''  shall  be  judged  on  this  great  day  ;  when  the 
unarmed  cattle  shall  take  vengeance  on  the  horned,  till  entire  satisfaction 
shall  be  given  to  the  injured.^ 

5  See  before,  sect.  i.  p.  15.  «  Chap.  14.  ^  Kor.  chap.  6.  Vide  Maimonid.  More  Nev. 
part  3,  chap.  17.  '  This  opinion  the  learned  Greaves  supposed  to  have  taken  its  rise 

from  the  following  words  of  Ezekiel,  wrongly  understood ;  "And  as  for  ye,  O  my  Hock, 
thus  saith  the  Lord  (iod,  Behold  I  judge  between  cattle  and  cattle,  between  the  rams  and 
the  he-goats. — Behold  I,  even  I,  will  judge  between  the  fat  cattle,  and  between  the  lean 
cattle  ;  because  ye  have  thrust  with  side  and  with  shoulder,  and  pushed  all  the  diseased 
with  your  horns,  till  you  have  scattered  them  abroad  ;  therefore  will  I  save  my  flock,  and 
they  shall  no  more  be  a  prey,  and  I  will  judge  between  cattle  and  cattle, "'  &c.  Ezek. 
xxxiv.  17,  20,  21,  22.  Much  might  he  said  concerning  brutes  deserving  future  reward 
and  punishment.  See  Bayle,  Diet.  Hist.  Art.  Rorarius,  Rem.  D.  &c. 
F 


62  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

As  to  mankind,  they  hold  that  when  they  are  all  assembled  tog'ether, 
they  will  not  be  immediately  brought  to  judgment,  but  the  angels  will  keej) 
them  in  their  ranks  and  order  while  they  attend  for  that  purpose:  and  this 
attendance  some  say  is  to  last  forty  years,  others  seventy,  others  three 
hundred,  nay  some  say  no  less  than  fifty  thousand  years,  each  of  them 
vouching  their  prophet's  authority.  During  this  space  they  will  stand 
looking  up  to  heaven,  but  without  receiving  any  information  or  orders 
thence,  and  are  to  suffer  grievous  torments,  both  the  just  and  the  unjust, 
though  with  manifest  difference.  For  the  limbs  of  the  former,  particularly 
those  parts  which  they  used  to  wash  in  making  the  ceremonial  ablution 
before  prayer,  shall  shine  gloriously,  and  their  sufferings  shall  be  light  in 
comparison,  and  shall  last  no  longer  than  the  time  necessary  to  say  the  ap- 
pointed prayers;  but  the  latter  will  have  their  faces  obscured  with  black- 
ness, and  disfigured  with  all  the  marks  of  sorrow  and  deformity.  What 
will  then  occasion  not  the  least  of  their  pain,  is  a  wonderful  and  incre- 
dible sweat,  which  will  even  stop  their  mouths,  and  in  which  they  will 
be  immersed  in  various  degrees  according  to  their  demerits,  some  to  the 
ankles  only,  and  some  to  tiie  knees,  some  to  the  middle,  some  so  high 
as  their  mouth,  and  others  as  their  ears.  And  this  sweat,  they  say, 
will  be  provoked  not  only  by  that  vast  concourse  of  all  sorts  of  crea- 
tures mutually  pressing  and  treading  on  one  another's  feet,  but  by  the 
near  and  unusual  approach  of  the  sun,  which  will  be  then  no  farther  from 
them  than  the  distance  of  a  mile,  or  (as  some  translate  the  word,  the  sig- 
nification of  which  is  ambiguous),  than  the  length  of  a  bodkin.  So  that 
their  skulls  will  boil  like  a  pot,^  and  they  will  be  all  bathed  in  sweat. 
From  this  inconvenience,  however,  the  good  will  be  protected  by  the  shade 
of  God's  throne ;  but  the  wicked  will  be  so  miserably  tormented  with  it, 
and  also  with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  a  stifling  air,  that  they  will  cry  out, 
Lord^  deliver  us  from  this  anguish,  though  thou  send  us  into  hell-fire}  What 
they  fable  of  the  extraordinary  heat  of  the  sun  on  this  occasion,  the  Mo- 
hammedans certainly  borrowed  from  the  Jews,  who  say  that,  for  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  wicked  on  the  last  day,  that  planet  shall  be  drawn  forth 
from  its  sheath^  in  which  it  is  now  put  up,  lest  it  should  destroy  all  things 
by  its  excessive  heat.2 

When  those  who  have  risen  shall  have  waited  the  limited  time,  the 
Mohammedans  believe  God  will  at  length  appear  to  judge  them,  Mo- 
hammed undertaking  the  office  of  intercessor,  after  it  shall  have  been 
declined  by  Adam,  Noah,  Abraham,  and  Jesus,  who  shall  beg  deliverance 
only  for  their  own  souls.  They  say  that  on  this  solemn  occasion  God 
will  come  in  the  clouds,  surrounded  by  angels,  and  will  produce  the  books 
wherein  the  actions  of  every  person  are  recorded  by  their  guardian  angels,^ 
and  will  command  the  prophets  to  bear  witness  against  those  to  whom  they 
have  been  respectively  sent.  Then  every  one  will  be  examined  concern- 
ing all  his  words  and  actions,  uttered  and  done  by  him  in  this  life  ;  not  as 
if  God  needed  any  information  in  those  respects,  but  to  oblige  the  person 
to  make  public  confession  and  acknowledgment  of  God's  justice.  The  par- 
ticulars of  which  they  shall  give  an  account,  as  Mohammed  himself  enume- 
rated them,  are;  of  their  time,  how  they  spent  it;  of  their  wealth,  by  what 
means  they  acquired  it,  and  how  they  employed  it;  of  their  bodies,  where- 
in they  exercised  them;  of  their  knowledge  and  learning,  what  use  they 
made  of  them.  It  is  said  however  that  Mohammed  has  affirmed  that 
no  less  than  seventy  thousand  of  his  followers  should  be  permitted  to 

'  Al  Ghazali.         '  Idem.         ^  Vide  Pocock,  Not.  in  Port,  Mosis,  p.  277.  '  See 

before,  p.  51 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  63 

enter  paradise  without  any  previous  examination;  which  seems  to  be  con- 
tradictory to  what  is  said  above.  To  the  questions  it  is  said  each  person 
shall  answer,  and  make  his  defence  in  the  best  manner  he  can,  endeavour- 
ing to  excuse  himself  by  casting  the  blame  of  his  evil  deeds  on  others;  so 
that  a  dispute  shall  arise  even  between  the  soul  and  the  body,  to  which  of 
them  their  guilt  ought  to  be  imputed:  the  soul  saying,  "  O  Lord,  my  body 
I  received  from  thee  ;  for  thou  createdst  me  without  a  hand  to  lay  hold 
with,  a  foot  to  walk  with,  an  eye  to  see  with,  or  an  understanding  to  ap- 
prehend with,  till  I  came  and  entered  into  this  body  ;  therefore  punish  it 
eternally,  but  deliver  me,"  The  body  on  the  other  side  will  make  tliis 
apology,  "  O  Lord,  thou  createdst  me  like  a  stock  of  wood,  having  neither 
hand  that  I  could  lay  hold  with,  nor  foot  that  I  could  walk  with,  till  tiiis 
soul,  like  a  ray  of  light,  entered  into  me,  and  my  tongue  began  to  speak, 
my  eye  to  see,  and  my  foot  to  walk  ;  therefore  punish  it  eternally,  but 
deliver  me."  But  God  will  propound  to  them  the  following  parable  of 
the  blind  man  and  the  lame  man,  which,  as  well  as  the  preceding  dis- 
pute, was  borrowed  by  the  Mohammedans  from  the  Jews/  A  certain  king 
having  a  pleasant  garden,  in  which  were  ripe  fruits,  set  two  persons  to 
keep  it,  one  of  whom  was  blind,  and  the  other  lame,  the  former  not  being 
able  to  see  the  fruit,  nor  the  latter  to  gather  it;  the  lame  man,  however, 
seeing  the  fruit,  persuaded  the  blind  man  to  take  him  upon  his  shoulders; 
and  by  that  means  he  easily  gathered  the  fruit,  which  they  divided  between 
them.  The  lord  of  the  garden  coming  some  time  after,  and  inquiring  after 
his  fruit,  each  began  to  excuse  himself;  the  blind  man  said  he  had  no  eyes 
to  see  with  ;  and  the  lame  man  that  he  had  no  feet  to  approach  the  trees. 
But  the  king  ordering  the  lame  man  to  be  set  on  the  blind,  passed  sen- 
tence on  and  punished  them  both.  And  in  the  same  manner  will  God 
deal  with  the  body  and  the  soul.  As  these  apologies  will  not  avail  on 
that  day,  so  will  it  also  be  in  vain  for  any  one  to  deny  his  evil  actions, 
since  men  and  angels  and  his  own  members,  nay  the  very  earth  itself, 
will  be  ready  to  bear  witness  against  him. 

Though  the  Mohammedans  assign  so  long  a  space  for  the  attendance  of 
the  resuscitated  before  their  trial,  yet  they  tell  us  the  trial  itself  will  be  over 
in  much  less  time,  and,  according  to  an  expression  of  Mohammed,  familiar 
enough  to  the  Arabs,  will  last  no  longer  than  while  one  may  milk  an  ewe, 
or  than  the  space  between  two  milkings  of  a  she-camel.^  Some,  explaining 
those  words  so  frequently  used  in  the  Koran,  "  God  will  be  swift  in  taking 
an  account,"  say  that  he  will  judge  all  creatures  in  the  space  of  half  a  day, 
and  others  that  it  will  be  done  in  less  time  than  the  twinkling  of  an  eye.^ 

At  this  examination  they  also  believe  that  each  person  will  have  the 
book  wherein  all  the  actions  of  his  life  are  written  delivered  to  him  ; 
which  books  the  righteous  will  receive  in  their  right  hand,  and  read  with 
great  pleasure  and  satisfaction  ;  but  the  ungodly  will  be  obliged  to  take 
them  against  their  wills  in  their  left,^  which  will  be  bound  behind  their 
back,  their  right  hand  being  tied  up  to  their  necks.^ 

To  show  the  exact  justice  which  will  be  observed  on  this  great  day  of 
trial,  the  next  thing  they  describe  is  the  halance,  wherein  all  things  shall 
be  weighed.  They  say  it  will  be  held  by  Gabriel,  and  that  it  is  of  so  vast 
a  size,  that  its  two  scales,  one  of  which  hangs  over  paradise,  and  the  other 
over  hell,  are  capacious  enough  to  contain  both  heaven  and  earth.    Though 

*  Gemara,  Sanhedr.  chap.  xi.  R.  Jos.  Albo,  Serm.  4.  chap,  xxxiii.  See  also  Epiphan. 
in  Ancorat.  sect.  Ixxxix.  =>  The  Arabs  use,  after  they  have  drawn  some  milk  from  the 
camel,  to  wait  awhile,  and  let  her  young  one  suck  a  little,  that  she  may  give  down  her 
milk  more  plentifully  at  the  second  milking.  *  Pocock  Not.  in  Port.  Mosis,  p.  278 — 282, 
See  also  Kor.  chap.  2.  p.  24.        '  Kor.  chap.  17,  18,  69,  and  S4.        «  Jallalo'ddin. 


64  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

some  are  willing  to  understand  what  is  said  in  the  Koran  concerning  this 
balance  allegorically,  and  only  as  a  figurative  representation  of  God's 
equity,  yet  the  njore  ancient  and  orti)odox  opinion  is  that  it  is  to  be  taken 
literally  ;  and  since  words  and  actions,  being  mere  accidents,  are  not  capa- 
ble of  being  themselves  weighed,  they  say  that  the  books  wherein  they 
are  written  will  be  thrown  into  the  scales,  and  according  as  those  wherein 
the  good  or  the  evil  actions  are  recorded  shall  preponderate,  sentence  will 
be  given;  those  whose  balances  laden  with  their  good  works  shall  be  heavy 
will  be  saved,  but  those  whose  balances  are  light  will  be  condemned.''  Nor 
will  any  one  have  cause  to  complain  that  God  suffers  any  good  action 
to  pass  unrewarded,  because  the  wicked  for  the  good  they  do  have  their 
reward  in  this  life,  and  therefore  can  expect  no  favour  in  the  next. 

The  old  Jewish  writers  make  mention  as  well  of  the  books  to  be  pro- 
duced at  the  last  day,  wherein  men's  actions  are  registered,^  as  of  the 
balance  wherein  they  shall  be  weighed  ;2  and  the  scripture  itself  seems  to 
have  given  the  first  notion  of  both.a  But  what  the  Persian  Magi  believe  of 
the  balance  comes  nearest  to  the  Mohammedan  opinion.  They  hold  that 
on  the  day  of  judgment  two  angels,  named  Mihr  and  Sorush,  will  stand 
on  the  bridge  we  shall  describe  by  and  by,  to  examine  every  person  as 
he  passes;  that  the  former,  who  represents  the  divine  mercy,  will  hold  a 
balance  in  his  hand,  to  weigh  the  actions  of  men;  that  according  to  the 
report  he  shall  make  thereof  to  God,  sentence  will  be  pronounced,  and 
those  whose  good  works  are  found  more  ponderous,  if  they  turn  the  scale 
but  by  the  weight  of  a  hair,  will  be  permitted  to  pass  forward  to  paradise; 
but  those  whose  good  works  shall  be  found  light  will  be  by  the  other  angel, 
who  represents  God's  justice,  precipitated  from  the  bridge  into  hell.'* 

This  examination  being  past,  and  every  one's  works  weighed  in  a 
just  balance,  that  mutual  retaliation  will  follow,  according  to  which 
every  creature  will  take  vengeance  one  of  another,  or  have  satisfaction 
made  them  for  the  injuries  which  they  have  suffered.  And  since  there 
will  then  be  no  other  way  of  returning  like  for  like,  the  manner  of 
giving  this  satisfaction  will  be,  by  taking  away  a  proportionable  part  of 
the  good  works  of  him  who  offered  the  injury,  and  adding  it  to  those  of  him 
who  suffered  it.  Which  being  done,  if  the  angels  (by  whose  ministry  this 
is  to  be  performed)  say,  "  Lord,  we  have  given  to  every  one  his  due  ;  and 
there  remaineth  of  this  person's  good  works  so  much  as  equalleth  the 
weight  of  an  ant,"  God  will  of  his  mercy  cause  it  to  be  doubled  unto  him, 
that  he  may  be  admitted  into  paradise;  but  if  on  the  contrary  his  good 
works  be  exhausted,  and  there  remain  evil  works  only,  and  there  be  any 
who  have  not  yet  received  satisfaction  from  him,  God  will  order  that  an 
equal  weight  of  their  sins  be  added  unto  his,  that  he  may  be  punished  for 
them  in  their  stead,  and  he  will  be  sent  to  hell  laden  with  both.  This 
will  be  the  method  of  God's  dealing  with  mankind.  As  to  brutes,  after 
they  shall  have  likewise  taken  vengeance  of  one  another,  as  we  have  men- 
tioned above,  he  will  command  them  to  be  changed  into  dust;^  wicked 
men  being  reserved  to  more  grievous  punishment ;  so  that  they  shall  cry 
out,  on  hearing  this  sentence  pronounced  on  the  brutes,  "  Would  to  God 
that  we  were  dust  also!"  As  to  the  genii,  many  Mohammedans  are  of 
opinion  that  such  of  them  as  are  true  believers  will   undergo  the  same 

'  Kor.  chap.  33,  7,  &,c.        '  Midrash,  Yalkut  Shemuni,  fol.  153,  chap.  3.        "^  Gemar. 
Sanhedr.  f.  91,  &c.  '  Exod.  xxxii.  32,  33.     Dan,  vii.  10.     Rev.  xx.  12,  &c.  and 

Dan.  V.  27.  *  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pars.  p.  245,  401,  &c.  '  Yet  they  say  the  dog 

of  the  seven  sleepers,  and  Ezra's  ass,  which  was  raised  to  hfe,  will,  by  peculiar  favour, 
be  admitted  into  paradise.     See  Kor.  chap.  18,  and  chap.  3. 


PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE. 


Gj 


fate  as  the  irrational  animals,  and  have  no  other  reward  than  the  favour  of 
being  converted  into  dust;  and  for  this  they  quote  the  authority  of  their 
prophet.  But  this,  however,  is  judged  not  so  very  reasonable,  since  the 
genii,  being  capable  of  putting  themselves  in  the  state  of  believers  as  well 
as  men,  must  consequently  deserve,  as  it  seems,  to  be  rewarded  for  their 
faith,  as  well  as  to  be  punished  for  their  infidelity.  Wherefore  some  enter- 
tain a  more  favourable  opinion,  and  assign  the  believing  genii  a  place  near 
the  confines  of  paradise,  wliere  they  will  enjoy  sullicient  felicity,  though 
they  be  not  admitted  into  that  delightful  mansion.  But  the  unbelieving 
genii,  it  is  universally  agreed,  will  be  punished  eternally,  and  be  thrown 
into  hell  with  the  infidels  of  mortal  race.  It  may  not  be  improper  to 
observe,  that  under  the  denomination  of  unbelieving  genii,  the  Moham- 
medans comprehend  also  the  devil  and  his  companions.^ 

The  trials  being  over  and  the  assembly  dissolved,  the  Mohammedans 
hold,  that  those  who  are  to  be  admitted  into  paradise  will  take  the  right 
hand  way,  and  those  who  are  destined  to  hell-fire  will  take  the  left,  but 
both  of  them  must  first  pass  the  bridge,  called  in  Arabic,  al  Sirat,  which 
they  say  is  laid  over  the  midst  of  hell,  and  describe  to  be  finer  than  a  hair, 
and  sharper  than  the  edge  of  a  sword  ;  so  that  it  seems  very  dillicult  to 
conceive  how  any  one  shall  be  able  to  stand  upon  it:  for  which  reason 
most  of  the  sect  of  the  Motazalites  reject  it  as  a  fable,  though  the  orthodox 
think  it  a  sufficient  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  article,  that  it  was  seriously 
affirmed  by  him  who  never  asserted  a  falsehood,  meaning  their  prophet  ; 
who,  to  add  to  the  difficulty  of  the  passage,  has  likewise  declared  that  this 
bridge  is  beset  on  each  side  with  briars  and  hooked  thorns  ;  which  will 
however  be  no  impediment  to  the  good,  for  they  shall  pass  with  wonder- 
ful ease  and  swiftness,  like  lightning,  or  the  wind,  Mohammed  and  his 
Moslems  leading  the  way  ;  whereas  the  wicked,  what  with  the  slipperiness 
and  extreme  narrowness  of  the  path,  the  entangling  of  the  thorns,  and 
the  extinction  of  the  light  which  directed  the  former  to  paradise,  will  soon 
miss  their  footing,  and  fall  down  headlong  into  hell,  which  is  gaping  be- 
neath them.' 

This  circumstance  Mohammed  seems  also  to  have  borrowed  from  the 
Magians,  who  teach  that  on  the  last  day  all  mankind  will  be  obliged  to  pass 
a  bridge  which  they  call  Pul  Chinavad,  or  Chinavar,  that  is,  the  strait 
bridge,  leading  directly  into  the  other  world;  on  the  midst  of  which 
they  suppose  the  angels,  appointed  by  God  to  perform  that  office,  will 
stand,  who  will  require  of  every  one  a  strict  account  of  his  actions,  and 
weigh  them  in  the  manner  we  have  already  mentioned.^  It  is  true  the 
Jews  speak  likewise  of  the  bridge  of  hell,  which  they  say  is  no  broader 
than  a  thread  ;  but  then  they  do  not  tell  us  that  any  shall  be  obliged  to 
pass  it,  except  the  idolaters,  who  will  fall  thence  into  perdition.^ 

As  to  the  punishment  of  the  wicked,  the  Mohammedans  are  taught  that 
hell  is  divided  intoseven  stories, orapartments, one  belowanother, designed 
for  the  reception  of  as  many  distinct  classes  of  the  damned.'  The  first, 
which  they  call  Jehennam,  they  say  will  be  the  receptacle  of  those  who  ac- 
knowledged one  God,  that  is,  the  wicked  Mohammedans,  who,  after  having 
there  been  punished  according  to  their  demerits,  will  at  length  be  released. 
The  second,  named  Ladha,  they  assign  to  the  Jews;  the  third,  named  al 
Hotama,  to  the  Christians;  the  fourth,  named  al  Sair,  to  the  Sabians;  the 
fifth,  named  Sakar,  to  the  Magians;  the  sixth,  named  al  Jahim,  to  the 
idolaters;  and  the  seventh,  which  is  the  lowest  and  worst  of  all,  and 

•=  Vide  Kor.  c.  18.  Pocock.  ubi  sup.  p.  282—289.  »  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pars, 

pp.  245,  402,  &.C.        '  Midrash,  Yalkut  Reubeni,  sect.  Gehinnom.        '  Kor.  c.  15, 


66  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

is  called  al  Hawiyat,  to  the  hypocrites,  or  those  who  outwardly  professed 
some  religion,  but  in  their  hearts  were  of  none.^  Over  each  of  these  apart- 
ments they  believe  there  will  be  set  a  guard  of  angels,'  nineteen  in  num- 
ber ;*  to  whom  the  damned  will  confess  the  just  judgment  of  God,  and  beg 
them  to  intercede  with  him  for  some  alleviation  of  their  pain,  or  that  they 
may  be  delivered  by  being  annihilated.s 

Mohammed  has,  in  his  Koran  and  traditions,  been  very  exact  in 
describing  the  various  torments  of  hell,  which,  according  to  him,  the 
wicked  will  suffer  both  from  intense  heat  and  excessive  cold.  We  shall 
however  enter  into  no  detail  of  them  here,  but  only  observe  that  the  degrees 
of  these  pains  will  also  vary,  in  proportion  to  the  crimes  of  the  sufferer,  and 
the  apartment  he  is  condemned  to;  and  that  he  who  is  punished  most 
liglitly  of  all  will  be  shod  with  shoes  of  fire,  the  fervour  of  which  will  cause 
his  scull  to  boil  like  a  cauldron.  The  condition  of  these  unhappy  wretches, 
as  the  same  prophet  teaches,  cannot  be  properly  called  either  life  or  death; 
and  their  misery  will  be  greatly  increased  by  theirdespair  of  beingdelivered 
from  that  place,  since,  according  to  that  frequent  expression  in  the  Koran, 
"they  must  remain  therein  forever."  It  must  be  remarked,  however,  that 
the  infidels  alone  will  be  liable  to  eternity  of  damnation,  for  the  Moslems, 
or  those  who  have  embraced  the  true  religion,  and  have  been  guilty  of 
heinous  sins,  will  be  delivered  thence  after  they  shall  have  expiated  their 
crimesby  their  sufferings.  Thecontraryofeitheroftheseopinionsisreckoned 
heretical;  for  it  is  the  constant  orthodox  doctrine  of  the  Mohammedans 
that  no  unbeliever  or  idolater  will  ever  be  released,  nor  any  person  who  in 
his  lifetime  professed  and  believed  the  unity  of  God  be  condemned  to 
eternal  punishment.  As  to  the  time  and  manner  of  the  deliverance  of 
those  believers  whose  evil  actions  shall  outweigh  their  good,  there  is  a 
tradition  of  Mohammed  that  they  shall  be  released  after  they  shall  have 
been  scorched  and  their  skins  burnt  black,  and  shall  afterwards  be  admitted 
into  paradise  ;  and  when  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  shall  in  contempt 
call  them  infernals,  God  will,  on  their  prayers,  take  from  them  that  oppro- 
brious appellation.  Others  say,  he  taught  that  while  they  continue  in  hell 
they  shall  be  deprived  of  life,  or  (as  his  words  are  otherwise  interpreted)  be 
cast  into  a  most  profound  sleep,  that  they  may  be  the  less  sensible  of  their 
torments;  and  that  they  shall  afterwards  be  received  into  paradise,  and 
there  revive  on  their  being  washed  with  the  water  of  life  ;  though  some 
suppose  they  will  be  restored  to  life  before  they  come  forth  from  their  place 
of  punishment,  that  at  their  bidding  farewell  to  their  pains,  they  may  have 
some  little  taste  of  them.  The  time  which  these  believers  shall  be  detained 
there,  according  to  a  tradition  handed  down  from  their  prophet,  will  not  be 
less  than  nine  hundred  years,  nor  more  then  seven  thousand-  And  as  to 
the  manner  of  their  delivery,  they  say  that  they  shall  be  distinguished  by 
the  marks  of  prostration  on  those  parts  of  their  bodies  with  which  they 
used  to  touch  the  ground  in  prayer,  and  over  which  the  fire  will  therefore 
have  no  power;  and  that  being  known  by  this  characteristic,  they  will  be 

Others  fill  these  apartments  with  different  company.  Some  place  in  the  second,  the 
idolaters ;  in  the  third,  Gog  and  Magog,  &c. ;  in  the  fourth,  the  devils  ;  in  the  fifth,  those 
who  neglect  alms  and  prayers;  and  crowd  the  Jews,  Christians,  and  Magians  together  in 
the  sixth.  Some  again  will  have  the  first  to  be  prepared  for  the  Dahrians,  or  those  who 
deny  the  creation,  and  believe  the  eternity  of  the  world  ;  the  second,  for  the  Dualists,  or 
Manichees,  and  the  idolatrous  Arabs  ;  the  third,  for  the  Bramins  of  the  Indies  ;  the  fourth, 
for  the  Jews;  the  fifth,  for  the  Christians;  and  the  sixth,  for  the  Magians.  They  all 
agree  in  assigning  the  seventh  to  the  hvpocrites.  Vide  Millium,  de  Mohammedismo  ante 
Moham.  p.  412.     D^Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  368,  «fec. 

=>  Kor.  c.  40,  43,  74,  &c.  *  Ibid.  c.  74.  *  Ibid.  c.  40,  43. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  67 

released  by  the  mercy  of  God,  at  the  intercession  of  Mohammed  and  the 
blessed  ;  wliereupon  those  who  shall  have  been  dead  will  be  restored  to 
life,  as  has  been  said  ;  and  those  whose  bodies  shall  have  contracted  any 
sootiness  or  filth  from  the  flames  and  smoke  of  hell  will  be  immersed  in 
one  of  the  rivers  of  paradise,  called  the  river  oflife^  which  will  wash  them 
whiter  than  pearls.^ 

For  most  of  these  circumstances  relating  to  hell  and  the  state  of  the 
damned,  Mohammed  was  likewise  in  all  probability  indebted  to  the  Jews, 
and  in  part  to  the  Magians;  both  of  whom  agree  in  making  seven  distinct 
apartments  in  hell,^  though  they  vary  in  other  particulars.  The  former 
place  an  angel  as  a  guard  over  each  of  these  infernal  apartments,  and  sup- 
pose he  will  intercede  for  the  miserable  wretches  there  imprisoned,  who 
will  openly  acknowledge  the  justice  of  God  in  their  condemnation.^  They 
also  teach  that  the  wicked  will  suffer  a  diversity  of  punishments,  and  that 
by  intolerable  cold^  as  well  as  heat,  and  that  their  faces  shall  become 
black  ;^  and  believe  those  of  their  own  religion  shall  also  be  punished  in 
hell  hereafter,  according  to  their  crimes,  (for  they  hold  that  few  or  none 
will  be  found  so  exactly  righteous  as  to  deserve  no  punishment  at  all),  but 
will  soon  be  delivered  thence,  when  they  shall  be  sufficiently  purged  from 
their  sins,  by  their  father  Abraham,  or  at  the  intercession  of  him  or  some 
other  of  the  prophets.^  The  Magians  allow  but  one  angel  to  preside  over  all 
the  seven  hells,  who  is  named  by  them  Vanand  Yezdd,  and,  as  they  teach, 
assigns  punishments  proportionate  to  each  person's  crimes,  restraining  also 
the  tyranny  and  excessive  cruelty  of  the  devil,  who  would,  if  left  to  him- 
self, torment  the  damned  beyond  their  sentence.^  Those  of  this  religion 
do  also  mention  and  describe  various  kinds  of  torments,  wherewith  the 
wicked  will  be  punished  in  the  next  life;  among  which  though  they  reckon 
extreme  cold  to  be  one,  yet  they  do  not  admit  fire,  out  of  respect,  as  it 
seems,  to  that  element,  which  they  take  to  be  the  representation  of 
the  divine  nature ;  and  therefore  they  rather  choose  to  describe  the 
damned  souls  as  suffering  by  other  kinds  of  punishments:  such  as  an  in- 
tolerable stink,  the  stinging  and  biting  of  serpents  and  wild  beasts,  the 
cutting  and  tearing  of  the  flesh  by  the  devils,  excessive  hunger  and  thirst, 
and  the  like.^ 

Before  we  proceed  to  a  description  of  the  Mohammedan  paradise,  we 
must  not  forget  to  say  something  of  the  wall  or  partition  which  they  ima- 
gine to  be  between  that  place  and  hell,  and  seems  to  be  copied  from  the 
great  gulf  of  separation  mentioned  in  scripture.^  They  call  it  al  Orf,  and 
more  frequently  in  the  plural,  al  Araf,  a  word  derived  from  the  verb  arafa, 
which  signifies  io  distinguish  heiween  things,  or  to  part  them;  though  some 
commentators  give  another  reason  for  the  imposition  of  this  name,  because, 
say  they,  those  who  stand  on  this  partition  will  know  and  distinguish  the 
blessed  from  the  damned,  by  their  respective  marks  or  characteristics:' 
and  others  say  the  word  properly  intends  any  thing  that  is  high  raised  or 
elevated,  as  such  a  wall  of  separation  must  be  supposed  to  be.''  The  Mo- 
hammedan writers  greatly  differ  as  to  the  persons  who  are  to  be  found  on 
al  Araf.  Some  imagine  it  to  be  a  sort  of  limbo,  for  the  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  or  for  the  martyrs  and  those  who  have  been  most  eminent  for 

6  Poc.  Not.  in  Port.  Mosis,  p.  289—291.  '  Nishmat  hayim,  f.  32.  Gemar,  in  Arubin, 
f.  19.  Zohar.  ad  Exod.  xxvi.  2,  &c.  and  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  245.  '  3Iidrash, 
YalkiU  Shemuni,  part  11.  f.  116.  '  Zohar,  ad  Exod.  xix.  '  Yalkut  Shcmuni,  ubi 

sup.  f.  86.  ^  Nishmat  hayim,  f.  82.     Gemar.  Arubin,  f.  19.     Vide  Kor.  c.  2,  p.  11, 

and  3,  p.  38,  and  notes  there.        '  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  182.         *  Vide  Eundem, 
ibid.  p.  399,  &c.         '  Luke  xvi.  26.         "  Jallalo'ddin,  Vide  Kor.  c.  7.         ■■  Al  litidawi. 


68  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  skct.  iv. 

sanctity,  among  whom  they  say  there  will  be  also  angels  in  the  form  of 
men.  Others  place  here  such  whose  good  and  evil  works  are  so  equal  that 
they  exactly  counterpoise  each  other,  and  therefore  deserve  neither  reward 
nor  punishment;  and  these,  they  say,  will  on  the  last  day  be  admitted  into 
})aradise,  after  they  shall  have  performed  an  act  of  adoration,  which  will  be 
imputed  to  them  as  a  merit,  and  will  make  the  scale  of  their  good  works 
to  overbalance.  Others  suppose  this  intermediate  space  will  be  a  receptacle 
for  those  who  have  gone  to  war,  without  their  parents'  leave,  and  therein 
suffered  martyrdom  ;  being  excluded  paradise  for  their  disobedience,  and 
escaping  hell  because  they  are  martyrs.  The  breadth  of  this  partition 
wall  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  exceeding  great,  since  not  only  those  who 
shall  stand  thereon  will  hold  conference  with  the  inhabitants  both  of  para- 
disc  and  of  hell,  but  the  blessed  and  the  damned  themselves  will  also  be 
able  to  talk  to  one  another.^ 

If  Mohammed  did  not  take  his  notions  of  the  partition  we  have  been  de- 
scribing from  scripture,  he  must  at  least  have  borrowed  it  at  second-hand 
from  the  Jews,  who  mention  a  thin  wall  dividing  paradise  from  hell.^ 

The  righteous,  as  the  Mohammedans  are  taught  to  believe,  having  sur- 
mounted the  difficulties,  and  passed  the  sharp  bridge  above-mentioned, 
before  they  enter  paradise  will  be  refreshed  by  drinking  at  the  pond  of  their 
prophet,  who  describes  it  to  be  an  exact  square,  of  a  month's  journey  in 
compass ;  its  water,  which  is  supplied  by  two  pipes  from  al  Cawthar,  one 
of  the  rivers  of  paradise,  being  whiter  than  milk  or  silver,  and  more 
odoriferous  than  musk,  with  as  many  cups  set  around  it  as  there  are  stars 
in  tlie  firmament;  of  which  water  whoever  drinks  will  thirst  no  more  for 
ever.'  This  is  the  first  taste  which  the  blessed  will  have  of  their  future 
and  now  near  approaching  felicity. 

Though  paradise  be  so  very  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Koran,  yet  it  is 
a  dispute  among  the  Mohammedans  whether  it  be  already  created,  or  to  be 
created  hereafter;  the  Motazalites  and  some  other  sectaries  asserting  that 
there  is  not  at  present  any  such  place  in  nature,  and  that  the  paradise  which 
the  righteous  will  inhabit  in  the  next  life  will  be  different  from  that  from 
which  Adam  was  expelled.  However,  the  orthodox  profess  the  contrary, 
maintaining  that  it  was  created  even  before  the  world,  and  describe  it, 
from  their  prophet's  traditions,  in  the  following  manner. 

They  say  it  is  situate  above  the  seven  heavens  (orin  the  seventh  heaven), 
and  next  under  the  throne  of  God ;  and  to  express  the  amenity  of  the  place 
tell  us,  that  the  earth  of  it  is  of  the  finest  wheat  flour,  or  of  the  purest 
musk  ;  or,  as  others  will  have  it,  of  saffron ;  that  its  stones  are  pearls  and 
jacinths,  the  walls  of  its  buildings  enriched  with  gold  and  silver,  and  that 
the  trunks  of  all  its  trees  are  of  gold ;  among  which  the  most  remarkable  is 
the  tree  called  Tuba,  or  the  tree  of  happiness.  Concerning  this  tree  they 
fable  that  it  stands  in  the  palace  of  Mohammed,  though  a  branch  of  it  will 
reach  to  the  house  of  every  true  believer  ;2  that  it  will  be  loaden  with 
pomegranates,  grapes,  dates,  and  other  fruits  of  surprising  bigness,  and  of 
tastes  unknown  to  mortals.  So  that  if  a  man  desire  to  eat  of  any  particu- 
lar kind  of  fruit,  it  will  immediately  be  presented  to  him,  or  if  he  choose 
flesh,  birds  ready  dressed  will  be  set  before  him,  according  to  his  wish. 
They  add,  that  the  boughs  of  this  tree  will  spontaneously  bend  down  to  the 
hand  of  the  person  who  would  gather  of  its  fruits,  and  that  it  will  supply 
the  blessed  not  only  with  food,  but  also  with  silken  garments,  and  beasts  to 
ride  on  ready  saddled  and  bridled,  and  adorned  with  rich  trappings,  which 

"  Kor.  ubi.  sup.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  121,  &c.  "  Midrash,  Yalkut  Sioni, 
f.  11.  '  Al  Ghazali.  ^  Yahya,  in  Kor.  c.  13. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  69 

will  burst  forth  from  its  fruits;  and  that  this  tree  is  so  larj^e,  that  a  per- 
son mounted  on  the  fleetest  horse  would  not  be  able  to  gallop  from  one 
end  of  its  sliade  to  the  other  in  a  hundred  years.^ 

As  plenty  of  water  is  one  of  the  greatest  additions  to  the  pleasantness  of 
any  place,  the  Koran  often  speaks  of  the  rivers  of  paradise  as  a  principal 
ornament  thereof;  some  of  these  rivers,  they  say,  flow  with  water,  some 
with  milk,  some  with  wine,  and  others  with  honey;  all  taking  their  rise 
from  the  root  of  the  tree  Tuba;  two  of  which  rivers,  named  al  Cawthar  and 
the  river  of  life,  we  have  already  mentioned.  And,  lest  these  should  not 
be  suflicient,  we  are  told  this  garden  is  also  watered  by  a  great  number 
of  lesser  springs  and  fountains,  whose  pebbles  are  rubies  and  emeralds, 
their  earth  of  camphire,  their  beds  of  musk,  and  their  sides  of  sallVon  ;  the 
most  remarkable  among  them  being  Salsabil  and  Tasnim. 

But  all  these  glories  will  be  eclipsed  by  the  resplendent  and  ravishing 
girls  of  paradise,  called,  from  their  large  black  eyes,  Hur  al  oyiin,  the  en- 
joyment of  whose  company  will  be  a  principal  felicity  of  the  faithful. 
These,  they  say,  are  created,  not  of  clay,  as  mortal  women  are,  but 
of  pure  musk;  being,  as  their  prophet  often  affirms  in  his  Koran,  free  from 
all  natural  impurities,  defects,  and  inconveniences  incident  to  the  sex,  of 
the  strictest  modesty,  and  secluded  from  public  view  in  pavilions  of 
hollow  pearls,  so  large,  that,  as  some  traditions  have  it,  one  of  them  will 
be  no  less  than  four  parasangs  (or  as  others  say,  sixty  miles)  long,  and  as 
many  broad. 

The  name  which  the  Mohammedans  usually  give  to  this  happy  mansion 
is  al  Jannat,  or  the  garden ;  and  sometimes  they  call  it,  with  an  addition, 
Jannat  al  Ferdaws,  the  garden  of  paradise,  Jannat  Aden  the  garden  of  Eden 
(though  they  generally  interpret  the  word  Eden,  not  according  to  its 
acceptation  in  Hebrew,  but  according  to  its  meaning  in  their  own  tongue, 
w'herein  it  signifies  a  settled  or  perpetual  habitation),  Jannat  al  Mawa,  the 
garden  of  abode,  Jannat  al  Naim,  the  garden  of  pleasure,  and  the  like;  by 
which  several  appellations  some  understand  so  many  different  gardens,  or 
at  least  places  of  diflferent  degrees  of  felicity  (for  they  reckon  no  less  than 
a  hundred  such  in  all),  the  very  meanest  whereof  will  afford  its  inhabi- 
tants so  many  pleasures  and  delights,  that  one  would  conclude  they  must 
even  sink  under  them,  had  not  Mohammed  declared,  that  in  order  to  qua- 
lify the  blessed  for  a  full  enjoyment  of  them,  God  will  give  to  every  one 
the  abilities  of  a  hundred  men. 

We  have  already  described  Mohammed's  pond,  whereof  the  righteous  are 
to  drink  before  their  admission  into  this  delicious  seat;  besides  which 
some  authors'*  mention  two  fountains,  springing  from  under  a  certain  tree 
near  the  gate  of  paradise,  and  say  that  the  blessed  will  also  drink  of  one  of 
then),  to  purge  their  bodies  and  carry  off'all  excrementitious  dregs,  and  will 
wash  themselves  in  the  other.  When  they  are  arrived  at  the  gate  itself, 
each  person  will  there  be  met  and  saluted  by  the  beautiful  youths  appointed 
to  serve  and  wait  upon  him,  one  of  them  running  before,  to  carry  the  news 
of  his  arrival  to  the  wives  destined  for  him ;  and  also  by  two  angels,  bearing 
the  presents  sent  him  by  God,  one  of  whom  will  invest  him  with  a  garment 
of  paradise,  and  the  other  will  put  a  ring  on  each  of  his  fingers,  with  in- 
scriptions on  them  alluding  to  the  happiness  of  his  condition.  By  which 
of  the  eight  gates  (for  so  many  they  suppose  paradise  to  have)  they  are 
respectively  to  enter,  is  not  worth  inquiry;  but  it  must  be  observed  that 
Mohammed  has  declared  that  no  person's  good  works  will  gain  him  ad- 
mittance, and   that  even  himself  shall  be  saved,  not  by  his  merits,  but 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  in  Kor.  c.  13.  *  Al  Ghazali,  Kenz  al  Afrar. 


70  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

merely  by  the  mercy  of  God.  It  is,  however,  the  constant  doctrine  of  the 
Koran,  that  the  felicity  of  each  person  will  be  proportioned  to  his  deserts, 
and  that  there  will  be  abodes  of  ditFerent  degrees  of  happiness ;  the  most 
eminent  deg-ree  being  reserved  for  the  prophets,  the  second  for  the  doctors 
and  teachers  of  God's  worship,  the  next  for  the  martyrs,  and  the  lower  for 
the  rest  of  the  righteous,  according  to  their  several  merits.  There  will 
also  some  distinction  be  made  in  respect  to  the  time  of  their  admission; 
Mohammed  (to  whom,  if  you  will  believe  him,  the  gates  will  first  be 
opened)  having  affirmed,  that  the  poor  will  enter  paradise  five  hundred 
years  before  the  rich  :  nor  is  this  the  only  privilege  which  they  will  enjoy 
in  the  next  life ;  since  the  same  prophet  has  also  declared,  that  when  he 
took  a  view  of  paradise,  he  saw  the  majority  of  its  inhabitants  to  be  the 
poor,  and  when  he  looked  down  into  hell,  he  saw  the  greater  part  of  the 
wretches  confined  there  to  be  women. 

For  the  first  entertainment  of  the  blessed  on  their  admission,  they  fable 
that  the  whole  earth  will  then  be  as  one  loaf  of  bread,  which  God  will 
reach  to  them  with  his  hand,  holding  it  like  a  cake  ;  and  that  for  meat 
they  will  have  the  ox  Balam,  and  the  fish  Nun,  the  lobes  of  whose  livers 
will  suflice  seventy  thousand  men,  being,  as  some  imagine,  to  be  set  before 
the  principal  guests,  viz.  those  who,  to  that  number,  will  be  admitted  into 
paradise  without  examination,^  though  others  suppose  that  a  definite  num- 
ber is  here  put  for  an  indefinite,  and  that  nothing  more  is  meant  thereby 
than  to  express  a  great  multitude  of  people. 

From  this  feast  every  one  will  be  dismissed  to  the  mansion  designed  for 
him,  where  (as  has  been  said)  he  will  enjoy  such  a  share  of  felicity  as  will 
be  proportioned  to  his  merits,  but  vastly  exceed  comprehension  or  expecta- 
tion ;  since  the  very  meanest  in  paradise  (as  he  who,  it  is  pretended,  must 
know  best,  has  declared)  will  have  eighty  thousand  servants,  seventy-two 
wives  of  the  girls  of  paradise,  besides  the  wives  he  had  in  this  world,  and 
a  tent  erected  for  him  of  pearls,  jacinths,  and  emeralds,  of  a  very  large 
extent ;  and,  according  to  another  tradition,  will  be  waited  on  by  three 
hundred  attendants  while  he  eats,  will  be  served  in  dishes  of  gold,  whereof 
three  hundred  shall  be  set  before  him  at  once,  containing  each  a  different 
kind  of  food,  the  last  morsel  of  which  will  be  as  grateful  as  the  first ;  and 
will  also  be  supplied  with  as  many  sorts  of  liquors  in  vessels  of  the  same 
metal:  and,  to  complete  the  entertainment,  there  will  be  no  want  of  wine, 
which,  though  forbidden  in  this  life,  will  yet  be  freely  allowed  to  be  drunk 
in  the  next,  and  without  danger,  since  the  wine  of  paradise  will  not  ine- 
briate, as  that  we  drink  here.  The  flavour  of  this  wine  we  may  conceive 
to  be  delicious  without  a  description,  since  the  water  of  Tasnim,  and  the 
other  fountains  which  will  be  used  to  dilute  it,  is  said  to  be  wonderfully 
sweet  and  fragrant.  If  any  object  to  these  pleasures,  as  an  impudent  Jew 
did  to  Mohammed,  that  so  much  eating  and  drinking  must  necessarily  re- 
quire proper  evacuations,  we  answer,  as  the  prophet  did,  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  paradise  will  not  need  to  ease  themselves,  nor  even  to  blow  their 
nose,  for  that  all  superfluities  will  be  discharged  and  carried  off  by  per- 
spiration, or  a  sweat  as  odoriferous  as  musk,  after  which  their  appetite 
shall  return  afresh. 

The  magnificence  of  the  garments  and  furniture  promised  by  the  Koran 
to  the  godly  in  the  next  life  is  answerable  to  the  delicacy  of  their  diet :  for 
they  are  to  be  clothed  in  the  richest  silks  and  brocades,  chiefly  of  green, 
which  will  burst  forth  from  the  fruits  of  paradise,  and  will  be  also  supplied 
by  the  leaves  of  the  tree  Tuba;  they  will  be  adorned  with  bracelets  of  gold 

»  See  before,  p.  62. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  71 

and  silver,  and  crowns  set  with  pearls  of  incompara])le  lustre  ;  and  will 
make  use  of  silken  carpets,  litters  of  a  prodigious  size,  couclies,  pillows, 
and  other  rich  furniture  embroidered  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 

That  we  may  the  more  readily  believe  what  has  been  mentioned  of  the 
extraordinary  abilities  of  the  inhabitants  of  paradise  to  taste  those  plea- 
sures in  their  height,  it  is  said  they  will  enjoy  a  perpetual  youth ; 
that  in  whatever  age  they  happen  to  die,  they  will  be  raised  in  their 
prime  and  vigour,  that  is,  of  about  thirty  years  of  age,  which  age  they 
will  never  exceed  (and  the  same  they  say  of  the  damned,)  and  that  when 
they  enter  paradise  they  will  be  of  the  same  stature  with  Adam,  who, 
as  they  fable,  was  no  less  than  sixty  cubits  high.  And  to  this  age  and 
stature  their  children,  if  they  shall  desire  any  (for  otherwise  their  wives 
will  not  conceive),  shall  immediately  attain  ;  according  to  that  saying  of 
their  prophet,  "  If  any  of  the  faithful  in  paradise  be  desirous  of  issue,  it 
shall  be  conceived,  born,  and  grown  up,  within  the  space  of  an  hour." 
And  in  the  same  manner,  if  any  one  shall  have  a  fancy  to  employ  himself 
in  agriculture  (which  rustic  pleasure  may  suit  the  wanton  fancy  of  some), 
what  he  shall  sow  will  spring  up  and  come  to  maturity  in  a  moment. 

Lest  any  of  the  senses  should  want  their  proper  delight,  we  arc  told  the 
ear  will  there  be  entertained,  not  only  with  the  ravishing  songs  of  the  angel 
Israfil,  who  has  the  most  melodious  voice  of  all  God's  creatures,  and  of 
the  daughters  of  paradise;  but  even  the  trees  themselves  will  celebrate 
the  divine  praises  with  a  harmony  exceeding  whatever  mortals  have  heard  ; 
to  which  will  be  joined  the  sound  of  the  bells  hanging  on  the  trees,  which 
w'ill  be  put  in  motion  by  the  wind  proceeding  from  the  throne  of  God,  so 
often  as  the  blessed  wish  for  music  :  nay,  the  very  clashing  of  the  golden- 
bodied  trees,  whose  fruits  are  pearls  and  emeralds,  will  surpass  human 
imagination  ;  so  that  the  pleasures  of  this  sense  will  not  be  the  least  of 
the  enjoyments  of  paradise. 

The  delights  we  have  hitherto  taken  a  view  of,  it  is  said,  will  be  common 
to  all  the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  even  those  of  the  lowest  order.  Vv^hatthen, 
think  we,  must  they  enjoy  who  shall  obtain  a  superior  degree  of  honour 
and  felicity?  To  these,  they  say,  there  are  prepared,  besides  all  this, 
"such  things  as  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  hath  ear  heard,  nor  hath  it  entered 
into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive  ;"  an  expression  most  certainly  borrowed 
from  scripture.8  That  we  may  know  wherein  the  felicity  of  those  who  shall 
attain  the  highest  degree  will  consist,  Mohammed  is  reported  to  have  said, 
that  the  meanest  of  the  inhabitants  of  paradise  will  see  his  gardens,  wives, 
servants,  furniture,  and  other  possessions,  take  up  the  space  of  a  thousand 
years'  journey  (for  so  far  and  farther  will  the  blessed  see  in  the  next  life); 
but  that  he  will  be  in  the  highest  honour  with  God,  who  shall  behold 
his  face  morning  and  evening:  and  this  favour  al  Ghazali  supposes  to 
be  that  additional  or  superabundant  recompense,  promised  in  the  Koran,^ 
which  will  give  such  exquisite  delight,  that  in  respect  thereof  all  the  other 
pleasures  of  paradise  will  be  forgotten  and  lightly  esteemed;  and  not  with- 
out  reason,  since,  as  the  author  says,  every  other  enjoyment  is  equally 
tasted  by  the  very  brute  beast  who  is  turned  loose  into  luxuriant  pasture.' 
The  reader  will  observe,  by  the  way,  that  this  is  a  full  confutation  of 
those  who  pretend  the  Mohammedans  admit  of  no  spiritual  pleasure  in 
the  next  life,  but  make  the  happiness  of  the  blessed  to  consist  wholly  in 
corporeal  enjoyments.^ 

Whence  Mohammed  took  the  greatest  part  of  his  paradise,  it  is  easy  to 

"  Isaiah  Ixiv.  4.     1  Corinth,  ii.  9.  "  Chap.  10,  &c.  '  Vide  Poc.  in  not.  ad  Port. 

Mosis,  p.  305.        =  Vide  Reland,  de  Rel.  Moham.  lib.  2.  sect.  17. 


72  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

show.  The  Jews  constantly  describe  the  future  mansion  of  the  just  as  a 
delicious  garden,  and  make  it  also  reach  to  the  seventh  heaven;'  they  also 
say  it  has  three  gates,^  or,  as  others  will  have  it,  two,*^  and  four  rivers 
(which  last  circumstance  they  copied,  to  be  sure,  from  those  of  the  garden 
of  Eden,^)  flowing  with  milk,  wine,  balsam,  and  honey.''  Their  Behemoth 
and  Leviathan,  which  they  pretend  will  be  slain  for  the  entertainment  of 
the  blessed,^  are  so  apparently  the  Balam  and  Nun  of  Mohammed,  that 
his  followers  themselves  confess  he  is  obliged  to  them  for  both.'  The 
Rabbins  likewise  mention  seven  different  degrees  of  felicity ,2  and  say  that 
the  highest  will  be  of  those  who  perpetually  contemplate  the  face  of  God.** 
The  Persian  Magi  had  also  an  idea  of  the  future  happy  estate  of  the  good, 
very  little  different  from  that  of  Mohammed.  Paradise  they  call  Behisht, 
and  Minu  which  signifies  crystal,  where  they  believe  the  righteous  shall 
enjoy  all  manner  of  delights,  and  particularly  the  company  of  the  Ilurani 
behisht,  or  black-eyed  nymphs  of  paradise,'^  the  care  of  whom  they  say  is 
committed  to  the  angel  Zamiyad  ;^  and  hence  Mohammed  seems  to  have 
taken  the  first  hint  of  his  paradisiacal  ladies. 

It  is  not  improbable,  however,  but  that  he  might  have  been  obliged, 
in  some  respect,  to  the  Christian  accounts  of  the  felicity  of  the  good  in  the 
next  life.  As  it  is  scarce  possible  to  convey,  especially  to  the  apprehensions 
of  the  generality  of  mankind,  an  idea  of  spiritual  pleasures  without  intro- 
ducing sensible  objects,  the  scriptures  have  been  obliged  to  represent  the 
celestial  enjoyments  by  corporeal  images;  and  to  describe  the  mansion  of 
the  blessed  as  a  glorious  and  magnificent  city,  built  of  gold  and  precious 
stones,  with  twelve  gates;  through  the  streets  of  which  there  runs  a  river 
of  water  of  life,  and  having  on  either  side  the  tree  of  life,  which  bears 
twelve  sorts  of  fruits,  and  leaves  of  a  healing  virtue.^  Our  Saviour  likewise 
speaks  of  the  future  state  of  the  blessed  as  of  a  kingdom,  where  they  shall 
eat  and  drink  at  his  table.'^  But  then  these  descriptions  have  none  of  those 
puerile  imaginations^  which  reign  throughout  that  of  Mohammed,  much 
less  any  the  most  distant  intimation  of  sensual  delights,  which  he  was 
so  fond  of;  on  the  contrary,  we  are  expressly  assured,  that  "  in  the  resur- 
rection they  will  neither  marry  nor  be  given  in  marriage,  but  will  be  as  the 
angels  of  God  in  heaven."^  Mohammed,  however,  to  enhance  the  value  of 
paradise  with  his  Arabians,  chose  rather  to  imitate  the  indecency  of  the 
Magians  than  the  modesty  of  the  Christians  in  this  particular,  and  lest  his 
beatified  Moslems  should  complain  that  any  thing  was  wanting,  bestows  on 
them  wives,  as  well  as  the  other  comforts  of  life  ;  judging,  it  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed, from  his  own  inclinations,  that  like  Panurgus's  ass,*  they  would 

'  Vide  Gemar.  Tanith,  f.  25.     Beracoth,  f.  34,  and  Midrash  sabboth,  f  37.  "  Me- 

gillah,  Amkoth,  p.  78.  '  Midrash,  Yalkut  Shemuni.  *  Genesis  ii.  10,  &c.  '  Mid- 
rash,  Yalk.  Shem.  *  Gemar.  Bava  Bathra.  f.  78.  Rashi,  in  Job.  i.  '  Vide  Poc. 
noc.  in  port.  Mosis,  p.  298.           ^  Nishmat  hayim,  f.  32.           =  Midrash,  Tehillim,  f  11. 

*  Sadder,  porta  5.  ^  Hyde,  de  Rel  Vet.  Pers.  p.  265.  "^  Rev.  x.\i.  10,  &c.  and 
xxii.  1,2.  ■■  Luke  xxii.  29,  30,  &c.  ^  I  would  not,  however,  undertake  to  de- 
fend all  the  Christian  writers  in  this  particular;  witness  that  one  passage  of  Irenseus, 
wherein  he  introduces  a  tradition  of  St.  John,  that  our  Lord  should  say,  The  days  shall  come 
in  which  there  shall  be  vines,  which  shall  have  each  ten  thousand  branches,  and  every  of  those 
branches  shall  have  ten  thousand  lesser  branches,  and  every  of  these  branches  shall  have  ten 
thousand  twigs,  and  every  one  of  these  twigs  shall  have  ten  thousand  clusters  of  grapes,  and 
in  every  one  of  these  clusters  there  shall  be  ten  thousand  grapes,  and  every  one  of  these  grapes 
being  pressed  shall  yield  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  gallons  of  wine  ;  and  when  a  man 
shall  take  hold  of  one  of  these  sacred  bunches,  another  bunch  shall  cry  out,  I  am  a  better 
bunch,  take  me,  a?id  bless  the  Lord  by  me,  (fee.     Iren.  lib.  5.  c.  33.  *  Matt.  xxii.  30. 

*  Vide  Rabelais,  Pantagr.  lib.  5.  c.  7.  A  better  authority  than  this  might  however  be 
alleged  in  favour  of  Mohammed's  judgment  in  this  respect ;  I  mean  that  of  Plato,  who  is 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  73 

think  all  other  enjoyments  not  worth  their  acceptance  if  they  were  to 
be  debarred  from  tiiis. 

Had  Mohammed,  after  all,  intimated  to  his  followers  that  what  he  had 
told  them  of  paradise  was  to  be  taken,  not  literally,  but  in  a  metaphorical 
sense,  (as  it  is  said  the  Magians  do  the  description  of  Zoroaster's),^  this 
might,  perhaps,  make  some  atonement;  but  the  contrary  is  so  evident  from 
the  whole  tenor  of  the  Koran,  that  although  some  Mohammedans,  whose 
understandings  are  too  retined  to  admit  such  gross  conceptions,  look  on 
theirprophet'sdescriptionsas  parabolical, and  are  willing  to  receive  them  in 
an  allegorical  or  spiritual  acceptation,^  yet  the  general  and  orthodox  doc- 
trine is,  that  the  whole  is  to  be  strictly  believed  in  the  obvious  and  literal 
acceptation  ;  to  prove  which  I  need  only  urge  the  oath  they  exact  from 
Christians  (who  they  know  abhor  such  fancies),  when  they  would  bind 
them  in  the  most  strong  and  sacred  manner;  for  in  such  a  case  they  make 
them  swear  that  if  they  falsify  their  engagement  they  will  affirm  that  there 
will  be  black-eyed  girls  in  the  next  world,  and  corporeal  pleasures.* 

Before  we  quit  this  subject,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  the  false- 
hood of  a  vulgar  imputation  on  the  Mohammedans,  who  are  by  several 
writers^  reported  to  hold  that  women  have  no  souls,  or,  if  they  have,  that 
they  will  perish,  like  those  of  brute  beasts,  and  will  not  be  rewarded  in  the 
next  life.  But  whatever  may  be  the  opinion  of  some  ignorant  people  among 
them,  it  is  certain  that  Mohammed  had  too  great  a  respect  for  the  fair  sex 
to  teach  such  a  doctrine ;  and  there  are  several  passages  in  the  Koran  which 
affirm  that  women,  in  the  next  life,  will  not  only  be  punished  for  tl>eir-evil 
actions,  but  will  also  receive  the  rewards  of  their  good  deeds,  as  well  as  the 
men,  and  that  in  this  case  God  will  make  no  distinction  of  sexes.'^  It  is 
true,  the  general  notion  is,  that  they  will  not  be  admitted  into  the  same 
abode  as  the  men  are,  because  their  places  will  be  supplied  by  the  para- 
disiacal females  (though  some  allow  that  a  man  will  there  also  have  the 
company  of  those  who  were  his  wives  in  this  world,  or  at  least  such  of  them 
as  he  shall  desire);'  but  that  good  women  will  go  into  a  separate  place  of 
happiness,  where  they  will  enjoy  all  sorts  of  delights;^  but  whether  one 
of  those  delights  will  be  the  enjoyment  of  agreeable  paramours  created 
for  them,  to  complete  the  economy  of  the  Mohammedan  system,  is  what  I 
have  nowhere  found  decided.  One  circumstance  relating  to  these  beatified 
females,  conformable  to  what  he  had  asserted  of  the  men,  he  acquainted  his 
followers  with  in  the  answer  he  returned  to  an  old  woman  ;  who  desiring 
him  to  intercede  with  God,  that  she  might  be  admitted  into  paradise, 
he  told  her  that  no  old  woman  would  enter  that  place  ;  which  setting  the 
poor  old  woman  a  crying,  he  explained  himself  by  saying,  that  God  would 
then  make  her  young  again.** 

The  sixth  great  point  of  faith,  which  the  Mohammedans  are  taught  by 
the  Koran  to  believe,  is  God's  absolute  decree,  and  predestination  both  of 
good  and  evil.  For  the  orthodox  doctrine  is,  that  whatever  hath  or  shall 
come  to  pass  in  this  world,  whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  bad,  pro- 
said  to  have  proposed,  in  his  ideal  commonwealth,  as  the  reward  of  valiant  men  and  con- 
summate soldiers,  the  kisses  of  boys  and  beauteous  damsels.  Vide  Gell  Noct.  Att.  lib.  18. 
c.  2.        *  Vide  Hyde,  do  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  266.  '  Vide  Eund.  in  not.  ad  Bobov.  Lit. 

Turcar,  p.  21.  *  Poo.  aJ  Port.  Mos.  p.  305.  =■  Hornbek,  Sum.  Contr.  p.  16. 

Grelot,  Voyage  de  Constant,  p.  275.    Ricaut's  Present  State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  lib. 
2.  c.  21.  *  See  Kor.  c.  3,  p.  58,  c.  4,  p.  75.     And  also  c.  13,  16,  40,  48,  57,  (fee. 

Vide  eiiam  Rcland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  lib.  2,  sect.  18,  and  Hyde,  m  Not.  ad  Bobov.  de  Visit, 
^gr.  p.  21.  ■"  See  before,  p.  70.  '  Vide  Chardin,  Voy.  tom.  ii.  p.  328,  and 

Bayle,  Diet.  Hist.  Art.  Moham.  Rem.  Q.  '  See  Koran,  c.  56,  and  notes  there  ;  and 

Gagnier.  not.  in  Abulfedae  Vit.  Moh.  p.  145. 


74  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

ceedcth  entirely  from  the  divine  will,  and  is  irrevocably  fixed  and  recorded 
from  all  eternity  in  the  preserved  table  ;^  God  having  secretly  predeter- 
mined not  only  the  adverse  and  prosperous  fortune  of  every  person  in  this 
world,  in  the  most  minute  particulars,  but  also  his  faith  or  infidelity,  his 
obedience  or  disobedience,  and  consequently  his  everlasting  happiness  or 
misery  after  death  ;  which  fate  or  predestination  it  is  not  possible,  by  any 
foresight  or  wisdom,  to  avoid. 

Of  this  doctrine  Mohammed  makes  great  use  in  his  Koran,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  designs  ;  encouraging  his  followers  to  fight  without  fear, 
and  even  desperately,  for  the  propagation  of  their  faith,  by  representing 
to  them  that  all  their  caution  could  not  avert  their  inevitable  destiny,  or 
prolong  their  lives  for  a  moment  ;2  and  deterring  them  from  disobeying 
or  rejecting  him  as  an  impostor,  by  setting  before  them  the  danger  they 
might  thereby  incur  of  being,  by  the  judgment  of  God,  abandoned  to  se- 
duction, hardness  of  heart,  and  a  reprobate  mind,  as  a  punishment  for 
their  obstinacy.' 

As  this  doctrine  of  absolute  election  and  reprobation  has  been  thought 
by  many  of  the  Mohammedan  divines  to  be  derogatory  to  the  goodness 
and  justice  of  God,  and  to  make  God  the  author  of  evil ;  several  subtle 
distinctions  have  been  invented,  and  disputes  raised,  to  explicate  or  soften 
it;  and  different  sects  have  been  formed,  according  to  their  several  opi- 
nions, or  methods  of  explaining  this  point :  some  of  them  going  so  far  as 
even  to  hold  the  direct  contrary  position,  of  absolute  free  will  in  man,  as 
we  shatl  see  hereafter.'* 

Of  the  four  fundamental  points  of  religious  practice  required  by  the 
Koran,  the  first  is  prayer,  under  which,  as  has  been  said,  are  also  com- 
prehended those  legal  washings  or  purifications  which  are  necessary  pre- 
parations thereto. 

Of  these  purifications  there  are  two  degrees,  one  called  Ghost,  being 
a  total  immersion  or  bathing  of  the  body  in  water;  and  the  other  called 
JVodu  (by  the  Persians,  abdest),  which  is  the  washing  of  their  faces,  hands, 
and  feet,  after  a  certain  manner.  The  first  is  required  in  some  extraor- 
dinary cases  only,  as  after  having  Iain  with  a  woman,  or  being  polluted 
by  emission  of  seed,  or  by  approaching  a  dead  body ;  women  also  being 
obliged  to  it  after  their  courses  or  childbirth.  The  latter  is  the  ordinary 
ablution  in  common  cases,  and  before  prayer,  and  must  necessarily  be 
used  by  every  person  before  he  can  enter  upon  that  duty.^  It  is  performed 
with  certain  formal  ceremonies,  which  have  been  described  by  some  wri- 
ters, but  are  much  easier  apprehended  by  seeing  them  done  than  by  the 
best  description. 

These  purifications  were  perhaps  borrowed  by  Mohammed  of  the  Jews, 
at  least  they  agree  in  a  great  measure  with  those  used  by  that  nation,^  who 
in  process  of  time  burdened  the  precepts  of  Moses  in  this  point  with  so 
many  traditionary  ceremonies,  that  whole  books  have  been  written  about 
them,  and  who  were  so  exact  and  superstitious  therein  even  in  our  Saviour's 
time,  that  they  are  often  reproved  by  him  for  it.'^  But  as  it  is  certain  that 
the  pagan  Arabs  used  lustrations  of  this  kind,^  long  before  the  time  of 
Mohammed,  as  most  nations  did,  and  still  do  in  the  east,  where  the  warmth 
of  the  climate  requires  a  greater  nicety  and  degree  of  cleanliness  than  these 
colder  parts ;  perhaps  Mohammed  only  recalled  his  countrymen  to  a  more 

'  See  before,  p.  46.  =  Kor.  c.  3,  p.  51,  note  t,  and  c.  4,  p.  69,  &c.  ^  Kor.  c. 

4,  p.  67  and  78,  79.  And  c.  2,  and  p.  2,  &-c.  passim.  *  Sect.  viii.  '  Kor.  c.  4,  p.  66, 
and  c.  5,  p.  82.     Vide  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  lib.  i.  c.  8.  ^  Poc.  not.  in  Port.  Mosis, 

p.  356,  &c.        ■■  Mark  vii.  3,  &c.        »  Vide  Herodot.  lib.  3,  c.  198. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  75 

strict  observance  of  those  purifying  rites,  which  had  been  probably  neg- 
lected by  them,  or  at  least  performed  in  a  careless  and  perfunctory  manner. 
The  Mohammedans,  however,  will  have  it  that  they  are  as  ancient  as 
Abraham,^  who,  they  say,  was  enjoined  by  God  to  observe  them,  and  was 
showed  the  manner  of  making  the  ablution  by  the  angel  Gabriel,  in  the 
form  of  a  beautiful  youth.'  Nay,  some  deduce  the  matter  higher,  and  im- 
agine  that  these  ceremonies  were  taught  our  first  parents  by  the  angels.^ 
That  his  followers  might  be  the  more  punctual  in  this  duty,  Mohammed 
is  said  to  have  declared,  that  the  practice  of  religion  is  founded  on  cleanli- 
ness, which  is  the  one  half  of  the  faith,  and  the  key  of  prayer,  without  which 
it  will  not  be  heard  by  God.^  That  these  expressions  may  be  the  better 
understood,  al  Ghazali  reckons  four  degrees  of  purification  ;  of  which  the 
first  is,  the  cleansing  of  the  body  from  all  pollution,  filth,  and  excrements; 
the  second,  the  cleansing  of  the  members  of  the  body  from  all  wickedness 
and  unjust  actions;  the  third,  the  cleansing  of  the  heart  from  all  blameable 
inclinations,  and  odious  vices ;  and  the  fourth,  the  purging  of  a  man's 
secret  thoughts  from  all  affections  which  may  divert  their  attendance  on 
God  :  adding  that  the  body  is  but  as  the  outward  shell  in  respect  to  the 
heart,  which  is  as  the  kernel.  And  for  this  reason  he  highly  complains  of 
those  who  are  superstitiously  solicitous  in  exterior  purifications,  avoiding 
those  persons  as  unclean  who  are  not  so  scrupulously  nice  as  themselves, 
and  at  the  same  time  have  their  minds  lying  waste,  and  overrun  with 
pride,  ignorance,  and  hypocrisy.*  Whence  it  plainly  appears  with  how 
little  foundation  the  Mohammedans  have  been  charged,  by  some  writers,^ 
with  teaching  or  imagining  that  these  formal  washings  alone  cleanse  them 
from  their  sins.^ 

Lest  so  necessary  a  preparation  to  their  devotions  should  be  omitted, 
either  where  water  cannot  be  had,  or  when  it  may  be  of  prejudice  to  a 
person's  health,  they  are  allowed  in  such  cases  to  make  use  of  fine  sand 
or  dust  in  lieu  of  it ;'  and  then  they  perform  this  duty  by  clapping  their 
open  hands  on  the  sand,  and  passing  them  over  the  parts,  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  they  were  dipped  in  water.  But  for  this  expedient  Moham- 
med was  not  so  much  indebted  to  his  own  cunning/  as  to  the  example  of 
the  Jews,  or  perhaps  that  of  the  Persian  Magi,  almost  as  scrupulous  as  the 
Jews  themselves  in  their  lustrations,  who  both  of  them  prescribe  the  same 
method  in  cases  of  necessity  ;^  and  there  is  a  famous  instance,  in  eccle- 
siastical history,  of  sand  being  used,  for  the  same  reason,  instead  of  water, 
in  the  administration  of  the  Christian  sacrament  of  baptism,  many  years 
before  Mohammed's  time.^ 

Neither  are  the  Mohammedans  contented  with  bare  washing,  but  think 
themselves  obliged  to  several  other  necessary  points  of  cleanliness,  which 

'  Al  Jannabi  in  Vita  Abrah.  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  303.  '  Herewith  agrees  the  spurious 
Gospel  of  S.  Barnabas,  the  Spanish  translation  of  which  (chap.  29),  has  these  words  :  Dixo 
Abraham  Que  hare  yo  para  servir  al  Dios  de  los  saJictos  y  prophetas  1  Respondio  el  angel, 
Vea  aquella  fuente  y  lavate,  porqueDios  quiere  hablar  contigo.  Dixo  Abraham,  Como  tengo 
de  lovarme  '.  Luego  el  angel  se  le  apparecio  como  uno  hello  mancebo,  y  se  lavo  en  la  fuente,  y 
le  dixo,  Abraham,  hat  como  yo.  F  Abraham,  selavo,  &c.  ^  Al  Kessai,  Vide  Reland. 
de  Rel.  Moham.  p.  81.  ^  ^1  GhazaH,  Ebn  al  Athir.  *  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  302,  &c. 
=  Barthol.  Edessen.  Confut.  Hagaren.  p.  360.  G.  Sionita  and  J.  Hesronita,  in  Tract,  de 
Urb.  et  IMorib.  Orient,  ad  Calcem.  Geogr.  Nubiens.  c.  15.  Du  Ryer,  dans  le  Sommaire 
de  la  Rel.  des  Turcs,  mis  a  la  Tete  de  as  Version  de  I'AIcor.  St.  Olon,  Descr.  du  Roy- 
aume  de  ^laroc,  c.  2,  Hyde,  in  Not.  ad  Bobov.  de  Prec.  Moh.  p.  1,  Smith,  de  Morib.  ei 
Instit.  Turear.  Ep.  1,  p.  32.  «  Vide  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  hb.  2,  c.  11.  '  Koran,  c.  3, 
p.  66,  and  5,  p.  82.  *  Vide  Smith,  ubi  sup.  *  Gemar,  Berachoth,  c.  2.     Vide  Poc. 

not.  ad  Port.  Mosis,  p.  389.    Sadder,  porta  84.        '  Cedren.  p.  250. 


76  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

they  make  also  parts  of  their  duty ;  such  as  combing  the  hair,  cutting  the 
beard,  paring  the  nails,  pulling  out  the  hairs  of  their  arm-pits,  shaving 
their  private  parts,  and  circumcision  ;2  of  which  last  I  will  add  a  word  or 
two,  lest  I  should  not  find  a  more  proper  place. 

Circumcision,  though  it  be  not  so  much  as  once  mentioned  in  the  Koran, 
is  yet  held  by  the  Mohammedans  to  be  an  ancient  divine  institution,  con- 
firmed by  the  religion  of  Isllim,^and  though  not  so  absolutely  necessary  but 
that  it  might  be  dispensed  with  in  some  cases,'' yet  highly  proper  and  ex- 
pedient. The  Arabs  used  this  rite  for  many  ages  before  Mohammed,  hav- 
ing probably  learned  it  from  Ismael,  though  not  only  his  descendants,  but 
the  Hamyarites,'*  and  other  tribes,  practised  the  same.  The  Ismaelites,  we 
are  told,^  used  to  circumcise  their  children,  not  on  the  eighth  day,  as  is  the 
custom  of  the  Jews,  but  when  about  twelve  or  thirteen  years  old,  at  which 
age  their  father  underwent  that  operation  i^  and  the  Mohammedans  imitate 
them  so  far  as  not  to  circumcise  children  before  they  be  able,  at  least,  dis- 
tinctly to  pronounce  that  profession  of  their  faith.  There  is  no  God  but  God, 
Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God  ;'  but  pitch  on  what  age  they  please  for 
the  purpose  between  six  and  sixteen,  or  thereabouts.^  Though  Moslem 
doctors  are  generally  of  opinion,  conformably  to  the  Scripture,  that  this 
precept  was  originally  given  to  Abraham,  yet  some  have  imagined  that 
Adam  was  taught  it  by  the  angel  Gabriel,  to  satisfy  an  oath  he  had  made 
to  cut  ofi*  that  flesh  which,  after  his  fall,  had  rebelled  against  his  spirit; 
whence  an  odd  argument  has  been  drawn  for  the  universal  obligation 
of  circumcision.^  Though  I  cannot  say  the  Jews  led  the  Mohammedans 
the  way  here,  yet  they  seem  so  unwilling  to  believe  any  of  the  principal 
patriarchs  or  prophets  before  Abraham  were  really  uncircumcised,  that 
they  pretend  several  of  them,  as  well  as  some  holy  men  who  lived  after 
his  time,  were  born  ready  circumcised,  or  without  a  foreskin,  and  that 
Adam,  in  particular,  was  so  created;'  whence  the  Mohammedans  affirm 
the  same  thing  of  their  prophet.^ 

Prayer  was  by  Mohammed  thought  so  necessary  a  duty,  that  he  used  to 
call  it  the  jnUar  of  religion,  and  the  key  of  paradise ;  and  when  the  Thaki- 
fites,  who  dwelt  at  Tayef,  sending  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra  to  make 
their  submission  to  that  prophet,  after  the  keeping  of  their  favourite  idol 
had  been  denied  them,''  begged,  at  least,  that  they  might  be  dispensed  with 
as  to  their  saying  of  the  appointed  prayers,  he  answered,  That  there  could 
be  no  good  in  that  religion  wherein  was  no  prayer^ 

That  so  important  a  duty,  therefore,  might  not  be  neglected,  Mohammed 
obliged  his  followers  to  pray  five  times  every  twenty-four  hours,  at  certain 
stated  times ;  viz.  1 .  In  the  morning,  before  sunrise :  2.  When  noon  is  past, 
and  the  sun  begins  to  decline  from  the  meridian:  3.  In  the  afternoon,  be- 
fore sun-set:  4.  In  the  evening,  after  sun-set,  and  before  day  be  shut  in: 

'^  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  303.  '  Vide  Bobov.  de  Circumcis.  p.  22.  ••  Philostorg, 

Hist.  Eccl.  lib.  3.  '  Joseph.  Ant.  lib.  1,  c.  23.  «  Gen.  xvii.  25.  '  Vide  Bobov.  ubi 
sup.  and  Poc.  Spec.  p.  19.  «  Vide  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  lib.  1,  p.  75.  "  This 

is  the  substance  of  the  following  passage  of  the  Gospel  of  Barnabas,  (chap.  23),  viz.  En- 
tonces  dixo  Jesus  ;  Adam  el  primer  homhre  aviendo  comido  por  enpano  del  demonio  la  comida 
prohihida  pur  Dios  en  el  parayso,  se  le  rehelo  su  came  a  su  espiritu  ;  por  lo  qual  juro  dizi- 
endo,  For  Dion  que  yo  te  quiero  cortar  ;  y  rompiendo  una  piedra  tomo  su  came  para  cortarla 
con  el  corte  de  la  piedra.  Par  loqualfue  reprchendido  del  angel  Gabriel,  y  el  le  dixo  ;  Yo  he 
jurado  por  Dios  que  lo  he  de  corlar,  y  mentiroso  no  le  sere  jamas.  Ala  hora  el  angel  le  en- 
seno  la  superjluidad  de  su  came,  y  a  quella  corto.  De  manera  que  ansi  como  lodo  homhre 
tomacarnede  Adam,  ansi  esta  obligado  a  cumplir  aquello  que  Adam  con  juramrrito prometio. 
'  Shalshel.  hakkabala.  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  320.  Gagnier,  Not.  in  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  2. 
^  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  304.        =»  See  before,  p.  13.        *  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  127. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  77 

and,  5.  After  the  day  is  shut  in,  and  before  the  first  watch  of  the  night.^ 
For  this  institution  he  pretended  to  have  received  the  divine  command  from 
the  throne  of  God  himself,  when  he  took  his  night  journey  to  heaven :  and 
the  observing  of  the  stated  times  of  prayer  is  frequently  insisted  on  in  the 
Koran,  though  they  be  not  particularly  prescribed  therein.  Accordingly, 
at  the  aforesaid  times,  of  which  public  notice  is  given  by  the  Muedhdhins 
or  Criers,  from  the  steeples  of  their  Mosques  (for  they  use  no  bell),  every 
conscientious  Moslem  prepares  himself  for  prayer,  which  he  performs  either 
in  the  Mosque  or  any  other  place,  provided  it  be  clean,  after  a  prescribed 
form,  and  with  a  certain  number  of  praises  or  ejaculations  (which  the  more 
scrupulous  count  by  a  string  of  beads),  and  using  certain  postures  of  wor- 
ship; all  which  have  been  particularly  set  down  and  described,  though 
with  some  few  mistakes,  by  other  writers,5  and  ought  not  to  be  abridged, 
unless  in  some  special  cases  ;  as  on  a  journey,  on  preparing  for  battle,  &c. 

For  the  regular  performance  of  the  duty  of-  prayer  among  the  Mo- 
hammedans, besides  the  particulars  above-mentioned,  it  is  also  requisite 
that  they  turn  their  faces,  while  they  pray,  toward  the  temple  of  Mecca;' 
the  quarter  where  the  same  is  situate  being  for  that  reason  pointed  out 
within  their  Mosques  by  a  niche,  which  they  call  al  Mehr5.b,  and  without 
by  the  situation  of  the  doors  opening  into  the  galleries  of  the  steeples: 
there  are  also  tables  calculated  for  the  ready  finding  out  their  Keblah, 
or  part  towards  which  they  ought  to  pray,  in  places  where  they  have  no 
other  direction.^ 

But  what  is  principally  to  be  regarded  in  the  discharge  of  this  duty,  say 
the  Moslem  doctors,  is  the  inward  disposition  of  the  heart,  which  is  the 
life  and  spirit  of  prayer;^  the  most  punctual  observance  of  the  external 
rites  and  ceremonies  before-mentioned  being  of  little  or  no  avail,  if  per- 
formed without  due  attention,  reverence,  devotion,  and  hope  :'  so  that  we 
must  not  think  the  Mohammedans,  or  the  considerate  part  of  them  at 
least,  content  themselves  with  the  mere  opus  operatum,  or  imagine  their 
whole  religion  to  be  placed  therein.^ 

I  had  like  to  have  omitted  two  things  which  in  my  mind  deserve  men- 
tion on  this  head,  and  may,  perhaps,  be  better  defended  than  our  con- 
trary practice.  One  is,  that  the  Mohammedans  never  address  themselves 
to  God  in  sumptuous  apparel,  though  they  are  obliged  to  be  decently 
clothed;  but  lay  aside  their  costly  habits  and  pompous  ornaments,  if  they 
wear  any,  when  they  approach  the  divine  presence,  lest  they  should  seem 
proud  and  arrogant.'  The  other  is,  that  they  admit  not  their  women  to 
pray  with  them  in  public;  that  sex  being  obliged  to  perform  their  devo- 
tions at  home,  or  if  they  visit  the  Mosques,  it  must  be  at  a  time  when  the 
men  are  not  there  :  for  the  Moslems  are  of  opinion  that  their  presence  in- 
spires a  different  kind  of  devotion  from  that  which  is  requisite  in  a  place 
dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God."* 

'  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  38,  39.  ^  Vide  Hotting.  Hist.  Eccles.  torn.  8,  p.  470 

— 529,  Bobov.  in  Liturg.  Turcic.  p.  1,  &c.  Grelot,  Voyage  de  Constant,  p.  253 — 264. 
Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  ii.  p.  388,  &.c.  and  Smith,  de  Moribus  ac  Insiit.  Turcar. 
Ep.  1,  p.  33,  &-C.         ■"  Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  17.     See  the  notes  there.  «  Vide  Hyde,  de 

Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  8,  9,  and  126.  "  Al  Ghazali.  '  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  305.  ^  Vide 
Smith,  ubi  sup.  p.  40.        ^  Reland,  de  Rel.  Moham.  p.  96.     See  Kor.  chap.  7. 

*  A  Moor,  named  Ahmed  Ebn  Abdalla,  in  a  Latin  epistle  by  him  written  to  Maurice 
prince  of  Orange,  and  Emanuel  prince  of  Portugal,  containing  a  censure  of  the  Christian 
religion  (a  copy  of  which  once  belonged  to  Mr.  Selden,  who  has  thence  transcribed  a  con- 
siderable passage  in  his  Treatise  De  Synedriis  Vet.  Ebraeor.  lib.  i.  c.  12,  is  now  in  the 
Bodleian  library),  finds  great  fault  with  the  unedifying  manner  in  which  mass  is  said 
among  the  Roman  Catholics,  for  this  very  reason  among  others.  His  words  are  :  Lbi- 
cmique  congregantur  simul  viri  etfccmincs,  ihi  mens  no?i  est  inienta  et  devola  :  nam  inter 
G 


78  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

The  greater  part  of  the  particulars  comprised  in  the  Mohammedan 
institution  of  prayer  their  prophet  seems  to  have  copied  from  others,  and 
especially  the  Jews;  exceeding  their  institutions  only  in  the  number 
of  daily  prayers.^  The  Jews  are  directed  to  pray  three  times  a  day,^  in 
the  morning,  in  the  evening,  and  within  night;  in  imitation  of  Abraham," 
Isaac,^  and  Jacob  :^  and  the  practice  was  as  early,  at  least,  as  the  time  of 
Daniel.'  The  several  postures  used  by  the  Mohammedans  in  their  pray- 
ers are  also  the  same  with  those  prescribed  by  the  Jewish  Rabbins,  and 
particularly  the  most  solemn  act  of  adoration  by  prostrating  themselves  so 
as  to  touch  the  ground  WMth  their  forehead;^  notwithstanding  the  latter 
pretend  the  practice  of  the  former,  in  this  respect,  to  be  a  relic  of  their 
ancient  manner  of  paying  their  devotions  to  Baal-Peor.^  The  Jews  like- 
wise constantly  pray  with  their  faces  turned  towards  the  temple  of  Jerusa- 
lem,"* which  has  been  their  Keblah  from  the  time  it  was  first  dedicated  by 
Solomon;^  for  which  reason  Daniel,  praying  in  Chaldea,  had  the  windows 
of  his  chamber  open  towards  that  city  ;^  and  the  same  was  the  Keblah  of 
Mohammed  and  his  followers  for  six  or  seven  months,''  and  till  he  found 
himself  obliged  to  change  it  for  the  Caaba.  The  Jews  moreover  are 
obliged  by  the  precepts  of  their  religion  to  be  careful  that  the  place  they 
pray  in,  and  the  garments  they  have  on  when  they  perform  their  duty,  be 
clean  ;^  the  men  and  women  also  among  them  pray  apart  (in  which  par- 
ticular they  were  imitated  by  the  eastern  Christians);  and  several  other 
conformities  might  be  remarked  between  the  Jewish  public  worship  and 
that  of  the  Mohammedans.^ 

The  next  point  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  is  the  giving  of  alms; 
which  are  of  two  sorts,  legal  and  voluntary.  The  legal  alms  are  of  in- 
dispensable obligation,  being  commanded  by  the  law,  which  directs  and 
determines  both  the  portion  which  is  to  be  given,  and  of  what  things  it 
ought  to  be  given  ;  but  the  voluntary  alms  are  left  to  every  one's  liberty, 
to  give  more  or  less,  as  he  shall  see  fit.  The  former  kind  of  alms  some 
think  to  be  properly  called  Zacat,  and  the  latter  Sadakat ;  though  this 
name  be  also  frequently  given  to  the  legal  alms.  They  are  called  Zacat, 
either  because  they  increase  a  man's  store,  by  drawing  down  a  blessing 
thereon,  and  produce  in  his  soul  the  virtue  of  liberality,'  or  because  they 
purify  the  remaining  part  of  one's  substance  from  pollution,  and  the  soul 
from  the  filth  of  avarice  ;^  and  Sadakat,  because  they  are  a  proof  of  a 
man's  sincerity  in  the  w^orship  of  God.  Some  writers  have  called  the  legal 
alms  tyfhes,  but  improperly,  since  in  some  cases  they  fall  short,  and  in 
others  exceed  that  proportion. 

The  giving  of  alms  is  frequently  commanded  in  the  Koran,  and  often 
recommended  therein  jointly  with  prayer ;  the  former  being  held  of  great 


celebrandum  missam  el  sacrificia,  fcsmincB  et  viri  mutuis  aspectibus,  signis,  ac  nutibus  ac- 
cendunt  pravorum  appetitum,  et  desideriorum  suorum  ignes  :  et  quando  hoc  nonjieret,  sal- 
tern humana  frag  ilitas  delectatur  mutuo  et  reciproco  aspectu  ;  et  iia  non  potest  esse  mens 
quieta,  attenta,  et  devota. 

*  The  Sabians,  according  to  some,  exceed  the  Mohammedans  in  this  point,  praying  seven 
times  a  day.     See  before,  p.  11.  *  Gemar.  Berachoth.  '  Gen  xix.  27.  ^  Gen. 

xxiv.  63.  '  Gen.  xxviii.  11,  &c.  '■  Dan.  vi.  10.  ^  Vide  Millium,  de  Mohamme- 
dismo  ante  Moham.  p,  427,  &c.,  and  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  5,  &c.  '  Maimonid. 
in  Epist.  ad  Proselyt.  Relig.     Vide  Poc.  Spec  p.  306.  *  Gemar.  Bava  Bathra,  and 

Berachoth.  *  1  Kings  viii.  29,  &c.  ®  Dan.  vi.  10.  ""  Some  say  eighteen  months. 
Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  54.  *  Maimon.  in  Halachoth.  Tephilla,  chap.  9,  sect. 

8,  9.  Menura  hammeor,  fol.  28,  2.  '  Vide  Millium,  ubi  supra,  p.  424,  et  seq.  '  Al 
Beidawi.  See  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  32 — 34.  ^  Idem.  Compare  this  with  what  our  Saviour 
says,  Luke  xi.  41,  "  Give  alms  of  such  things  as  ye  have  ;  and  behold,  all  things  are  clean 
unto  you." 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  79 

efficacy  in  causing  the  latter  to  be  heard  of  God :  for  which  reason  the 
Khalif  Omar  Ebn  Abd'alaziz  used  to  say,  "  that  prayer  carries  us  half 
way  to  God,  fasting  brings  us  to  the  door  of  his  palace,  and  alms  procure 
us  admission. "3  The  Mohammedans  therefore  esteem  alms-deeds  to  be 
highly  meritorious,  and  many  of  them  have  been  illustrious  for  the  exer- 
cise thereof.  Hasan  the  son  of  All,  and  grandson  of  Mohammed,  in  par- 
ticular, is  related  to  have  thrice  in  his  life  divided  his  substance  equally 
between  himself  and  the  poor,  and  twice  to  have  given  away  all  he  had:'* 
and  the  generality  are  so  addicted  to  the  doing  of  good,  that  they  extend 
their  charity  even  to  brutes.^ 

Alms,  according  to  the  prescriptions  of  the  Mohammedan  law,  are  to  be 
given  of  five  things;  1.  Of  cattle,  that  is  to  say,  of  camels,  kine,  and 
sheep.  2.  Of  money.  3.  Of  corn.  4.  Of  fruits,  viz.  dates  and  raisins. 
And  5.  Of  wares  sold.  Of  each  of  these  a  certain  portion  is  to  bo  given 
in  alms,  being  usually  one  part  in  forty,  or  two  and  a  half  ;?er  cent,  of  the 
value.  But  no  alms  are  due  for  them,  unless  they  amount  to  a  certain 
quantity  or  number;  nor  until  a  man  has  been  in  possession  of  them 
eleven  months,  he  not  being  obliged  to  give  alms  thereout  before  the 
twelfth  month  is  begun  :  nor  are  alms  due  for  cattle  employed  in  tilling 
the  ground,  or  in  carrying  of  burdens.  In  some  cases  a  much  larger  por- 
tion than  the  before-mentioned  is  reckoned  due  for  alms ;  thus  of  what  is 
gotten  out  of  mines,  or  the  sea,  or  by  any  art  or  profession  over  and  above 
what  is  sufficient  for  the  reasonable  support  of  a  man's  family,  and  espe- 
cially where  there  is  a  mixture  or  suspicion  of  unjust  gain,  a  fifth  part 
ought  to  be  given  in  alms.  Moreover,  at  the  end  of  the  fast  of  Ramadan, 
every  Moslem  is  obliged  to  give  in  alms  for  himself  and  for  every  one  of 
his  family,  if  he  has  any,  a  measure^  of  wheat,  barley,  dates,  raisins,  rice, 
or  other  provisions  commonly  eatenj 

The  legal  alms  were  at  first  collected  by  Mohammed  himself,  who  em- 
ployed them  as  he  thought  fit,  in  the  relief  of  his  poor  relations  and  fol- 
lowers, but  chiefly  applied  them  to  the  maintenance  of  those  who  served  in 
his  wars,  and  fought,  as  he  termed  it,  in  the  way  of  God.  His  successors 
continued  to  do  the  same,  till,  in  process  of  time,  other  taxes  and  tributes 
being  imposed  for  the  support  of  the  government,  they  seem  to  have  beer; 
weary  of  acting  as  almoners  to  their  subjects,  and  to  have  left  the  paying 
them  to  their  consciences. 

In  the  foregoing  rules  concerning  alms,  we  may  observe  also  footsteps  of 
what  the  Jews  taught  and  practised  in  respect  thereto.  Alms,  which  they 
also  call  Sedaka,  i.  e.  justice,  or  righteousness,^  are  greatly  recommended  by 
their  Rabbins,  and  preferred  even  to  sacrifices;^  as  a  duty  the  frequent 
exercise  whereof  will  eflfectually  free  a  man  from  hell  fire,'  and  merit  ever- 
lasting life  :2  wherefore,  besides  the  corners  of  the  field,  and  the  gleanings 
of  their  harvest  and  vineyard,  commanded  to  be  left  for  the  poor  and  the 
stranger  by  the  law  of  Moses,^  a  certain  portion  of  their  corn  and  fruits  is 
directed  to  be  set  apart  for  their  relief,  which  portion  is  called  the  tithes 
of  the  poor.'*  The  Jews  likewise  were  formerly  very  conspicuous  for  their 
charity.     Zaccheus  gave  the  half  of  his  goods  to  the  poor  ;^  and  we 

'  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  5.        *  Idem.  p.  422.  "  Vide  Busbeq.  Epist.  iii.  p.  178. 

Smith,  De  Morib.  Turc.  Epist.  i.  p.  66,  &c.  Compare  Eccles.  xi.  1,  and  Prov.  xii.  10. 
"■  This  measure  is  a  Saa,  and  contains  about  six  or  seven  pounds  weight.  ■■  Vide  Reland. 
de  Rel.  Mohammed,  lib.  i.  p.  99.  &c.  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  ii.  p.  415,  &c. 
"  Hence  alms  are  in  the  New  Testament  termed  AiKaioavvr,.  Matt.  vi.  1,  (Ed.  Steph.) 
and  2  Corinth,  xi.  10.  '  Gemar.  in  Bava  bathra.  '  Ibid,  in  Gittin.  ^  Ibid,  in  Rosh 
hashana.  ^  Lev.  xix.  9,  10.  Deut.  xxiv.  19,  &,c.  *  Vide  Gemar.  Hierosol.  in  Peah,  and 
Maimon.  in  Halachoth  matanoth  Aniyyim.  c.  6,  Confer  Pirke  Avoth,  v.  9.    '  Luke  xix.  &. 


80  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

are  told  that  some  gave  their  whole  substance :  so  that  their  doctors,  at 
length,  decreed  that  no  man  should  give  above  a  fifth  part  of  his  goods  in 
alms.6  There  were  also  persons  publicly  appointed  in  every  synagogue 
to  collect  and  distribute  the  people's  contributions. 

The  third  point  of  religious  practice  is  fasting;  a  duty  of  so  great  moment, 
that  Mohammed  used  to  say  it  was  "  the  gate  of  religion,"  and  that  "  the 
odour  of  the  mouth  of  him  who  fasteth  is  more  grateful  to  God,  than  that 
of  musk ;"  and  al  Ghazali  reckons  fasting  "  one  fourth  part  of  the  faith." 
According  to  the  Mohammedan  divines,  there  are  three  degrees  of  fasting : 
1.  The  restraining  the  belly  and  other  parts  of  the  body  from  satisfying 
their  lusts ;  2.  The  restraining  the  ears,  eyes,  tongue,  hands,  feet,  and 
other  members,  from  sin;  and  3.  The  fasting  of  the  heart  from  worldly 
cares,  and  refraining  the  thoughts  from  every  thing  besides  God.^ 

The  Mohammedans  are  obliged,  by  the  express  command  of  the  Koran, 
to  fast  the  whole  month  of  Ramadan,  from  the  time  the  new  moon  first 
appears,  till  the  appearance  of  the  next  new  moon ;  during  which  time  they 
must  abstain  from  eating,  drinking,  and  women,  from  daybreak  till  night,!^ 
or  sunset.  And  this  injunction  they  observe  so  strictly,  that  while  they 
fast  they  suffer  nothing  to  enter  their  mouths,  or  other  parts  of  their  body, 
esteeming  the  fast  broken  and  null  if  they  smell  perfumes,  take  a  clyster  or 
injection,  bathe,  or  even  purposely  swallow  their  spittle ;  some  being  so 
cautious  that  they  will  not  open  their  mouths  to  speak,  lest  they  should 
breathe  the  air  too  freely:^  the  fast  is  also  deemed  void  if  a  man  kiss  or 
touch  a  woman,  or  if  he  vomit  designedly.  But  after  sunset  they  are 
allowed  to  refresh  themselves,  and  to  eat  and  drink,  and  enjoy  the  company 
of  their  wives  till  daybreak  ;2  though  the  more  rigid  begin  the  fast  again  at 
midnight.3  This  fast  is  extremely  rigorous  and  mortifying  when  the  month 
of  Ramadan  happens  to  fall  in  summer,  (for  the  Arabian  year  being  lunar,"* 
each  month  runs  through  all  the  different  seasons  in  the  course  of  thirty- 
three  years),  the  length  and  heat  of  the  days  making  the  observance  of  it 
much  more  difficult  and  uneasy  then  than  in  winter. 

The  reason  given  why  the  month  of  Ramadan  was  pitched  on  for  this 
purpose  is,  that  on  that  month  the  Koran  was  sent  down  from  heaven.^ 
Some  pretend  that  Abraham,  Moses,  and  Jesus  received  their  respective 
revelations  in  the  same  month."' 

From  the  fast  of  Ramadan  none  are  excused,  except  only  travellers  and 
sick  persons  (under  which  last  denomination  the  doctors  comprehend  all 
whose  health  would  manifestly  be  injured  by  their  keeping  the   fast; 

«  Vide  Reland.  Ant.  Sacr.  Vet.  Hebr.  p.  402.  '  Vide  ibid.  p.  138.  «  Al  Ghazali, 
al  Mostatraf.         ''  Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  21,  22.  '  Hence  we  read  that  the  Virgin  Mary, 

to  avoid  answering  the  reflections  cast  on  her  for  bringing  home  a  child,  was  advised  by 
the  angel  Gabriel  to  feign  she  had  vowed  a  fast,  and  therefore  ought  not  to  speak.  See 
Koran,  chap.  19. 

^  The  words  of  the  Koran  (chap.  2,  p.  22),  are,  "  Until  ye  can  distinguish  a  white  thread 
from  a  black  thread  by  the  daybreak  ;"  a  form  of  speaking  borrowed  by  Mohammed  from 
the  Jews,  who  determine  the  time  wlien  they  are  to  begin  their  morning  lesson  to  be  so 
soon  as  a  man  can  discern  blue  from  while,  i.  e.  the  blue  threads  from  the  white  threads  in 
the  fringes  of  their  garments.  But  this  explication  the  commentators  do  not  approve  ;  pre- 
tending that  by  the  "  white  thread  and  the  black  thread"  are  to  be  understood  the  hght 
and  dark  streaks  of  the  daybreak :  and  they  say  the  passage  was  at  first  revealed  without 
the  words  "of  the  daybreak  ;"  but  Mohammed's  followers  taking  the  expression  in  the 
first  sense,  regulated  their  practice  accordingly,  and  continued  eating  and  drinking  till  they 
could  distinguish  a  white  thread  from  a  black  thread,  as  they  lay  before  them ;  to  prevent 
which  for  the  future,  the  words  "  of  the  daybreak"  were  added  as  explanatory  of  the  for- 
mer. Al  Beidavvi.  Vide  Pocock.  Not.  ia  Carmen  Tograi.  p.  89,  &.c.  Chardiu,  Voy. 
de  Perse,  torn.  ii.  p.  423.  ^  Vide  Chardin,  ibid.  p.  421,  &c.  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moham. 
p.  109,  &c.  ■»  See  hereafter,  sect.  vi.  '  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  22.    See  also  chap.  97. 

°  Al  Beidawi,  ex  Trad.  Mohammedis. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  81 

as  women  with  child,  and  giving  suck,  ancient  people  and  young  children) ; 
but  then  they  are  obliged,  so  soon  as  the  impediment  is  removed,  to  fast 
an  equal  number  of  other  days ;  and  the  breaking  the  fast  is  ordered  to 
be  expiated  by  giving  alms  to  the  poor.' 

Mohammed  seems  to  have  followed  the  guidance  of  the  Jews  in  his  or- 
dinances concerning  fasting,  no  less  than  in  the  former  particulars.  That 
nation,  when  they  fast,  abstain  not  only  from  eating  and  drinking,  but 
from  women,  and  from  anointing  themselves,^  from  daybreak  until  sunset, 
and  the  stars  begin  to  appear  ;9  spending  the  night  in  taking  what  refresh- 
ments they  please.^  And  tliey  allow  women  with  child  and  giving  suck, 
old  persons,  and  young  children,  to  be  exempted  from  keeping  most  of 
the  public  fasts.'^ 

Though  my  design  here  be  briefly  to  treat  of  those  points  only  which  are 
of  indispensable  obligation  on  a  Moslem,  and  expressly  required  by  the 
Koran,  without  entering  into  their  practice  as  to  voluntary  and  supereroga- 
tory works ;  yet  to  show  how  closely  Mohammed's  institutions  follow  tlie 
Jewish,  I  siiall  add  a  word  or  two  of  the  voluntary  fasts  of  the  Moham- 
medans. These  are  such  as  have  been  recommended  either  by  the  exam- 
ple or  approbation  of  their  prophet;  and  especially  certain  days  of  those 
months  which  they  esteem  sacred  :  there  being  a  tradition  that  he  used  to 
say.  That  a  fast  of  one  day  in  a  sacred  month  was  better  than  a  fast  of 
thirty  days  in  another  month  :  and  that  the  fast  of  one  day  in  Ramadan 
was  more  meritorious  than  a  fast  of  thirty  days  in  a  sacred  month.'^ 
Among  the  more  commendable  days  is  that  of  Ashura,  the  tenth  of 
Moharram;  which,  though  some  writers  tell  us  it  was  observed  by  the 
Arabs,  and  particularly  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  before  Mohammed's  time,'*  yet, 
as  others  assure  us,  that  prophet  borrowed  both  the  name  and  the  fast  from 
the  Jews;  it  being,  with  them,  the  tenth  of  the  seventh  month,  or  Tisri, 
and  the  great  day  of  expiation  commanded  to  be  kept  by  the  law  of  Moses.*^ 
Al  Kazvvini  relates,  that  when  Mohammed  came  to  IMedina  and  found  the 
Jews  there  fasted  on  the  day  of  Ashura,  he  asked  them  the  reason  of  it ; 
and  they  told  him,  it  was  because  on  that  day  Pharaoh  and  his  people  were 
drowned,  Moses,  and  those  who  were  with  him,  escaping ;  whereupon  he 
said,  that  he  bore  a  nearer  relation  to  Moses  than  they ;  and  ordered 
his  followers  to  fast  on  that  day.  However,  it  seems,  afterwards  he  was 
not  so  well  pleased  in  having  imitated  the  Jews  herein;  and  therefore 
declared,  that  if  he  lived  another  year,  he  would  alter  the  day,  and  fast 
on  the  ninth,  abhorring  so  near  an  agreement  with  them.^ 

The  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  is  so  necessary  a  point  of  practice,  that  accord- 
ing to  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  he  who  dies  without  performing  it  may  as 
well  die  a  Jew  or  a  Christian  ;'  and  the  same  is  expressly  commanded  in 
the  Koran.^  Before  I  speak  of  the  time  and  manner  of  performing  this 
pilgrimage,  it  may  be  proper  to  give  a  short  account  of  the  temple  of  Mecca, 
the  chief  scene  of  the  Mohammedan  worship ;  in  doing  which  I  need  be 
the  less  prolix,  because  that  edifice  has  been  already  described  by  several 
writers,^  though  they  following  different  relations  have  been  led  into  some 

'  See  Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  22.  »  Siphra.  fol.  252,  2.  *  Tosephoth  ad  Gemar.  Yoma, 
f.  34.  '  Vide  Gemar.  Yoma,  f.  40,  and  Maimon.  in  Halachoth  Tanioth,  c.  5,  sect.  v. 

^  Vide  Gemar.  Tanith,  f.  12,  and  Yoma,  f.  83,  and  Es  Hayim,  Tanith,  c.  1.  '  AI  Gha- 
zali.  "  Al  Barezi,  in  Comment,  ad  Oral.  Ebn  Nobata3.  '  Levit.  xvi.  29,  and  xxni. 
27.  "  Ebn  al  Athir.  Vide  Pocock,  Spac.  p.  309.  '  Al  Ghazali.  «  Chap.  3,  p.  4T. 
See  also  chap.  22.  and  chap.  2,  p.  !(>,  &c.  '  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  t.  ii.  p.  42S,  «fcc. 
Bremond,  Descriitioni  dell  'Egitto,  6cc.,  lib.  i.  c.  29.  Put's  Account  of  the  Rel.  &c.,  of 
the  Mohammedans,  p.  98,  &lc.,  and  Boulainvilliers,  Vie  de  Mohammed,  p.  54,  &,c.,  which 
last  author  is  the  most  particular. 


82  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

mistakes,  and  agree  not  with  one  another  in  several  particulars :  nor,  in- 
deed, do  the  Arab  authors  agree  in  all  things,  one  great  reason  whereof 
is  their  speaking  of  different  times. 

The  temple  of  Mecca  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  city,  and  is  honoured 
with  the  title  of  Masjad  al  alharam,  i.  e.  the  sacred  or  inviolable  temple. 
What  is  principally  reverenced  in  this  place,  and  gives  sanctity  to  the 
whole,  is  a  square  stone  building,  called  the  Caaba,  as  some  fancy  from  its 
height,  which  surpasses  that  of  the  other  buildings  of  Mecca, ^  but  more  pro- 
bably from  its  quadrangular  form,  and  Beit  Allah,  i.  e.  the  house  of  God, 
being  peculiarly  hallowed  and  set  apart  for  his  worship.  The  length  of  this 
edifice,  from  north  to  south,  is  twenty-four  cubits,  its  breadth  from  east  to 
west  twenty. three  cubits,  and  its  height  twenty-seven  cubits :  the  door, 
which  is  on  the  east  side,  stands  about  four  cubits  from  the  ground ;  the 
floor  being  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  door.^  In  the  corner  next  this 
door  is  the  black  stone,  of  which  I  shall  take  notice  by  and  by.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  Caaba,  within  a  semicircular  enclosure  fifty  cubits  long, 
lies  the  white  stone.,  said  to  be  the  sepulchre  of  Ismael,  which  receives  the 
rain-water  that  falls  off  the  Caaba  by  a  spout,  formerly  of  wood,^  but  now 
of  gold.  The  Caaba  has  a  double  roof,  supported  within  by  three  octan- 
gular pillars  of  aloes  wood :  between  which,  on  a  bar  of  iron,  hang  some 
silver  lamps.  The  outside  is  covered  with  rich  black  damask,  adorned 
with  an  embroidered  band  of  gold,  which  is  changed  every  year,  and  was 
formerly  sent  by  the  Khalifs,  afterwards  by  the  Soltans  of  Egypt,  and 
is  now  provided  by  the  Turkish  emperors.  At  a  small  distance  from  the 
Caaba,  on  the  east  side,  is  the  station  or  place  of  Abraham,  where  is 
another  stone  much  respected  by  the  Mohammedans,  of  which  something 
will  be  said  hereafter. 

The  Caaba,  at  some  distance,  is  surrounded,  but  not  entirely,  by  a 
circular  enclosure  of  pillars  joined  towards  the  bottom  by  a  low  balustrade, 
and  towards  the  top  by  bars  of  silver.  Just  without  this  inner  enclosure, 
on  the  south,  north,  and  west  sides  of  the  Caaba,  are  three  buildings,  which 
are  the  oratories  or  places  where  three  of  the  orthodox  sects  assemble 
to  perform  their  devotions  (the  fourth  sect,  viz.  that  of  al  Shafei,  making 
use  of  the  station  of  Abraham  for  that  purpose) ;  and  towards  the  south- 
east stands  the  edifice  which  covers  the  well  Zemzem,  the  treasury,  and 
the  cupola  of  al  Abbas."* 

All  these  buildings  are  inclosed,  at  a  considerable  distance,  by  a  mag- 
nificent piazza,  or  square  colonnade,  like  that  of  the  Royal  Exchange  in 
London,  but  much  larger,  covered  with  small  domes  or  cupolas;  from  the 
four  corners  whereof  rise  as  many  Minarets  or  steeples,  with  double 
galleries,  and  adorned  with  gilded  spires  and  crescents,  as  are  the  cupolas 
which  cover  the  piazza  and  the  other  buildings.  Between  the  pillars  of 
both  enclosures  hang  a  great  number  of  lamps,  which  are  constantly  lighted 
at  night.  The  first  foundations  of  this  outward  enclosure  were  laid  by 
Omar,  the  second  Khalif,  who  built  no  more  than  a  low  wall,  to  prevent 
the  court  of  the  Caaba,  which  before  lay  open,  from  being  encroached  on 
by  private  buildings;  but  the  structure  has  been  since  raised,  by  the  libe- 
rality of  many  succeeding  princes  and  great  men,  to  its  present  lustre.^ 

This  is  properly  all  that  is  called  the  temple,  but  the  whole  territory  of 
Mecca  being  also  Haram  or  sacred,  there  is  a  third  enclosure,  distinguished 
at  certain  distances  by  small  turrets,  some  five,  some  seven,  and  others  ten 

*  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef.  '^  Sharif  al  Edrisi,  and  Kitab  Masalec,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  125, 
&c.        '^  Sharif  al  Edrisi,  ibid.        *  Idem,  ibid.        *  Poc.  Spec.  p.  116. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  83 

miles  distant  from  the  city.^  Within  this  compass  of  ground  it  is  not  law- 
ful to  attack  an  enemy,  or  even  to  hunt  or  fowl,  or  cut  a  branch  from  a  tree ; 
which  is  the  true  reason  why  the  pigeons  at  Mecca  are  reckoned  sacred, 
and  not  that  they  are  supposed  to  be  of  the  race  of  that  imaginary  pigeon 
which  some  authors,  who  should  have  known  better,  would  persuade  us 
Moiiammed  made  pass  for  the  Holy  Ghost.'' 

The  temple  of  Mecca  was  a  place  of  worship,  and  in  singular  veneration 
with  the  Arabs  from  great  antiquity,  and  many  centuries  before  Mohammed, 
Though  it  was  most  probably  dedicated  at  first  to  an  idolatrous  use,^  yet 
the  Mohammedans  are  generally  persuaded  that  the  Caaba  is  almost  coeval 
with  the  world;  for  they  say  that  Adam,  after  his  expulsion  from  paradise, 
begged  of  God  that  he  might  erect  a  building  like  that  he  had  seen  there, 
called  Beit  al  Mamur,  or  the  frequented  house,  and  al  Dorah,  towards 
which  he  might  direct  his  prayers,  and  which  he  might  compass,  as  the 
angels  do  the  celestial  one.  Whereupon  God  let  down  a  representation  of 
that  house  in  curtains  of  light,^  and  set  it  in  Mecca,  perpendicularly  under 
its  original,^  ordering  the  patriarch  to  turn  towards  it  when  he  prayed, 
and  to  compass  it  by  way  of  devotion.^  After  Adam's  death,  his  son  Seth 
built  a  house  in  the  same  form,  of  stones  and  clay,  which  being  destroyed 
by  the  deluge,  was  rebuilt  by  Abraham  and  Ismael,^  at  God's  command, 
in  the  place  where  the  former  had  stood,  and  after  the  same  model,  they 
being  directed  therein  by  revelation.'* 

After  this  edifice  had  undergone  several  reparations,  it  was  a  few  years 
after  the  birth  of  Mohammed  rebuilt  by  the  Koreish  on  the  old  foundation,'^ 
and  afterwards  repaired  by  Abd'allah  Ebn  Zobeir,  the  Khalif  of  Mecca,  and 
at  length  again  rebuilt  by  Yusof,  surnamed  al  Hejaj  Ebn  Yusff,  in  the 
seventy-fourth  year  of  the  Hejra,  with  some  alterations,  in  the  form 
wherein  it  now  remains.^  Some  years  after,  however,  the  Khalif  Harun  al 
Rashid  (or,  as  others  write,  his  father  al  Mohdi,  or  his  grandfather  al  Man- 
sur,)  intended  again  to  change  what  had  been  altered  by  al  Hejaj,  and  to 
reduce  the  Caaba  to  the  old  form  in  which  it  was  left  by  Abd'allah ;  but 
was  dissuaded  from  meddling  with  it,  lest  so  holy  a  place  should  become 
the  sport  of  princes,  and  being  new-modelled  after  everyone's  fancy,  should 
lose  that  reverence  which  was  justly  paid  it.''  But  notwithstanding  the 
antiquity  and  holiness  of  this  building,  they  have  a  prophecy,  by  tradition 
from  Mohammed,  that  in  the  last  times  the  Ethiopians  shall  come  and 
utterly  demolish  it;  after  which  it  will  not  be  rebuilt  again  for  ever.^ 

Before  we  leave  the  temple  of  Mecca,  two  or  three  particulars  deserve 
further  notice.     One  is  the  celebrated  black  stone,  which  is  set  in  silver, 


^  Gol.  Not.  in  Alfrag.  p.  99.  ''  Gab.  Sionita,  et  Job.  Hesronita,  de  nonnullis  Orient. 
Urbib.  ad  Calc.  Geogr.  Nub.  p.  21.  Al  Mogholtai,  in  his  life  of  Mohammed,  says  the 
pigeons  of  the  temple  of  Mecca  are  of  the  breed  of  those  which  laid  their  eggs  at  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  where  the  prophet  and  Abu  Beer  hid  themselves  when  they  fled  from  that  city. 
See  before,  p.  36.  ^  See  before,  p.  12.  ^  Some  say  that  the  Beit  al  Mamur  itself  was 
the  Caaba  of  Adam,  which,  having  been  let  down  to  him  from  heaven,  was,  at  the  flood, 
taken  up  again  into  heaven,  and  is  there  kept.  Al  Zamakh.  in  Kor.  c.  2.  '  Al  Juzi  ex 
Trad.  Eben  Abbas.  It  has  been  observed,  that  the  primitive  Christian  church  held  a 
parallel  opinion  as  to  the  situation  of  the  celestial  Jerusalem  with  respect  to  the  terrestrial : 
for  in  the  apocryphal  book  of  the  revelations  of  St.  Peter,  (chap,  xxvii.)  after  Jesus  has 
mentioned  unto  Peter  the  creation  of  the  seven  heavens  (whence  by  the  way,  it  appears 
that  this  number  of  heavens  was  not  devised  by  Mohammed),  and  of  the  angels,  begins  the 
description  of  the  heavenly  Jerusalem  in  these  words  :  IVe  have  created  the  upper  Jeru- 
salem above  the  waters  which  are  above  the  third  heaven,  hanging  directly  over  the  lower  Je- 
rusalem, (f-c.  Vide  Gagnier,  Not.  ad  Abulfed.  Vit.  Mob.  p.  28.  "^  Al  Shahrestani, 
=>  Vide  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  16,  17.  -  Al  Jannabi,  in  Vita  Abrah.  '  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit. 
Moh,  p.  13.  *  Idem,  in  Hist.  Gen.  Al  Jannabi.  ^  Al  Jannabi,  &c.  *  Idem, 
Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  115,  &c. 


84  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.it. 

and  fixed  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  Caaba,  being  that  which  looks 
towards  Basra,  about  two  cubits  and  one-third,  or,  which  is  the  same  thing, 
seven  spans  from  the  ground.  This  stone  is  exceedingly  respected  by  the 
Mohammedans,  and  is  kissed  by  the  pilgrims  with  great  devotion,  being 
called  by  some  the  right  hand  of  God  on  earth.  They  fable  that  it  is  one  of 
the  precious  stones  of  paradise,  and  fell  down  to  the  earth  with  Adam,  and 
being  taken  up  again,  or  otherwise  preserved  at  the  deluge,  the  angel 
Gabriel  afterwards  brought  it  back  to  Abraham  when  he  was  building  the 
Caaba.  It  was  at  first  whiter  than  milk,  but  grew  black  long  since  by  the 
touch  of  a  menstruous  woman,  or,  as  others  tell  us,  by  the  sins  of  mankind,^ 
or  rather  by  the  touches  and  kisses  of  so  many  people ;  the  superficies  only 
being  black,  and  the  inside  still  remaining  white.'  When  the  Karma- 
tians2  among  otlier  profanations  by  them  oflered  to  the  temple  of  Mecca, 
took  away  tins  stone,  they  could  not  be  prevailed  on  for  love  or  money  to 
restore  it,  though  those  of  Mecca  offered  no  less  than  five  thousand  pieces 
of  gold  for  it.3  However,  after  they  had  kept  it  twenty-two  years,  seeing 
they  could  not  thereby  draw  the  pilgrims  from  Mecca,  they  sent  it  back 
of  their  own  accord;  at  the  same  time  bantering  its  devotees  by  telling 
them  it  was  not  the  true  stone :  but,  as  it  is  said,  it  was  proved  to  be  no 
counterfeit  by  its  peculiar  quality  of  swimming  on  water." 

Another  thing  observable  in  this  temple  is  the  stone  in  Abraham's  place, 
wherein  they  pretend  to  show  his  footsteps,  telling  us  he  stood  on  it  when 
he  built  the  Caaba,^  and  that  it  served  him  for  a  scaffold,  rising  and  falling 
of  itself  as  he  had  occasion  ;6  though  another  tradition  says  he  stood  upon 
it  while  the  wife  of  his  son  Ismael,  whom  he  paid  a  visit  to,  washed 
his  head.7  It  is  now  enclosed  in  an  iron  chest,  out  of  which  the  pilgrims 
drink  the  water  of  Zemzem,*  and  are  ordered  to  pray  at  it  by  the  Koran.^ 
The  officers  of  the  temple  took  care  to  hide  this  stone  when  the  Karma- 
tians  took  the  other.' 

The  last  thing  I  shall  take  notice  of  in  the  temple  is  the  well  Zemzem 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Caaba,  and  which  is  covered  with  a  small  building 
and  cupola.  The  Mohammedans  are  persuaded  it  is  the  very  spring  which 
gushed  out  for  the  relief  of  Ismael,  when  Hagar  his  mother  wandered  with 
him  in  the  desert;^  and  some  pretend  it  was  so  named  from  her  calling  to 
him,  when  she  spied  it,  in  the  Egyptian  tongue,  Zem,  zem,  that  is,  Stay, 
stay,''  though  it  seems  rather  to  have  had  the  name  from  the  murmuring 
of  its  waters.  The  water  of  this  well  is  reckoned  holy,  and  is  highly 
reverenced  ;  being  not  only  drunk  with  particular  devotion  by  the  pilgrims, 
but  also  sent  in  bottles,  as  a  great  rarity,  to  most  parts  of  the  Moham- 
medan dominions.  Abd'allah,  surnamed  al  Hafedh,  from  his  great  memory 
particularly  as  to  the  traditions  of  Mohammed,  gave  out  that  he  acquired 
that  faculty  by  drinking  large  draughts  of  Zemzem  water,''  to  which  I 
really  believe  it  as  efficacious  as  that  of  Helicon  to  the  inspiring  of  a 
poet. 

To  this  temple  every  Mohammedan,  who  has  health  and  means  sufficient,^ 
ought  once  at  least  in  his  life  to  go  on  pilgrimage;  nor  are  women  excused 
from  the  performance  of  this  duty.    The  pilgrims  meet  at  different  places 

»  Al  Zamakh,  &c.,  in  Kor.  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef.  »  Poc.  Spec.  p.  117,  &c.  =  These 
Karmatians  were  a  sect  which  arose  in  the  year  of  the  Hejra  278,  and  whose  opinions  over- 
turned the  fundamental  points  of  Mohammedism.  See  D'Herbelot's  Bibl.  Orient.  Art. 
Carmath,  and  hereafter,  sect.  viii.  ^  D'Herbel.  p.  40.  *  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef,  Abulfeda. 
Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  119.  ^  Abulfed.  «  Vide  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet.  Pers.  p.  35.  'Ahmed 
Ebn  Yusef,  Safio'ddin.  «  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef.  '  Chap.  2,  p.  16.  '  Vide  Poc.  Spec, 
p.  120.  ^  Gen.  xxi.  19.  ^  G.  Sionit.  et  J.  Hesr.  de  nonnuU.  Urb.  Orient,  p.  19. 

*  D'Herbel.  p.  5.        '  See  Kor.  chap.  3,  p.  47,  and  the  notes  thereon. 


SECT.  IV.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  85 

near  Mecca,  according  to  the  different  parts  from  whence  they  come,*? 
during  the  months  of  Shawiil  and  Dhu'lkaada ;  being  obliged  to  be  there 
by  the  beginning  of  Dhu'lhajja;  which  month,  as  its  name  imports,  is 
peculiarly  set  apart  for  the  celebration  of  this  solemnity. 

At  the  places  above-mentioned  the  pilgrims  properly  commence  such  ; 
when  the  men  put  on  the  Ihram  or  sacred  habit,  which  consists  only  of  two 
woollen  wrappers,  one  wrapped  about  their  middle  to  cover  their  privates, 
and  the  other  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  having  their  heads  bare,  and  a 
kind  of  slippers  which  cover  neither  the  heel  nor  the  instep,  and  so  enter 
the  sacred  territory  in  their  way  to  Mecca.  While  they  have  this  habit  on 
they  must  neither  hunt  nor  fowl,'  (though  they  are  allowed  to  fish)*^  which 
precept  is  so  punctually  observed,  that  they  will  not  kill  even  a  louse  or 
a  flea,  if  they  find  them  on  their  bodies  :  there  are  some  noxious  animals, 
however,  which  they  have  permission  to  kill  during  the  pilgrimage,  as 
kites,  ravens,  scorpions,  mice,  and  dogs  given  to  bite.^  During  the  pil- 
grimage it  behoves  a  man  to  have  a  constant  guard  over  his  words  and 
actions,  and  to  avoid  all  quarrelling,  or  ill  language,  and  all  converse  with 
women,  and  obscene  discourse,  and  to  apply  his  whole  intention  to  the 
good  work  he  is  engaged  in. 

The  pilgrims,  being  arrived  at  Mecca,  immediately  visit  the  temple,  and 
then  enter  on  the  performance  of  the  prescribed  ceremonies,  which  consist 
chiefly  in  going  in  procession  round  the  Caaba,  in  running  between  the 
mounts  Safa  and  Merwa,  in  making  the  station  on  mount  Arafat,  and  slay- 
ing the  victims,  and  shaving  their  heads  in  the  valley  of  Mina.  These 
ceremonies  have  been  so  particularly  described  by  others,^  that  I  may  be 
excused  if  I  but  just  mention  the  most  material  circumstances  thereof. 

In  compassing  the  Caaba,  which  they  do  seven  times,  beginning  at  the 
corner  where  the  black  stone  is  fixed,  they  use  a  short  quick  pace  the  three 
first  times  they  go  round  it,  and  a  grave  ordinary  pace  the  four  last;  which 
it  is  said  was  ordered  by  Mohammed,  that  his  followers  might  show  them- 
selves strong  and  active,  to  cut  off  the  hopes  of  the  infidels,  who  gave  out 
that  the  immoderate  heats  of  Medina  had  rendered  them  weak.^  But  the 
aforesaid  quick  pace  they  are  not  obliged  to  use  every  time  they  perform 
this  piece  of  devotion,  but  only  at  some  particular  times.^  So  often  as 
they  pass  by  the  black  stone  they  either  kiss  it,  or  touch  it  with  their 
hand,  and  kiss  that. 

The  running  between  Safd  and  Merwa'*  is  also  performed  seven  times, 
partly  with  a  slow  pace,  and  partly  running:^  for  they  walk  gravely  till  they 
come  to  a  place  between  two  pillars ;  and  there  they  run,  and  afterwards 
walk  again  ;  sometimes  looking  back,  and  sometimes  stopping,  like  one 
who  has  lost  something,  to  represent  Hagar  seeking  water  for  her  son  :^ 
for  the  ceremony  is  said  to  be  as  ancient  as  her  time.' 

On  the  ninth  of  Dhul'hajja,  after  morning  prayer,  the  pilgrims  leave  the 
valley  of  Mina,  whither  they  come  the  day  before,  and  proceed  in  a  tumul- 
tuous and  rushing  manner  to  mount  Arafat,^  where  they  stay  to  perform 
their  devotions  till  sunset ;  then  they  go  to  Mozdalifa,  an  oratory  between 
Arafat  and  Mina,  and  there  spend  the  night  in  prayer,  and  reading  the 
Koran.    The  next  morning  by  day-break  they  visit  al  Masher  al  haram,  or 

«  Vide  Bobov.  de  Peregr.  Mecc.  p,  12,  &c  "■  Koran,  chap.  5,  *  Ibid.  '  Al 

Beid.  '  Bobov.  de  Peregr.  Mecc.  p.  11,  &c.  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  2,  p.  440, 
Sec.  See  also  Pitts's  account  of  the  rel.  &.c.,  of  Mohammedans,  p.  92,  &c.  Gagnier, 
Vie  de  Moh.  torn.  2,  p.  258,  &c.  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  130,  &c.,  and  Reland.  de  Rel. 
Moh.  p.  113,  &c.         ^EbnalAthir.  =>  Vide  Pocock,  Spec.  p.  314.  *  See  before, 

p.  15.  »  Al  Gbazali.  «  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  p.  121.  '  Ebn  al  Athir.  "  See 
Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  23. 


86  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  iv. 

the  sacred  monument,^  and  departing  thence  before  sunrise,  haste  by  Batn 
Mohasser  to  the  valley  of  Mina,  where  they  throw  seven  stones*  at  three 
marks  or  pillars,  in  imitation  of  Abraham,  who  meeting  the  devil  in 
that  place,  and  being  by  him  disturbed  in  his  devotions,  or  tempted  to  dis- 
obedience, when  he  was  going  to  sacrifice  his  son,  was  commanded  by 
God  to  drive  him  away  by  throwing  stones  at  him;^  though  others  pre- 
tend this  rite  to  be  as  old  as  Adam,  who  also  put  the  devil  to  llight  in  the 
same  place,  and  by  the  same  means.^ 

This  ceremony  being  over,  on  the  same  day,  the  tenth  of  Dhu'lhajja, 
the  pilgrims  slay  their  victims  in  the  said  valley  of  Mina ;  of  which  they 
and  their  friends  eat  part,  and  the  rest  is  given  to  the  poor.  These  victims 
must  be  either  sheep,  goats,  kine,  or  camels ;  males,  of  either  of  the  two 
former  kinds,  and  females  if  of  either  of  the  latter,  and  of  a  fit  age.*  The 
sacrifices  being  over,  they  shave  their  heads,  and  cut  their  nails,  burying 
them  in  the  same  place  ;  after  which  the  pilgrimage  is  looked  on  as  com- 
pleted:^ though  they  again  visit  the  Caaba,  to  take  their  leave  of  that 
sacred  building. 

The  above-mentioned  ceremonies,  by  the  confession  of  the  Moham- 
medans themselves,  were  almost  all  of  them  observed  by  the  pagan  Arabs 
many  ages  before  their  prophet's  appearance ;  and  particularly  the  compass- 
ing of  the  Caaba,  the  running  between  Safa  and  Merwa,  and  the  throwing 
of  the  stones  in  Mina;  and  were  confirmed  by  Mohammed,  with  some  al- 
terations in  such  points  as  seemed  most  exceptionable  :  thus,  for  example, 
he  ordered  that  when  they  compassed  the  Caaba,  they  should  be  clothed ;^ 
whereas  before  his  time  they  performed  that  piece  of  devotion  naked,  throw- 
ing off'  their  clothes  as  a  mark  that  they  had  cast  off"  their  sins,'^  or  as 
signs  of  their  disobedience  towards  God.^ 

It  is  also  acknowledged  that  the  greater  part  of  these  rites  are  of 
no  intrinsic  worth,  neither  affecting  the  soul,  nor  agreeing  with  natural 
reason,  but  altogether  arbitrary,  and  commanded  merely  to  try  the  obe- 
dience of  mankind,  without  any  farther  view ;  and  are  therefore  to  be 
complied  with,  not  that  they  are  good  in  themselves,  but  because  God  has 
so  appointed.^  Some,  however,  have  endeavoured  to  find  out  some  reasons 
for  the  arbitrary  injunctions  of  this  kind;  and  one  writer,^  supposing  men 
ought  to  imitate  the  heavenly  bodies,  not  only  in  their  purity,  but  in  their 
circular  motion,  seems  to  argue  the  procession  round  the  Caaba  to  be 
therefore  a  rational  practice.  Reland*^  has  observed  that  the  Romans  had 
something  like  this  in  their  worship,  being  ordered  by  Numa  to  use  a  cir- 
cular motion  in  the  adoration  of  the  gods,  either  to  represent  the  orbicular 
motion  of  the  world,  or  the  perfecting  the  whole  office  of  prayer  to  that  God 
who  is  maker  of  the  universe,  or  else  in  allusion  to  the  Egyptian  wheels, 
which  were  hieroglyphics  of  the  instability  of  human  fortune.^ 

The  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  the  ceremonies  prescribed  to  those  who 
perform  it,  are,  perhaps,  liable  to  greater  exception  than  any  other  of 

'  See  Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  23.  M.  Gagnier  has  been  twice  guilty  of  a  mistake  in  confound- 
ing this  monument  with  the  sacred  enclosure  of  the  Caaba.  Vide  Gagn.  Not.  ad  Abulfed. 
Vit.  Moh.  p.  131,  et  Vie  de  Moh.  torn.  2,  p.  262.  '  Dr.  Pocock,  from  al  Ghazali.  says 
seventy,  at  different  times  and  places.  Spec.  p.  315.  ^  Al  Ghazali,  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusef. 
^  Ebn  al  Athir.  *  Vide  Reland,  ubi  sup.  p.  117.  *  See  Ivor.  chap.  2,  p.  23. 

*  Idem.  chap.  7.  '  Al  Faik,  de  Tempore  Ignor.  Arabum,  apud  Millium  de  Moham- 

medmo  ante  Moh.  p.  332.     Compare  Isaiah  Ixiv.  6.  ^  Jallal.  al  Beid.     This  notion 

comes  verv  near,  if  it  be  not  the  same,  with  that  of  the  Adamites.  *  Al  Ghazali,  vide 
Abulfar.  Hist  Dyn.  p.  171.  '  Abu  Jaafar  Ebn  Tofail,  in  Vita  Hai  Ebn  Yokdhan,  p. 

151.     See  Mr.  Ockley's  English  translation  thereof,  p.  117.  ^  De  Rel.  Moh.  p.  123. 

**  Plutarch,  in  Numa. 


SECT.  V.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  87 

Mohammed's  institutions;  not  only  as  silly  and  ridiculous  in  themselves, 
but  as  relics  of  idolatrous  superstition.'*  Yet  whoever  seriously  considers 
how  difficult  it  is  to  make  people  submit  to  the  abolishingf  of  ancient  cus- 
toms, how  unreasonable  soever,  which  they  arc  fond  of,  especially  where 
the  interest  of  a  considerable  party  is  also  concerned,  and  that  a  man  may 
with  less  danger  change  many  things  than  one  great  one,^  must  excuse 
Mohammed's  yielding  some  points  of  less  moment,  to  gain  the  principal. 
The  temple  of  Mecca  was  held  in  excessive  veneration  by  all  the  Arabs  in 
general  (if  we  except  only  the  tribes  of  Tay,  and  Khathaam,  and  some 
of  the  posterity  of  al  Hareth  Ebn  Caab,®  who  used  not  to  go  in  pilgrimage 
thereto),  and  especially  by  those  of  Mecca,  who  had  a  particular  interest 
to  support  that  veneration  ;  and  as  the  most  silly  and  insignificant  things 
are  generally  the  objects  of  the  greatest  superstition,  Mohammed  found 
it  much  easier  to  abolish  idolatry  itself  than  to  eradicate  the  supersti- 
tious  bigotry  with  which  they  were  addicted  to  that  temple,  and  the 
rites  performed  there  :  wherefore,  after  several  fruitless  trials  to  wean 
them  therefrom,'  he  thought  it  best  to  compromise  the  matter,  and,  rather 
than  to  frustrate  his  whole  design,  to  allow  them  to  go  on  pilgrimage 
thither,  and  to  direct  their  prayers  thereto:  contenting  himself  with  trans- 
ferring the  devotions  there  paid  from  their  idols  to  the  true  God,  and 
changing  such  circumstances  therein  as  he  judged  might  give  scandal. 
And  herein  he  followed  the  example  of  the  most  famous  legislators,  who 
instituted  not  such  laws  as  were  absolutely  the  best  in  themselves,  but 
the  best  their  people  were  capable  of  receiving:  and  we  find  God  himself 
had  the  same  condescendence  for  the  Jews,  whose  hardness  of  heart  he 
humoured  in  many  things,  giving  them  therefore  statutes  that  loere  not 
good,  and  judgments  whereby  they  should  not  live? 


SECTION   V. 

OF   CERTAIN   NEGATIVE   PRECEPTS   IN   THE   KORAN. 

Having  in  the  preceding  section  spoken  of  the  fundamental  points  of  the 
Mohammedan  religion,  relating  both  to  faith  and  to  practice,  I  shall,  in 
this  and  the  two  following  discourses,  speak  in  the  same  brief  method  of 
some  other  precepts  and  institutions  of  the  Koran,  which  deserve  peculiar 
notice,  and  first  of  certain  things  which  are  thereby  prohibited. 

The  drinkingof  wine, under  which  name  all  sortsofstrongand  inebriating 
liquors  are  comprehended,  is  forbidden  in  the  Koran  in  more  places  than 
one.^  Some,  indeed,  have  imagined  that  only  excess  therein  is  forbidden, 
and  that  the  moderate  use  of  wine  is  allowed  by  two  passages  in  the  same 
book:'  but  the  more  received  opinion  is,  that  to  drink  any  strong  liquors, 
either  in  a  lesser  quantity  or  in  a  greater,  is  absolutely  unlawful ;  and 
though  libertines  indulge  themselves  in  the  contrary  practice,^  yet  the  more 
conscientious  are  so  sbrict,  especially  if  they  have  performed  the  pilgrimage 
to  Mecca,^  that  they  hold  it  unlawful  not  only  to  taste  wine,  but  to  press 

*  Maimonides  (in  Epist.  ad  Prosel.  Re!)  pretends  that  the  worship  of  Mercury  was  per- 
formed by  throwing  of  stones,  and  that  of  Chemosh,  by  making  bare  the  head,  and  putting 
on  unsewn  garments.  '  According  to  the  maxim,  tutius  est  multa  mutare  qunm  mium 
magnum.         ^  Al  Shahrestani.  ■"  See  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  17.  *  Ezek.  xx.  2.i.     Vide 

Spencer,  do  Urim  et  Thummim,  cap.  4,  sect.  7.  '  See  chap.  2,  p.  25,  and  chap.  5. 

'  Chap.  2,  p.  25,  and  chap.  16.     Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  696.  ^  Vide  Smith, 

de  Morib.  et  Instit.  Turcar.  Ep.  2,  p.  28,  &c.        ^  Vide  Chardin,  ubi  supra,  p.  212. 


88  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  v. 

grapes  for  the  making  of  it,  to  buy  or  to  sell  it,  or  even  to  maintain  them- 
selves with  the  money  arising  by  the  sale  of  the  liquor.  The  Persians, 
however,  as  well  as  the  Turks,  are  very  fond  of  wine ;  and  if  one  asks  them 
how  it  comes  to  pass  that  they  venture  to  drink  it,  when  it  is  so  directly 
forbidden  by  their  religion,  they  answer,  that  it  is  with  them  as  with  the 
Christians,  whose  religion  prohibits  drunkenness  and  whoredom  as  great 
sins,  and  who  glory,  notwithstanding,  some  in  debauching  girls  and  mar- 
ried women,  and  others  in  drinking  to  excess."* 

It  has  been  a  question  whether  coffee  comes  not  under  the  above- 
mentioned  prohibition,^  because  the  fumes  of  it  have  some  effect  on  the 
imagination.  This  drink,  which  was  first  publicly  used  at  Aden,  in  Arabia 
Felix,  about  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century  of  the  Hejra,  and  thence  gra- 
dually introduced  into  Mecca,  Medina,  Egypt,  Syria,  and  other  parts  of  the 
Levant,  has  been  the  occasion  of  great  disputes  and  disorders,  having  been 
sometimes  publicly  condemned  and  forbidden,  and  again  declared  lawful 
and  allowed.6  At  present  the  use  of  coffee  is  generally  tolerated,  if  not 
granted,  as  is  that  of  tobacco,  though  the  more  religious  make  a  scruple 
of  taking  the  latter,  not  only  because  it  inebriates,  but  also  out  of  respect 
to  a  traditional  saying  of  their  prophet  (which,  if  it  could  be  made  out  to 
be  his,  would  prove  him  a  prophet  indeed).  That  in  the  latter  days  there 
should  he  men  loho  should  hear  the  name  of  Moslems,  hut  should  not  he  really 
such ;  and  that  they  should  smoke  a  certain  weed,  which  should  be  called 
TOBACCO ;  however,  the  eastern  nations  are  generally  so  addicted  to  both, 
that  they  say,  a  dish  of  coffee  and  a  pipe  of  tohacco  are  a  coinplete  enter- 
tainment ;  and  the  Persians  have  a  proverb,  that  coffee  without  tohacco  is 
meat  without  salt.'' 

Opium  and  beng  (which  latter  is  the  leaves  of  hemp  in  pills  or  conserve) 
are  also  by  the  rigid  Mohammedans  esteemed  unlawful,  though  not  men- 
tioned in  the  Koran,  because  they  intoxicate  and  disturb  the  understand- 
ing as  wine  does,  and  in  a  more  extraordinary  manner :  yet  these  drugs 
are  now  commonly  taken  in  the  east ;  but  they  who  are  addicted  to  them 
are  generally  looked  upon  as  debauchees.^ 

Several  stories  have  been  told  as  the  occasion  of  Mohammed's  prohibiting 
the  drinking  of  wine  :^  but  the  true  reasons  are  given  in  the  Koran,  viz., 
because  the  ill  qualities  of  that  liquor  surpass  its  good  ones,  the  common 
effects  thereof  being  quarrels  and  disturbances  in  company,  and  neglect, 
or  at  least  indecencies,  in  the  performance  of  religious  duties.^  For  these 
reasons  it  was,  that  the  priests  were,  by  the  Levitical  law,  forbidden  to 
drink  wine  or  strong  drink  when  they  entered  the  tabernacle,^  and  that 
the  Nazarites^  and  Rechabites,'*  and  many  pious  persons  among  the  Jews 
and  primitive  Christians,  wholly  abstained  therefrom  ;  nay,  some  of  the 
latter  went  so  far  as  to  condemn  the  use  of  wine  as  sinful.^  But  Moham- 
med is  said  to  have  had  a  nearer  example  than  any  of  these,  in  the  more 
devout  persons  of  his  own  tribe.^ 


*  Chardin,  abi  sup.  p.  344.  »  Abd'alkader  Mohammed  al  Ansari  has  written  a 

treatise  concerning  coffee,  wherein  he  argues  for  its  lawfuhiess^  Vide  D'Herbel.  Art.  Cah- 
vah.  ^  Vide  Le  Traite  Historique  de  I'Origine  et  du  Progrcs  du  Cafe  a  la  Fin  du  Voy. 
de  r  Arabic  Heur.  de  la  Roque.  ''  Reland,  Dissert.  Miscell.  torn.  2,  p.  280.     Vide 

Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  2,  p.  14,  and  66.  *  Vide  Chardin,  ibid.  p.  68,  &c.,  and 
D'Herbel.  p.  200.  «  Vide  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  82,  &c.  Busbeq.  Epist.  3,  p.  255,  and 
Maundeville's  Travels,  p.  170,  '■  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  25,  chap.  5,  and  chap.  4,  p.  66.  See 
Prov.  xxiii.  29,  &c.  *  Levit.  x.  9.  '  Num.  vi.  2.  *  Jerem.  xxxv.  5,  &c. 

=^  This  was  the  heresy  of  those  called  Encratitae,  and  Aquarij.  Khwaf,  a  Magian  heretic, 
also  declared  wine  unlawful ;  but  this  was  after  Mohammed's  time.  Hyde,  de  Rel.  Vet. 
Pars.  p.  300.       «  Vide  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moh.  p,  271. 


SECT.  V.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  89 

Gaming  is  prohibited  by  the  Koran ^  in  the  same  passages,  and  for  the 
same  reasons,  as  wine.  The  word  al  Mcisar^  which  is  there  used,  signifies 
a  particular  manner  of  casting  lots  by  arrows,  much  practised  by  the  pagan 
Arabs,  and  performed  in  the  following  manner.  A  young  camel  being 
bought  and  killed,  and  divided  into  ten,  or  twenty-eight  parts,  the  persons 
who  cast  lots  for  them,  to  the  number  of  seven,  met  for  tiiat  purj)ose;  and 
eleven  arrows  were  provided,  without  heads  of  feathers,  seven  of  which 
were  marked,  the  first  with  one  notch,  the  second  with  two,  and  so  on, 
and  the  other  four  had  no  mark  at  ail;^  these  arrows  were  put  promis- 
cuously into  a  bag,  and  then  drawn  by  an  indifferent  person,  who  had 
another  near  him  to  receive  them,  and  to  see  he  acted  fairly;  those  to  whom 
the  marked  arrows  fell  won  shares  in  proportion  to  their  lot,  and  those 
to  whom  the  blanks  fell  were  entitled  to  no  part  of  the  camel  at  all, 
but  were  obliged  to  pay  the  full  price  of  it.  The  winners,  however,  tasted 
not  of  the  flesh,  any  more  than  the  losers,  but  the  whole  was  distributed 
among  the  poor;  and  this  they  did  out  of  pride  and  ostentation,  it  being 
reckoned  a  shame  for  a  man  to  stand  out,  and  not  venture  his  money  on 
such  an  occasion.^  This  custom,  therefore,  though  it  was  of  some  use  to 
the  poor,  and  diversion  to  the  rich,  was  forbidden  by  Mohammed,'  as  the 
source  of  greater  inconveniences,  by  occasioning  quarrels  and  heart-burn- 
ings, which  arose  from  the  winners  insulting  of  those  who  lost. 

Under  the  name  of  lots  the  commentators  agree  that  all  other  games 
whatsoever,  which  are  subject  to  hazard  or  chance,  are  comprehended  and 
forbidden ;  as  dice,  cards,  tables,  &c.  And  they  are  reckoned  so  ill  in 
themselves,  that  the  testimony  of  him  who  plays  at  them  is,  by  the  more 
rigid,  judged  to  be  of  no  validity  in  a  court  of  justice.  Chess  is  almost  the 
only  game  which  the  Mohammedan  doctors  allow  to  be  lawful  (though 
it  has  been  a  doubt  with  some),^  because  it  depends  wholly  on  skill  and 
management,  and  not  at  all  on  chance :  but  then  it  is  allowed  under  cer- 
tain restrictions,  viz.,  that  it  be  no  hindrance  to  the  regular  performance 
of  their  devotions,  and  that  no  money  or  other  thing  be  played  for  or 
betted;  which  last  the  Turks  and  Sonnites  religiously  observe,  but  the  Per- 
sians and  Mogols  do  not.''  But  what  Mohammed  is  supposed  chiefly  to 
have  disliked  in  the  game  of  chess,  was  the  carved  pieces,  or  men,  with 
which  the  Pagan  Arabs  played,  being  little  figures  of  men,  elephants,  horses, 
and  dromedaries;''  and  these  are  thought,  by  some  commentators,  to  be 
truly  meant  by  the  images  prohibited  in  one  of  the  passages  of  the  Koran^ 
quoted  above.  That  the  Arabs  in  Mohammed's  time  actually  used  such 
images  for  chessmen  appears  from  what  is  related,  in  the  Sonna,  of  Ali, 
who  passing  accidentally  by  some  who  were  playing  at  chess,  asked.  What 
images  they  were  lohich  they  ivere  so  intent  upon?^  for  they  were  perfectly 
new  to  him,  that  game  having  been  but  very  lately  introduced  into  Arabia, 
and  not  long  before  into  Persia,  whither  it  was  first  brought  from  India  in 
the  reign  of  Khosru  Nushirwan.'  Hence  the  Mohammedan  doctors  in- 
fer that  the  game  was  disapproved  only  for  the  sake  of  the  images  :  where- 
fore the  Sonnites  always  play  with  plain  pieces  of  wood  or  ivory  ;  but  the 
Persians  and  Indians,  who  are  not  so  scrupulous,  continue  to  make  use 
of  the  carved  ones.^ 

'  Chap.  2,  p.  25,  chap.  5.  '  Some  writers,  as  al  Zamakh.  and  al  Shirazi,  mention  but 
three  blank  arrows.  ^  Auctores  Nodhm  al  dorr,  and  Nothr  al  dorr,  al  Zamakh,  al 

Firauzabadi,  al  Shirazi  in  Orat.  al  Hariri,  al  Beidawi,  &c.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  324,  &c. 
'  Koran,  chap.  .'"),  p.  81.  ^  Vide  Hyde,  de  Ludis  Oriental,  in  Prolesr.  ad  Shahdudium. 

"  Vide  Eund.  ibid.  *  Vide  Eundem,  ibid,  and  in  Hist.  Shahiludij,  p.  135,  &c. 

=>  Chap.  5.        *  Sokeiker  al  Dimishki.  and  Auctor  libri  al  Moatatraf,  apud  Hyde,  ubi  sup. 
p.  8.        ■"  Khondemir,  apud  eund.  ibid.  p.  41.        '  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  p.  9. 


90  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  v. 

The  Mohammedans  comply  with  the  prohibition  of  gaming  much  better 
than  they  do  with  that  of  wine  ;  for  though  the  common  people,  among 
the  Turks  more  frequently,  and  the  Persians  more  rarely,  are  addicted  to 
play,  yet  the  better  sort  are  seldom  guilty  of  it.^ 

Gaming,  at  least  to  excess,  has  been  forbidden  in  all  well-ordered  states. 
Gaming-houses  were  reckoned  scandalous  places  among  the  Greeks,  and  a 
gamester  is  declared  by  Aristotle  '  to  be  no  better  than  a  thief:  the  Roman 
senate  made  very  severe  laws  against  playing  at  games  of  hazard,^  except 
only  during  the  Saturnalia  ;  though  the  people  played  often  at  other  times, 
notwithstanding  the  prohibition:  the  civil  law  forbade  all  pernicious 
games  :^  and  though  the  laity  were,  in  some  cases,  permitted  to  play 
for  money,  provided  they  kept  within  reasonable  bounds,  yet  the  clergy 
were  forbidden  to  play  at  tables  (which  is  a  game  of  hazard),  or  even  to 
look  on  while  others  played.*  Accursius,  indeed,  is  of  opinion  they  may 
play  at  chess,  notwithstanding  that  law,  because  it  is  a  game  not  subject 
to  chance,^  and  being  but  newly  invented  in  the  time  of  Justinian,  was 
not  then  known  in  the  western  parts.  However  the  monks  for  some  time 
were  not  allowed  even  chess.'^ 

As  to  the  Jews,  Mohammed's  chief  guides,  they  also  highly  disapprove 
gaming :  gamesters  being  severely  censured  in  the  Talmud,  and  their  tes- 
timony declared  invalid.'^ 

Another  practice  of  the  idolatrous  Arabs,  forbidden  also  in  one  of  the 
above-mentioned  passages,^  was  that  of  divining  by  arrows.  The  arrows 
used  by  them  for  this  purpose  were  like  those  with  which  they  cast  lots,  be- 
ing without  heads  or  feathers,  and  were  kept  in  the  temple  of  some  idol,  in 
whose  presence  they  were  consulted.  Seven  such  arrows  were  kept  at  the 
temple  of  Mecca  ;^  but  generally  in  divination  they  made  use  of  three  only, 
on  one  of  whicli  was  written.  My  Lord  hath  commanded  me  ;  on  another. 
My  Lord  hath  forbidden  me ;  and  the  third  was  blank.  If  the  first  was 
drawn,  they  looked  on  it  as  an  approbation  of  the  enterprise  in  question ;  if 
the  second,  they  made  a  contrary  conclusion  ;  but  if  the  third  happened  to 
be  drawn,  they  mixed  them  and  drew  over  again,  till  a  decisive  answer  was 
given  by  one  of  the  others.  These  divining  arrows  were  generally  con- 
sulted before  any  thing  of  moment  was  undertaken ;  as  when  a  man  was 
about  to  marry,  or  about  to  go  a  journey,  or  the  like.^  This  superstitious 
practice  of  divining  by  arrows  was  used  by  the  ancient  Greeks,^  and  other 
nations ;  and  is  particularly  mentioned  in  scripture,^  where  it  is  said,  that 
"  the  king  of  Babylon  stood  at  the  parting  of  the  way,  at  the  head  of  the 
two  ways,  to  use  divination  ;  he  made  his  arrows  bright,"  (or,  according 
to  the  version  of  the  vulgate,  which  seems  preferable  in  this  place,  he  mixed 
together,  or  shook  the  arrows)  he  consulted  with  images,  &c. :  the  commen- 
tary  of  St.  Jerome  on  which  passage  wonderfully  agrees  with  what  we  are 
told  of  the  aforesaid  custom  of  the  old  Arabs :  "  He  shall  stand,"  says  he, 
"  in  tlie  highway,  and  consult  the  oracle  after  the  manner  of  his  nation, 
that  he  may  cast  arrows  into  a  quiver,  and  mix  them  together,  being  written 

'  Vide  Eundem,  in  Proleg.  and  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  2,  p.  46.  '  Lib.  4,  ad 
Nicom.  *  Vide  Horat.  lib.  3.  Carm.  Od.  24.  '  De  Aleatoribus.  Novell.  Just,  123, 
&c.,  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  in  Hist.  Alese,  p.  119.  *  Authent.  interdicimus,  c.  de  epis- 

copis.  *  In  Com.  ad  Legem  Praed.  *  Du  Fresne,  in  Gloss.  ■"  BavaMesia,  84,  1. 
Rosh  hashana,  and  Sanhedr.  24,  2.  Vide  etiam  Maimon.  in  Tract.  Gezila.  Among  the 
modern  civilians,  Mascardus  thought  common  gamesters  were  not  to  be  admitted  as  wit- 
nesses, being  infamous  persons.  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  in  Proleg.  et  in  Hist.  Aleae,  sect, 
ill.  '  Kor.  chap.  5.  ^  See  before,  p.  14.  '  Ebn  al  Athir,  al  Zamakh.  and  al  Beid.  in 
Kor.  c.  5.  Al  Mostatraf,  &c.  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  327,  &c.,  and  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient. 
Art.  Acdah.        '  Vide  Potter,  Antiq.  of  Greece,  vol.  1,  p.  334.        '  Ezek.  xxi.  21. 


SECT.  V.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  91 

upon  or  marked  with  the  names  of  each  people,  that  he  may  see  whose 
arrow  will  come  forth,  and  which  city  he  ought  first  to  attack."'* 

A  distinction  of  meats  was  so  generally  used  by  the  eastern  nations,  that 
it  is  no  wonder  that  Mohammed  made  some  regulations  in  that  matter. 
The  Koran,  therefore,  prohibits  the  eating  of  blood,  and  swine's  flesh,  and 
whatever  dies  of  itself,  or  is  slain  in  the  name  or  in  honour  of  any  idol,  or 
is  strangled,  or  killed  by  a  blow,  or  a  fall,  or  by  any  other  beast.^  In  which 
particulars  Mohammed  seems  chiefly  to  have  imitated  the  Jews,  by  whose 
law,  as  is  well  known,  all  those  things  are  forbidden ;  but  he  allowed  some 
things  to  be  eaten  which  Moses  did  not,^  as  camels'  flesh"'  in  particular.  In 
cases  of  necessity,  however,  where  a  man  may  be  in  danger  of  starving,  he 
is  allowed  by  the  Mohammedan  law  to  eat  any  of  the  said  prohibited  kinds 
of  food ;  8  and  the  Jewish  doctors  grant  the  same  liberty  in  the  like  case.^ 
Though  the  aversion  to  blood  and  what  dies  of  itself  may  seem  natural,  yet 
some  of  the  pagan  Arabs  used  to  eat  both  :  of  their  eating  of  the  latter 
some  instances  will  be  given  hereafter :  and  as  to  the  former,  it  is  said 
they  used  to  pour  blood,  which  they  sometimes  drew  from  a  live  camel, 
into  a  gut,  and  then  broiled  it  on  the  fire,  or  boiled  it,  and  ate  it:'  this  food 
they  called  mosivadd,  from  asivad,  which  signifies  Mack ;  the  same  nearly 
resembling  our  black-puddings  in  name  as  well  as  composition.'^ 

The  eating  of  meat  oflTered  to  idols  I  take  to  be  commonly  practised  by 
all  idolaters,  being  looked  on  as  a  sort  of  communion  in  their  worship,  and 
for  that  reason  esteemed  by  Christians,  if  not  absolutely  unlawful,  yet  as 
what  may  be  the  occasion  of  great  scandal :'  but  the  Arabs  were  particu- 
larly superstitious  in  this  matter,  killing  what  they  ate  on  stones  erected  on 
purpose  round  the  Caaba,  or  near  their  own  houses,  and  calling,  at  the  same 
time,  on  the  name  of  some  idol."*  Swine's  flesh,  indeed,  the  old  Arabs 
seem  not  to  have  eaten;  and  their  prophet,  in  prohibiting  the  same, 
appears  to  have  only  confirmed  the  common  aversion  of  the  nation. 
Foreign  writers  tell  us  that  the  Arabs  wholly  abstained  from  swine's  flesh,^ 
thinking  it  unlawful  to  feed  thereon,^  and  that  very  few,  if  any,  of  those 
animals  are  found  in  their  country,  because  it  produces  not  proper  food 
for  them  ;'  which  has  made  one  writer  imagine  that  if  a  hog  were  carried 
thither,  it  would  immediately  die.^ 

In  the  prohibition  of  usury ^  I  presume  Mohammed  also  followed  the 
Jews,  who  are  strictly  forbidden  by  their  law  to  exercise  it  among  one 
another,  though  they  are  so  infamously  guilty  of  it  in  their  dealing  with 
those  of  a  different  religion :  but  I  do  not  find  the  prophet  of  the  Arabs 
has  made  any  distinction  in  this  matter. 

Several  superstitious  customs  relating  to  cattle,  which  seem  to  have  been 
peculiar  to  the  pagan  Arabs,  were  also  abolished  by  Mohammed.  The 
Koran  10  mentions  four  names  by  them  given  to  certain  camels  or  sheep, 
which  for  some  particular  reasons  were  left  at  free  liberty,  and  were  not 
made  use  of  as  other  cattle  of  the  same  kind.  These  names  are  Bahira, 
Saiba,  Wasila,  and  Hami :  of  each  whereof  in  their  order. 

As  to  the  first  it  is  said  that  when  a  she-camel,  or  a  sheep,  had  borne 
young  ten  times,  they  used  to  slit  her  ear,  and  turn  her  loose  to  feed  at  full 

*  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  329,  &c.  '  Chap.  2,  p.  20,  chap.  5,  p.  81,  chap.  6,  and  chap.  16. 
*=  Lev.  xi.  4.  ■"  See  Kor.  chap.  3,  pp.  42,  47,  and  chap.  6.  *  Kor.  chap.  5,  p.  81, 

and  in  the  other  passages  last  quoted.  '  Vide  Maimon.  in  Halachoth  Melachim.  chap.  8, 
sect.  1,  &c.  '  Nothr  al  dorr,  al  Firauz.  al  Zamakh.  and  al  Beid.  ^  Poc.  Spec.  p.  320. 
^  Compare  Acts  xv.  29,  with  1  Cor.  viii.  40,  &c.  *  See  the  fifth  chap,  of  the  Kor.  p.  81, 
and  the  notes  there.  '  Solin.  de  Arab.  cap.  33.  *=  Hieronym.  in  Jovin.  hb.  2,  c.  6. 

'  Idem.  ibid.        *  Solinus,  ubi  supra.        "  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  33,  34.        '"  Chap.  5. 


92  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  v. 

liberty ;  and  when  she  died,  her  flesh  was  eaten  by  the  men  only,  the 
women  being  forbidden  to  eat  thereof:  and  such  a  camel  or  sheep,  from  the 
slitting  of  her  ear,  they  called  Bahira.  Or  the  Bahira  was  a  she-camel, 
which  was  turned  loose  to  feed,  and  whose  fifth  young  one,  if  it  proved 
a  male,  was  killed  and  eaten  by  men  and  women  promiscuously  :  but  if  it 
proved  a  female,  had  its  ear  slit,  and  was  dismissed  to  free  pasture,  none 
being  permitted  to  make  use  of  its  flesh  or  milk,  or  to  ride  on  it;  though 
the  women  were  allowed  to  eat  the  flesh  of  it,  when  it  died :  or  it  was 
the  female  young  of  the  Saiba,  which  was  used  in  the  same  manner  as 
its  dam ;  or  else  an  ewe,  which  had  yeaned  five  times.*  These,  however, 
are  not  all  the  opinions  concerning  the  Bahira  :  for  some  suppose  that  name 
was  given  to  a  she-camel,  which  after  having  brought  forth  young  five  times 
(if  the  last  was  a  male)  had  her  ear  slit,  as  a  mark  thereof,  and  was  let  go 
loose  to  feed,  none  driving  her  from  pasture  or  water,  nor  using  her  for 
carriage  ;2  and  others  tell  us,  that  when  a  camel  had  newly  brought  forth, 
they  used  to  slit  the  ear  of  her  young  one,  saying,  "O  God,  if  it  live,  it 
shall  be  for  our  use,  but  if  it  die,  it  shall  be  deemed  rightly  slain ;"  and 
when  it  died,  they  ate  it.'' 

Saiba  signifies  a  she-camel  turned  loose  to  go  virhere  she  will.  And  this 
was  done  on  various  accounts  :  as  when  she  had  brought  forth  females  ten 
times  together;  or  in  satisfaction  of  a  vow  ;  or  when  a  man  had  recovered 
from  sickness,  or  returned  safe  from  a  journey,  or  his  camel  had  escaped 
some  signal  danger  either  in  battle  or  otherwise.  A  camel  so  turned  loose 
was  declared  to  be  Saiba,  and,  as  a  mark  of  it,  one  of  the  vertehrcE  or  bones 
was  taken  out  of  her  back,  after  which  none  might  drive  her  from  pasture 
or  water,  or  ride  on  her."  Some  say  that  the  Saiba,  when  she  had  ten  times 
together  brought  forth  females,  was  suffered  to  go  at  liberty,  none  being 
allowed  to  ride  on  her,  and  that  her  milk  was  not  to  be  drunk  by  any  but 
her  young  one,  or  a  guest,  till  she  died ;  and  then  her  flesh  was  eaten  by 
men  as  well  as  women,  and  her  last  female  young  one  had  her  ear  slit, 
and  was  called  Bahira,  and  turned  loose  as  her  dam  had  been.^ 

This  appellation,  however,  was  not  so  strictly  proper  to  female  camels, 
but  that  it  was  given  to  the  male  when  his  young  one  had  begotten  another 
young  one  :^  nay  a  servant  set  at  liberty  and  dismissed  by  his  master  was 
also  called  Saiba  f  and  some  are  of  opinion  that  the  word  denotes  any 
animal  which  the  Arabs  used  to  turn  loose  in  honour  of  their  idols,  allov/- 
ing  none  to  make  use  of  them  thereafter,  except  women  only.^ 

Wasila  is,  by  one  author,^  explained  to  signify  a  she-camel  which  had 
brought  forth  ten  times,  or  an  ewe  which  had  yeaned  seven  times,  and 
every  time  twins ;  and  if  the  seventh  time  she  brought  forth  a  male  and  a 
female,  they  said,  Wosilat  akhaha,  i.  e.,  She  is  joined,  or  was  brought  forth. 
7cith  her  brother,  after  which  none  might  drink  the  dam's  milk,  except  men 
only ;  and  she  was  used  as  the  Saiba.  Or  Wasila  was  particularly  meant 
of  sheep ;  as  when  an  ewe  brought  forth  a  female,  they  took  it  to  them- 
selves, but  when  she  brought  forth  a  male,  they  consecrated  it  to  their  gods, 
but  if  both  a  male  and  a  female,  they  said.  She  is  joined  to  her  brother,  and 
did  not  sacrifice  that  male  to  their  gods:  or  Wasila  was  an  ewe  which 
brought  forth  first  a  male,  and  then  a  female,  on  which  account,  or  because 
she  followed  her  brother,  the  male  was  not  killed ;  but  if  she  brought  forth  a 
male  only,  they  said.  Let  this  be  an  offering  to  our  gods}    Another-  writes, 

'  Al  Firauzabadi.  ^  Al  Zamakh.  al  Beidawi,  al  Mostatraf.  '  Ebn  al  Athir. 

"  Al  Firauzab.  al  Zamakh.  *  Al  Jawhari.  Ebn  al  Athir.         *  Al  Firauz.  '  Idem, 

al  Jawhari,  &c.  *  Nothr  al  dorr,  and  Nodhm  al  dorr.  ^  Al  Firauz.  *  Idem,  al 
Zamakh.  ^  Al  Jawhari. 


SECT.  V.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  93 

that  if  an  ewe  brought  forth  twins  seven  times  together,  and  the  eighth 
time  a  male,  they  sacrificed  that  male  to  their  gods;  but  if  the  eightii  time 
she  brought  both  a  male  and  a  female,  they  used  to  say,  She  is  joined  io  her 
brother^  and  for  the  female's  sake  they  spared  the  male,  and  permitted  not 
the  dam's  milk  to  be  drunk  by  women.  A  third  writer  tells  us,  that  Wasila 
was  an  ewe,  which  having  yeaned  seven  times,  if  that  which  she  brought 
forth  the  seventh  time  was  a  male,  they  sacrificed  it,  but  if  a  female,  it 
was  suflfered  to  go  loose,  and  was  made  use  of  by  women  only ;  and  if  the 
seventh  time  she  brought  forth  both  a  male  and  a  female,  they  held  them 
both  to  be  sacred,  so  that  men  only  were  allowed  to  make  any  use  of 
them,  or  to  drink  the  milk  of  the  female  :  and  a  fourth^  describes  it  to  be 
an  ewe  which  brought  forth  ten  females  at  five  births  one  after  another, 
i.  e.,  every  time  twins,  and  whatever  she  brought  forth  afterwards  was 
allowed  to  men,  and  not  to  women,  &;c. 

Hami  was  a  male  camel  used  for  a  stallion,  which,  if  the  females  had 
conceived  ten  times  by  him,  was  ahevwards  freed  from  labour,  and  let  go 
loose,  none  driving  him  from  pasture  or  from  water;  nor  was  any  allowed 
to  receive  the  least  benefit  from  him,  not  even  to  shear  his  hair."* 

These  things  were  observed  by  the  old  Arabs  in  honour  of  their  false 
gods,^  and  as  part  of  the  worship  which  they  paid  them,  and  were  ascribed 
to  the  divine  institution ;  but  are  all  condemned  in  the  Koran,  and  de- 
clared to  be  impious  superstitions.^ 

The  law  of  Mohammed  also  put  a  stop  to  the  inhuman  custom,  which  had 
been  long  practised  by  the  pagan  Arabs,  of  burying  their  daughters  alive, 
lest  they  should  be  reduced  to  poverty  by  providing  for  them,  or  else  to 
avoid  the  disgrace  which  would  follow,  if  they  should  happen  to  be  made 
captives,  or  to  become  scandalous  by  their  behaviour;'^  the  birth  of  a 
daughter  being,  for  these  reasons,  reckoned  a  great  misfortune,^  and  the 
death  of  one  as  great  a  happiness.^  The  manner  of  their  doing  this  is  dif- 
ferently related  ;  some  say  that  when  an  Arab  had  a  daughter  born,  if  he 
intended  to  bring  her  up,  he  sent  her,  clothed  in  a  garment  of  wool  or  hair, 
to  keep  camels  or  sheep  in  the  desert ;  but  if  he  designed  to  put  her  to 
death,  he  let  her  live  till  she  became  six  years  old,  and  then  said  to  her 
mother,  "  Perfume  her,  and  adorn  her,  that  I  may  carry  her  to  her  mothers ;" 
which  being  done,  the  father  led  her  to  a  well  or  pit  dug  for  that  purpose, 
and  having  bid  her  to  look  down  into  it,  pushed  her  in  headlong,  as 
he  stood  behind  her,  and  then  filling  up  the  pit,  levelled  it  with  the 
rest  of  the  ground  :  but  others  say,  that  when  a  woman  was  ready  to  fall  in 
labour,  they  dug  a  pit,  on  the  brink  whereof  she  was  to  be  delivered,  and  if 
the  child  happened  to  be  a  daughter,  they  threw  it  into  the  pit,  but  if  a  son, 
they  saved  it  alive.'  This  custom,  though  not  observed  by  all  the  Arabs  in 
general,  was  yet  very  common  among  several  of  their  tribes,  and  particularly 
those  of  Koreish  and  Kendah ;  the  former  usingto  bury  their  daughters  alive 
in  mount  Abu  Dalama,  near  Mecca.^  In  the  time  of  ignorance,  while  they 
used  this  method  to  get  rid  of  their  daughters,  Sasaa,  grandfather  to  the  ce- 
lebrated poet  al  Farazdak, frequently  redeemed  female  children  from  death, 
giving  for  everyone  two  she-camels  big  with  young,  and  a  he-camel;  and 
hereto  al  Farazdak  alluded  when,  vaunting  himself  before  one  of  the  Kha- 
lifs  of  the  family  of  Omeyya,  he  said,  "  I  am  the  son  of  the  giver  of  life  to 
the  dead;"  for  which  expression  being  censured,  he  excused  himself  by 

=•  Al  Motarrezi.  ■*  Al  Firauz.  al  Jawhari.  *  Jallal.  in  Kor.  *  Kor.  chap. 

5.  p.  95,  and  chap.  6.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  330—334.  ■"  Al  Beidawi,  al  Zamakh.  d 

Mostatraf.  "  See  Koran,  chap.  16.  »  Al  Meidani.  '  Al  Zamakh.  ^  Al  Mo.s- 
tatraf. 

H 


94  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vi. 

alleging  the  following  words  of  the  Koran,^  "  He  who  saveth  a  soul  alive 
shall  be  as  if  he  had  saved  the  lives  of  all  mankind."^  The  Arabs,  in  thus 
murdering  of  their  children,  were  far  from  being  singular  ;  the  practice  of 
exposing  infants  and  putting  them  to  death  being  so  common  among  the 
ancients,  that  it  is  remarked  as  a  thing  very  extraordinary  in  the  Egyptians, 
that  they  brought  up  all  their  children  ;^  and  by  the  laws  of  Lycurgus^ 
no  child  was  allowed  to  be  brought  up,  without  the  approbation  of  public 
oflicers.  At  this  day,  it  is  said,  in  China,  the  poorer  sort  of  people  fre- 
quently put  their  children,  the  females  especially,  to  death,  with  im- 
punity.' 

This  wicked  practice  is  condemned  by  the  Koran  in  several  passages;^ 
one  of  which,  as  some  commentators^  judge,  may  also  condemn  another 
custom  of  the  Arabians,  altogether  as  wicked,  and  as  common  among  other 
nations  of  old,  viz.^  the  sacrificing  of  their  children  to  their  idols;  as  was 
frequently  done,  in  particular,  in  satisfaction  of  a  vow  they  used  to  make, 
that  if  they  had  a  certain  number  of  sons  born,  they  would  offer  one  of 
them  in  sacrifice. 

Several  other  superstitious  customs  were  likewise  abrogated  by  Mo- 
hammed ;  but  the  same  being  of  less  moment,  and  not  particularly  men- 
tioned in  the  Koran,  or  having  been  occasionally  taken  notice  of  else- 
where, I  shall  say  nothing  of  them  in  this  place. 


SECTION   VI. 

OP   THE  INSTITUTIONS   OP   THE   KORAN   IN   CIVIL   APPAIRS. 

The  Mohammedan  civil  law  is  founded  on  the  precepts  and  determi- 
nations of  the  Koran,  as  the  civil  laws  of  the  Jews  were  on  those  of  the 
Pentateuch  ;  yet  being  variously  interpreted,  according  to  the  different  de- 
cisions of  their  civilians,  and  especially  of  their  four  great  doctors,  Abu 
Hanifa,  Malec,  al  Shafei,  and  Ebn  Hanbal,'  to  treat  thereof  fully  and 
distinctly,  in  the  manner  the  curiosity  and  usefulness  of  the  subject 
deserves,  would  require  a  large  volume :  wherefore  the  most  that  can  be 
expected  here  is  a  summary  view  of  the  principal  institutions,  without 
minutely  entering  into  a  detail  of  particulars.  We  shall  begin  with  those 
relating  to  marriage  and  divorce. 

That  polygamy,  for  the  moral  lawfulness  of  which  the  Mohammedan 
doctors  advance  several  arguments,^  is  allowed  by  the  Koran,  every  one 
knows;  though  few  are  acquainted  with  the  limitations  with  which  it  is 
allowed.     Several  learned  men  have  fallen  into  the  vulgar  mistake,  that 

'  Koran,  chap.  5,  p.  86.  *  Al  Mostatraf.  Vide  Ebn  Khalekan,  in  Vita  al  Farazdak,  and 
Poc.  Spec.  p.  334.  *  Strabo,  lib.  17,  Vide  Diodor.  Sic.  lib.  1,  c.  80.  «  Vide  Plutarch, 
in  Lycurgo.  ■"  Vide  Pufendorf.  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  lib.  6,  c.  7,  sect.  6.  The  Grecians 
also  treated  daughters  especially  in  this  manner  ;  whence  that  saying  of  Posidippus, 

'Xibv  Tpi(j)d  Tii  Kifv  -Kivrii  wv  tv^t) 
Qvyaripa  ^s  iKTidrjai  K<fv  j)  rXot'fftos. 

"  A  man  though  poor  will  not  expose  his  son, 
But  if  he  's  rich,  will  scarce  preserve  his  daughter." 

See  Potter's  Antiq.  of  Greece,  vol.  2,  p.  333.        «  Chap.  6,  chap.  16,  and  chap.  17.    See 
also  chap.  81.  *  Al  Zamakh.  al  Beid. 

*  See  sect.  8.  =  See  before,  sect.  2,  p.  29. 


SECT.  VI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  95 

Mohammed  granted  to  his  followers  an  unbounded  plurality ;  some  pretend- 
ing that  a  man  may  have  as  many  wives,^  and  others  as  many  concubines.^ 
as  he  can  maintain :  whereas,  according  to  the  express  words  of  the  Koran,"" 
no  man  can  have  more  than  four,  whether  wives  or  concubines;^  and  if 
a  man  appreiiend  any  inconvenience  from  even  that  number  of  ingenuous 
wives,  it  is  added,  as  an  advice  (which  is  generally  followed  by  the  mid- 
dling and  inferior  people),''  that  he  marry  one  only,  or  if  he  cannot  be  con- 
tented with  one,  that  he  may  take  up  with  his  she-slaves,  not  exceeding, 
however,  the  limited  number  ;s  and  this  is  certainly  the  utmost  Mohammed 
allowed  his  followers :  nor  can  we  urge,  as  an  argument  against  so  plain 
a  precept,  the  corrupt  manners  of  his  followers,  many  of  whom,  especially 
men  of  quality  and  fortune,  indulge  themselves  in  criminal  excesses ;3  nor 
yet  the  example  of  the  prophet  himself,  who  had  peculiar  privileges  in 
this  and  other  points,  as  will  be  observed  hereafter.  In  making  the  above- 
mentioned  limitation,  Mohammed  was  directed  by  the  decision  of  the  Jew- 
ish doctors,  who,  by  way  of  counsel,  limit  the  number  of  wives  to  four,^ 
though  their  law  confines  them  not  to  any  certain  number.^ 

Divorce  is  also  well  known  to  be  allowed  by  the  Mohammedan  law,  as  it 
was  by  the  Mosaic,  with  this  difference  only,  that  according  to  the  latter  a 
man  could  not  take  again  a  woman  whom  he  had  divorced,  and  who  had 
been  married  or  betrothed  to  another;'*  whereas  Mohammed,  to  prevent 
his  followers  from  divorcing  their  wives  on  every  light  occasion,  or  out  of  an 
inconstant  humour,  ordained  that  if  a  man  divorced  his  wife  the  third  time 
(for  he  might  divorce  her  twice  without  being  obliged  to  part  with  her,  if 
he  repented  of  what  he  had  done),  it  should  not  be  lawful  for  him  to  take 
her  again,  until  she  had  been  first  married  and  bedded  by  another,  and 
divorced  by  such  second  husband.'  And  this  precaution  has  had  so  good 
an  effect,  that  the  Mohammedans  are  seldom  known  to  proceed  to  the 
extremity  of  divorce,  notwithstanding  the  liberty  given  them;  it  being 
reckoned  a  great  disgrace  so  to  do ;  and  there  are  but  few,  besides  those 
who  have  little  or  no  sense  of  honour,  that  will  take  a  wife  again,  on 
the  condition  enjoined.^  It  must  be  observed  that  though  a  man  is  al- 
lowed by  the  Mohammedan,  as  by  the  Jewish  law,^  to  repudiate  his  wife 
even  on  the  slightest  disgust,  yet  the  women  are  not  allowed  to  separate 
themselves  from  their  husbands,  unless  it  be  for  ill  usage,  want  of  proper 
maintenance,  neglect  of  conjugal  duty,  impotency,  or  some  cause  of  equal 
import;  but  then  she  generally  loses  her  dowry,' which  she  does  not, 

'  Nic.  Cusanus,  in  Cribrat.  Alcor,  lib.  2,  cap.  19.  Olearius,  in  Itinerar.  P.  Greg.  Tholo- 
aanus,  in  Synt.  Juris,  lib.  9,  c.  2,  sect.  22.  Septemcastrensis  (de  Morib.  Turc.  p.  24),  says 
the  Mohammedans  may  have  twelve  lawful  wives  and  no  more.  Ricaut  falsely  asserts  the 
restraint  of  the  number  of  their  wives  to  be  no  precept  of  their  religion,  but  a  rule  super- 
induced on  a  politic  consideration.  Pres.  State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  book  3,  chap.  21. 
*  Marracc.  in  Prodr.  ad  Refut.  Alcor.  part  4,  p.  52,  &,  71.  Prideaux,  Life  of  Moh.  p.  114. 
Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  tom.  1,  p.  166.  Du  Ryer.  Sommaire  de  la  Rel.  des  Turcs,  mis 
a  la  tete  de  sa  version  de  l' Alcor.  Ricaut,  ubi  supra.  Pufendorf,  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent, 
lib.  6,  c.  1,  sect.  18.  '  Chap.  4,  p.  59.  ^  Vide  Gagnier,  in  notis  ad  Abulfedae  Vit. 

Moh.  p.  150.  Reland,  de  Rel.  Moh.  p.  243,  &c.,  and  Selden.  Ux.  Hebr.  hb.  1,  cap.  9. 
■■  Vide  Reland,  ubi  sup.  p.  244.  *  Kor.  chap.  4,  p.  59.  ^  Sir  J.  Maundeville  (who, 

excepting  a  few  silly  stories  he  tells  from  hear-say,  deserves  more  credit  than  some  travel- 
lers of  better  reputation),  speaking  of  the  Koran,  observes,  among  several  other  truths, 
that  Mohammed  therein  commanded  a  man  should  have  two  wives,  or  three,  or  four; 
though  the  Mohammedans  then  took  nine  wives,  and  lemans  as  many  as  they  might  sustain. 
Maundev.  Travels,  p.  164.  '  Maimon.  in  Halachoth  Ishoth,  c.  14.  ^  Idem,  ibid.  Vide 
Selden.  Uxor.  Hebr.  lib.  1,  c.  9.  '  Deut.  xxiv.  3,  4.  Jer.  iii.  1.  Vide  Selden,  ubi  sup. 
lib.  1,  c.  11.  *  Koran,  chap.  2,  p.  27.  '  Vide  Selden,  ubi  sup.  lib.  3,  cap.  21,  and 

Ricaut's  State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  book  2,  chap.  21.  *  Deut.  xxiv.  1.  Leo  Modena 
Hist,  degli  Riti  Hebr.  part  1,  c.  6.     Vide  Selden,  ubi  sup.  '  Vide  Busbeq.  Ep.  3,  p. 


96  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vr. 

if  divorced  by  her  husband,  unless  she  has  been  guilty  of  impudicity, 
or  notorious  disobedience.^ 

Wiien  a  woman  is  divorced,  she  is  obliged,  by  the  direction  of  the  Koran, 
to  wait  till  she  hath  had  her  courses  thrice,  or,  if  there  be  a  doubt  whether 
she  be  subject  to  them  or  not,  by  reason  of  her  age,  three  months,  before 
she  marry  another;  after  which  time  expired,  in  case  she  be  found  not  with 
child,  she  is  at  full  liberty  to  dispose  of  herself  as  she  pleases;  but  if  she 
prove  with  child,  she  must  wait  till  she  be  delivered  :  and  during  her  whole 
term  of  waiting,  she  may  continue  in  the  husband's  house,  and  is  to  be 
maintained  at  liis  expense :  it  being  forbidden  to  turn  a  woman  out  before 
the  expiration  of  the  term,  unless  she  be  guilty  of  dishonesty.'  Where  a 
man  divorces  a  woman  before  consummation,  she  is  not  obliged  to  wait 
any  particular  time;^  nor  is  he  obliged  to  give  her  more  than  one  half  of 
her  dower.^  If  the  divorced  woman  have  a  young  child,  she  is  to  suckle 
it  till  it  be  two  years  old  ;  the  father,  in  the  mean  time,  maintaining  her 
in  all  respects :  a  widow  is  also  obliged  to  do  the  same,  and  to  wait  four 
months  and  ten  days  before  she  marry  again."* 

These  rules  are  also  copied  from  those  of  the  Jews,  according  to  whom 
a  divorced  woman,  or  a  widow,  cannot  marry  another  man  till  ninety  days 
be  past,  after  the  divorce  or  death  of  the  husband  :^  and  she  who  gives 
suck  is  to  be  maintained  for  two  years,  to  be  computed  from  the  birth  of  the 
child  ;  within  which  time  she  must  not  marry,  unless  the  child  die,  or  her 
milk  be  dried  up.^ 

Whoredom,  in  single  women  as  well  as  married,  was,  in  the  beginning  of 
Mohamrnedism,  very  severely  punished  ;  such  being  ordered  to  be  shut  up 
in  prison  till  they  died  :  but  afterwards  it  was  ordained  by  the  Sonna,  that 
an  adulteress  should  be  stoned,'  and  an  unmarried  woman  guilty  of  forni- 
cation scourged  with  an  hundred  stripes,  and  banished  for  a  year.^  A  she- 
slave,  if  convicted  of  adultery,  is  to  suffer  but  half  the  punishment  of  a  free 
woman, ^  viz.,  fifty  stripes,  and  banishment  for  six  months;  but  is  not  to  be 
put  to  death.  To  convict  a  woman  of  adultery,  so  as  to  make  it  capital,  four 
witnesses  are  expressly  required,'  and  those,  as  the  commentators  say, 
ought  to  be  men  :  and  if  a  man  falsely  accuse  a  woman  of  reputation  of 
whoredom  of  any  kind,  and  is  not  able  to  support  the  charge  by  that  num- 
ber of  witnesses,  he  is  to  receive  fourscore  stripes,  and  his  testimony  is  to 
be  held  invalid  for  the  future.^  Fornication,  in  either  sex,  is  by  the  sen- 
tence of  the  Koran  to  be  punished  with  an  hundred  stripes.'' 

if  a  man  accuses  his  wife  of  infidelity,  and  is  not  able  to  prove  it  by  suffi- 
cient evidence,  and  will  swear  four  times  that  it  is  true,  and  the  fifth  time 
imprecate  God's  vengeance  on  him  if  it  be  false,  she  is  to  be  looked  on  as 
convicted,  unless  she  will  take  the  like  oaths,  and  make  the  like  impreca- 
tion, in  testimony  of  her  innocency  ;  which  if  she  do,  she  is  free  from 
punishment,  though  the  marriage  ought  to  be  dissolved.'* 

184.  Smith,  de  Morib.  ac  Instit.  Turcar.  Ep.  2,  p.  52,  and  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn. 
2,  p.  169.  ^  Koran,  chap.  4,  p.  62,  63.  '  Idem,  chap.  2,  p.  26,  and  27,  and  chap. 

65.  =>  Ibid.  chap.  33.  =>  Ibid.  chap.  2,  p.  27.  -  Ibid.  chap.  2,  p.  27,  and  chap. 

65.  '  Mishna,  tit.  Yabimoth,  c.  4,  Gemar.  Babyl.  ad  eund.  tit.  Maimon.  in  Halach. 

Girushin,  Shylhan  Aruch,  part  3.  ®  Mishna,  and  Gemara,  and  Maimon,  ubi  supra, 

Gem.  Babyl.  ad  tit.  Cetuboth,  c.  5,  and  Jos.  Karo,  in  Shylhan  Aruch,  c.  50,  sect.  2.  Vide 
Seldeni  Ux.  Hebr.  lib.  2,  c.  11,  and  lib.  3,  c.  10,  in  fin.  ■■  And  the  adulterer  also,  ac- 

cording to  a  passage  once  extant  in  the  Koran,  and  still  in  force  as  some  suppose.  See 
the  notes  to  Kor.  chap.  3,  p.  37,  and  the  Prel.  Disc.  p.  48.  '  Kor.  chap.  4,  p.  61,  62. 

See  the  notes  there.  '  Ibid.  p.  63.  '  Kor.  chap.  4,  p.  61,  62.     See  notes  there. 

-  Kor.  chap.  24.  '  Ibid.  This  law  relates  not  to  married  people,  as  Selden  supposes  ; 
Ux.  Heb.  lib.  3,  c.  12.        *  Ibid.    See  the  notes  there. 


SECT.  VI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  97 

In  most  of  the  last-mentioned  particulars,  the  decisions  of  the  Koran  also 
agree  with  those  of  the  Jews.  By  the  law  of  Moses,  adultery,  whether  in  a 
married  woman  or  a  virgin  betrothed,  was  punished  with  death ;  and  the 
man  who  debauched  them  was  to  sutler  the  same  punishment.^  The  penalty 
of  simple  fornication  was  scourging,  the  general  punishment  in  cases  where 
none  is  particularly  appointed  :  and  a  betrothed  bond-maid,  if  convicted  of 
adultery,  underwent  the  same  punishment,  being  exempted  from  death, 
because  she  was  not  free.^  By  the  same  law,  no  person  was  to  be  put 
to  death  on  the  oath  of  one  witness  :'  and  a  man  who  slandered  his 
wife  was  also  to  be  chastised,  that  is  scourged,  and  fined  one  hundred 
shekels  of  silver.*^  The  method  of  trying  a  woman  suspected  of  adultery, 
where  evidence  was  w^anting,  by  forcing  her  to  drink  the  bitter  water  of 
jealousy ,9  though  disused  by  the  Jews  long  before  the  time  of  Mohammed,' 
yet,  by  reason  of  the  oath  of  cursing  with  which  the  woman  was  charged, 
and  to  which  she  was  obliged  to  say  Jimen^  bears  great  resemblance  to  the 
expedient  devised  by  that  prophet  on  the  like  occasion. 

The  institutions  of  Mohammed  relating  to  the  pollution  of  women  dur- 
ing their  courses,^  the  taking  of  slaves  to  wife,^  and  the  prohibiting  of 
marriage  within  certain  degrees,"  have  likewise  no  small  affinity  with  the 
institutions  of  Moses  ;^  and  the  parallel  might  be  carried  farther  in  seve- 
ral other  particulars. 

As  to  the  prohibited  degrees,  it  may  be  observed,  that  the  pagan  Arabs 
abstained  from  marrying  their  mothers,  daughters,  and  aunts  both  on  the 
father's  side,  and  on  the  mother's,  and  held  it  a  most  scandalous  thing  to 
marry  two  sisters,  or  for  a  man  to  take  his  father's  wife  f  which  last  was 
notwithstanding  too  frequently  practised,'  and  is  expressly  forbidden  in 
the  Kordn. 

Before  I  leave  the  subject  of  marriages,  it  may  be  proper  to  take  notice 
of  peculiar  privileges  in  relation  thereto,  which  were  granted  by  Gotl 
to  Mohammed,  as  he  gave  out,  exclusive  of  all  other  Moslems.  One 
of  them  was,  that  he  might  lawfully  marry  as  many  wives,  and  have 
as  many  concubines,  as  he  pleased,  without  being  confined  to  any  parti- 
cular number;^  and  this  he  pretended  to  have  been  the  privilege  of  the 
prophets  before  him.  Another  was,  that  he  might  alter  the  turns  of  his 
wives,  and  take  such  of  them  to  his  bed  as  he  thought  fit,  without  being 
tied  to  that  order  and  equality  which  others  are  obliged  to  observe.^  A 
third  privilege  was,  that  no  man  might  marry  any  of  his  wives,^  eitlier  such 
as  he  should  divorce  during  his  lifetime,  or  such  as  he  should  leave 
widows  at  his  death  :  which  last  particular  exactly  agrees  with  what  the 
Jewish  doctors  have  determined  concerning  the  wives  of  their  prmces  ;  it 
being  judged  by  them  to  be  a  thing  very  indecent,  and  for  that  reason  un- 

'  Lev.  XX.  10.  Deut.  xxii.  22.  The  kind  of  death  lo  be  inflicted  on  aduherers  in  com- 
mon cases  being  not  expressed,  the  Talmudists  generally  suppose  it  to  be  strangling  ; 
which  they  think  is  designed  wherever  the  phrase  shall  be  put  to  death,  or  shall  die  the 
death,  is  used,  as  they  imagine  stoning  is  by  the  expression  his  blood  shall  be  upon  him  : 
and  hence  it  has  been  concluded  by  some,  that  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  mentioned 
in  the  gospel  (John  viii.)  was  a  betrothed  maiden,  because  such  a  one  and  her  accomplice 
were  plainly  ordered  to  be  stoned.  (Deut.  xxii.  23,  24.)  But  the  ancients  seem  to  be  of 
a  different  opinion,  and  to  have  understood  stoning  to  be  the  punishment  of  adulterers  in 
general.     Vide  Selden,  Ux.  Hebr.  lib.  3,  c.  11,  and  12.  «  Levit.  xix.  20.  ^  Deut. 

xix.  15,  xvii.  6,  and  Num.  xxxv.  30.  '  Deut.  xxii.  13—19.  »  Num.  v.  U,  &-€. 

'  Vide  Selden,  ubi  supr.  lib.  3,  c.  15,  and  Leon.  Modena,  de'Riti  Hebraici,  parte  4,  c.  6. 
»  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  26.  =»  Ibid.  chap.  4,  p.  60,  and  63,  &c.  *  Chap.  4,  p.  62. 

'See  Lev.  xv.  24,  xviii.  19,  and  xx.  18.     Exod.  xxi.  8—11.     Deut.  xxi.  10—14.     Lev. 
xviii.  and  xx.  *  Abulfed.  Hist.  Gen.  al  Shahreslani,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  321,  and  338. 

'  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  p.  337,  &.c.         «  Chap.  4,  p.  62.         »  Kor.  chap.  33.     See  also  chap  66, 
and  the  notes  there.        '  Kor.  chap.  33.     See  the  notes  there.        ^  Kor.  chap.  33. 


98  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vi. 

lawful,  for  another  to  marry  either  the  divorced  wife  or  the  widow  of  a 
king  ;^  and  Mohammed,  it  seems,  thought  an  equal  respect,  at  least,  due  to 
the  prophetic  as  to  the  regaZ  dignity,  and  therefore  ordered  that  his  relicts 
should  pass  the  remainder  of  their  lives  in  perpetual  widowhood. 

The  laws  of  the  Koran  concerning  inheritances  are  also  in  several 
respects  conformable  to  those  of  the  Jews,  though  principally  designed  to 
abolish  certain  practices  ofthe  pagan  Arabs,  who  used  to  treat  widows  and 
orphan  children  with  great  injustice,  frequently  denying  them  any  share  in 
the  inheritance  of  their  fathers  or  their  husbands,  on  pretence  that  the  same 
ought  to  be  distributed  among  those  only  who  were  able  to  bear  arms,  and 
disposing  of  the  widows,  even  against  their  consent,  as  part  of  their  hus- 
band's possessions.*  To  prevent  such  injuries  for  the  future,  Mohammed 
ordered  that  women  should  be  respected,  and  orphans  have  no  wrong  done 
them;  and  in  particular  that  women  should  not  be  taken  against  their 
wills,  as  by  right  of  inheritance,  but  should  themselves  be  entitled  to  a  dis- 
tributive part  of  what  their  parents,  husbands,  and  near  relations,  should 
leave  behind  them,  in  a  certain  proportion.^ 

The  general  rule  to  be  observed  in  the  distribution  of  the  deceased's 
estate  is,  that  a  male  shall  have  twice  as  much  as  a  female  :^  but  to  this 
rule  there  are  some  few  exceptions:  a  man's  parents,  for  example,  and  also 
his  brothers  and  sisters,  where  they  are  entitled  not  to  the  whole,  but  a 
small  part  of  the  inheritance,  being  to  have  equal  shares  with  one  another 
in  the  distribution  thereof,  without  making  any  difference  on  account 
of  sex.'  The  particular  proportions,  in  several  cases,  distinctly  and  suf- 
ficiently declare  the  intention  of  Mohammed  ;  whose  decisions  expressed 
in  the  Koran*  seem  to  be  pretty  equitable,  preferring  a  man's  children 
first,  and  then  his  nearest  relations. 

If  a  man  dispose  of  any  part  of  his  estate  by  will,  two  witnesses,  at  the 
least,  are  required  to  render  the  same  valid  ;  and  such  witnesses  ought  to 
be  of  his  own  tribe,  and  of  the  Mohammedan  religion,  if  such  can  be  had.^ 
Though  there  be  no  express  law  to  the  contrary,  yet  the  Mohammedan 
doctors  reckon  it  very  wrong  for  a  man  to  give  away  any  part  of  his  sub- 
stance from  his  family,  unless  it  be  in  legacies  for  pious  uses;  and  even 
in  that  case  a  man  ought  not  to  give  all  that  he  has  in  charity,  but  only  a 
reasonable  part  in  proportion  to  his  substance.  On  the  other  hand,  though 
a  man  make  no  will,  and  bequeath  nothing  for  charitable  uses,  yet  the 
heirs  are  directed,  on  the  distribution  of  the  estate,  if  the  value  will  per- 
mit, to  bestow  something  on  the  poor,  especially  such  as  are  of  kin  to  the 
deceased,  and  to  the  orphans.'" 

The  first  law,  however,  laid  down  by  Mohammed  touching  inheritances 
was  not  very  equitable;  for  he  declared  that  those  who  had  fled  with  him 
from  Mecca,  and  those  who  had  received  and  assisted  him  at  Medina, 
should  be  deemed  the  nearest  of  kin,  and  consequently  heirs  to  one  another, 
preferably  to  and  in  exclusion  of  their  relations  by  blood  ;  nay,  though  a 
man  were  a  true  believer,  yet  if  he  had  not  fled  his  country  for  the  sake 
of  religion  and  joined  the  prophet,  he  was  to  be  looked  on  as  a  stranger:' 
but  this  law  continued  not  long  in  force,  being  quickly  abrogated.^ 

It  must  be  observed  that  among  the  Mohammedans  the  children  of  their 

'  Mishua,  tit.  Sanhedr.  c.  2,  and  Gemar.  in  eund.  tit.  Maimon.  Halachoth  Melachim, 
c.  2.  Vide  Selden,  Ux.  Hebr.  lib.  i.  c.  10..  Prid.  Life  of  Moham.  p.  118.  *  See  c.  4, 
p.  59 — 62,  and  the  notes  there.     Vide  etiam  Poc.  Spec.  p.  337.  '  Kor.  c.  4,  ubi  sup. 

«  Ibid.  p.  60,  and  80.     Vide  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  t.  ii.  p.  293.  '  Kor.  Ibid, 

p.  60,  61.  8  Ibid,  and  p.  80.  '  Kor.  c.  5,  p.  96.  '°  Ibid.  c.  4,  p.  60.         'Ibid, 

c.  8.  =*  Ibid,  and  c.  33. 


SECT.  VI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  99 

concubines  or  slaves  are  esteemed  as  equally  legitimate  with  those  of  their 
legal  and  ingenuous  wives;  none  being  accounted  bastards,  except  such 
only  as  are  born  of  common  women,  and  whose  fathers  are  unknown. 

As  to  private  contracts  between  man  and  man,  the  conscientious  perform- 
ance of  them  is  frequently  recommended  in  the  Koran.^  For  the  preventing 
of  disputes,  all  contracts  are  directed  to  be  made  before  witnesses;''  and 
in  case  such  contracts  are  not  immediately  executed,  the  same  ought  to 
be  reduced  into  writing  in  the  presence  of  two  witnesses^  at  least,  who 
ought  to  be  Moslems  and  of  the  male  sex  ;  but  if  two  men  cannot  be  con- 
veniently had,  then  one  man  and  two  women  may  suffice:  the  same  method 
is  also  directed  to  be  taken  for  the  security  of  debts  to  be  paid  at  a  future 
day ;  and  where  a  writer  is  not  to  be  found,  pledges  are  to  be  taken.^ 
Hence,  if  people  trust  one  another  without  writing,  witnesses,  or  pledge, 
the  party  on  whom  the  demand  is  made  is  always  acquitted  if  he  denies 
the  charge  on  oath,  and  swears  that  he  owes  the  plaintitf  nothing,  unless 
the  contrary  be  proved  by  very  convincing  circumstances.' 

Wilful  murder,  though  forbidden  by  the  Koran  under  the  severest 
penalties  to  be  inflicted  in  the  next  life,^  is  yet  by  the  same  book  allowed 
to  be  compounded  for,  on  payment  of  a  fine  to  the  family  of  the  deceased, 
and  freeing  a  Moslem  from  captivity  :  but  it  is  in  the  election  of  the  next 
of  kin,  or  the  revenger  of  Mood,  as  he  is  called  in  the  Pentateuch,  either  to 
accept  of  such  satisfaction,  or  to  refuse  it;  for  he  may,  if  he  pleases,  insist 
on  having  the  murderer  delivered  into  his  hands,  to  put  to  death  in  such  a 
manner  as  he  shall  think  fit.^  In  this  particular  Mohammed  has  gone 
against  the  express  letter  of  the  Mosaic  law,  which  declares  that  no  satis- 
faction shall  be  taken  for  the  life  of  a  murderer;*  and  he  seems,  in  so 
doing,  to  have  had  respect  to  the  customs  of  the  Arabs  in  his  time, 
who,  being  of  a  vindictive  temper,  used  to  revenge  murder  in  too  unmer- 
ciful a  manner,^  whole  tribes  frequently  engaging  in  bloody  wars  on  such 
occasions,  the  natural  consequence  of  their  independency,  and  having 
no  common  judge  or  superior. 

If  the  Mohammedan  laws  seem  light  in  case  of  murder,  they  may 
perhaps  be  deemed  too  rigorous  in  case  of  manslaughter,  or  the  killing  of 
a  man  undesignedly  ;  which  must  be  redeemed  by  fine  (unless  the  next  of 
kin  shall  think  fit  to  remit  it  out  of  charity),  and  the  freeing  of  a  captive  : 
but  if  a  man  be  not  able  to  do  this,  he  is  to  fast  two  months  together,  by 
way  of  penance.'  The  fine  for  a  man's  blood  is  set  in  the  Sonna  at  a 
hundred  camels;*  and  is  to  be  distributed  among  the  relations  of  the 
deceased,  according  to  the  laws  of  inheritances  ;  but  it  must  be  observed, 
that  though  the  person  slain  be  a  Moslem,  yet  if  he  be  of  a  nation  or  party 
at  enmity,  or  not  in  confederacy  with  those  to  whom  the  slayer  belongs,  he 
is  not  then  bound  to  pay  any  fine  at  all ;  the  redeeming  a  captive  being,  in 
such  case,  declared  a  sufficient  penalty .^  I  imagine  that  Mohammed,  by 
these  regulations,  laid  so  heavy  a  punishment  on  involuntary  manslaughter, 
not  only  to  make  people  beware  incurring  the  same,  but  also  to  humour,  in 
some  degree,  the  revengeful  temper  of  his  countrymen,  which  might  be  with 
difficulty,  if  at  all,  prevailed  on  to  accept  a  lighter  satisfaction.  Among  the 

'  Kor.  c.  5,  p.  81,  c.  17,  c.  2,  p.  34,  &c.        *  Chap.  2,  p.  34.  '  The  same  seems  to 

have  been  required  by  the  Jewish  law,  even  in  cases  where  hfe  was  not  concerned.  See 
Deut.  xix.  15,  Matt,  xviii.  16,  John  viii.  17,  2  Cor.  xiii.  1.  "  Kor.  c.  2,  p.  34,  '  Vide 
Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  t.  ii.  p.  294,  &c.,  and  the  notes  to  Kor.  c.  5,  p.  96.  *  Kor.  c.  4, 
p.  72.  »  Ibid.  c.  2,  p.  20,  21,  c.  17.  Vide  Chardin,  ubi  sup.  p.  229,  (.to.  '  Numb. 
XXXV.  31.  ^  This  is  particularly  forbidden  in  the  Koran,  c.  17.  '  Kor.  c.  4,  p.  72. 

*  See  the  notes  to  c.  37.        '  Kor.  c.  4,  p.  72. 


100  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vi. 

Jev/s,  who  seem  to  have  been  no  less  addicted  to  revenge  than  their  neigh- 
bours, the  manslayer  who  had  escaped  to  a  city  of  refuge  was  obliged 
to  keep  himself  within  that  city,  and  to  abide  there  till  the  death  of  the 
person  who  was  high  priest  at  the  time  the  fact  was  committed,  that  his 
absence  and  time  might  cool  the  passion  and  mitigate  the  resentment  of 
the  friends  of  the  deceased  ;  but  if  he  quitted  his  asylum  before  that  time^ 
the  revenger  of  blood,  if  he  found  him,  might  kill  him  without  guilt; 
nor  could  any  satisfaction  be  made  for  the  slayer  to  return  home  before 
the  prescribed  time.'' 

Theft  is  ordered  to  be  punished  by  cutting  off  the  offending  part,  the 
hand  ;^  which,  at  first  sight,  seems  just  enough  :  but  the  law  of  Justinian, 
forbidding  a  thief  to  be  maimed,^  is  more  reasonable;  because  stealing 
being  generally  the  effect  of  indigence,  to  cut  off  that  limb  would  be  to 
deprive  him  of  the  means  of  getting  his  livelihood  in  an  honest  manner/ 
The  Sonna  forbids  the  inflicting  of  this  punishment,  unless  the  thing  sto- 
len be  of  a  certain  value.  I  have  mentioned  in  another  place  the  further 
penalties  which  those  incur  who  continue  to  steal,  and  of  those  who  rob 
or  assault  people  on  the  road.*^ 

As  to  injuries  done  to  men  in  their  persons,  the  law  of  retaliation,  which 
was  ordained  by  the  law  of  Moses,'*  is  also  approved  by  the  Koran  :^  but 
this  law,  which  seems  to  have  been  allowed  by  Mohammed  to  his  Arabians 
for  the  same  reason  as  it  was  to  the  Jews,  viz.,  to  prevent  particular 
revenges,  to  which  both  nations  were  extremely  addicted,^  being  neither 
strictly  just,  nor  practicable  in  many  cases,  is  seldom  put  in  execution,  the 
punishment  being  generally  turned  into  a  mulct  or  fine,  which  is  paid 
to  the  party  injured.^  Or  rather  Mohammed  designed  the  words  of  the 
Koran  relating  thereto  should  be  understood  in  the  same  manner  as  those 
of  the  Pentateuch  most  probably  ought  to  be  ;  that  is,  not  of  an  actual  re- 
taliation, according  to  the  strict  literal  meaning,  but  of  a  retribution  propor- 
tionable to  the  injury  :  for  a  criminal  had  not  his  eyes  put  out,  nor  was  a 
man  mutilated,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses,  which,  besides,  condemned 
those  who  had  wounded  any  person,  where  death  did  not  ensue,  to  pay  a 
fine  only  ;'  the  expression  eye  for  eye^  and  tooth  for  tooth,  being  only  a  pro- 
verbial manner  of  speaking,  the  sense  whereof  amounts  to  this.  That  every 
one  shall  be  punished  by  the  judges,  according  to  the  heinousness  of  the  fact? 

In  injuries  and  crimes  of  an  inferior  nature,  where  no  particular  punish- 
ment is  provided  by  the  Koran,  and  where  a  pecuniary  compensation  will 
not  do,  the  Mohammedans,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  Jews  in  the  like 
case,  have  recourse  to  stripes  or  drubbing^  the  most  common  chastisement 
used  in  the  east  at  this  day,  as  well  as  formerly  ;  the  cudgel,  which,  for  its 
virtue  and  efficacy  in  keeping  the  people  in  good  order,  and  within  the 
bounds  of  duty,  they  say  came  down  from  heaven,  being  the  instrument 
wherewith  the  judge's  sentence  is  generally  executed." 

Notwithstanding  the  Koran  is  by  the  Mohammedans  in  general  regarded 
as  the  fundamental  part  of  their  civil  law,  and  the  decisions  of  the  Sonna, 

«  See  Numb.  xxxv.  26,  27,  28.  '  Ibid.  ver.  32.  «  Kor.  c.  5,  p.  86.  »  Novell. 

134,  c.  13.  '  Vide  Puffendorf,  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  lib.  viii.  c.  3,  sect  26.  "^  See 

the  notes  to  c.  5,  p.  86.  ^  Exod.  xxi.  24,  &c..  Lev.  xxiv.  20,  Deut.  xix.  21.     ■*  Chap. 

5,  p.  88.  «  Vide  Grotium,  de  Jure  Belli  et  Pacis,  lib.  i.  c.  2,  sect.  3.         «  Vide  Char- 

din,  t.  ii.  p.  299.  The  talio,  likewise  established  among  the  old  Romans  by  the  laws  of 
the  twelve  tables,  was  not  to  be  inflicted,  unless  the  delinquent  could  not  agree  with  the 
person  injured.  Vide  A.  Gell.  Noct.  Attic,  lib.  xx.  c.  1,  and  Festum,  in  voce  talio.  ■"  See 
Exod.  xxi.  18,  19,  and  22.  ®  Barbcyrac,  in  Grot,  ubi  sup.  Vide  Cleric,  in  Exod.  xxi. 
24,  and  Deut.  xix.  21.  ^  See  Deut.  xxv.  2,  3.  *  Vide  Grelot,  Voy.  de  Constant, 

p.  220,  and  Chardin,  ubi  sup.  p.  302. 


SECT.  VI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  101 

among  the  Turks,  and  of  the  Imams,  among  those  of  the  Persian  sect,  with 
the  explications  of  their  several  doctors,  are  usually  followed  in  judicial 
determinations,  yet  the  secular  tribunals  do  not  think  themselves  bound  to 
observe  the  same  in  all  cases,  but  frequently  give  judgment  against  those 
decisions,  which  are  not  always  consonant  to  equity  and  reason ;  and  there- 
fore distinction  is  to  be  made  between  ihe  written  civil  law,  as  adminis- 
tered in  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  and  the  law  of  nature  or  common  law, 
(if  I  may  so  call  it)  which  takes  place  in  the  secular  courts,  and  has  the 
executive  power  on  its  side.^ 

Under  the  head  of  civil  laws  may  be  comprehended  the  injunction  of 
warring  against  infidels,  which  is  repeated  in  several  passages  of  the  Koran,^ 
and  declared  to  be  of  high  merit  in  the  sight  of  God,  those  who  are  slain 
fighting  in  defence  of  the  faith  being  reckoned  martyrs^  and  promised  im- 
mediate admission  into  paradise.''  Hence  this  duty  is  greatly  magnified  by 
the  Mohammedan  divines,  who  call  the  sword  the  key  of  heaven  and  hell, 
and  persuade  their  people  that  the  least  drop  of  blood  spilt  in  the  way  of 
God^  as  it  is  called,  is  most  acceptable  unto  him,  and  that  the  defending  the 
territories  of  the  Moslems  for  one  night  is  more  meritorious  than  a  fast  of 
two  months  :^  on  the  other  hand,  desertion,  or  refusing  to  serve  in  these 
holy  wars,  or  to  contribute  towards  the  carrying  them  on,  if  a  man  has 
ability,  is  accounted  a  most  heinous  crime,  being  frequently  declaimed 
against  in  the  Koran.^  Such  a  doctrine,  which  Mohammed  ventured  not  to 
teach  till  his  circumstances  enabled  him  to  put  it  in  practice,''  it  must  be 
allowed,  was  well  calculated  for  his  purpose,  and  stood  him  and  his  suc- 
cessors in  great  stead  :  for  what  dangers  and  difficulties  may  not  be  despised 
and  overcome  by  the  courage  and  constancy  which  these  sentiments  neces- 
sarily inspire  ?  Nor  have  the  Jews  and  Christians,  how  much  soever  they 
detest  such  principles  in  others,  been  ignorant  of  the  force  of  enthusiastic 
heroism,  or  omitted  to  spirit  up  their  respective  partizans,  by  the  like  argu- 
ments and  promises.  "Let  him  who  has  listed  himself  in  defence  of  the 
law^''^  says  Maimonides,^  "  rely  on  him  who  is  the  hope  of  Israel,  and  the 
saviour  thereof  in  the  time  of  trouble  :9  and  let  him  know  that  he  fights  for 
the  profession  of  the  divine  unity  :  wherefore  let  him  put  his  life  in  his 
hand,'  and  think  neither  of  wife  nor  children,  but  banish  the  memory  of 
them  from  his  heart,  having  his  mind  wholly  fixed  on  the  war.  For  if  he 
should  begin  to  waver  in  his  thoughts,  he  would  not  only  confound  himself, 
but  sin  against  the  law;  nay,  the  blood  of  the  whole  people  hangcth  on  his 
neck;  for  if  they  are  discomfited,  and  he  has  not  fought  stoutly  with-all 
his  might,  it  is  equally  the  same  as  if  he  had  shed  the  blood  of  them  all ; 
according  to  that  saying,  let  him  return,  lest  his  brethren's  heart  fail  as  his 
own." 2  To  the  same  purpose  doth  the  Kabala  accommodate  that  other  pas- 
sage, "  Cursed  be  he  who  doth  the  work  of  the  Lord  negligently,  and  cursed 
be  he  who  keepeth  back  his  sword  from  blood.^  On  the  contrary,  he  who 
behaveth  bravely  in  battle,  to  the  utmost  of  his  endeavour,  without  trem- 
bling,  with  intent  to  glorify  God's  name,  he  ought  to  expect  the  victory 
with  confidence,  and  to  apprehend  no  danger  or  misfortune,  but  may  be 
assured  that  he  will  have  a  house  built  him  in  Israel,  appropriated  to  him 
and  his  children  for  ever;  as  it  is  said,  God  shall  certainly  make  my  lord 
a  sure  house,  because  he  hath  fought  the  battles  of  the  Lord,  and  his  life 

»  Vide  Chardin,  ubi  sup.  p.  290,  &.c.  =>  Chap.  22,  c.  2,  p.  22,  c.  4,  p.  69,  Si,c.,c.  8, 

c.  9,  c.  47,  and  c.  61,  &c.  *  Chap.  2,  p.  18,  c.  3,  p.  51,  55,  c.  47,  and  c.  61.  '  Reland. 
de  Jure  Milit.  .Moham.  p.  5,  &c.  "  Vide  c.  9,  and  c.  3,  p.  52,  &c.  ■"  See  before,  p.  34. 
«  Halach.  Melachim,  c.  7.  «  Jer.  xiv.  8.  '  Job  xiii.  14.  »  Deut.  xx.  8. 

»  Jer.  xlviii.  10. 


102  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vi. 

shall  be  bound  up  in  the  bundle  of  life  with  the  Lord  his  God."''  More 
passages  of  this  kind  might  be  produced  from  the  Jewish  writers  ;  and  the 
Christians- come  not  far  behind  them.  "We  are  desirous  of  knowing," 
says  one,5  writing  to  the  Franks  engaged  in  the  holy  war,  "  the  charity  of 
you  all ;  for  that  every  one  (which  we  speak  not  because  we  wish  it)  who 
shall  faithfully  lose  his  life  in  this  warfare  shall  be  by  no  means  denied 
the  kingdom  of  heaven."  And  another^  gives  the  following  exhortation  ; 
"  Laying  aside  all  fear  and  dread,  endeavour  to  act  effectually  against  the 
enemies  of  the  holy  faith,  and  the  adversaries  of  all  religions  :  for  the  Al- 
mighty knoweth,  if  any  of  you  die,  that  he  dieth  for  the  truth  of  the  faith, 
and  the  salvation  of  his  country,  and  the  defence  of  Christians;  and  there- 
fore he  shall  obtain  of  him  a  celestial  reward."  The  Jews,  indeed,  had  a 
divine  commission,  extensive  and  explicit  enough,  to  attack,  subdue,  and 
destroy  the  enemies  of  their  religion  :  and  Mohammed  pretended  to  have 
received  one  in  favour  of  himself  and  his  Moslems,  in  terms  equally 
plain  and  full ;  and  therefore  it  is  no  wonder  that  they  should  act  con- 
sistently with  their  avowed  principles :  but  that  Christians  should  teach 
and  practise  a  doctrine  so  opposite  to  the  temper  and  whole  tenor  of 
the  gospel,  seems  very  strange ;  and  yet  the  latter  have  carried  matters 
farther,  and  shown  a  more  violent  spirit  of  intolerance,  than  either  of  the 
former. 

The  laws  of  war  according  to  the  Mohammedans  have  been  already 
so  exactly  set  down  by  the  learned  Reland,''  that  I  need  say  very  little  of 
them.  I  shall  therefore  only  observe  some  conformity  between  their  njili- 
tary  laws  and  those  of  the  Jews. 

While  Mohammedism  was  in  its  infancy,  the  opposers  thereof  taken  in 
battle  were  doomed  to  death  without  mercy;  but  this  was  judged  too 
severe  to  be  put  into  practice  when  that  religion  came  to  be  sufficiently 
established,  and  past  the  danger  of  being  subverted  by  its  enemies.^  The 
same  sentence  was  pronounced  not  only  against  the  seven  Canaanitish  na- 
tions,^ whose  possessions  were  given  to  the  Israelites,  and  without  whose 
destruction,  in  a  manner,  they  could  not  have  settled  themselves  in  the 
country  designed  them,  but  against  the  Amalekites'  and  Midianites^^  who 
had  done  their  utmost  to  cut  them  off  in  their  passage  thither.  When  the 
Mohammedans  declare  war  against  people  of  a  different  faith,  they  give 
them  their  choice  of  three  offers,  viz.,  either  to  embrace  Mohammedism,  in 
which  case  they  become  not  only  secure  in  their  persons,  families,  and 
fortunes,  but  entitled  to  all  the  privileges  of  other  Moslems  ;  or  to  submit 
and  pay  tribute,^  by  doing  which  they  are  allowed  to  profess  their  own 
religion,  provided  it  be  not  gross  idolatry,  or  against  the  moral  law;  or  else 
to  decide  the  quarrel  by  the  sword,  in  which  last  case,  if  the  Moslems 
prevail,  the  women  and  children  which  are  made  captives  become  absolute 
slaves,  and  the  men  taken  in  the  battle  may  either  be  slain,  unless  they 
turn  Mohammedans,  or  otherwise  disposed  of  at  the  pleasure  of  the  prince.* 
Herewith  agree  the  laws  of  war  given  to  the  Jews,  which  relate  to  the  na- 
tions not  devoted  to  destruction;^  and  Joshua  is  said  to  have  sent  even 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Canaan,  before  he  entered  the  land,  three  schedules, 
in  one  of  which  was  written.  Let  himjiy,  who  will ;  in  the  second,  Let  him 
surrender,  who  icill ;  and  in  the  third,  ie^  him  Jight,  who  ivill  ;^  though 

*  1  Sam.  XXV.  28,  29.  *  Nicolaus,  in  Jure  Canon,  c.  Omnium,  23,  quaest.  5.  *  Leo  IV. 
ib.  quaest.  8.  ''  In  his  treatise  De  Jure  Militari  Mohammedanor.  in  the  third  vol.  of  his 
Dissertationes  Miscellaneae.  ^  See  Kor.  c.  47,  and  the  notes  there  ;  and  c.  4,  p.  71,  c.  5, 
p.  86.  "  Deut.  XX.  16—18.  '  Ib.  c.  xxv.  17—19.  ^  Numb.  xxxi.  17.  =>  See  c.  9, 
and  the  notes  there.  *  See  the  notes  to  c.  47.  *  Deut.  xx.  10—15.         ^  Talmud. 


SECT.  VI.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  108 

none  of  tliose  nations  made  peace  with  the  Israelites  (except  only  the 
Gibeonites,  who  obtained  terms  of  security  by  stratagem,  after  they  had 
refused  those  oHured  by  Joshua),  it  being  of  the  Lord  to  harden  their  hearts, 
that  he  might  destroy  them  utterly.'' 

On  the  tirst  considerable  success  of  Mohammed  in  war,  the  dispute  which 
hai)pened  among  his  followers,  in  relation  to  the  dividing  of  tlie  spoil,  ren- 
dered  it  necessary  for  him  to  make  some  regulation  therein  :  ho  therefore 
pretended  to  have  received  the  divine  commission  to  distribute  the  spoil 
among  the  soldiers  at  his  own  discretion,^  reserving  thereout,  in  the  first 
place,  one-fifth  part^  for  the  uses  after  mentioned ;  and  in  consequence 
hereof,  lie  took  himself  to  be  authorized  on  extraordinary  occasions  to 
distribute  it  as  he  thought  fit,  without  observing  an  equality.  Thus  he  did, 
for  example,  with  the  spoil  of  the  tribe  of  Hawazen  taken  at  the  battle  of 
Honein,  which  he  bestowed  by  way  of  presents  on  the  Meccans  only, 
passing  by  those  of  Medina,  and  highly  distinguishing  the  principal  Kora- 
shites,  that  he  might  ingratiate  himself  with  them,  after  he  had  become 
master  of  their  city.'°  He  was  also  allowed  in  the  expedition  against  those 
of  al  Nadir  to  take  the  whole  booty  to  himself,  and  to  dispose  thereof  as  he 
pleased,  because  no  horses  or  camels  were  made  use  of  in  that  expedition, i 
but  the  whole  army  went  on  foot;  and  this  became  thenceforward  a  law:^ 
the  reason  of  which  seems  to  be,  that  the  spoil  taken  by  a  party  consisting 
of  infantry  only  should  be  considered  as  the  more  immediate  gift  of  God,' 
and  therefore  property  left  to  the  disposition  of  his  apostle.  According  to 
the  Jews,  the  spoil  ought  to  be  divided  into  two  equal  parts,  one  to  be 
shared  among  the  captors,  and  the  other  to  be  taken  by  the  prince,''  and  by 
him  employed  for  his  own  support  and  the  use  of  the  public.  Moses,  it  is 
true,  divided  one-half  of  the  plunder  of  the  Midianites  among  those  who 
went  to  battle,  and  the  other  half  among  all  the  congregation  :^  but  this, 
they  say,  being  a  peculiar  case,  and  done  by  the  express  order  of  God 
himself,  must  not  be  looked  on  as  a  precedent.^  It  should  seem,  however, 
from  the  words  of  Joshua,  to  the  two  tribes  and  half,  when  he  sent  them 
home  into  Gilead  after  the  conquest  and  division  of  the  land  of  Canaan, 
that  they  were  to  divide  the  spoil  of  their  enemies  with  their  brethren, 
after  their  return  ;'  and  the  half  which  was  in  succeeding  times  taken  by 
the  king  was  in  all  probability  taken  by  him  as  head  of  the  community,  and 
representing  the  whole  body.  It  is  remarkable,  that  the  dispute  among 
Mohammed's  men  about  sharing  the  booty  at  Bedr^  arose  on  the  same  oc- 
casion as  did  that  among  David's  soldiers  in  relation  to  the  spoils  recovered 
from  the  Amalekites  ;^  those  who  had  been  in  the  action  insisting  that  they 
who  tarried  by  the  stuff  should  have  no  part  of  the  spoil ;  and  that  the 

Hierosol.  apud  Maimonid.  Halach.  Melachim,  c.  6,  sect.  v.  R.  Bechai,  ex  lib.  Siphre.  Vide 
Selden.  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  sec.  Hebr.  lib.  6,  c.  13,  14,  and  Schickardi  Jus  Regiura 
Hebr.  c.  5,  Theor.  16.  ■"  Josh.  xi.  20.  The  Jews,  however,  say  that  the  Gir^ashites,  be- 
lieving they  could  not  escape  the  destruction  with  which  they  were  threatened  by  God,  if 
they  persisted  to  defend  themselves,  fled  into  Africa  in  great  numbers ;  (vide  Talm.  Hie- 
ros.  ubi  sup.)  And  this  is  assigned  as  the  reason  why  tne  Girgashites  are  not  mentioned 
among  the  other  Canaanitish  nations  who  assembled  to  fight  against  Joshua  (Josh.  ix.  1), 
and  who  were  doomed  to  utter  extirpation  (Deut.  xx.  17).  But  it  is  observable,  that  the 
Girgashites  are  not  omitted  by  the  Septuagint  in  either  of  those  texts,  and  that  their  name 
appears  in  the  latter  of  them  in  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch  :  they  are  also  joined  with  the 
other  Canaanitps  as  having  fought  against  Israel,  in  Josh.  xxiv.  11.  *  Kor.  c.  8.  '  Ibid. 
'»  Abulfed  in  Vit.  Moh.  p.  118,  &c.  Vide  Kor.  c.  9,  and  the  notes  there.  '  Kor.  c.  59, 
and  the  notes  there.  *  Vide  Abulfed.  ubi  sup.  p.  91.  =*  Vide  Kor.  c.  59,  ubi  sup.  *  Ge- 
mar.  Babyl.  ad  tit.  Sanhedr.  c.  2.  Vide  Selden  de  Jure  Nat.  et  Gent.  sec.  Hebr.  lib.  6, 
c.  16.  '  Num.  xxxi.  27.  *  Vide  iMaim.  Halach.  Melach.  c.4.  ■"  Josh.  xxii.  8.  '  See 
Kor.  c.  8,  and  the  notes  there.        "  1  Sam.  xxx.  21 — 25. 


104  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vi. 

same  decision  was  given  in  both  cases,  which  became  a  law  for  the  future, 
to  wit,  that  they  should  part  alike. 

The  fifth  part,  directed  by  the  Koran  to  be  taken  out  of  the  spoil  before 
it  be  divided  among  the  captors,  is  declared  to  belong  to  God,  and  to  the 
apostle,  and  his  kindred,  and  the  orphans,  and  the  poor,  and  the  traveller :' 
which  words  are  variously  understood.  Al  Shafei  was  of  opinion  that  the 
whole  ought  to  be  divided  into  five  parts ;  the  first,  which  he  called  God's 
part,  to  go  to  the  treasury,  and  be  employed  in  building  and  repairing 
fortresses,  bridges,  and  other  public  works,  and  in  paying  salaries  to  magis- 
trates, civil  oflicers,  professors  of  learning,  ministers  of  public  worship,  &c. : 
the  second  part  to  be  distributed  among  the  kindred  of  Mohammed,  that  is, 
the  descendants  of  his  grandfather  Hasham,  and  of  his  great  uncle  al  Mo- 
talleb,2  as  well  the  rich  as  the  poor,  the  children  as  the  adult,  the  women 
as  the  men  ;  observing  only  to  give  a  female  but  half  the  share  of  a  male : 
the  third  part  to  go  to  the  orphans :  the  fourth  part  to  the  poor,  who  have 
not  wherewithal  to  maintain  themselves  the  year  round,  and  are  not  able  to 
get  their  livelihood  :  and  the  fifth  part  to  travellers,  who  are  in  want  on 
the  road,  notwithstanding  they  may  be  rich  men  in  their  own  country.^ 
According  to  Malec  Ebn  Ans,  the  whole  is  at  the  disposition  of  the  Imam 
or  prince,  who  may  distribute  the  same  at  his  own  discretion,  where  he  sees 
most  need."  Abu'l  Aliya  went  according  to  the  letter  of  the  Koran,  and 
declared  his  opinion  to  be  that  the  whole  should  be  divided  into  six  parts, 
and  that  God's  part  should  be  applied  to  the  service  of  the  Caaba:  while 
others  suppose  God's  part  and  the  apostle's  to  be  one  and  the  same.^  Abu 
Hanifa  thought  that  the  share  of  Mohammed  and  his  kindred  sank  at  that 
prophet's  death,  since  which  the  whole  ought  to  be  divided  among  the 
orphans,  the  poor,  and  the  traveller.^  Some  insist  that  the  kindred  of 
Mohammed  entitled  to  a  share  of  the  spoils  are  the  posterity  of  Hashem 
only ;  but  those  who  think  the  descendants  of  his  brother  al  Motalleb  have 
also  a  right  to  a  distributive  part  allege  a  tradition  in  their  favour,  purport- 
ing that  Mohammed  himself  divided  the  share  belonging  to  his  relations 
among  both  families,  and  when  Othman  Ebn  Assan  and  Jobeir  Ebn  Matam 
(who  were  descended  from  Abdshams  and  Nawfal,  the  other  brothers  of 
Hashem),  told  him,  that,  though  they  disputed  not  the  preference  of  the 
Hashemites,  they  could  not  help  taking  it  ill  to  see  such  difference  made 
between  the  family  of  al  Motalleb  and  themselves,  who  were  related  to  him 
in  an  equal  degree,  and  yet  had  no  part  in  the  distribution,  the  prophet 
replied,  that  the  descendants  of  al  Motalleb  had  forsaken  him  neither  in 
the  time  of  ignorance,  nor  since  the  revelation  of  Islam;  and  joined  his 
fingers  together  in  token  of  the  strict  union  between  them  and  the  Hashem- 
ites.'^  Some  exclude  none  of  the  tribe  of  Koreish  from  receiving  a  part  in 
the  division  of  the  spoil,  and  make  no  distinction  between  the  poor  and  the 
rich ;  though,  according  to  the  more  reasonable  opinion,  such  of  them  as 
are  poor  only  are  intended  by  the  text  of  the  Koran,  as  is  agreed  in  the 
case  of  the  stranger ;  and  others  go  so  far  as  to  assert  that  the  whole  fifth 
commanded  to  be  reserved  belongs  to  them  only,  and  that  the  orphans,  and 
the  poor,  and  the  traveller,  are  to  be  understood  of  such  as  are  of  that  tribe.^ 
It  must  be  observed,  that  immoveable  possessions,  as  lands,  &c.,  taken  in 
war,  are  subject  to  the  same  laws  as  the  moveable;  excepting  only,  that 
the  fifth  part  of  the  former  is  not  actually  divided,  but  the  income  and 
profits  thereof,  or  of  the  price  thereof,  if  sold,  are  applied  to  public  and 

'  Koran,  c.  8.  ^  Note,  al  Shafei  himself  was  descended  from  this  latter.  ^  Al  Beid. 
Vide  Reland.  de  Jure  Milit.  Moham.  p.  42,  &c.  *  Idem.  » Idem.  ^  Idem. 

'  Idem,  ^  Idem. 


SECT.  VII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  105 

pious  uses,  and  distributed  once  a  year,  and  that  the  prince  may  either 
take  the  fifth  part  of  the  land  itself,  or  of  the  fifth  part  of  the  income  and 
produce  of  the  whole,  as  he  shall  make  his  election. 


SECTION  VII. 


OF  THE  MONTHS  COMMANDED  BY  THE  KORAN  TO  BE  KEPT  SACRED  ;  AND 
OF  THE  SETTING  APART  OF  FRIDAY  FOR  THE  ESPECIAL  SERVICE  OP  GOD. 

It  was  a  custom  among  tlie  ancient  Arabs  to  observe  four  months  in  the 
year  as  sacred,  during  which  they  held  it  unlawful  to  wage  war,  and  took  off 
the  heads  from  their  spears,  ceasing  from  incursions  and  other  hostilities. 
During  those  months,  whoever  was  in  fear  of  his  enemy  lived  in  full  se- 
curity ;  so  that  if  a  man  met  the  murderer  of  his  father  or  his  brother,  he 
durst  not  offer  him  any  violence  :^  a  great  argument,  says  a  learned  writer, 
of  a  iiumane  disposition  in  that  nation  ;  who  being,  by  reason  of  the  inde- 
pendent governments  of  their  several  tribes,  and  for  the  preservation  of 
their  just  rights,  exposed  to  frequent  quarrels  with  one  another,  had  yet 
learned  to  cool  their  inflamed  breasts  with  moderation,  and  restrain  the 
rage  of  war  by  stated  times  of  truce.^ 

This  institution  obtained  among  all  the  Arabian  tribes,  except  only  those 
of  Tay  and  Khathaam,  and  some  of  the  descendants  of  al  Hareth  Ebn  Caab 
(who  distinguished  no  time  or  place  as  sacred),''  and  was  so  religiously 
observed,  that  there  are  but  few  instances  in  history  (four,  say  some,  six, 
say  others^),  of  its  being  transgressed  ;  the  wars  which  were  carried  on 
without  regard  thereto  being  therefore  termed  impious.  One  of  those 
instances  was  in  the  war  between  the  tribes  of  Koreish  and  Kais  Allan, 
wherein  Mohammed  himself  served  under  his  uncles,  being  then  fourteen,^ 
or,  as  others  say,  twenty®  years  old. 

The  months  which  the  Arabs  held  sacred  were  al  Moharram,  Rajeb, 
Dhu'lkaada,  and  Dhu'lhajja ;  the  first,  the  seventh,  the  eleventh,  and  the 
twelfth  in  the  year.'^  Dhu'lhajja  being  the  month  wherein  they  performed 
the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  not  only  that  month,  but  also  the  preceding  and 
the  following  were  for  that  reason  kept  inviolable,  that  every  one  might 
safely  and  without  interruption  pass  and  repass  to  and  from  the  festival.^ 
Rajeb  is  said  to  have  been  more  strictly  observed  than  any  of  the  other 
three,^  probably  because  in  that  month  the  pagan  Arabs  used  to  fast;' 
Ramadan,  which  was  afterwards  set  apart  by  Mohammed  for  that  purpose, 

'  Al  Kaswini,  apud  Golium  in  notis  ad  Alfrag.  p.  4,  &c.  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc. 
Spec.  p.  311.  Al  Jawhari,  al  Firauzab.  '  Golius,  ubi  sup.  p.  5.  '  Al  Shahrestani, 
ubi  sup.     See  before,  p.  87.  *  Al  Mogholtai.  '  Abulfeda,  Vit.  Moh.  p.  11. 

*  Al  Kodai,  al  Firauz.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  174.  Al  Mogholtai  mentions  both  opinions. 
^  Mr.  Bayle  (Diet.  Hist,  et  Grit.  Art.  la  Mecque,  Rem.  F.)  accuses  Dr.  Prideaux  of  an 
inconsistency,  for  saying  in  one  place  (Life  of  Moh.  p.  64),  that  these  sacred  months  were 
the  first,  the  seventh,  the  eleventh,  and  the  tvv^elfth,  and  intimating  in  another  place  (ib. 
p.  89),  that  three  of  them  were  contiguous.  But  this  must  be  mere  absence  of  mind^  in  Mr. 
Bayle :  for  are  not  the  eleventh,  the  twelfth,  and  the  first  months  contiguous  ?  The  two 
learned  professors,  Golius  and  Reland,  have  also  made  a  small  slip  in  speaking  of  these 
sacred  months,  which,  they  tell  us,  are  the  two  first  and  the  two  last  in  the  year.  Vide 
Golii  and  Lex.  Arab.  col.  601,  et  Reland.  de  Jure  Milit.  Mohammedanor.  p.  5.  '  Vide 
Gol.  in  Alfrag.  p.  9.  *  Vide  ibid.  p.  6.  »  Al  Makrizi,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup. 


106  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vii. 

being  in  the  time  of  ignorance  dedicated  to  drinking  in  excess.^  By  reason 
of  the  profound  peace  and  security  enjoyed  in  this  month,  one  part  of  the 
provisions  brought  by  the  caravans  of  purveyors  annually  set  out  by  the 
Koreish  for  the  supply  of  Mecca''  was  distributed  among  the  people  ;  the 
other  part  being,  for  the  like  reason,  distributed  at  the  pilgrimage.^ 

The  observance  of  the  aforesaid  months  seemed  so  reasonable  to  Mo- 
hammed, that  it  met  with  his  approbation  ;  and  the  same  is  accordingly 
confirmed  and  enforced  by  several  passages  of  the  Koran,^  which  forbid 
war  to  be  waged  during  those  months  against  such  as  acknowledge  them 
to  be  sacred,  but  grant,  at  the  same  time,  full  permission  to  attack  those 
who  make  no  such  distinction,  in  the  sacred  months  as  well  as  in  the 
profane.^ 

One  practice,  however,  of  the  Arabs,  in  relation  to  these  sacred  months, 
Mohammed  thought  proper  to  reform;  for  some  of  them,  weary  of  sitting 
quiet  for  three  months  together,  and  eager  to  make  their  accustomed  incur- 
sions for  plunder,  used,  by  way  of  expedient,  whenever  it  suited  their  in- 
clinations or  conveniency,  to  put  off  the  observing  of  al  Moharram  to  the 
following  month  Safar/  thereby  avoiding  to  keep  the  former,  which  they 
supposed  it  lawful  for  them  to  profane,  provided  they  sanctified  another 
month  in  lieu  of  it,  and  gave  public  notice  thereof  at  the  preceding  pil- 
grimage.  This  transferring  the  observation  of  a  sacred  month  to  a  pro- 
fane month  is  what  is  truly  meant  by  the  Arabic  word  al  Nasi,  and  is 
absolutely  condemned,  and  declared  to  be  an  impious  innovation,  in  a  pas- 
sage of  the  Koran^  which  Dr.  Prideaux,^  misled  by  Golius,'  imagines  to 
relate  to  the  prolonging  of  the  year,  by  adding  an  intercalary  month  thereto. 
It  is  true,  the  Arabs,  who  imitated  the  Jews  in  their  manner  of  computing 
by  lunar  years,  had  also  learned  their  method  of  reducing  them  to  solar 
years,  by  intercalating  a  month  sometimes  in  the  third,  and  sometimes  in 
the  second  year; 2  by  which  means  they  fixed  the  pilgrimage  of  Mecca 
(contrary  to  the  original  institution)  to  a  certain  season  of  the  year,  viz.,  to 
autumn,  as  most  convenient  for  the  pilgrims,  by  reason  of  the  temperateness 
of  the  weather  and  the  plenty  of  provisions  ;^  and  it  is  also  true  that  Mo- 
hammed forbade  such  intercalation  by  a  passage  in  the  same  chapter  of 
the  Koran :  but  then  it  is  not  the  passage  abovementioned,  which  prohibits  a 
different  thing,  but  one  a  little  before  it,  wherein  the  number  of  months  in 
the  year,  according  to  the  ordinance  of  God,  is  declared  to  be  twelve;"* 
whereas  if  the  intercalation  of  a  month  were  allowed,  every  third  or  second 
year  would  consist  of  thirteen,  contrary  to  God's  appointment. 

The  setting  apart  of  one  day  in  the  week  for  the  more  peculiar  attendance 
on  God's  worship,  so  strictly  required  by  the  Jewish  and  Christian  religions, 
appeared  to  Mohammed  to  be  so  proper  an  institution,  that  he  could  not 
but  imitate  the  professors  thereof  in  that  particular ;  though  for  the  sake  of 
distinction,  he  might  think  himself  obliged  to  order  his  followers  to  observe 
a  different  day  from  either.  Several  reasons  are  given  why  the  sixth  day 
of  the  week  was  pitched  on  for  this  purpose:^  but  Mohammed  seems 
to  have  preferred  that  day,  chiefly  because  it  was  the  day  on  which  the 
people  used  to  be  assembled  long  before  his  time,^  though  such  assemblies 
were  had,  perhaps,  rather  on  a  civil  than  a  religious  account.    However  it 

»  Al  Makrizi,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  et  Auctor  Neshk  al  Azhar,  ibid.  '  See  Koran, 

c.  106.  *  Al  Edrisi  apud  Poc.  Specim.  p.  127.  '  Chap.  9,  c.  2,  p.  23.  c.  4,  p.  81, 

c.  5,  p.  95,  &c,  «  Chap.  9,  c.  2,  p.  23.  '  See  the  notes  to  c.  9,  ubi  sup. 

«  Chap.  9,  ibid.  «  Life  of  Moham.  p.  66.  '  In  Alfrag.  p.  12.  ^  See  Prid. 

Preface  to  the  first  vol.  of  his  Connect,  p.  vi.  &,c.  '  Vide  Gol.  ubi  sup.  *  Kor.  c  9. 
See  also  c.  2,  p.  23.  *  See  c.  63,  and  the  notes  there.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 


SECT.  viii.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  107 

be,  the  Mohammedan  writers  bestow  very  extraordinary  encomiums  on  this 
day,  calling  it  the  prince  of  days,  and  the  most  excellent  day  on  which  the 
sun  rises  ;'^  pretending  also  that  it  will  be  the  day  whereon  the  last  judg- 
ment will  be  solemnized  :^  and  they  esteem  it  a  peculiar  lionour  to  Islam, 
that  God  has  been  pleased  to  appoint  this  day  to  be  the  feast-day  of  the 
Moslems,  and  granted  them  the  advantage  of  having  first  observed  it.^ 

Though  the  Mohammedans  do  not  think  themselves  bound  to  keep  their 
day  of  public  worship  so  holy  as  the  Jews  and  Christians  are  certainly 
obliged  to  keep  theirs,  there  being  a  permission,  as  is  generally  supposed, 
in  the  Koran,'"  allowing  them  to  return  to  their  employments  or  diversion 
after  divine  service  is  over;  yet  the  most  devout  disapprove  the  applying 
of  any  part  of  that  day  to  worldly  affairs,  and  require  it  to  be  wholly  dedi- 
cated to  the  business  of  the  life  to  come.' 

Since  1  have  mentioned  the  Mohammedan  weekly  feast,  I  beg  leave  just 
to  take  notice  of  their  two  Beirams,^  or  principal  annual  feasts.  The  first 
of  them  is  called,  in  Arabic,  Id  al  fetr,  i.  e.  The  feast  of  breaking  the  fast, 
and  begins  the  first  of  Shawal,  immediately  succeeding  the  fast  of  Rama- 
dan ;  and  the  other  is  called  Id  al  korban,  or  Id  al  adha,  i.  e.  The  feast  of 
the  sacrifice,  and  begins  on  the  tenth  of  Dhu'lhajja,  when  the  victims  are 
slain  at  the  pilgrimage  of  Mecca.^  The  former  of  these  feasts  is  properly 
the  lesser  Beiram,  and  the  latter  the  greater  Beiram  :"  but  the  vulgar,  and 
most  authors  who  have  written  of  the  Mohammedan  aflairs,^  exchange  the 
epithets,  and  call  that  which  follows  Ramadan  the  greater  Beiram,  because 
it  is  observed  in  an  extraordinary  manner,  and  kept  for  three  days  together 
at  Constantinople  and  in  other  parts  of  Turkey,  and  in  Persia  for  five  or  six 
days,  by  the  common  people  at  least,  with  great  demonstrations  of  public 
joy,  to  make  themselves  amends,  as  it  were,  for  the  mortification  of  the 
preceding  month  ;°  whereas  the  feast  of  sacrifices,  though  it  be  also  kept 
for  three  days,  and  the  first  of  them  be  the  most  solemn  day  of  the  pil- 
grimage, the  principal  act  of  devotion  among  the  Mohammedans,  is  taken 
much  less  notice  of  by  the  generality  of  people,  who  are  not  struck  there- 
with because  the  ceremonies  with  which  the  same  is  observed  are  per- 
formed at  Mecca,  the  only  scene  of  that  solemnity. 


SECTION   VIII. 


OF  THE  PRINCIPAL  SECTS  AMONG  THE  MOHAMMEDANS;  AND  OF  THOSE 
WHO  HAVE  PRETENDED  TO  PROPHECY  AMONG  THE  ARABS,  IN  OR 
SINCE   THE    TIME   OF    MOHAMMED. 

Before  we  take  a  view  of  the  sects  of  the  Mohammedans,  it  will 
be  necessary  to  say  something  of  the  two  sciences  by  which  all  disputed 
questions  among  them  are  determined,  viz.  their  Scholastic  and  Practical 
Divinity. 

Their  scholastic  divinity  is  a  mongrel  science, consisting  of  logical,  meta- 
physical,theological, and  philosophicaldisquisitions, and  built  on  principles 
and  methods  of  reasoning  very  different  from  what  are  used  by  those  who 

'  Ebn  al  AthTr,  et  al  Ghazali,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  317.  '  lidem.  •  Al  Ghazali, 

ibid.         '°  Cliap.  C3,  ubi  sup.  '  Al  Ghazali,  ubi  sup.  p.  318.  ^  The  word  Beiram 

is  Turkish,  and  properly  signifies  a  feast-day  or  holiday.  ^  See  chap.  9,  and  before,  sect, 
iv.  p.  86.  *  Vide  Roland,  de  Rel.  Moham.  p.  109,  et  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Beiram. 
*  Hyde,  in  notis  ad  Bobov.  p.  16.  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  ii.  p.  450.  Ricaut's 
State  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  lib.  ii.  c.  24,  &,c.    '       ^  Vide  Chardin,  et  Ricaut,  ubi  sup. 


108  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

pass  among  the  Mohammedans  themselves  for  the  sounder  divines  or  more 
able  philosophers,'  and  therefore  in  the  partition  of  the  sciences  this  is 
generally  left  out,  as  unworthy  a  place  among  them.^  The  learned 
Maimonides^  has  laboured  to  expose  the  principles  and  systems  of  the 
scholastic  divines,  as  frequently  repugnant  to  the  nature  of  the  world  and 
the  order  of  the  creation,  and  intolerably  absurd. 

This  art  of  handling  religious  disputes  was  not  known  in  the  infancy  of 
Mohammedism,  but  was  brought  in  when  sects  sprang  up,  and  articles  of 
religion  began  to  be  called  in  question,  and  was  at  first  made  use  of  to 
defend  the  truth  of  those  articles  against  innovators;'  and  while  it  keeps 
within  those  bounds  is  allowed  to  be  a  commendable  study,  being  neces- 
sary for  the  defence  of  the  faith :  but  when  it  proceeds  farther,  out  of  an 
itch  of  disputation,  it  is  judged  worthy  of  censure. 

This  is  the  opinion  of  al  Ghazali,*  who  observes  a  medium  between  those 
who  have  too  high  a  value  for  this  science,  and  those  who  absolutely  reject 
it.  Among  the  latter  was  al  Shafei,  who  declared  that,  in  his  judgment,  if 
any  man  employed  his  time  that  way,  he  deserved  to  be  fixed  to  a  stake, 
and  carried  about  through  all  the  Arab  tribes,  with  the  following  proclama- 
tion to  be  made  before  him :  This  is  the  reward  of  him  who,  leaving  the 
Koran  and  the  Sonna,  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  scholastic  divinity .3 
Al  Ghazali,  on  the  other  hand,  thinks  that  as  it  was  introduced  by  the  in- 
vasion of  heresies,  it  is  necessary  to  be  retained  in  order  to  quell  them :  but 
then  in  the  person  who  studies  this  science  he  requires  three  things, 
diligence,  acuteness  of  judgment,  and  probity  of  manners ;  and  is  by  no 
means  for  suffering  the  same  to  be  publicly  explained.'^  This  science, 
therefore,  among  the  Mohammedans,  is  the  art  of  controversy,  by  which 
they  discuss  points  of  faith,  concerning  the  essence  and  attributes  of  God, 
and  the  conditions  of  all  possible  things,  either  in  respect  to  their  creation, 
or  final  restoration,  according  to  the  rules  of  the  religion  of  Islam.^ 

The  other  science  is  practical  divinity  or  jurisprudence,  and  is  the 
knowledge  of  the  decisions  of  the  law  which  regard  practice,  gathered 
from  distinct  proofs. 

Al  Ghazali  declares  that  he  had  much  the  same  opinion  of  this  science 
as  of  the  former,  its  original  being  owing  to  the  corruption  of  religion  and 
morality  ;  and  therefore  judged  both  sciences  to  be  necessary  not  in  them- 
selves, but  by  accident  only,  to  curb  the  irregular  imaginations  and  passions 
of  mankind  (as  guards  become  necessary  in  the  highways  by  reason  of 
robbers) ;  the  end  of  the  first  being  the  suppressing  of  heresies,  and  of  the 
other  the  decision  of  legal  controversies,  for  the  quiet  and  peaceable  living 
of  mankind  in  this  world,  and  for  the  preserving  the  rule  by  which  the 
magistrate  may  prevent  one  man  from  injuring  another,  by  declaring  what 
is  lawful  and  what  is  unlawful,  by  determining  the  satisfaction  to  be  given, 
or  punishment  to  be  inflicted,  and  by  regulating  other  outward  actions ;  and 
not  only  so,  but  to  decide  of  religion  itself  and  its  conditions,  so  far  as 
relates  to  the  profession  made  by  the  mouth,  it  not  being  the  business  of 
the  civilian  to  inquire  into  the  heart  :^  the  depravity  of  men's  manners, 
however,  has  made  this  knowledge  of  the  laws  so  very  requisite,  that  it  is 
usually  called  the  science  by  way  of  excellence,  nor  is  any  man  reckoned 
learned  who  has  not  applied  himself  thereto.' 

■'  Poc.  Spec.  p.  19G.  '  Apud  Ebn  Sina,  in  Libello  de  Divisione  Scientiar.  et  Nasi- 

ro'ddin  al  Tusi,  in  prcefat.  ad  Ethic.  '  More  Nevoch.  lib.  i.  c.  71,  et  73.  '  Al 

Ghazali,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  "-  Ibid.  ^  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  p.  197.  *  Al  Ghazali,  ibid. 
»  Ebn  al  KoBsa,  apud  eund.  ibid.  p.  198.  «  Al  Ghazali.     Vide  ibid.  p.  198—204. 

^  Vide  ibid.  p.  204. 


SECT.  vm.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  109 

The  points  of  faith,  subject  to  the  examination  and  discussion  of  the 
scholastic  divines,  are  reduced  to  four  general  heads,  which  they  call  the 
four  bases,  or  great  fundamentaV  articles.^ 

The  first  basis  relates  to  the  attributes  of  God,  and  his  unity  consistent 
therewith.  Under  this  head  are  comprehended  the  questions  concerning 
the  eternal  attributes,  which  are  asserted  by  some,  and  denied  by  others  ; 
and  also  the  explication  of  the  essential  attributes,  and  attributes  of  ac- 
tion ;  what  is  proper  for  God  to  do,  and  what  may  be  affirmed  of  him,  and 
what  it  is  impossible  for  him  to  do.  These  things  are  controverted  be- 
tween the  Asharians,  the  Keramians,  the  Mojassemians  or  Corporealists, 
and  the  Motazalites.^ 

The  second  basis  regards  predestination,  and  the  justice  thereof:  which 
comprises  the  questions  concerning  God's  purpose  and  decree,  man's  com- 
pulsion or  necessity  to  act,  and  his  co-operation  in  producing  actions,  by 
which  he  may  gain  to  himself  good  or  evil ;  and  also  those  which  concern 
God's  willing  good  and  evil,  and  what  things  are  subject  to  his  power,  and 
what  to  his  knowledge  ;  some  maintaining  the  affirmative,  and  others  the 
negative.  These  points  are  disputed  among  the  Kadarians,  the  Najarians, 
the  Jabarians,  the  Asharians,  and  the  Keramians.^ 

The  third  basis  concerns  the  promises  and  threats,  the  precise  accepta- 
tion of  names  used  in  divinity,  and  the  divine  decisions  ;  and  comprehends 
questions  relating  to  faith,  repentance,  promises,  threats,  forbearance,  in- 
fidelity, and  error.  The  controversies  under  this  head  are  on  foot  be- 
tween the  Morgians,  the  Waidians,  the  Motazalites,  the  Asharians,  and 
the  Keramians.^ 

The  fourth  basis  regards  history  and  reason,  that  is,  the  just  weight  they 
ought  to  have  in  matters  belonging  to  faith  and  religion  ;  and  also  the 
mission  of  prophets,  and  the  office  of  Imam,  or  chief  pontiff.  Under  this 
head  are  comprised  all  casuistical  questions  relating  to  the  moral  beauty 
or  turpitude  of  actions  ;  inquiring  whether  things  are  allowed  or  forbidden 
by  reason  of  their  own  nature,  or  by  the  positive  law ;  and  also  questions 
concerning  the  preference  of  actions,  the  favour  or  grace  of  God,  the  in- 
nocence which  ought  to  attend  the  prophetical  office,  and  the  conditions 
requisite  in  the  office  of  Imam;  some  asserting  it  depends  on  right  of  suc- 
cession, others  on  the  consent  of  the  faithful,  and  also  the  method  of  trans- 
ferring it,  with  the  former,  and  of  confirming  it,  with  the  latter.  These 
matters  are  the  subjects  of  dispute  between  the  Shiites,  the  Motazalites, 
the  Keramians,  and  the  Asharians.^ 

The  different  sects  of  Mohammedans  may  be  distinguished  into  two 
sorts ;  those  generally  esteemed  orthodox,  and  those  which  are  esteemed 
heretical. 

The  former,  by  a  general  name,  are  called  Sonnites  or  Traditionists ;  be- 
cause they  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the  Sonna,  or  collection  of  moral 
traditions  of  the  sayings  and  actions  of  their  prophet,  which  is  a  sort  of 
supplement  to  the  Koran,  directing  the  observance  of  several  things  omit- 
ted in  that  book,  and  in  name,  as  well  as  design,  answering  to  the  Mishna 
of  the  Jews.* 

The  Sonnites  are  subdivided  into  fourchief  sects,  which,  notwithstanding 
some  differences  as  to  legal  conclusions  in  their  interpretation  of  the  Koran, 
and  matters  of  practice,  are  generally  acknowledged  to  be  orthodox  in 

«  Vide  Abu'lfarag.  Hist.  Dynast,  p.  166.  *  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup. 

p.  204,  &c.         •  Idem,  ibid.  p.  205.         ^  Idem,  ibid.  p.  206.         ^  Idem,  ibid.         *  Vide 
Poc.  Spec.  p.  298.     Prid.  Life  of  Moham.  p.  51,  &c.    Reland.  de  Rel.  Mohara.  p.  68,  <fcc. 
Millium,  de  Mohammedismo,  ante  Moham.  p.  368,  369. 
I 


110  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

radicals,  or  matters  of  faith,  and  capable  of  salvation,  and  have  each  of 
them  their  several  stations  or  oratories  in  the  temple  of  Mecca. 

The  founders  of  these  sects  are  looked  upon  as  the  great  masters  of  juris- 
prudence, and  are  said  to  have  been  men  of  great  devotion  and  self-denial, 
well  versed  in  the  knowledge  of  those  things  which  belong  to  the  next  life 
and  to  man's  right  conduct  here,  and  directing  all  their  knowledge  to  the 
glory  of  God.  This  is  al  Ghazali's  encomium  of  them,  who  thinks  it 
derogatory  to  their  honour  that  their  names  should  be  used  by  those  who, 
neglecting  to  imitate  the  other  virtues  which  make  up  their  character, 
apply  themselves  only  to  attain  their  skill,  and  follow  their  opinions  in 
matters  of  legal  practice.^ 

The  first  of  the  four  orthodox  sects  is  that  of  the  Hanefites,  so  named 
from  their  founder,  Abu  Hanifa  al  Noman  Ebn  Thabet,  who  was  born  at 
Cufa,  in  the  eightieth  year  of  the  Hejra,  and  died  in  the  one  hundred  and 
fiftieth,  according  to  the  more  preferable  opinion  as  to  the  time.^  He 
ended  his  life  in  prison  at  Baghdad,  where  he  had  been  confined  because 
he  refused  to  be  made  Kadi  or  judge  ;8  on  which  account  he  was  very 
hardly  dealt  with  by  his  superiors,  yet  could  not  be  prevailed  on,  either 
by  threats  or  ill  treatment,  to  undertake  the  charge,  choosing  rather  to  be 
punished  by  them  than  by  God,  says  al  Ghazali ;  who  adds,  that  when  he 
excused  himself  from  accepting  the  office  by  alleging  that  he  was  unfit 
for  it,  being  asked  the  reason,  he  replied,  "If  I  speak  the  truth,  I  am  un- 
fit; but  if  I  tell  a  lie,  a  liar  is  not  fit  to  be  a  judge."  It  is  said  that  he 
read  over  the  Koran  in  the  prison  where  he  died,  no  less  than  seven  thou- 
sand times.9 

The  Hanefites  are  called  by  an  Arabian  writer^  the  followers  of  reason, 
and  those  of  the  three  other  sects,  followers  of  tradition  ;  the  former  being 
principally  guided  by  their  own  judgment  in  their  decisions,  and  the  lat- 
ter adhering  more  tenaciously  to  the  traditions  of  Mohammed. 

The  sect  of  Abu  Hanifa  heretofore  obtained  chiefly  in  Irak,^  but  now 
generally  prevails  among  the  Turks  and  Tartars  :  his  doctrine  was  brought 
into  great  credit  by  Abu  Yusof,  chief  justice  under  the  Khalifs  al  Hadi 
and  Harun  al  Rashid.^ 

The  second  orthodox  sect  is  that  of  Malec  Ebn  Ans,  who  was  born  at 
Medina,  in  the  year  of  the  Hejra,  90,  93,  94,^  or  95,^  and  died  there  in 
177,°  178,'  or  179^  (for  so  much  do  authors  differ).  This  doctor  is  said  to 
have  paid  great  regard  to  the  traditions  of  Mohammed.^  In  his  last  illness, 
a  friend  going  to  visit  him  found  him  in  tears,  and  asking  him  the  reason 
of  it,  he  answered,  "  How  should  I  not  weep?  and  who  has  more  reason  to 
weep  than  I  ?  Would  to  God  that  for  every  question  decided  by  me  ac- 
cording to  my  own  opinion  I  had  received  so  many  stripes!  then  would 
my  accounts  be  easier.  Would  to  God  I  had  never  given  any  decision  of 
my  own  !"'  Al  Ghazali  thinks  it  a  sufficient  proof  of  Malec's  directing 
his  knowledge  to  the  glory  of  God,  that  being  once  asked  his  opinion  as  to 
forty-eight  questions,  his  answer  to  thirty-two  of  them  was,  that  he  did  not 

^  See  before,  p.  82.  "  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  293.  ■"  Ebn  Khalecan.  "  This  was 

the  true  cause  of  his  imprisonment  and  death,  and  not  his  refusing  to  subscribe  to  the 
opinion  of  absolute  predestination,  as  D'Herbelot  writes  (Bibl.  Orient,  p.  21),  misled  by 
the  dubious  acceptation  of  the  word  Kada,  which  signifies  not  only  God's  decree  in  par- 
ticular, but  also  the  giving  sentence  as  a  judge  in  general :  nor  could  Abu  Hanifa  have 
been  reckoned  orthodox  had  he  denied  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  faith.  '  Poc.  Spec, 
p.  297,  298.         '  Al  Shahrestani.  ibid.  =>  Idem.         =>  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p. 

21,  22.  '  Abulfeda.  '  Ebn  Khalecan.  «  Idem.  '  Abulfeda.  *  Elmacinus, 
p.  114.  '  Ebn  Khalec.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  294.  '  lidem. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  HI 

know  ;  it  being  no  easy  matter  for  one  who  has  any  other  view  than  God's 
glory  to  make  so  frank  a  confession  of  his  ignorance.^ 

The  doctrine  of  Malec  is  chiefly  followed  in  Barbary  and  other  parts 
of  Africa. 

The  author  of  the  third  orthodox  sect  was  Mohammed  Ebn  Edris  al 
Shafei,  born  either  at  Gaza  or  Ascalon  in  Palestine,  in  the  year  of  the 
Hejra  one  hundred  and  fifty,  the  same  day  (as  some  will  have  it),  that 
Abu  Hanifa  died,  and  was  carried  to  Mecca  at  two  years  of  age,  and  there 
cducated.3  He  died  in  two  hundred  and  four,^  in  Egypt,  whither  he  went 
about  five  years  before.^  This  doctor  is  celebrated  for  his  excellency  in  all 
parts  of  learning,  and  was  much  esteemed  by  Ebn  Hanbal  his  contemporary, 
who  used  to  say  that  "  he  was  as  the  sun  to  the  world,  and  as  health  to  the 
body.''  Ebn  Hanbal,  however,  had  so  ill  an  opinion  of  al  Shafei,  at  first, 
that  he  forbade  his  scholars  to  go  near  him  ;  but  some  time  after  one  of 
them,  meeting  his  master  trudging  on  foot  after  al  Shafei,  who  rode  on  a 
mule,  asked  him  how  it  came  about  that  he  forbade  them  to  follow  him, 
and  did  it  himself?  to  which  Ebn  Hanbal  replied,  "Hold  thy  peace;  if 
thou  but  attend  his  mule,  thou  wilt  profit  thereby."^ 

Al  Shafei  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  who  discoursed  of  jurisprudence, 
and  reduced  that  science  into  a  method  ;'^  one  wittily  saying,  that  the 
relators  of  the  traditions  of  Mohammed  were  asleep  till  al  Shafei  came  and 
waked  them.s  He  was  a  great  enemy  to  the  scholastic  divines,  as  has  been 
already  observed.^  Al  Ghazali  tells  us  that  al  Shafei  used  to  divide  the 
night  into  three  parts,  one  for  study,  another  for  prayer,  and  the  third  for 
sleep.  It  is  also  related  of  him  that  he  never  so  much  as  once  swore  by  God, 
either  to  confirm  a  truth,  or  to  affirm  a  falsehood ;  and  that  being  once 
asked  his  opinion,  he  remained  silent  for  some  time,  and  when  the  reason 
of  his  silence  was  demanded  he  answered,  "  I  am  considering  first  whether 
it  be  better  to  speak  or  to  hold  my  tongue."  The  following  saying  is  also 
recorded  of  him,  viz.  "  Whoever  pretends  to  love  the  world  and  its  Crea- 
tor at  the  same  time  is  a  liar."'  The  followers  of  this  doctor  are  from  him 
called  Shafeites,  and  were  formerly  spread  into  Mawara'lnahr  and  other 
parts  eastward,  but  are  now  chiefly  of  Arabia  and  Persia. 

Ahmed  Ebn  Hanbal,  the  founder  of  the  fourth  sect,  was  born  in  the  year 
of  the  Hejra  one  hundred  and  sixty-four;  but  as  to  the  place  of  his  birth 
there  are  two  traditions:  some  say  he  was  born  at  Meru  in  Khorasan,  of 
\7hich  city  his  parents  were,  and  that  his  mother  brought  him  from  thence 
to  Baghdad  at  her  breast;  while  others  assure  us  that  she  was  with  child 
of  him  when  she  came  to  Baghdad,  and  that  he  was  born  there.^  Ebn 
Hanbal  in  process  of  time  attained  a  great  reputation  on  account  of  his 
virtue  and  knowledge ;  being  so  well  versed  in  the  traditions  of  Mohammed, 
in  particular,  that  it  is  said  he  could  repeat  no  less  than  a  million  of  them.'* 
He  was  very  intimate  with  al  Shafei,  from  whom  he  received  most  of  his 
traditionary  knowledge,  being  his  constant  attendant  till  bis  departure  for 
Egypt.*  Refusing  to  acknowledge  the  Koran  to  be  created,^  he  was,  by 
order  of  the  Khalif  al  Motasem,  severely  scourged  and  imprisoned.^  Ebn 
Hanbal  died  at  Baghdad,  in  the  year  two  hundred  and  forty-one,  and  was 
followed  to  his  grave  by  eight  hundred  thousand  men,  and  sixty  thousand 
women.    It  is  related,  as  something  very  extraordinary,  if  not  miraculous, 

^  Al  Ghazali.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  294.  =>  Ebn  Khalecan.  *  Yet  Abulfeda  says 

he  lived  fiftv-eight  years.  ^  Ebn  Khalecan.  «  Idem.        ■*  Idem.        '  Al  Zafarani, 

apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  296.  »  See  before,  p.  109.  '  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  295—297. 

-  Ebn  Khalecan.        ^  Idem.        ■*  Idem.  '  See  before,  sect.  iii.  p.  48,  Ebn.         *  Ebn 

Khalecan,  Abu'lfarag.  Hist.  Dyn.  p.  252,  &c. 


112  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

that  on  the  day  of  his  death  no  less  than  twenty  thousand  Christians,  Jews, 
and  Magians,  embraced  the  Mohammedan  faith.'  This  sect  increased  so 
fast,  and  became  so  powerful  and  bold,  that  in  the  year  three  hundred  and 
twenty-three,  in  the  Khalifat  of  al  Radi,  they  raised  a  great  commotion  in 
Baghdad,  entering  people's  houses,  and  spilling  their  wine,  if  they  found 
any,  and  beating  the  singing  women  they  met  with,  and  breaking  their 
instruments  :  and  a  severe  edict  was  published  against  them,  before  they 
could  be  reduced  to  their  duty  :8  but  the  Hanbalites  at  present  are  not 
very  numerous,  few  of  them  being  to  be  met  with  out  of  the  limits  of 
Arabia. 

The  heretical  sects  among  the  Mohammedans  are  those  which  hold 
heterodox  opinions  in  fundamentals  or  matters  of  faith. 

The  first  controversies  relating  to  fundamentals  began  when  most  of  the 
companions  of  Mohammed  were  dead  :^  for  in  their  days  was  no  dispute, 
unless  about  things  of  small  moment,  if  we  except  only  the  dissensions 
concerning  the  Imams,  or  rightful  successors  of  their  prophet,  which  were 
stirred  up  and  fomented  by  interest  and  ambition;  the  Arabs'  continual 
employment  in  the  wars,  during  that  time,  allowing  them  little  or  no  leisure 
to  enter  into  nice  inquiries  and  subtle  distinctions  :  but  no  sooner  was  the 
ardour  of  conquest  a  little  abated  than  they  began  to  examine  the  Koran 
more  nearly  ;  whereupon  differences  in  opinion  became  unavoidable,  and  at 
length  so  greatly  multiplied,  that  the  number  of  their  sects,  according  to  the 
common  opinion,  are  seventy-three.  For  the  Mohammedans  seem  ambitious 
that  their  religion  should  exceed  others  even  in  this  respect ;  saying,  that 
the  Magians  are  divided  into  seventy  sects,  the  Jews  into  seventy-one, 
the  Christians  into  seventy-two,  and  the  Moslems  into  seventy-three,  as 
Mohammed  had  foretold  :'  of  which  sects  they  reckon  one  to  be  always 
orthodox,  and  entitled  to  salvation.^ 

The  first  heresy  was  that  of  the  Kharejites,  who  revolted  from  Ali  in  the 
thirty. seventh  year  of  the  Hejra;  and  not  long  after,  Mabad  al  Johni, 
Ghailan  of  Damascus,  and  Jonas  al  Aswari  broached  heterodox  opinions 
concerning  predestination,  and  the  ascribing  of  good  and  evil  unto  God  ; 
whose  opinions  were  followed  by  Wasel  Ebn  Ata.^  This  latter  was  the 
scholar  of  Hasan  of  Basra,  in  whose  school  a  question  being  proposed, 
whether  he  who  had  committed  a  grievous  sin  was  to  be  deemed  an  infidel 
or  not,  the  Kharejites  (who  used  to  come  and  dispute  there)  maintaining 
the  affirmative,  and  the  orthodox  the  negative,  Wasel,  without  waiting  his 
master's  decision,  withdrew  abruptly,  and  began  to  publish  among  his 
fellow-scholars  a  new  opinion  of  his  own,  to  wit,  that  such  a  sinner  was 
in  a  middle  state ;  and  he  was  thereupon  expelled  the  school ;  he  and  his 
followers  being  thenceforth  called  M6tazalites,or  Separatists.'* 

The  several  sects  which  have  arisen  since  this  time  are  variously  com- 
pounded and  decompounded  of  the  opinions  of  four  chief  sects,  the  Mota- 
zalites,  the  Sefatians,  the  Kharejites,  and  the  Shiites.^ 

1.  The  Motazalites  were  the  followers  of  the  before-mentioned  Wasel 


'  Ebn  Khalecan.  '  Abu'lfar.  ubi  sup.  p.  301,  &c.  '  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc. 

Spec.  p.  194,  Auctor  Sharh  al  Mawakef.  apud  eund.  p.  210.  '  Vide  Foe.  Spec.  p.  194. 
2  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  eund.  p.  211.  =  Idem,  and  Auctor  Sharh  al  Mawakef,  ubi 

sup.  "  lidem.  ib.  p.  211,  212.     Et  Ebn  Khalecan,  in  Vita  Waseli.  '  Al  Shahres- 

tani, who  also  reduces  them  to  four  chief  sects,  puts  the  Kadarians  in  the  place  of  the 
Motazalites.  Abu'lfaragius  (Hist.  Dyn.  p.  1C6),  reckons  si.x  principal  sects,  adding  the 
Jabarians  and  the  Morgians  ;  and  the  author  of  Sharh  al  Mawakef,  eight,  viz.  the  Motaza- 
lites, the  Shiites,  the  Kharejites,  the  Mortrians,  the  Najarians,  the  Jabarians,  the  Moshab- 
behites,  and  the  sect  which  he  calls  al  Najia,  because  that  alone  will  be  saved,  being  ac- 
cording to  him  the  sect  of  the  Asharians.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  209. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  113 

Ebn  Ata.  As  to  their  chief  and  general  tenets,  1.  They  entirely  rejected 
all  eternal  attributes  of  God,  to  avoid  the  distinction  of  persons  made  by 
the  Christians  ;  saying  that  eternity  is  the  proper  or  formal  attribute  of  his 
essence  ;  that  God  knows  by  his  essence,  and  not  by  his  knowledge;^  and 
the  same  tliey  affirmed  of  his  otiier  attributes''  (though  all  the  Motazalites 
do  not  understand  these  words  in  one  sense)  ;  and  hence  this  sect  were  also 
named  Moattalites,  from  their  divesting  God  of  his  attributes  i^  and  they 
went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  to  affirm  these  attributes  is  the  same  thing 
as  to  make  more  eternals  than  one,  and  that  the  unity  of  God  is  incon- 
sistent with  such  an  opinion  ;»  and  this  was  the  true  doctrine  of  Wasel 
their  master,  who  declared  that  whoever  asserted  an  eternal  attribute 
asserted  there  were  two  gods.^  This  point  of  speculation  concerning  the 
divine  attributes  was  not  ripe  at  first,  but  was  at  length  brought  to  ma- 
turity by  Wasel's  followers,  after  they  had  read  the  books  of  the  philo- 
sophers.2  2.  They  believed  the  word  of  God  to  have  been  created  in 
subjecto  (as  the  schoolmen  term  it),  and  to  consist  of  letters  and  sound  ; 
copies  tiiereof  being  written  in  books,  to  express  or  imitate  the  original. 
They  also  went  farther,  and  affirmed  that  whatever  was  created  in  subjecto 
is  also  an  accident,  and  liable  to  perish.'  They  denied  absolute  predes- 
tination, holding  that  God  was  not  the  author  of  evil,  but  of  good  only; 
and  that  man  was  a  free  agent  :4  which  being  properly  the  opinion  of  the 
Kadarians,  we  defer  what  may  be  farther  said  thereof  till  we  come  to  speak 
of  that  sect.  On  account  of  this  tenet  and  the  first,  the  Motazalites  look 
on  themselves  as  the  defenders  of  the  unity  and  justice  of  God.^  4.  They 
held  that  if  a  professor  of  the  true  religion  be  guilty  of  a  grievous  sin,  and 
die  without  repentance,  he  will  be  eternally  damned,  though  his  punish- 
ment will  be  lighter  than  that  of  the  infidels.^  5.  They  denied  all  vision 
of  God  in  paradise  by  the  corporeal  eye,  and  rejected  all  comparisons  or 
similitudes  applied  to  God.^ 

This  sect  are  said  to  have  been  the  first  inventors  of  scholastic  divinity,^ 
and  are  subdivided  into  several  inferior  sects,  amounting,  as  some  reckon, 
to  twenty,  which  mutually  brand  one  another  with  infidelity;^  the  most 
remarkable  of  them  are  : — 

1.  The  Hodeilians,  or  followers  of  Hamdan  Abu  Hodeil,  a  Motazalite 
doctor,  who  differed  something  from  the  common  form  of  expression  used 
by  this  sect,  saying  that  God  knew  by  his  knowledge,  but  that  his  know- 
ledge was  his  essence;  and  so  of  the  other  attributes:  which  opinion  he 
took  from  the  philosophers,  who  affirm  the  essence  of  God  to  be  simple, 
and  without  multiplicity,  and  that  his  attributes  are  not  posterior  or 
accessory  to  his  essence,  or  subsisting  therein,  but  are  his  essence  itself: 
and  this  the  more  orthodox  take  to  be  next  kin  to  making  distinctions  in 
the  deity,  which  is  the  thing  they  so  much  abhor  in  the  Christians.'  As 
to  the  Koran's  being  uncreated,  he  made  some  distinction  ;  holding  the 
word  of  God  to  be  partly  not  in  subjecto  (and  therefore  uncreated),  as 
when  he  spake  the  word  Kun,  i.  e.  Fiat,  at  the  creation,  and  partly  in 

*  Maimonides  leaches  the  same,  not  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Motazalites,  but  his  own. 
Vide  More  Nev.  lib.  1,  c.  57.  ■"  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  214.  Abu'lfarag. 
p.  167.  »  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  224.  *  Sharh  al  Mawakef,  and  al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc. 
p.  216.  Maimonides  (in  Prolejr.  ad  Pirke  Aboth,  sect,  viii.)  asserts  the  same  thing. 
'  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  *  Al  Shabrest.  ib.  p.  215.  =»  Abu'lfarag.  and  al  Shahrest.  ubi 

sup.  p.  217.     See  before,  sect.  iii.  p.  48.  *  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  240.  '  Al  Shahrest. 

and  Sharh  al  Mawakef.  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  214.  *  Maracc.  Prodr.  ad  Ref.  Alcor. 

part.  iii.  p.  74.  '  Idem.  ib.  »  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  213,  and  D'Herbel.  Art.  Mota- 

zelah.  '  Auctor  al  Mawakef,  apud  Poc.  ib.  '  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc. 

p.  215—217. 


114  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

suhjecto,  as  the  precepts,  prohibitions,  &c.2  Marracci^  mentions  an  opinion 
of  Abu  Ilodeil's  concerning  predestination,  from  an  Arab  writer,'*  which 
being  by  him  expressed  in  a  manner  not  very  intelligible,  I  choose  to  omit. 

2.  The  Jobbai'ans,  or  followers  of  Abu  Ali  Mohammed  Ebn  Abd  al 
Wahhab,  surnamed  al  Jobbai,  whose  meaning  when  he  made  use  of  the 
common  expression  of  the  Motazalites,  that  God  knows  by  his  essence,  6ic. 
was,  that  God's  being  knowing  is  not  an  attribute,  the  same  with  know- 
ledge, nor  such  a  state  as  rendered  his  being  knowing  necessary .^  He  held 
God's  word  to  be  created  iii  suhjecto,  as  in  the  preserved  table,  for  example, 
the  memory  of  Gabriel,  Mahammed,  &c.^  This  sect,  if  Marracci  has  given 
the  true  sense  of  his  author,  denied  that  God  could  be  seen  in  paradise 
without  the  assistance  of  corporeal  eyes;  and  held  that  man  produced  his 
acts  by  a  power  superadded  to  health  of  body  and  soundness  of  limbs  ;  that 
he  who  was  guilty  of  a  mortal  sin  was  neither  a  believer  nor  an  infidel, 
but  a  transgressor  (which  was  the  original  opinion  of  Wasel),  and  if  he 
died  in  his  sins  would  be  doomed  to  hell  for  eternity  ;  and  that  God  con- 
ceals nothing  of  whatever  he  knows  from  his  servants.' 

3.  The  Hashemians ;  who  were  so  named  from  their  master  Abu  Hashem 
al  Salam,  the  son  of  Abu  Ali  al  Jobbai,  and  whose  tenets  nearly  agreed 
with  those  of  the  preceding  sect.s  Abu  Hashem  took  the  Motazalite  form 
of  expression,  that  God  knows  by  his  essence,  in  a  different  sense  from 
others,  supposing  it  to  mean,  that  God  hath  or  is  endued  with  a  disposition, 
which  is  a  known  property,  or  quality,  posterior  or  accessory  to  his  exist- 
ence.^ His  followers  were  so  much  afraid  of  making  God  the  author  of 
evil,  that  they  would  not  allow  him  to  be  said  to  create  an  infidel ;  be- 
cause, according  to  their  way  of  arguing,  an  infidel  is  a  compound  of  in- 
fidelity and  man,  and  God  is  not  the  creator  of  infidelity.*  Abu  Hashem, 
and  his  father  Abu  Ali  al  Jobbai,  were  both  celebrated  for  their  skill  in 
scholastic  divinity.^ 

4.  The  Nodhamians,  or  followers  of  Ibrahim  al  Nodham ;  who,  having 
read  books  of  philosophy,  set  up  a  new  sect,  and,  imagining  he  could  not 
sufficiently  remove  God  from  being  the  author  of  evil,  without  divesting 
him  of  his  power  in  respect  thereto,  taught  that  no  power  ought  to  be 
ascribed  to  God  concerning  evil  and  rebellious  actions :  but  this  he 
affirmed  against  the  opinion  of  his  own  disciples,  who  allowed  that  God 
could  do  evil,  but  did  not,  because  of  its  turpitude.''  Of  his  opinion  as  to 
the  Koran  being  created,  we  have  spoken  elsewhere.* 

5.  The  Hayetians,  so  named  from  Ahmed  Ebn  Hayet,  who  had  been  of 
the  sect  of  the  Nodhamians,  but  broached  some  new  notions  on  reading  the 
philosophers.  His  peculiar  opinions  were,  1.  That  Christ  was  the  eternal 
Word  incarnate,  and  took  a  true  and  real  body,  and  will  judge  all  creatures 
in  the  life  to  come  :^  he  also  farther  asserted,  that  there  are  two  gods,  or 
creators  ;  the  one  eternal,  viz.  the  most  high  God,  and  the  other  not  eternal, 
viz.  Christ;^  which  opinion,  though  Dr.  Pocock  urges  the  same  as  an  ar- 
gument that  he  did  not  rightly  understand  the  Christian  mysteries,"'  is  not 
much  different  from  that  of  the  Arians  and  Socinians.  2.  That  there  is  a 
successive  transmigration  of  the  soul  from  one  body  into  another  ;  and  that 

^  Al  Shahrestani,  apud  Poc.  p.  217,  &,c.        '  In  Prodr.  part  3,  p.  74.        *  Al  Shahrest. 

*  Idem,  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  215.  ^  Idem,  and  Auctor  al  Mawakef,  ib.  p.  218. 
■"  Marracci,  ubi  sup.  p.  75,  ex  al  Shahrest.  *  Vide  Eund.  ib.  "  Al  Shahrest.  apud 
Poc.  p.  215.  *  Idem,  p.  242.  ^  Ebn  Khalecan,  in  vitis  eorum.  ^  Al  Shahrest. 
ubi  sup.  p.  241,  242.     Vide  Marracc.  Prod,  part  3,  p.  74,          "  See  before,  sect.  iii.  p.  49. 

*  Al  Shahrest.  ubi  sup.  p.  218.  Abu'lfarag.  p.  167.  ^  Al  Shahrest.  al  Mawakef,  et 
Ebn  Kossa,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  219.            ■"  Vide  Poc.  ib. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  115 

the  last  body  will  enjoy  the  reward  or  suffer  the  punishment  due  to  each 
soul ;®  and  3.  That  God  will  be  seen  at  the  resurrection,  not  with  the 
bodily  eyes,  but  those  of  the  undcrstandinJ,^9 

6.  The  Jdhedhians,  or  followers  of  Amru  Ebn  Bahr,  surnanied  al  Jahedh, 
a  great  doctor  of  the  Motazalites,  and  very  much  admired  for  the  elegance 
of  his  composures;'  who  differed  from  his  brethren  in  that  he  imagined  the 
damned  would  not  be  eternally  tormented  in  hell,  but  should  be  changed 
into  the  nature  of  fire,  and  that  the  fire  would  of  itself  attract  them,  with- 
out any  necessity  of  their  going  into  it.^  He  also  taught  that  if  a  man 
believed  God  to  be  his  Lord,  and  Mohammed  the  apostle  of  God,  he 
became  one  of  the  faithful,  and  was  obliged  to  nothing  farther.^  His 
peculiar  opinion  as  to  the  Koran  has  been  taken  notice  of  before." 

7.  The  Mozdarians,  who  embraced  the  opinions  of  Isa  Ebn  Sobeih  al 
Mozdar,  and  those  very  absurd  ones:  for,  besides  his  notions  relating  to 
the  Koran,^  he  went  so  directly  counter  to  the  opinion  of  those  who 
abridged  God  of  the  power  to  do  evil,  that  he  affirmed  it  possible  for  God 
to  be  a  liar,  and  unjust.'^  He  also  pronounced  him  to  be  an  infidel  who 
thrust  himself  into  the  supreme  government :'  nay  he  went  so  far  as  to  as- 
sert men  to  be  infidels  while  they  said,  There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  even 
condemned  all  the  rest  of  mankind  as  guilty  of  infidelity  ;  upon  which 
Ibrahim  Ebn  al  Sendi  asked  him  whether  paradise,  whose  breadth  equals 
that  of  heaven  and  earth,  was  created  only  for  him  and  two  or  three  more 
who  thought  as  he  did  1  to  which  it  is  said  he  could  return  no  answer.^ 

8.  The  Basharians,  who  maintained  the  tenets  of  Bashar  Ebn  Motamer, 
the  master  of  al  Mozdar,^  and  a  principal  man  among  the  Motazalites.  He 
differed  in  some  things  from  the  general  opinion  of  that  sect,  carrying  man's 
free  agency  to  a  great  excess,  making  it  even  independent :  and  yet  he 
thought  God  might  doom  an  infant  to  eternal  punishment,  but  granted  he 
would  be  unjust  in  so  doing.  He  taught  that  God  is  not  always  obliged 
to  do  that  which  is  best,  for  if  he  pleased  he  could  make  all  men  true 
believers.  These  sectaries  also  held,  that  if  a  man  repent  of  a  mortal  sin, 
and  afterwards  return  to  it,  he  will  be  liable  to  suffer  the  punishment  due 
to  the  former  transgression.' 

9.  The  Thamamians,  who  followed  Thamama  Ebn  Bashar,  a  chief  M6- 
tazalite.  Their  peculiar  opinions  were,  1.  That  sinners  should  remain  in 
hell  for  ever.  2.  That  free  actions  have  no  producing  author.  3.  That 
at  the  resurrection  all  infidels,  idolaters,  atheists,  Jews,  Christians,  Ma- 
gians,  and  heretics,  shall  be  reduced  to  dust.^ 

10.  The  Kadarians;  which  is  really  a  more  ancient  name  than  that  of 
Motazalites  ;  Mabad  al  Johni  and  his  adherents  being  so  called,  who  dis- 
puted the  doctrine  of  predestination  before  Wasel  quitted  his  master;''  for 
which  reason  some  use  the  denomination  of  Kadarians  as  more  extensive 
than  the  other,  and  comprehend  all  the  Motazalites  under  it.'*  This  sect 
deny  absolute  predestination,  saying  that  evil  and  injustice  ought  not  to  be 
attributed  to  God,  but  to  man,  who  is  a  free  agent,  and  may  therefore  be 
rewarded  or  punished  for  his  actions,  which  God  has  granted  him  power 
either  to  do  or  to  let  alone.^  And  hence  it  is  said  they  are  called  Kada- 
rians, because  they  deny  al  Kadr,  or  God's  absolute  decree  ;  though  others 

5  Marracc.  et  al  Shahrest.  ubi  sup.  '  Marracc.  ibid.  p.  75.  '  Vide  D'Herbel. 

Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Giahedh.  ^  Al  Shahrest.  ubi  sup.  p.  260.  '  Marracc.  ubi  sup. 

*  Sect.  iii.  p.  49.  =■  Vide  ibid.  et.  p.  48.  «  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  p.  241.  '  Mar- 
racc. ubi  sup.  p.  75.  »  Al  Shahrestani,  ubi  sup.  p.  220.  '  Poc.  Spec.  p.  22. 

•  Marracc.  ubi  sup.  '  Idem,  ibid.  '  Al  Shahrest.  *  Al  Firauzab,  Vide  Poc. 
Spec.  p.  231,  232,  et  241.            >  Al  Shahrest.  Vide  Poc.  Spqc.  p.  235,  et  240,  &cc. 


116  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vin. 

thinking  it  not  so  proper  to  affix  a  name  to  a  sect  from  a  doctrine  which 
they  combat,  will  have  it  come  from  Kadr,  or  Kodrat,  i.  e.  power,  because 
they  assert  man's  power  to  act  freely.^  Those,  however,  who  give  the  name 
of  Kadarians  to  the  Motazalites  are  their  enemies,  for  they  disclaim  it,  and 
give  it  to  their  antagonists  the  Jabarians,  who  likewise  refuse  it  as  an  in- 
famous  appellation,''  because  Mohammed  is  said  to  have  declared  the  Ka- 
darians to  be  the  Magians  of  his  followers.^  But  what  the  opinion  of 
the  Kadarians  in  Mohammed's  time  was  is  very  uncertain  :  the  Motaza- 
lites say  the  name  belongs  to  those  who  assert  predestination,  and  make  God 
the  author  of  good  and  evil,^  viz.  the  Jabarians  ;  but  all  the  other  Moham- 
medan sects  agree  to  fix  it  on  the  Motazalites,  who  they  say  are  like  the 
Magians  in  establishing  two  principles,  light,  or  God,  the  author  of  good, 
and  darkness,  or  the  devil,  the  author  of  evil :  but  this  cannot  absolutely  be 
said  of  the  Motazalites,  for  they  (at  least  the  generality  of  them)  ascribe 
men's  good  deeds  to  God,  but  their  evil  deeds  to  themselves  ;  meaning 
thereby  that  man  has  a  free  liberty  and  power  to  do  either  good  or  evil,  and 
is  master  of  his  actions  ;  and  for  this  reason  it  is  said  that  the  other  Moham- 
medans call  them  Magians,  because  they  assert  another  author  of  actions 
besides  God.'  And,  indeed,  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  say  what  Moham- 
med's own  opinion  was  in  this  matter;  for  on  the  one  side  the  Koran 
itself  is  pretty  plain  for  absolute  predestination,  and  many  sayings  of 
Mohammed  are  recorded  to  that  purpose,^  and  one  in  particular,  wherein 
he  introduces  Adam  and  Moses  disputing  before  God  in  this  manner: 
Thou,  says  Moses,  art  Adam  ;  whom  God  created,  and  animated  with  the 
breath  of  life,  and  caused  to  be  worshipped  by  the  angels,  and  placed 
in  paradise,  from  whence  mankind  have  been  expelled  for  thy  fault : 
whereto  Adam  answered,  Thou  art  Moses;  whom  God  chose  for  his 
apostle,  and  entrusted  him  with  his  word,  by  giving  thee  the  tables  of  the 
law,  and  whom  he  vouchsafed  to  admit  to  discourse  with  himself:  how 
many  years  dost  thou  find  the  law  was  written  before  I  was  created  ?  Says 
Moses,  Forty:  And  dost  thou  not  find,  replied  Adam,  these  words  therein; 
And  Adam  rebelled  against  his  Lord  and  transgressed?  which  Moses  con- 
fessing, Dost  thou  therefore  blame  me,  continued  he,  for  doing  that  which 
God  wrote  of  me  that  I  should  do,  forty  years  before  I  was  created  ;  nay, 
for  what  was  decreed  concerning  me  fifty  thousand  years  before  the  creation 
of  heaven  and  earth  1  In  the  conclusion  of  which  dispute  Mohammed  de- 
clared that  Adam  had  the  better  of  Moses.  On  the  other  side,  it  is  urged 
in  the  behalf  of  the  Motazalites,  that  Mohammed  declaring  that  the  Kada- 
rians and  Magians  had  been  cursed  by  the  tongues  of  seventy  prophets,  and 
being  asked  who  the  Kadarians  were,  answered.  Those  who  assert  that  God 
predestinated  them  to  be  guilty  of  rebellion,  and  yet  punishes  them  for  it : 
al  Hasan  is  also  said  to  have  declared,  that  God  sent  Mohammed  to  the 
Arabs  while  they  were  Kadarians,  or  Jabarians,  and  laid  their  sins  upon 
God  :  and  to  confirm  the  matter  this  sentence  of  the  Koran  is  quoted;^ 
When  they  commit  a  filthy  action,  they  say.  We  found  our  fathers  prac- 
tising the  same,  and  God  hath  commanded  us  so  to  do :  Say,  Verily  God 
commandeth  not  filthy  actions.^ 

II.  The  Sefatians  held  the  opposite  opinion  to  the  Motazalites  in  respect 
to  the  eternal  attributes  of  God,  which  they  affirmed  ;  making  no  distinc- 
tion between  the  essential  attributes  and  those  of  operation  :  and  hence 

^  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  238.  ^  AI  Motarrezi,  al  Shahrest.  Vide  ibid.  p.  232.  «  lidem, 
&c.  ibid.  » lidem,  ibid.  '  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  233,  &c.  ^  Vide  ibid.  p.  237. 

^  Ebn  al  Athir,  al  Bokhari,  apud  Poc.  p.  236.  *  Chap.  7.  "  Al  Motarrezi,  apud 

eund.  p.  237,  238. 


SECT.  vni.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  117 

they  were  named  Sefatians,  or  Attributists.  Their  doctrine  was  that  of  the 
first  Mohammedans,  who  were  not  yet  acquainted  with  these  nice  distinc- 
tions :  but  this  sect  afterwards  introduced  another  species  of  declarative 
attributes,  or  such  as  were  necessarily  used  in  historical  narration,  as  hands, 
face,  eyes,  &c.,  which  they  did  not  offer  to  explain,  but  contented  them- 
selves with  saying  they  were  in  the  law,  and  that  they  called  them  declara- 
tive attributes.^  However,  at  length,  by  giving  various  explications  and  in- 
terpretations of  these  attributes,  they  divided  into  many  different  opinions : 
some,  by  taking  the  words  in  the  literal  sense,  fell  into  the  notion  of  a 
likeness  or  similitude  between  God  and  created  beings;  to  which  it  is  said 
the  Karaites  among  the  Jews,  who  are  for  the  literal  interpretation  of 
Moses's  law,  had  shown  them  the  way  r"^  others  explained  them  in  another 
manner,  saying  that  no  creature  was  like  God,  but  that  they  neither  un- 
derstood, nor  thought  it  necessary  to  explain  the  precise  signification  of 
the  words  which  seem  to  afffrm  the  same  of  both;  it  being  suUicient  to 
believe  that  God  hath  no  companion  or  similitude.  Of  this  opinion  was 
Malec  Ebn  Ans,  who  declared  as  to  the  expression  of  God's  sitting  on  his 
throne,  in  particular,  that  though  the  meaning  is  known,  yet  the  manner 
is  unknown  ;  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  believe  it,  but  heresy  to  make 
any  question  about  it.* 

The  sects  of  the  Sefatians  are, 

1.  The  Asharians,  the  followers  of  Abu'l  Hasan  al  Ashari,  who  was  first 
a  Motazalite,  and  the  scholar  of  Abu  Ali  al  Jobbai,  but  disagreeing  from 
his  master  in  opinion  as  to  God's  being  bound  (as  the  Motazalites  assert) 
to  do  always  that  which  is  best  or  most  expedient,  left  him,  and  set  up 
a  new  sect  of  himself.  The  occasion  of  this  difference  was  the  putting 
a  case  concerning  three  brothers,  the  first  of  whom  lived  in  obedience  to 
God,  the  second  in  rebellion  against  him,  and  the  third  died  an  infant. 
Al  Jobbai  being  asked  what  he  thought  would  become  of  them,  answered, 
that  the  first  would  be  rewarded  in  paradise,  the  second  punished  in  hell, 
and  the  third  neither  rewarded  nor  punished  :  but  what,  objected  al  Asha- 
ri, if  the  third  say,  O  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  given  me  longer  life,  that  I  might 
have  entered  paradise  with  my  believing  brother,  it  would  have  been  better 
for  me ;  to  which  al  Jobbai  replied,  that  God  would  answer,  I  knew  that 
if  thou  hadst  lived  longer,  thou  wouldst  have  been  a  wicked  person,  and 
therefore  cast  into  hell.  Then,  retorted  al  Ashari,  the  second  will  say,  O 
Lord,  why  didst  thou  not  take  me  away  while  I  was  an  infant,  as  thou 
didst  my  brother,  that  I  might  not  have  deserved  to  be  punished  for  my  sins, 
nor  be  cast  into  hell?  To  which  al  Jobbai  could  return  no  other  answer, 
than  that  God  prolonged  his  life  to  give  him  an  opportunity  of  obtaining 
the  highest  degree  of  perfection,  which  was  best  for  him :  but  al  Ashari 
demanding  farther,  why  he  did  not  for  the  same  reason  grant  the  other  a 
longer  life,  to  whom  it  would  have  been  equally  advantageous ;  al  Jobbai 
was  so  put  to  it,  that  he  asked  whether  the  devil  possessed  him?  No, 
says  al  Ashari,  but  the  master's  ass  will  not  pass  the  bridge  ;^  i.  e.,  he  is 
posed. 

The  opinions  of  the  Asharians  were,  1.  That  they  allowed  the  attributes 
of  God  to  be  distinct  from  his  essence,  yet  so  as  to  forbid  any  comparison 
to  be  made  between  God  and  his  creatures.^  This  was  also  the  opinion 
of  Ahmed  Ebn  Hanbal,  and  David  al  Ispahani,  and  others,  who  herein 
followed  Malec  Ebn  Ans,  and  were  so  cautious  of  any  assimilation  of  God 
to  created  beings,  that  they  declared  whoever  moved  his  hand  while  he  read 

«  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  223.  ■"  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  p.  224.  "  Vide  eund. 

ibid.  *  Auctor  al  Mawakef.  et  al  Safadi.  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  230,  &c.  Ebn  Khalec. 
in  Vita  al  Jobbai.  *  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  230. 


118  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

these  words:  I  have  created  with  my  hand  ;  or  stretched  forth  his  finger 
in  repeating  this  saying  of  Mohammed  :  The  heart  of  the  believer  is  be- 
tween two  hngers  of  the  Merciful ;  ought  to  have  his  finger  cut  ofF:^  and 
the  reasons  they  gave  for  not  explaining  any  such  words  were,  that  it  is 
forbidden  in  the  Koran, and  thatsuch  explications  were  necessarily  founded 
on  conjecture  and  opinion,  from  which  no  man  ought  to  speak  of  the  attri- 
butes of  God,  because  the  words  of  the  Koran  might  by  that  means  come 
to  be  understood  differently  from  the  author's  meaning :  nay  some  have 
been  so  superstitiously  scrupulous  in  this  matter  as  not  to  allow  the  words 
hand,  face,  and  the  like,  when  they  occur  in  the  Koran,  to  be  rendered  into 
Persian  or  any  other  language,  but  require  them  to  be  read  in  the  very 
original  words,  and  this  they  call  the  safe  way."*  2.  As  to  predestination, 
they  held  that  God  hath  one  eternal  will,  which  is  applied  to  whatsoever  he 
willeth,  both  of  his  own  actions  and  those  of  men,  so  far  as  they  are  created 
by  him,  but  not  as  they  are  acquired  or  gained  by  them:  that  he  willeth 
both  their  good  and  their  evil,  their  profit  and  their  hurt,  and  as  he  willeth 
and  knoweth,  he  willeth  concerning  men  that  which  he  knoweth,  and  hath 
commanded  the  pen  to  write  the  same  in  the  preserved  table :  and  this  is 
his  decree,  and  eternal  immutable  counsel  and  purpose.^  They  also  went 
so  far  as  to  say,  that  it  may  be  agreeable  to  the  way  of  God  that  man  should 
be  commanded  what  he  is  not  able  to  perform.^  But  while  they  allow'man 
some  power,  they  seem  to  restrain  it  to  such  a  power  as  cannot  produce  any 
thing  new :  only  God,  say  they,  so  orders  his  providence,  that  he  creates, 
after,  or  under,  and  together  with  every  created  or  new  power,  an  action 
which  is  ready  whenever  a  man  wills  it,  and  sets  about  it :  and  this  action 
is  called  Cash,  i.  e..  Acquisition,  being  in  respect  to  its  creation,  from  God, 
but  in  respect  to  its  being  produced,  employed,  and  acquired,  from  man.' 
And  this  being  generally  esteemed  the  orthodox  opinion,  it  may  not  be  im- 
proper farther  to  explain  the  same  in  the  words  of  some  other  writers.  The 
elective  actions  of  men,  says  one,  fall  under  the  power  of  God  alone;  nor  is 
their  own  power  effectual  thereto  :  but  God  causeth  to  exist  in  man  power 
and  choice  ;  and  if  there  be  no  impediment,  he  causeth  his  action  to  exist 
also,  subject  to  his  power,  and  joined  with  that  and  his  choice  ;  which  ac- 
tion, as  created,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  God,  but  as  produced,  employed,  or 
acquired,  to  man.  So  that  by  the  acquisition  of  an  action  is  properly  meant 
a  man's  joining  or  connecting  the  same  with  his  power  and  will,  yet  allow- 
ing herein  no  impression  or  influence  on  the  existence  thereof,  save  only  that 
it  is  subject  to  his  power.^  Others,  however,  who  are  also  on  the  side  of  al 
Ashari,  and  reputed  orthodox,  explain  the  matter  in  a  different  manner,  and 
grant  the  impression  or  influence  of  the  created  power  of  man  on  his  action, 
and  that  this  power  is  what  is  called  Acquisition.^  But  the  point  will  be  still 
clearer,  if  we  hear  a  third  author,  who  rehearses  the  various  opinions,  or  ex- 
plications of  the  opinion  of  this  sect,  in  the  following  words,  viz.  Abu'l  Hasan 
al  Ashari  asserts  all  the  actions  of  men  to  be  subject  to  the  power  of  God, 
being  created  by  him,  and  that  the  power  of  man  hath  no  influence  at  all  on 
that  which  he  is  empowered  to  do  ;  but  that  both  the  power,  and  what  is 
subject  thereto,  fall  under  the  power  of  God :  al  Kadi  Abu  Beer  says  that 
the  essence  or  substance  of  the  action  is  the  eflfect  of  the  power  of  God,  but 
its  being  either  an  action  of  obedience,  as  prayer,  or  an  action  of  disobe- 
dience, as  fornication,  are  qualities  of  the  action,  which  proceed  from  the 
power  of  man  ;  Abd'almalec,  known  by  the  title  of  Imam,  al  Haramein, 

=  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  228,  &-c.        *  Vide  Poc.  ibid.        '  Al  Shahrest.  apud 
eund.  p.  245,  &c.  *  Idem,  ibid.  p.  246.  '  Al  Shahrest,  apud  Poc.  p.  245,  &c. 

'  Auctor  Sharh  al  Mawakef  apud  eund.  p.  247.        '  Al  Shahrest.  ibid.  p.  248. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  119 

Abu'l  Hosein  of  Basra,  and  other  learned  men,  held  that  the  actions  of 
men  are  eH'ected  by  the  power  which  God  hath  created  in  man,  and  tiiat 
God  causeth  to  exist  in  man  both  power  and  will,  and  that  this  power  and 
will  do  necessarily  produce  that  which  man  is  empowered  to  do*:  and  Abu 
Ishak  al  Isfarayeni  taught,  that  that  which  maketh  impression,  or  hath  in- 
fluence  on  an  action,  is  a  compound  of  the  power  of  God  and  the  power  of 
man.'  The  same  author  observes,  that  their  ancestors,  perceiving  a  mani- 
fest difference  between  those  things  which  are  the  effects  of  the  election  of 
man,  and  those  things  which  are  the  necessary  effects  of  inanimate  agents, 
destitute  both  of  knowledge  and  choice,  and  being  at  the  same  time  pressed 
by  the  arguments  which  prove  that  God  is  the  Creator  of  all  things,  and  con- 
sequently of  those  things  which  are  done  by  men,  to  conciliate  the  matter, 
chose  the  middle  way,  asserting  actions  to  proceed  from  the  power  of  God, 
and  the  acquisition  of  man  ;  God's  way  of  dealing  with  his  servants  being, 
that  when  man  intendeth  obedience,  God  createth  in  him  an  action  of 
obedience,  and  when  he  intendeth  disobedience,  he  createth  in  him  an 
action  of  disobedience ;  so  that  man  seemeth  to  be  the  effective  producer  of 
his  action,  though  he  really  be  not.^  But  this,  proceeds  the  same  writer,  is 
again  pressed  with  its  difficulties,  because  the  very  intention  of  the  mind  is 
the  work  of  God,  so  that  no  man  hath  any  share  in  the  production  of  his 
own  actions;  for  which  reason  the  ancients  disapproved  of  too  nice  an  in- 
quiry into  this  point,  the  end  of  the  dispute  concerning  the  same  being,  for 
the  most  part,  either  the  taking  away  of  all  precepts  positive  as  well  as 
negative,  or  else  the  associating  of  a  companion  with  God,  by  introducing 
some  other  independent  agent  besides  him.  Those,  therefore,  who  would 
speak  more  accurately,  use  this  form:  There  is  neither  compulsion  nor  free 
liberty,  but  the  way  lies  between  the  two;  the  power  and  will  in  man  be- 
ing both  created  by  God,  though  the  merit  or  guilt  be  imputed  unto  man. 
Yet,  after  all,  it  is  judged  the  safest  way  to  follow  the  steps  of  the  primitive 
Moslems,  and,  avoiding  subtle  disputations  and  too  curious  inquiries,  to 
leave  the  knowledge  of  this  matter  wholly  unto  God.^    3.  As  to  mortal  sin 

'  Auctor  Sharh  al  Tawalea,  apud  eund.  ibid.  p.  248,  «&c.  ^  Idem,  ibid.  p.  249,  250. 

^  Idem,  ibid.  p.  250,  251.  I  trust  the  reader  will  not  be  offended  if,  as  a  farther  illustra- 
tion of  what  has  been  said  on  this  subject,  (in  producing  of  which  I  have  purposely  kept  to 
the  original  Mohammedan  expressions)  I  transcribe  a  passage  or  two  from  a  postscript  sub- 
joined to  the  epistle  I  have  quoted  above,  (sect.  iv.  p.  77,)  in  which  the  point  of  free-will  is 
treated  ex  prqfesso.  Therein  the  Moorish  author,  having  mentioned  the  two  opposite 
opinions  of  the  Kadarians,  who  allow  free-will,  and  the  Jabarians,  who  make  man  a  neces- 
sary agent,  (the  former  of  which  opinions,  he  says,  seems  to  approach  nearest  to  that  of  the 
greater  part  of  Christians,  and  of  the  Jews)  declares  the  true  opinion  to  be  that  of  the  Son- 
nites,  who  assert  that  man  hath  power  and  will  to  choose  good  and  evil,  and  can  moreover 
know  he  shall  be  rewarded  if  he  do  well,  and  shall  be  punished  if  he  do  ill ;  but  that  he 
depends  notwithstanding  on  God's  power,  and  willeth,  if  God  willeth,  but  not  otherwise. 
Then  he  proceeds  briefly  to  refute  the  two  extreme  opinions,  and  first  to  prove  that  of  the 
Kadarians,  though  it  be  agreeable  to  God's  justice,  inconsistent  with  his  attributes  of  wisdom 
and  power  :  "  iSapientia  enim  Dei,"  says  he,  "  comprehendit  quicquid  fuit  et  futurum  est 
ab  aeternitate  in  finem  usque  mundi  et  postea.  Et  ita  novit  ab  aeterno  omnia  opera  creatu- 
rarum,  sive  bona,  sive  mala,  quae  fuerint  creata  cum  potentia  Dei,  et  ejus  libera  et  deter- 
minaia  voluntate,  sicut  ipsi  visum  fuit.  Denique  novit  eum  qui  futurus  erat  malus,  et  ta- 
men  creavit  eum,  et  similiter  bonum,  quem  etiam  creavit :  neque  negari  potest  quin,  si  ipsi 
hbuisset,  potuisset  omnes  creare  bonos:  placuit  tamen  Deo  creare  bonos  et  malos,  cum 
Deo  soli  sit  absoluta  et  libera  voluntas,  et  perfecta  electio,  et  non  homini.  Ita  enim 
Salomon  in  suis  proverbiis  dixit,  Vitain  et  mortem,  bonum  et  malum,  divitias  et  pauper- 
tatem.  esse  et  venire  a  Deo.  Christiani  etiam  dicunt  S.  Paulum  dixisse  in  suis  epis- 
tolis  ;  Dicet  etiam  lutum  figulo,  quare  facis  unum  vas  ad  honorem,  et  aliud  vas  ad 
contumeliam  ?  Cum  igitur  miser  homo  fuerit  creatus  a  voluntate  Dei  et  potentia,  nihil 
aliud  potest  tribui  ipsi  quam  ipse  sensus  cognoscendi  et  sentiendi  an  bene  vel  male 
faciat.  Quae  unica  causa  (id  est,  sensus  cognoscendi)  erit  ejus  glorias  vel  poense 
causa  :  per  talem  enim  sensum  novit  quid  boni  vel  mali  adversus  Dei  praecepta  fecerit." 


120  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

the  Asharians  taught,  that  if  a  believer  guilty  of  such  sin  die  without  re- 
pentance, his  sentence  is  to  be  left  to  God,  whether  he  pardon  him  out  of 
mercy,  or  whether  the  prophet  intercede  for  him,  (according  to  that  saying 
recorded  of  him, "  My  intercession  shall  be  employed  for  those  among  my 
people  who  shall  be  guilty  of  grievous  crimes,")  or  whether  he  punish  him 
in  proportion  to  his  demerit,  and  afterwards,  through  his  mercy,  admit  him 
into  paradise  ;  but  that  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  he  will  remain  for  ever 
in  hell  with  the  infidels,  seeing  it  is  declared  that  whoever  shall  have  faith 
in  his  heart  but  of  the  weight  of  an  ant  shall  be  delivered  from  hell-fire.^ 
And  this  is  generally  received  for  the  orthodox  doctrine  in  this  point, 
and  is  diametrically  opposite  to  that  of  the  Motazalites. 

These  were  the  more  rational  Sefatians,  but  the  ignorant  part  of  them, 
not  knowing  how  otherwise  to  explain  the  expressions  of  the  Koran 
relating  to  the  declarative  attributes,  fell  into  most  gross  and  absurd 
opinions,  making  God  corporeal,  and  like  created  beings.^     Such  were, 

2.  The  Moshabbehites,  or  assimilators  ;  who  allowed  a  resemblance  be- 
tween God  and  his  creatures,^  supposing  him  to  be  a  figure  composed  of 
members  or  parts,  either  spiritual  or  corporeal,  and  capable  of  local  motion, 
of  ascent  and  descent,  &c.'    Some  of  this  sect  inclined  to  the  opinion  of  the 

The  opinion  of  ihe  Jabarians,  on  the  other  hand,  he  rejects  as  contrary  to  man's  conscious- 
ness of  his  own  power  and  choice,  and  inconsistent  with  God's  justice,  and  his  having 
given  mankind  laws,  to  the  observing  or  transgressing  of  which  he  has  annexed  rewards 
and  punishments.  After  this  he  proceeds  to  explain  the  third  opinion  in  the  following 
words  :  "  Tertia  opinio  Zunis  {i.  e.  Sonnitarum),  quae  vera  est,  affirmat  homini  potestatem 
esse,  sed  limitatam  a  sua  causa,  id  est,  dependentem  a  Dei  potentia  et  voluntate,  et  prop- 
ter illam  cognitionem  qua  deliberat  bene  vel  male  facere,  esse  dignum  poena  vel  praemio. 
Manifestum  est  in  aeternitate  non  fuisse  aliam  potentiam  prater  Dei  nostri  omnipotentis,  e 
cujus  potentia  pendebant  omnia  possibilia,  id  est,  quaj  poterant  esse,  curn  ab  ipso  fuerint 
creata.  Sapientia  vero  Dei  novit  etiam  quae  non  sunt  futura ;  et  potentia  ejus,  etsi  non 
creaverit  ea,  potuit  tamen,  si  ita  Deo  placuisset.  Ita  novit  sapientia  Dei  quae  erant  impos- 
sibilia,  id  est,  quae  non  poterant  esse  ;  quae  tamen  nuUo  pacto  pendent  ab  ejus  potentia :  ab 
ejus  enim  potentia  nulla  pendent  nisi  possibilia. — Dicimus  enim  a  Dei  potentia  non  pen- 
dere  creare  Deum  alium  ipsi  similem,  nee  creare  aliquid  quod  moveatur  et  quiescat  simul 
eodem  tempore,  cum  haec  sint  ex  impossibilibus  :  comprehendit  tamen  sua  sapientia  tale 
aliquid  non  pendere  ab  ejus  potentia. — A  potentia  igitur  Dei  pendet  solum  quod  potest  esse, 
et  possibile  est  esse :  quae  semper  parata  est  dare  esse  possibilibus.  Et  si  hoc  penitus 
cognoscamus,  cognoscemus  pariter  omne  quod  est,  seu  futurum  est,  sive  sint  opera  nostra, 
sive  quidvis  aliud,  pendere  a  sola  potentia  Dei.  Et  hoc  non  privatim  intelligitur^  sed  in 
genere  de  omni  eo  quod  est  et  movetur,  sive  in  coehs,  sive  in  terra  ;  et  nee  aliqua  poten- 
tia potest  impediri  Dei  potentia,  cum  nulla  aha  potentia  absolula  sit,  praeter  Dei ;  potentia 
vero  nostra  non  est  a  se,  nisi  a  Dei  potentia:  et  cum  potentia  nostra  dicitur  esse  a  causa 
sua,  ideo  dicimus  potentiam  nostram  esse  straminis  comparatam  cum  potentia  Dei :  eo 
enim  modo  quo  stramen  movetur  a  motu  maris,  ita  nostra  potentia  et  voluntas  a  Dei  po- 
tentia. Itaque  Dei  potentia  semper  est  parata  etiam  ad  occidendum  aliquem;  ut  si  quia 
hominem  occidat,  non  dicimus  potentia  hominis  id  factum,  sed  aeterna  potentia  Dei:  error 
enim  est  id  tribuere  potentiae  hominis.  Potentia  enim  Dei,  cum  semper  sit  parata,  et  ante 
ipsum  hominem,  ad  occidendum;  si  sola  hominis  potentia  id  factum  esse  diceremus,  et 
moreretur,  potentia  sane  Dei  (quae  ante  erat)  jam  ibi  esset  frustra;  quia  post  mortem^  non 
potest  potentia  Dei  eum  iterum  occidere  ;  ex  quo  sequeretur  potentiam  Dei  impediri  a  po- 
tentia hominis,  et  potentiam  hominis  anteire  et  antecellere  potentiam  Dei ;  quod  est  ab- 
surdum  et  impossibile.  Igitur  Deus  est  qui  operatur  aeterna  sua  potentia  ;  si  vero  homini 
iiijiciatur  culpa,  sive  in  tali  homicidio,  sive  in  aliis,  hoc  est  quantum  ad  praecepta  et  legem. 
Homini  tribuitur  solum  opus  externe,  et  ejus  electio,  qua?  est  a  voluntate  ejus  et  potentia; 
non  vero  interne. — Hoc  es  punctum  illud  indivisibile  et  secretum,  quod  a  paucissimis 
capitur,  ut  sapientissimus  Sidi  Abo  Hamet  Elgaceli  (i.  e.  Dominus  Abu  Hamed  al  Gha- 
zali)  affirmat  (cujus  spiritui  Deus  concedat  gloriam.  Amen!)  sequentibus  verbis:  Ita  ab- 
ditum  et  prolundum  et  abstrusum  est  intelligere  punctum  illud  Liberi  Arbitrii,  ut  neque 
characteres  ad  scribendum,  neque  ullae  rationes  ad  exprimendum  sufficiant,  et  omnes, 
quotquot  de  hac  re  locuti  sunt,  haeserunt  confusi  in  ripa  tanti  et  tam  spaciosi  maris." 

*  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  258.  »  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  p.  255,  &.c.     Abultar, 

p.  167,  &c.  *  Al  Mawakef,  apud  Poc.  ibid.  '  Al  Shahrest.  apud  eund.  ibid. 

p.  226. 


SECT.  vm.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  121 

Holulians,  who  believed  that  the  divine  nature  rniglit  be  united  with  the 
human  in  the  same  person;  for  they  granted  it  possible  that  God  might 
appear  in  a  human  form,  as  Gabriel  did  :  and  to  confirm  their  opinion  they 
allege  Mohammed's  words,  that  he  saw  his  lord  in  a  most  beautiful  form, 
and  Moses  talking  with  God  face  to  face.^     And, 

3.  The  Keramians,  or  followers  of  Mohammed  Ebn  Kcram,  called  also 
Mojassemians,  or  Corporealists  ;  who  not  only  admitted  a  resemblance 
between  God  and  created  beings,  but  declared  God  to  be  corporeal.^  The 
more  sober  among  them,  indeed,  when  they  applied  the  word  body  to  God, 
would  be  understood  to  mean  that  he  is  a  self-subsisting  being,  which  with 
them  is  the  definition  of  body  :  but  yet  some  of  tiiem  aOirmed  him  to  be 
finite,  and  circumscribed  either  on  all  sides,  or  on  some  only  (as  beneath, 
for  example),  according  to  different  opinions  ; '°  and  others  allowed  that  he 
might  be  felt  by  the  hand,  and  seen  by  the  eye.  Nay,  one  David  al  Jawari 
went  so  far  as  to  say,  that  his  deity  was  a  body  composed  of  flesh  and 
blood,  and  that  he  had  members,  as  hands,  feet,  a  head,  a  tongue,  eyes,  and 
ears;  but  that  he  was  a  body,  however,  not  like  otlier  bodies,  neither  was 
he  like  to  any  created  being:  he  is  also  said  farther  to  have  affirmed  that 
from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  breast  he  was  hollow,  and  from  the 
breast  downward  solid,  and  that  he  had  black  curled  hair.^  These  most 
blasphemous  and  monstrous  notions  were  the  consequence  of  the  literal 
acceptation  of  those  passages  in  the  Koran  which  figuratively  attribute  cor- 
poreal actions  to  God,  and  of  the  words  of  Mohammed,  when  he  said,  that 
God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  and  that  he  himself  had  felt  the  fingers 
of  God,  which  he  laid  on  his  back,  to  be  cold:  besides  which,  this  sect  are 
charged  with  fathering  on  their  prophet  a  great  number  of  spurious  and 
forged  traditions  to  support  their  opinion,  the  greater  part  whereof  they 
borrowed  from  the  Jews,  who  are  accused  as  naturally  prone  to  assimilate 
God  to  men,  so  that  they  describe  him  as  weeping  for  Noah's  flood  till  his 
eyes  were  sore.^  And  indeed,  though  we  grant  the  Jews  may  have  im- 
posed on  Mohammed  and  his  followers  in  many  instances,  and  told  them 
as  solemn  truths  things  which  themselves  believed  not  or  had  invented,  yet 
many  expressions  of  this  kind  are  to  be  found  in  their  writings;  as  when 
they  introduce  God  roaring  like  a  lion  at  every  watch  of  the  night,  and 
crying,  "  Alas  !  that  I  have  laid  waste  my  house,  and  suflered  my  temple  to 
be  burnt,  and  sent  my  children  into  banishment  among  the  heathen,"  &c.^ 

4.  The  Jabarians;  who  are  the  direct  opponents  of  the  Kadarians, 
denying  free  agency  in  man,  and  ascribing  his  actions  wholly  unto  God." 
They  take  their  denomination  from  al  Jabr,  which  signifies  necessity  or 
compulsion  ;  because  they  hold  man  to  be  necessarily  and  inevitably  con- 
strained to  act  as  he  does,  by  force  of  God's  eternal  and  immutable  decree.^ 
This  sect  is  distinguished  into  several  species  ;  some  being  more  rigid  and 
extreme  in  their  opinion,  who  are  thence  called  pure  Jabarians,  and  others 
more  moderate,  who  are  therefore  called  middle  Jabarians.  The  former 
will  not  allow  men  to  be  said  either  to  act,  or  to  have  any  power  at  all, 
either  operative  or  acquiring;  asserting  that  man  can  do  nothing,  but 
produces  all  his  actions  by  necessity,  having  neither  power,  nor  will,  nor 
choice,  any  more  than  an  inanimate  agent :  they  also  declare  that  rewarding 
and  punishing  are  also  the  effects  of  necessity  ;  and  the  same  they  say  of 
the  imposing  of  commands.     This  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Jahmians,  the 


«  Vide  Marracc.  Prodr.  part  iii.  p.  76.  '  Al  Shahrest.  ubi  sup.  "'  Idem,  ibid.  p.  225. 
'  Idem,  ibid.  p.  22G,  227.  ^  Idem,  ibid.  p.  227,  228.  =>  Talm.  Beracboih.  c.  1.  Vide 
Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  228.  *  Vide  Abulfarag.  p.  168.  '  Al  Shahrest.  al  Mawakef,  et  Ebn 
al  Kossa,  apud  Poc.  ibid.  p.  238,  &,c. 


122  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viir. 

followers  of  Jahm  Ebn  Safwan,  who  likewise  held  that  paradise  and  hell 
will  vanish,  or  be  annihilated,  after  those  who  are  destined  thereto  respec- 
tively shall  have  entered  them,  so  that  at  last  there  will  remain  no  existing 
being  besides  God  ;^  supposing  those  words  of  the  Koran,  which  declare 
that  the  inhabitants  of  paradise  and  of  hell  shall  remain  therein  for  ever,  to 
be  hyperbolical  only,  and  intended  for  corroboration,  and  not  to  denote  an 
eternal  duration  in  reality.'  The  moderate  Jabarians  are  they  who  ascribe 
some  power  to  man,  but  such  a  power  as  hath  no  influence  on  the  action: 
for  as  to  those  who  grant  the  power  of  man  to  have  a  certain  influence  on 
the  action,  which  influence  is  called  Acquisition,  some^  will  not  admit  them 
to  be  called  Jabarians;  though  others  reckon  those  also  to  be  called  middle 
Jabarians,  and  to  contend  for  the  middle  opinion  between  absolute  necessity 
and  absolute  liberty,  who  attribute  to  man  acquisition,  or  concurrence,  in 
producing  the  action,  whereby  he  gaineth  commendation  or  blame,  (yet 
without  admitting  it  to  have  any  influence  on  the  action),  and  therefore 
make  the  Asharians  a  branch  of  this  sect.^  Having  again  mentioned  the 
term  Acquisition,  we  may  perhaps  have  a  clearer  idea  of  what  the  Moham- 
medans mean  thereby,  when  told,  that  it  is  defined  to  be  an  action  directed 
to  the  obtaining  of  profit,  or  the  removing  of  hurt,  and  for  that  reason  never 
applied  to  any  action  of  God,  who  acquireth  to  himself  neither  profit  nor 
hurt.'  Of  the  middle  or  moderate  Jabarians,  were  the  Najarians,  and  the 
Derarians.  The  Najarians  were  the  adherents  of  Al  Hasan  Ebn  Moham- 
med al  Najar,  who  taught  that  God  was  he  who  created  the  actions  of 
men,  both  good  and  bad,  and  that  man  acquired  them,  and  also  that  man's 
power  had  an  influence  on  the  action,  or  a  certain  cooperation,  which 
he  called  acquisition  ;  and  herein  he  agreed  with  al  Ashari.^  The  Dera- 
rians were  the  disciples  of  Derar  Ebn  Amru,  who  held  also  that  men's 
actions  are  really  created  by  God,  and  that  man  really  acquired  them.' 
The  Jabarians  also  say,  that  God  is  absolute  Lord  of  his  creatures,  and 
may  deal  with  them  according  to  his  own  pleasure,  without  rendering 
account  to  any,  and  that  if  he  should  admit  all  men  without  distinction 
into  paradise,  it  would  be  no  impartiality,  or  if  he  should  cast  them  all 
into  hell  it  would  be  no  injustice.*  And  in  this  particular  likewise  they 
agree  with  the  Asharians,  who  assert  the  same,^  and  say  that  reward  is  a 
favour  from  God,  and  punishment  a  piece  of  justice  ;  obedience  being  by 
them  considered  as  a  sign  only  of  future  reward,  and  transgression  as  a 
sign  of  future  punishment.^ 

5.  The  Morgians ;  who  are  said  to  be  derived  from  the  Jabarians.' 
These  teach  that  the  judgment  of  every  true  believer,  who  hath  been  guilty 

'  Al  Shahrest.  al  Motarezzi,  et  Ebn  al  Kossa,  apud  eund.  p.  239,  243,  &c.  '  Idem, 

ibid.  p.  260.  ^  Al  Shahrest.  ^  Ebn  al  Kossa,  et  al  Mawakef.  '  Ebn  al  Kossa, 

apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  p.  240.  =  Al  Shahrest.  apud  eund.  p.  245.  ^  Idem,  ibid.  *  Abul- 
t'arag,  p.  168,  &c.  '  Al  Shahrestani,  ubi  sup.  p.  252,  &c.  ^  Sharh  al  Tawalea,  ibid. 
To  the  same  effect  writes  the  Moorish  author  quoted  above,  from  whom  I  will  venture  to 
Transcribe  the  following  passage,  with  which  he  concludes  his  discourse  on  Free-will. 
"  Intellectus  fere  lumine  naturali  novit  Deum  esse  rectum  judicem  et  justum,  qui  non  ali- 
ter  afficit  creaturam  quam  juste  :  etiam  Deum  esse  absolutum  Dominum,  et  banc  orbis 
machinam  esse  ejus,  et  ab  eo  creatam  ;  Deum  nullis  debere  rationem  reddere,  cum  quic- 
quid  agat,  agat  jure  proprio  sibi:  et  ita  absolute  poterit  afficere  prsemio  vel  poena  quern 
vult,  cum  omnis  creatura  sit  ejus,  nee  facit  cuiquam  injuriam,  etsi  eam  tormentis  et  pcenis 
aeternis  afficiat :  plus  enim  boni  et  commodi  accepit  creatura  quando  accepit  esse  a  suo 
creatore,  quam  incommodi  et  damni  quando  ab  eo  damnata  est  et  affecta  tormentis  et 
pcenis.  Hoc  autem  intelligitur  si  Deus  absolute  id  faceret.  Quando  enim  Deus,  pietate 
et  misericordia  motus,  eligit  aliquos  ut  ipsi  serviant,  Dominus  Deus  gratia  sua  id  facit  ex 
mfinita  bonitate  ;  et  quando  aliquos  derelinquit,  et  pcenis  et  tormentis  afficit,  ex  justitia  et 
rectitudine.  Et  tandem  dicimus  omnes  pcenas  esse  justas  quee  a  Deo  veniunt  et  nostra 
tantiim  culpa,  et  omnia  bone  esse  a  pietate  et  misericordia  ejus  infinita."  '  Al  Shah- 

rest. ubi  sup.  p.  256. 


SECT.  viii.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  123 

of  a  grievous  sin,  will  be  deferred  till  the  resurrection ;  for  which  reason 
they  pass  no  sentence  on  him  in  this  world,  either  of  absolution  or  con- 
demnation. They  also  hold  that  disobedience  with  faith  hurteth  not ;  and 
that  on  the  other  hand,  obedience  with  infidelity  protiteth  not.^  As  to  the 
reason  of  their  name  the  learned  differ,  because  of  the  different  sio^nifications 
of  its  root,  each  of  which  they  accommodate  to  some  opinion  of  the  sect. 
Some  think  them  so  called  because  they  postpone  works  to  intention,  that 
is,  esteem  works  to  be  inferior  in  degree  to  intention  and  profession  of  the 
faith  ;^  others,  because  they  allow  hope,  by  asserting  that  disobedience  with 
faith  hurteth  not,  &c. ;  others  take  the  reason  of  the  name  to  be,  their 
deferring  the  sentence  of  the  heinous  sinner  till  the  resurrection  ;^  and 
others,  their  degrading  of  Ali,  or  removing  him  from  the  first  degree  to 
the  fourth  i^  for  the  Morgians,  in  some  points  relating  to  the  oflice  of 
Imam,  agree  with  the  Kharejites.  This  sect  is  divided  into  four  species: 
three  of  which,  according  as  they  happen  to  agree  in  particular  dogmas 
with  the  Kharejites,  the  Kadarians,  or  the  Jabarians,  are  distinguished 
as  Morgians  of  those  sects,  and  the  fourth  is  that  of  the  pure  Morgians; 
which  last  species  is  again  subdivided  into  five  others.^  The  opinions  of 
Mokatel  and  Bashar,  both  of  a  sect  of  the  Morgians  called  Thaubanians, 
should  not  be  omitted.  The  former  asserted  that  disobedience  hurts  not 
him  who  professes  the  unity  of  God,  and  is  endued  with  faith;  and  that  no 
true  believer  shall  be  cast  into  hell :  he  also  taught  that  God  will  surely 
forgive  all  crimes  besides  infidelity ;  and  that  a  disobedient  believer  will  be 
punished,  at  the  day  of  resurrection,  on  the  bridge^  laid  over  the  midst  of 
hell,  where  the  flames  of  hell-fire  shall  catch  hold  on  him,  and  torment  him 
in  proportion  to  his  disobedience,  and  that  he  shall  then  be  admitted 
into  paradise.^  The  latter  held,  that  if  God  do  cast  the  believers  guilty  of 
grievous  sins  into  hell,  yet  they  will  be  delivered  thence  after  they  shall 
have  been  sufficiently  punished  ;  but  that  it  is  neither  possible  nor  con- 
sistent with  justice,  that  they  should  remain  therein  for  ever  :  which,  as 
has  been  observed,  was  the  opinion  of  al  Ashari. 

III.  The  Kharejites  are  they  who  depart  or  revolt  from  the  lawful  prince 
established  by  public  consent ;  and  thence  comes  their  name,  which  signi- 
fies revolters  or  rebels.^  The  first  who  were  so  called  were  twelve  thousand 
men  who  revolted  from  Ali,  after  they  had  fought  under  him  at  the  battle 
of  Seffein,  taking  offence  at  his  submitting  the  decision  of  his  right  to  the 
Khalifat,  which  Moawiyah  disputed  with  him,  to  arbitration,  though  they 
themselves  had  first  obliged  him  to  it.'  These  were  also  called  Mohak- 
kemites,  or  Judiciarians ;  because  the  reason  which  they  gave  for  their 
revolt  was,  that  Ali  had  referred  a  matter  concerning  the  religion  of  God  to 
the  judgment  of  men,  whereas  the  judgment  in  such  case,  belonged  only 
unto  God.^  The  heresy  of  the  Kharejites  consisted  chiefly  in  two  things. 
I.  In  that  they  affirmed  a  man  might  be  promoted  to  the  dignity  of  Imam, 
or  prince,  though  he  was  not  of  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  nor  even  a  freeman, 
provided  he  was  a  just  and  pious  person,  and  endued  with  the  other  re- 
quisite qualifications;  and  also  held,  that  if  the  Imam  turned  aside  from 
the  truth,  he  might  be  put  to  death  or  deposed  ;  and  that  there  was 
no  absolute  necessity  for  any  Imam  at  all  in  the  world.  2.  In  that  they 
charged  Ali  with  sin,  for  having  left  an  affair  to  the  judgment  of  men, 
which  ought  to  have  been  determined  by  God  alone  ;  and  went  so  far  as  to 
declare  him  guilty  of  infidelity,  and  to  curse  him  on  that  account.'    In  the 

'  Abulfar.  p.  ir.9.  »  Al  Firauz.  '  Ebn  al  Athir,  al  Motarrczi.  ^  Al  Shahrest. 
ubi  sup.  p.  254,  &.c.  ^  Idem,  ibid.  *  See  before,  sect.  iv.  p.  65.  ''  Al  .Shalirest. 

iibi  sup.  p.  257.  ••  Idem,  ibid.  p.  269.  '  See  Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Sarac.  vol.  i. 

p.  60,  &c.  '  Al  Shahrest.  ubi  sup.  p.  270.  '  Idem,  ibid. 


124  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  vni. 

38th  year  of  the  Hejra,  which  was  the  year  following  the  revolt,  all  these 
Kharejites,  who  persisted  in  their  rebellion,  to  the  number  of  four  thousand, 
were  cut  to  pieces  by  Ali,  and  as  several  historians^  write,  even  to  a  man: 
but  others  say  nine  of  them  escaped,  and  that  two  fled  into  Omin,  two  into 
Kerman,  two  into  Sejestan,  two  into  Mesopotamia,  and  one  to  Tel  Mawrun ; 
and  that  these  propagated  their  heresy  in  those  places,  the  same  remaining 
there  to  this  day .3  The  principal  sects  of  the  Kharejites,  besides  the 
Mohakkemites  above  mentioned,  are  six  ;  which,  though  they  greatly  diflJ'er 
among  themselves  in  other  matters,  yet  agree  in  these,  viz.  that  they  abso- 
lutely reject  Othman  and  Ali,  preferring  the  doing  of  this  to  the  greatest 
obedience,  and  allowing  marriages  to  be  contracted  on  no  other  terms  ; 
that  they  account  those  who  are  guilty  of  grievous  sins  to  be  infidels  ;  and 
that  they  hold  it  necessary  to  resist  the  Imam  when  he  transgresses  the 
law.     One  sect  of  them  deserves  more  particular  notice,  viz. 

The  Wai'dians  ;  so  called  from  al  Wai'd,  which  signifies  the  threats  de- 
nounced by  God  against  the  wicked.  These  are  the  antagonists  of  the 
Morgians,  and  assert  that  he  who  is  guilty  of  a  grievous  sin  ought  to  be 
declared  an  infidel  or  apostate,  and  will  be  eternally  punished  in  hell, 
though  he  were  a  true  believer:"*  which  opinion  of  theirs,  as  has  been 
observed,  occasioned  the  first  rise  of  the  Motazalites.  One  Jaafar  Ebn 
Mobashshar,  of  the  sect  of  the  Nodhamians,  was  yet  more  severe  than  the 
Waidians,  pronouncing  him  to  be  a  reprobate  and  an  apostate  who  steals 
but  a  grain  of  corn.^ 

IV.  The  Shiites  are  the  opponents  of  the  Kharejites:  their  name  pro- 
perly signifies  sectaries  or  adherents  in  general,  but  is  peculiarly  used  to 
denote  those  of  Ali  Ebn  Abi  Taleb  ;  who  maintain  him  to  be  lawful  Khalif 
and  Imam,  and  that  the  supreme  authority,  both  in  spirituals  and  temporals, 
of  right  belongs  to  his  descendants,  notwithstanding  they  may  be  deprived 
of  it  by  the  injustice  of  others,  or  their  own  fear.  They  also  teach,  that  the 
office  of  Imam  is  not  a  common  thing,  depending  on  the  will  of  the  vulgar, 
so  that  they  may  set  up  whom  they  please  ;  but  a  fundamental  aflJair  of 
religion,  and  an  article  which  the  prophet  could  not  have  neglected,  or  left 
to  the  fancy  of  the  common  people  :^  nay  some,  thence  called  Imamians, 
go  so  far  as  to  assert,  that  religion  consists  solely  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  Imam.^  The  principal  sects  of  the  Shiites  are  five,  which  are  subdivided 
into  an  almost  innumerable  number;  so  that  some  understand  Moham- 
med's prophecy  of  the  seventy  odd  sects,  of  the  Shiites  only.  Hieir  gene- 
ral opinions  are,  I.  That  the  peculiar  designation  of  the  Imam,  and  the  tes- 
timonies of  the  Koran  and  Mohammed  concerning  him,  are  necessary  points. 
2.  That  the  Imams  ought  necessarily  to  keep  themselves  free  from  light  sins 
as  well  as  more  grievous.  3.  That  every  one  ought  publicly  to  declare 
who  it  is  that  he  adheres  to,  and  from  whom  he  separates  himself,  by  word, 
deed,  or  engagement;  and  that  herein  there  should  be  no  dissimulation. 
But  in  this  last  point  some  of  the  Zeidians,  a  sect  so  named  from  Zeid,  the 
son  of  Ali,  surnamcd  Zein  al  abedin,  and  great-grandson  of  Ali,  dissented 
from  the  rest  of  the  Shiites.^  As  to  other  articles,  wherein  they  agreed  not, 
some  of  them  came  pretty  near  to  the  notions  of  the  Motazalites,  others  to 
those  of  the  Moshabbehites,  and  others  to  those  of  the  Sonnites.^  Among 
the  latter  of  these,  Mohammed  al  Baker,  another  son  of  Zein  al  abedin's, 
seem  to  claim  a  place  :  for  his  opinion  as  to  the  will  of  God  was,  that  God 

'  Abu'lfeda,  al  Jannabi.  Elmacinus,  p.  40.  '  Al  Shahrestani.  See  Ockley's  Hist,  oi 
the  Saracens,  ubi  sup.  p.  63.  *  Abulfar.  p.  169.  Al  Shahrest.  apud  Poc.  Spec.  p.  256. 
*  Vide  Poc.  ibid.  p.  257.  ^  Al  Shahrest.  ibid.  p.  261.  Abulfar.  p.  169.  ■"  Al  Shahrest  ibid, 
p.  262.         « Idem,  ibid.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Schiah.         '  Vide  Poc.  ibid. 


SECT.  vm.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  I05 

willeth  something  in  us,  and  something  from  us,  and  that  what  he  willcth 
from  us  he  hath  revealed  to  us ;  for  which  reason  he  thought  it  preposte- 
rous that  we  should  employ  our  thoughts  about  those  things  which  God 
willeth  in  us,  and  neglect  those  which  he  willeth  from  us  :  and  as  to  God's 
decree,  he  held  that  the  way  lay  in  the  middle,  and  that  there  was  neither 
compulsion  nor  free  liberty.'  A  tenet  of  the  Khattabians,  or  disciples  of 
one  Abu'l  Khattab,  is  too  peculiar  to  be  omitted.  These  maintained  para- 
dise to  be  no  other  than  the  pleasures  of  this  world,  and  hell-tire  to  be 
the  pains  thereof,  and  that  the  world  will  never  decay :  which  proposition 
being  first  laid  down,  it  is  no  wonder  they  went  farther,  and  declared  it 
lawful  to  indulge  themselves  in  drinking  wine  and  whoring,  and  to  do 
other  things  forbidden  by  the  law,  and  also  to  omit  doing  the  things  com- 
manded by  the  law .2 

Many  of  the  Shiites  carried  their  veneration  for  AH  and  his  descendants 
so  far,  that  they  transgressed  all  bounds  of  reason  and  decency  ;  though 
some  of  them  were  less  extravagant  than  others.  The  Gholaites,  who  had 
their  name  from  their  excessive  zeal  for  their  Imams,  were  so  highly 
transported  therewith,  that  they  raised  them  above  the  degrees  of  created 
beings,  and  attributed  divine  properties  to  them ;  transgressing  on  cither 
hand,  by  deifying  of  mortal  men,  and  by  making  God  corporeal :  for  one 
while  they  liken  one  of  their  Imams  to  God,  and  another  while  they  liken 
God  to  a  creature.3  The  sects  of  these  are  various,  and  have  various 
appellations  in  different  countries.  Abd'allah  EbnSaba  (who  had  been  a 
Jew,  and  had  asserted  the  same  thing  of  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun)  was  the 
ringleader  of  one  of  them.  This  man  gave  the  following  salutation  to  Ali, 
viz.  Thou  art  thou,  i.  e.  Thou  art  God :  and  hereupon  the  Gholaites  be- 
came divided  into  several  species;  some  maintaining  the  same  thing,  or 
something  like  it,  of  Ali,  and  others  of  some  one  of  his  descendants  ; 
affirming  that  he  was  not  dead,  but  would  return  again  in  the  clouds,  and 
fill  the  earth  with  justice.*  But  how  much  soever  they  disagreed  in  other 
things,  they  unanimously  held  a  metempsychosis,  and  what  they  call  al 
Holul,  or  the  descent  of  God  on  his  creatures  ;  meaning  thereby,  that  God 
is  present  in  every  place,  and  speaks  with  every  tongue,  and  appears  in 
some  individual  persons  :^  and  hence  some  of  them  asserted  their  Imams 
to  be  prophets,  and  at  length  gods.^  The  Nosairians  and  the  Ishakians 
taught  that  spiritual  substances  appear  in  grosser  bodies ;  and  that  the 
angels  and  the  devil  have  appeared  in  this  manner.  They  also  assert  that 
God  hath  appeared  in  the  form  of  certain  men  ;  and  since,  after  Mohammed, 
there  hath  been  no  man  more  excellent  than  Ali,  and  after  him,  his  sons 
have  excelled  all  other  men,  that  God  hath  appeared  in  their  form, 
spoken  with  their  tongue,  and  made  use  of  their  hands,  for  which  reason, 
say  they,  we  attribute  divinity  to  them.^  And,  to  support  these  blasphe- 
mies, they  tell  several  miraculous  things  of  Ali,  as  his  moving  the  gates 
of  Khaibar,^  which  they  urge  as  a  plain  proof  that  he  was  endued  with  a 
particle  of  divinity  and  with  sovereign  power,  and  that  he  was  the  person 
in  whose  form  God  appeared,  with  whose  hands  he  created  all  things,  and 
with  whose  tongue  he  published  his  commands  ;  and  therefore  they  say  he 
was  in  being  before  the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth.'^  In  so  impious  a 
manner  do  they  seem  to  WTest  those  things  which  are  said  in  scripture  of 
Christ,  by  applying  them  to  Ali.    These  extravagant  fancies  of  the  Shiites, 

*  AI  Shahrest,  ibid.  p.  263.  »  Idem,  et  Ebn  al  Kossa,  ibid.  p.  260,  &c.         '  Idem, 

ibid.        *  Idem,  ibid.  p.  264.    Vide  Marracc.  Prodr.  part  lii.  p.  80,  &c.        '  AI  Shahrest. 

ibid.  p.  265,  «=  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Or.  Art.  Hakem  beamrillah.  '  Idem,  ibid. 

Abulfar.  p.  169.  *  See  Prid.  Life  of  Moham.  p.  93.  »  AI  Shah,  ubi  sup.  p.  266. 

K 


126  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viri. 

however,  in  making  their  Imams  partakers  of  llie  divine  nature,  and  the 
impiety  of  some  of  those  Imams  in  laying  claim  tliereto,  are  so  far  from 
being  peculiar  to  this  sect,  that  most  of  the  other  Mohammedan  sects  are 
tainted  \vit!i  the  same  madness;  their  being  many  found  among  them,  and 
among  tlie  Sufis  especially,  who  pretend  to  be  nearly  related  to  heaven,  and 
who  boast  of  strange  revelations  before  the  credulous  people.'  It  may  not 
be  amiss  to  hear  what  al  Ghazali  has  written  on  this  occasion.  "  Matters 
are  come  to  that  pass,"  says  he,  "  that  some  boast  of  a  union  with  God,  and 
of  discoursing  familiarly  with  him,  without  the  interposition  of  a  veil,  say- 
ing. It  hath  been  thus  said  to  us,  and  We  have  thus  spoken  ;  affecting  to 
imitate  Hosein  al  Ilallaj,  who  was  put  to  death  for  some  words  of  this  kind 
uttered  by  him,  he  having  said  (as  was  proved  by  credible  witnesses),  I  am 
the  Truth,^  or  Abu  Yazid  al  Bastami,  of  whom  it  is  related  that  he  often 
used  the  expression,  Sobhani,  i.  e.  Praise  be  unto  me  \^  But  this  way  of 
talking  is  the  cause  of  great  mischief  among  the  common  people;  insomuch 
that  husbandmen,  neglectingthe  tillage  of  their  land,  have  pretended  to  the 
like  privileges;  nature  being  tickled  with  discourses  of  this  kind,  which 
furnish  men  with  an  excuse  for  leaving  their  occupations,  under  pretence  of 
purifying  their  souls, and  attaining  I  know  not  what  degrees  and  conditions. 
Nor  is  there  any  thing  to  hinder  the  most  stupid  fellows  from  forming  the 
like  pretensions,  and  catching  at  such  vain  expressions  :  for  whenever  what 
they  say  is  denied  to  be  true,  they  fail  not  to  reply  that  our  unbelief  pro- 
ceeds from  learning  and  logic;  affirming  learning  to  be  a  veil,  and  logic 
the  work  of  the  mind  ;  whereas  what  they  tell  us  appears  only  within, 
being  discovered  by  the  light  of  truth.  But  this  is  that  truth  the  sparks 
whereof  have  flown  into  several  countries,  and  occasioned  great  mischiefs; 
so  that  it  is  more  for  the  advantage  of  God's  true  religion  to  put  to  death 
one  of  those  who  utter  such  things  than  to  bestow  life  on  ten  others."'* 

Thus  far  have  we  treated  of  the  chief  sects  among  the  Mohammedans  of 
the  first  ages;  omitting  to  say  any  thing  of  the  more  modern  sects,  because 
the  same  are  taken  little  or  no  notice  of  by  their  own  writers,  and  would 
be  of  no  use  to  our  present  design.^  It  may  be  proper,  however,  to  -men- 
tion a  word  or  two  of  the  great  schism  at  this  day  subsisting  between  the 
Sonnites  and  the  Shiites,  or  partisans  of  Ali,  and  maintained  on  either  side 
with  implacable  hatred  and  furious  zeal.  Though  the  difference  arose  at 
first  on  a  political  occasion,  it  has  notwithstanding  been  so  well  improved 
by  additional  circumstances,  and  the  spirit  of  contradiction,  that  each  party 
detest  and  anathematize  the  other  as  abominable  heretics,  and  farther 
from  the  truth  than  either  the  Christians  or  the  Jews.^  The  chief  points 
wherein  they  differ  are,  1.  That  the  Shiites  reject  Abu  Beer,  Omar,  and 
Othman,  the  first  three  Khalifs,  as  usurpers  and  intruders;  whereas  the 
Sonnites  acknowledge  and  respect  them  as  rightful  Imams.  2.  The  Shiites 
prefer  Ali  to  Mohammed,  or,  at  least,  esteem  them  both  equal ;  but  the 
Sonnites  admit  neither  Ali  nor  any  of  the  prophets  to  be  equal  to  Moham- 
med. 3.  The  Sonnites  charge  the  Shiites  with  corrupting  the  Koran,  and 
neglecting  its  precepts;  and  the  Shiites  retort  the  same  charge  on  the 
Sonnites.  4.  The  Sonnites  receive  the  Sonna,  or  book  of  traditions  of  their 
prophet, as  of  canonical  authority;  whereas  theShiites  reject  itas  apocryphal 
and  unworthy  of  credit.  And  to  these  disputes,  and  some  others  of  less 
moment,  is  principally  owing  the  antipathy  which  has  long  reigned  between 

]  Pocock,  Spec.  p.  267.  -  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Hallage.  =>  Vide 

Ibid.  Art.  Bastham.  "  Al  Ghazali,  apud  Poc.  ubi  sup.  =  The  reader  may  meet 

with  some  account  of  them  in  Ricaut's  Slate  of  the  Ottom.  Empire,  lib.  2.  c.  12.       *  Vide 
ibid.  c.  10,  et  Chardin.  Voy.  de  Perse,  torn.  ii.  p.  169,  170,  &c. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  I07 

the  Turks,  who  are  Sonnites,  and  the  Persians  who  are  of  the  sect  of  Ali. 
It  seems  strange  that  Spinosa,  had  he  known  of  no  other  schism  among  the 
IMohammedans,  should  yet  never  have  heard  of  one  so  publicly  notorious 
as  this  between  the  Turks  and  Persians;  but  it  is  plain  he  did  not,  or  he 
would  never  have  assigned  it  as  the  reason  of  his  preferring  the  order  of 
the  Mohammedan  church  to  that  of  the  Roman,  that  there  have  arisen  no 
schisms  in  the  former  since  its  birth.' 

As  success  in  any  project  seldom  fails  to  draw  in  imitators,  INIoham- 
med's  having  raised  himself  to  such  a  degree  of  power  and  reputation  by 
acting  the  prophet  induced  others  to  imagine  they  might  arrive  at  the 
same  height  by  the  same  means.  His  most  considerable  competitors  in 
the  prophetic  office  were  Moseilama  and  al  Aswad,  whom  the  Mohamme- 
dans usually  call  the  two  liars. 

The  former  was  of  the  tribe  of  Honeifa,  who  inhabited  the  province  of 
Yamama,  and  a  principal  man  among  them.  He  headed  an  embassy  sent 
by  his  tribe  to  Mohammed  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra,  and  professed 
himself  a  Moslem  ;8  but  on  his  return  home,  considering  that  he  might 
possibly  share  with  Mohammed  in  his  power,  the  next  year  he  set  up  for  a 
prophet  also,  pretending  to  be  joined  with  him  in  the  commission  to  recall 
mankind  from  idolatry  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God  :^  and  he  published 
written  revelations,  in  imitation  of  the  Koran,  of  which  Abu'ifaragius'°  has 
preserved  the  following  passage,  viz.  Now  hath  God  been  gracious  unto  her 
that  was  with  child,  and  hath  brought  forth  from  her  the  soul  which  run- 
neth between  the  peritonaeum  and  the  bowels.  Moseilama,  having  formed 
a  considerable  party  among  those  of  Honeifa,  began  to  think  himself  upon 
equal  terms  with  Mohammed,  and  sent  him  a  letter,  offering  to  go  halves 
with  him,^  in  these  words:  From  Moseilama  the  apostle  of  God,  to  Moham- 
med the  apostle  of  God.  Now  let  the  earth  be  half  mine  and  half  thine. 
But  Mohammed,  thinking  himself  too  well  established  to  need  a  partner, 
wrote  him  this  answer:  From  Mohammed  the  apostle  of  God,  to  Moseilama 
the  liar.  The  earth  is  God's  ;  he  giveth  the  same  for  inheritance  unto  such 
of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth  ;  and  the  happy  issue  shall  attend  those  who 
fear  him.^  During  the  few  months  which  Mohammed  lived  after  this  re- 
volt, Moseilama  rather  gained  than  lost  ground,  and  grew  very  formidable; 
but  Abu  Beer,  his  successor,  in  the  eleventh  year  of  the  Hejra,  sent  a  great 
army  against  him,  under  the  command  of  that  consummate  general  Khaled 
Ebn  al  VValid,  who  engaged  Moseilama  in  a  bloody  battle,  wherein  the 
false  prophet  happening  to  be  slain  by  Wahsha,  the  negro  slave  who  had 
killed  Hamza  at  Ohod,  and  by  the  same  lance,^  the  Moslems  gained  an 
entire  victory,  ten  thousand  of  the  apostates  being  left  dead  on  the  spot, 
and  the  rest  returning  to  Mohamrnedism.'* 

Al  Aswad,  whose  name  was  Aihala,  wasof  the  tribe  of  Ans,  and  governed 
that  and  the  other  tribes  of  Arabs  descended  from  Madhhaj.^  This  man 
was  likewise  an  apostate  from  Mohammedism,  and  set  up  for  himself  the 
very  year  that  Mohammed  died.  He  was  surnamed  Dhu'lhemar,  or  the 
master  of  the  ass,  because  he  used  frequently  to  say,  The  master  of  the  ass 

'  The  words  of  Spinosa  are  ;  "  Ordinem  Romanae  ecclesiap. — politicum  et  plurimis  lu- 
crosum  esse  fateor;  nee  ad  decipiendani  plebem,  et  hominum  animos  coercendum  com- 
niodiorem  isto  crederem,  ni  ordo  Mahumedanaj  ecclesioe  esset,  qui  longc  eundem  ante- 
cellit.  Nam  a  quo  tempore  haec  superstitio  incepit,  nulla  in  eorum  ecclesia  schismafa  orta 
sunt."     Opera  Posth.  p.  613.        »  Abulfed.  p.  160.  "  Idem,  Elmac.  p.  9.  '°  Hist. 

Dvnast.  p.  164.  '  Abulfed.  ubi  sup.  ^  Al  Beidawi,  in  Kor.  c.  5.  '  Abulfed.  ubi 
sup.  "  Idem,  ibid.  Abulfarag.  p.  173.     Elmac.  p.  16,  &c.     Sec  Ockley's  Hist  of  the 

Sarac.  vol.  i.  p.  15,  «&c.  '  Al  Sohcili,  apud  Gagnicr.  in  not.  ad  Abulf.  Vit.  I\loh.  p.  1^3. 
*  Elmac.  p.  9. 


128  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

is  coming  unto  me  ;'  and  pretended  to  receive  his  revelations  from  two 
angels  named  Sohaik  and  Shoraik.^  Having  a  good  hand  at  legerdemain, 
and  a  smooth  tongue,  he  gained  mightily  on  the  multitude  by  the  strange 
feats  which  he  showed  them,  and  the  eloquence  of  his  discourse  ;9  by  these 
means  he  greatly  increased  his  power,  and  having  made  himself  master  of 
Najran  and  the  territory  of  al  Tayef,'  on  the  death  of  Badhan,  the  governor 
of  Yaman  for  Mohammed,  he  seized  that  province  also,  killing  Shahr,  the 
son  of  Badhan,  and  taking  to  wife  his  widow,  whose  father,  the  uncle  of 
Firuz  the  Deilamite,  he  had  also  slain,2  These  news  being  brought  to 
Mohammed,  he  sent  to  his  friends,  and  to  those  of  Hamdan  ;  a  party  of 
whom,  conspiring  with  Kais  Ebn  Abd'  al  Yaghuth,  who  bore  al  Aswad  a 
grudge,  and  with  Firijz  and  al  Aswad's  wife,  broke  by  night  into  his  house, 
where  Firuz  surprised  him  and  cut  off  his  head.  While  he  was  despatching 
he  roared  like  a  bull ;  at  which  his  guards  came  to  the  chamber  door,  but 
were  sent  away  by  his  wife,  who  told  them  the  prophet  was  only  agitated 
by  the  divine  inspiration.  This  was  done  the  very  night  before  Mohammed 
died.  The  next  morning  the  conspirators  caused  the  following  proclamation 
to  be  made,  viz.  I  bear  witness  that  Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God,  and 
that  Aihala  is  a  liar;  and  letters  were  immediately  sent  away  to  Moham- 
med, with  an  account  of  what  had  been  done  ;  but  a  messenger  from  heaven 
outstripped  them,  and  acquainted  the  prophet  with  the  news,  which  he 
imparted  to  his  companions  a  little  before  his  death  ;  the  letters  themselves 
not  arriving  till  Abu  Beer  was  chosen  Khalif.  It  is  said  that  Mohammed 
on  this  occasion  told  those  who  attended  him,  that  before  the  day  of  judg- 
ment thirty  more  impostors,  besides  Moseilama  and  al  Aswad,  should 
appear,  and  every  one  of  them  set  up  for  a  prophet.  The  whole  time  from 
the  beginning  of  Aswad's  rebellion  to  his  death  was  about  four  months.'' 

In  the  same  eleventh  year  of  the  Hejra,  but  after  the  death  of  Moham- 
med, as  seems  most  probable,  Toleiha  Ebn  Khowailed  set  up  for  a  pro- 
phet, and  Sejaj  Bint  al  Mondar"  for  a  prophetess. 

Toleiha  was  of  the  tribe  of  Asad,  which  adhered  to  him,  together  with 
great  numbers  of  the  tribes  of  Ghatfan  and  Tay.  Against  them  likewise 
was  Khfiled  sent,  who  engaged  and  put  them  to  flight,  obliging  Toleiha 
with  his  shattered  troops  to  retire  into  Syria,  where  he  staid  till  the  death 
of  Abu  Beer:  then  he  went  to  Omar  and  embraced  Mohammedism  in  his 
presence,  and  having  taken  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  him,  returned  to  his 
own  country  and  people.'^ 

Sejaj,  surnamed  Omm  Sader,  was  of  the  tribe  of  Tamim,  and  the  wife  of 
Abu  Cahdala,  a  soothsayer  of  Yamama.  She  was  followed  not  only  by 
those  of  her  own  tribe,  but  by  several  others.  Thinking  a  prophet  the 
most  proper  husband  for  her,  she  went  to  Moseilama,  and  married  him ; 
but  after  she  had  staid  with  him  three  days,  she  left  him,  and  returned 
home.^  What  became  of  her  afterwards  I  do  not  find.  Ebn  Shohnah 
has  given  us  a  part  of  the  conversation  which  passed  at  the  interview 
between  those  two  pretenders  to  inspiration  ;  but  the  same  is  a  little  too 
immodest  to  be  translated. 

In  succeeding  ages  several  impostors  from  time  to  time  started  up,  most 
of  whom  quickly  came  to  nothing:  but  some  made  a  considerable  figure, 
and  propagated  sects  which  continued  long  after  their  decease.  I  shall  give 
a  brief  account  of  the  most  remarkable  of  them,  in  order  of  time. 

'  Abulfed.  ubi  sup.          '  Al  Soheili.  ubi  sup.  ^  Abulfed.  ubi  sup.            *  Idem,  et 

Elmac.  ubi  sup.          -  Idem,  al  Jannabi,  ubi  sup.  "  lidem,  ibid.          "  Ebn  Shohnah 

and  Elmacinus  call  her  the  daughter  of  al  Hareth.  ^  Elmac.  p.  16,  al  Beidawi,  in  Kor. 
c.  5.           «  Ebn  Shohnah.    Vide  Elmac.  p.  16. 


SECT.  VIII.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  I09 

In  the  reign  of  al  Mohdi,  the  third  Khalif  of  the  race  of  al  Abbas,  one 
Hakem  Ebn  Hashem,''  originally  of  Meru  in  Khorasan,  who  had  been  an 
under-secretary  to  Abu  Moslem,  the  governor  of  that  province,  and  after- 
wards turned  soldier,  passed  thence  into  Marvvara'lnahr,  where  he  gave 
himself  out  for  a  prophet.  He  is  generally  named  by  the  Arab  writers  al 
Mokanna,  and  sometimes  al  Borkai,  that  is  the  veiled,  because  he  used  to 
cover  his  face  with  a  veil,  or  a  gilded  mask,  to  conceal  his  deformity,  having 
lost  an  eye  in  the  wars,  and  being  otherwise  of  a  despicable  appearance; 
though  his  followers  pretended  he  did  it  for  the  same  reason  as  Moses  did, 
viz.  lest  the  splendour  of  his  countenance  should  dazzle  the  eyes  of  the 
beholders.  He  made  a  great  many  proselytes  at  Nakhshab  and  Kash, 
deluding  the  people  with  several  juggling  performances,  which  they 
swallowed  for  miracles,  and  particularly  by  causing  the  appearance  of  a 
moon  to  rise  out  of  a  well  for  many  nights  together;  whence  he  was  also 
called,  in  the  Persian  tongue,  Sazendeh  mah,  or  the  moon-maker.  This 
impious  impostor,  not  content  with  being  reputed  a  prophet,  arrogated 
divine  honours  to  himself,  pretending  that  the  deity  resided  in  his  person: 
and  the  doctrine  whereon  he  built  this  was  the  same  with  that  of  the 
Gholaites  above-mentioned,  who  affirmed  a  transmigration  or  successive 
manifestation  of  the  divinity,  through  and  in  certain  prophets  and  holy  men, 
from  Adam  to  these  latter  days  (of  which  opinion  was  also  Abu  Moslem 
himselfs);  but  the  particular  doctrine  of  al  Mokanna  was,  that  the  person 
in  whom  the  deity  had  last  resided  was  the  aforesaid  Abu  Moslem,  and 
that  the  same  had,  since  his  death,  passed  into  himself.  The  faction  of  al 
Mokanna,  who  had  made  himself  master  of  several  fortified  places  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  cities  above-mentioned,  growing  daily  more  and  more 
powerful,  the  Khalif  was  at  length  obliged  to  send  an  army  to  reduce  him; 
at  the  approach  whereof  al  Mokanna  retired  into  one  of  his  strongest 
fortresses,  which  he  had  well  provided  for  a  siege,  and  sent  his  emissaries 
abroad  to  persuade  people  that  he  raised  the  dead  to  life,  and  knew  future 
events.  But  being  straitly  besieged  by  the  Khalif's  forces,  when  he  found 
there  was  no  possibility  for  him  to  escape,  he  gave  poison  in  wine  to  his 
whole  family  and  all  that  w^ere  with  him  in  the  castle,  and  when  they  were 
dead  he  burnt  their  bodies,  together  with  their  clothes,  and  all  the  pro- 
visions, and  cattle;  and  then,  to  prevent  his  own  body  being  found,  he 
threw  himself  into  the  flames,  or,  as  others  say,  into  a  tub  of  aqua  fortis,  or 
some  other  preparation,  which  consumed  every  part  of  him,  except  only  his 
hair:  so  that  w-hen  the  besiegers  entered  the  place  they  found  no  creature 
in  it,  save  one  of  al  Mokanna's  concubines,  w4io,  suspecting  his  design,  had 
hid  herself,  and  discovered  the  whole  matter.  This  contrivance,  how^ever, 
failed  not  to  produce  the  effect  which  the  impostor  designed  among  the 
remaining  part  of  his  followers;  for  he  had  promised  them  that  his  soul 
should  transmigrate  into  the  form  of  a  grey-headed  man,  riding  on  a  greyish 
beast,  and  that  after  so  many  years,  he  would  return  to  them,  and  give 
them  the  earth  for  their  possession  ;  the  expectation  of  which  promise  kept 
the  sect  in  being  for  several  ages  after,^  under  the  name  of  Mobeyyidites, 
or,  as  the  Persians  call  them,  Sefid  jamehghian,  L  e.  the  clothed  in  white, 
because  they  wore  their  garments  of  that  colour,  in  opposition,  as  is  sup- 
posed, to  the  Khalifs  of  the  family  of  Abbas,  whose  banners  and  habits 

'  Or  Ebn  Ata,  accordinor  to  Ebn  Shohnah.  '  This  explains  a  doubt  of  Mr.  Bayle 

concerning  a  passage  of  Elmacinus,  as  translated  by  Erpenius,  and  corrected  by  Bespier. 
Vide  Bayle,  Diet.  Hist.  Art.  Abumuslimus,  vers  la  fin,  et  Rem.  B.  *  They  were  a  sect 
in  the  days  of  Abu'lfarajjius.  who  lived  about  five  liundred  years  after  this  extraordinary 
event ;  and  may,  for  aught  I  know,  be  so  still. 


3[30  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viii. 

were  black.     The  historians  place  the  death  of  al  Mokanna  in  the  162n(i 
or  163rd  year  of  the  Hejra.' 

In" the  year  of  the  Hejra  201,  Babec,  surnamed  al  Khorremi  and  Khor- 
remdin  either  because  he  was  of  a  certain  district  near  Adherbijan,  called 
Khorrem,  or  because  he  instituted  a  merry  religion,  which  is  the  significa- 
tion of  the  word  in  Persian,  began  to  take  on  him  the  title  of  a  prophet.  I 
do  not  find  what  doctrine  he  taught ;  but  it  is  said  he  professed  none  of 
the  religions  then  known  in  Asia.  He  gained  a  great  number  of  devotees 
in  Adherbijan  and  the  Persian  Irak,  and  grew  powerful  enough  to  wage 
war  with  the  Khalif  al  Mamun,  whose  troops  he  often  beat,  killing  several 
of  his  generals,  and  one  of  them  with  his  own  hand  ;  and  by  these  victories 
he  became  so  formidable  that  al  Motasem,  the  successor  of  al  Mamun,  was 
obliged  to  employ  the  forces  of  the  whole  empire  against  him.  The  gene- 
ral sent  to  reduce  Babec  was  Afshid,  who  having  overthrown  him  in  bat- 
tle, took  his  castles  one  after  another  with  invincible  patience,  notwith- 
standing the  rebels  gave  him  great  annoyance,  and  at  last  shut  up  the 
impostor  in  his  principal  fortress  ;  which  being  taken,  Babec  found  means 
to  escape  thence  in  disguise,  with  some  of  his  family  and  principal  fol- 
lowers; but  taking  refuge  in  the  territories  of  the  Greeks,  was  betrayed  in 
the  following  manner.  Sahel,  an  Armenian  ofiicer,  happening  to  know 
Babec,  enticed  him,  by  ofl^ers  of  service  and  respect,  into  his  power,  and 
treated  him  as  a  mighty  prince,  till,  when  he  sat  down  to  eat,  Sahel  clapt 
himself  down  by  him  ;  at  which  Babec  being  surprised,  asked  him  how  he 
dared  to  take  that  liberty  unasked?  "It  is  true,  great  king,"  replied 
Sahel,  "  I  have  committed  a  fault ;  for  who  am  I,  that  I  should  sit  at  your 
majesty's  table."  And  immediately  sending  for  a  smith,  he  made  use  of 
this  bitter  sarcasm,  "  Stretch  forth  your  legs,  great  king,  that  this  man 
may  put  fetters  on  them."  After  this  Sahel  sent  him  to  Afshid,  though  he 
had  oflfered  a  large  sum  for  his  liberty,  having  first  served  him  in  his  own 
kind,  by  causing  his  mother,  sister,  and  wife,  to  be  ravished  before  his  face  ; 
for  so  Babec  used  to  treat  his  prisoners.  Afshid,  having  the  arch-rebel  in 
his  power,  conducted  him  to  al  Motasem,  by  whose  order  he  was  put  to 
an  ignominious  and  cruel  death.  This  man  had  maintained  his  ground 
against  the  power  of  the  Khalifs  for  twenty  years,  and  had  cruelly  put  to 
death  above  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  people ;  it  being  his  custom 
never  to  spare  man,  woman,  or  child,  either  of  the  Mohammedans  or  their 
allies.2  The  sectaries  of  Babec  which  remained  after  his  death  seem  to 
have  been  entirely  dispersed,  there  being  little  or  no  mention  made  of 
them  by  historians. 

About  the  year  235,  one  Mahmud  Ebn  Faraj  pretended  to  be  Moses  re- 
suscitated, and  played  his  part  so  well  that  several  people  believed  in  him, 
and  attended  him  when  he  was  brought  before  the  Khalif  al  Motawakkel. 
That  prince,  having  been  an  ear-witness  of  his  extravagant  discourses, 
condemned  him  to  receive  ten  bufliets  from  every  one  of  his  followers,  and 
then  to  be  drubbed  to  death  ;  which  was  accordingly  executed  ;  and  his 
disciples  were  imprisoned  till  they  came  to  their  right  minds.^ 

The  Karmatians,  a  sect  which  bore  an  inveterate  malice  against  the 
Mohammedans,  began  first  to  raise  disturbances  in  the  year  of  the  Hejra 
278,  and  the  latter  end  of  the  reign  of  al  Motamed.  Their  origin  is  not  well 
known ;  but  the  common  tradition  is,  that  a  poor  fellow,  whom  some  call 

*  Ex  Abu'lfarag.  Hist.  Dyn.  p.  226.  Lobb  al  Tawarikh,  Ebn  Shohnah,  al  Tabari,  et 
Khondamir.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Hakem  Ben  Haschem.  ^  Ex  Abu'l- 
farag. p.  252,  &c.  Elmacin.  p.  141,  &c.  and  Khondamir.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Art.  Babec. 
'  Ebn  Shohnah.    Vide  D'Herbel.  p.  537. 


SECT.  viii.  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  131 

Karmata,  came  from  Khuzistdri  to  the  villages  near  Cilfa,  and  there  feigned 
great  sanctity  and  strictness  of  life,  and  that  God  had  enjoined  him  to  pray 
lifty  times  a  day,  pretending  also  to  invite  people  to  the  obedience  of  a  cer- 
tain Imam  of  the  family  of  Mohammed:  and  this  way  of  life  he  continued 
till  he  had  made  a  very  great  party,  out  of  whom  he  chose  twelve,  as 
his  apostles,  to  govern  the  rest,  and  to  propagate  his  doctrines.  But  the 
governor  of  the  province,  finding  men  neglected  their  work,  and  their 
husbandry  in  particular,  to  say  those  fifty  prayers  a  day,  seized  the  fellow, 
and  having  put  him  in  prison,  swore  that  he  should  die ;  which  being  over- 
lieard  by  a  girl  belonging  to  the  governor,  she,  pitying  the  man,  at  night 
took  the  key  of  the  dungeon  from  under  her  master's  head  as  he  slept,  and 
having  let  the  prisoner  out,  returned  the  key  to  the  place  whence  she  had 
it.  The  next  morning  the  governor  found  the  bird  flown ;  and  the  acci- 
dent being  publicly  known  raised  great  admiration,  his  adherents  giving 
it  out  that  God  had  taken  him  into  heaven.  Afterwards  he  appeared 
in  another  province,  and  declared  to  a  great  number  of  people  he  had 
got  about  him,  that  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  any  to  do  him  hurt;  not- 
withstanding which,  his  courage  failing  him,  he  retired  into  Syria,  and  was 
not  heard  of  any  more.  His  sect,  however,  continued  and  increased,  pre- 
tending that  their  master  had  manifested  himself  to  be  a  true  prophet,  and 
had  left  them  a  new  law,  wherein  he  had  changed  the  ceremonies  and 
form  of  prayer  used  by  the  Moslems,  and  introduced  a  new  kind  of  fast ; 
and  that  he  had  also  allowed  them  to  drink  wine,  and  dispensed  with  seve- 
ral things  commanded  in  the  Koran.  They  also  turned  the  precepts 
of  that  book  into  allegory ;  teaching  that  prayer  was  the  symbol  of 
obedience  to  their  Imam,  and  fasting  that  of  silence,  or  concealing  their 
dogmas  from  strangers  :  they  also  believed  fornication  to  be  the  sin  of  in- 
fidelity ;  and  the  guilt  thereof  to  be  incurred  by  those  who  revealed  the 
mysteries  of  their  religion,  or  paid  not  a  blind  obedience  to  their  chief. 
They  are  said  to  have  produced  a  book,  wherein  was  written  (among  other 
things),  "  In  the  name  of  the  most  merciful  God.  Al  Faraj  Ebn  Othman, 
of  the  town  of  Nasrana,  saith,  that  Christ  appeared  unto  him  in  a  human 
form,  and  said.  Thou  art  the  invitation:  thou  art  the  demonstration:  thou 
art  the  camel :  thou  art  the  beast :  thou  art  John  the  son  of  Zacharias : 
thou  art  the  Holy  Ghost."*  From  the  year  above-mentioned  the  Karma- 
tians,  under  several  leaders,  gave  almost  continual  disturbance  to  the 
Khalifs  and  their  Mohammedan  subjects  for  several  years ;  committing 
great  disorders  and  outrages  in  Chaldea,  Arabia,  Syria,  and  Mesopotamia, 
and  at  length  establishing  a  considerable  principality,  the  power  whereof 
was  in  its  meridian  in  the  reign  of  Abu  Dhaher,  famous  for  his  taking  of 
Mecca,  and  the  indignities  by  him  offered  to  the  temple  there,  but  which 
declined  soon  after  his  time,  and  came  to  nothing.^ 

To  the  Karmatians  the  Ismaelians  of  Asia  were  very  near  of  kin,  if  they 
were  not  a  branch  of  them:  for  these,  who  were  also  called  al  Molahedah, 
or  the  Impious,  and  by  the  writers  of  the  history  of  the  holy  wars.  Assas- 
sins, agreed  with  the  former  in  many  respects;  such  as  their  inveterate 
malice  against  those  of  other  religions,  and  especially  the  Mohammedan  ; 
their  unlimited  obedience  to  their  prince,  at  whose  command  they  were 
ready  for  assassinations,  or  any  other  bloody  and  dangerous  enterprise  ; 
their  pretended  attachment  to  a  certain  Imam  of  the  house  of  Ali,  &c. 
These  Ismaelians,  in  the  year  488,  possessed  themselves  of  al  Jebal,  in  ihe 
Persian  Irak,  under  the  conduct  of  Hasan  Sabah ;  and  that  prince  and  his 

*  Apud  Abulfar.  p,  275.  » Ex  Abulfar.  ibid.  Elmacino,  p.  174,  &c.  Ebn  Shohnah, 

Khondamir.     Vide  D'Herbel.  Art.  Carmaih. 


132  PRELIMINARY  DISCOURSE.  sect.  viir. 

descendants  enjoyed  the  same  for  a  hundred  and  seventy-one  years,  till 
the  whole  race  of  them  was  destroyed  by  Holagu  the  Tartar.^ 

The  Batenites,  which  name  is  also  given  to  the  Ismaelians  by  some 
authors,  and  likewise  to  the  Karmatians,' were  a  sect  which  professed  the 
same  abominable  principles,  and  were  dispersed  over  several  parts  of  the 
East.*  The  word  signifies  Esoterics,  or  people  of  inward  or  hidden  light 
or  knowledge. 

Abu'i  Teyyeb  Ahmed,  surnamed  al  Motanabbi,  of  the  tribe  of  Jofa, 
is  too  famous  on  another  acconnt  not  to  claim  a  place  here.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  excellent  poets  among  the  Arabians,  there  being  none 
besides  Abu  Temam  who  can  dispute  the  prize  with  him.  His  poeti- 
cal inspiration  was  so  warm  and  exalted,  that  he  either  mistook  it,  or 
thought  he  could  persuade  others  to  believe  it  to  be  prophetical,  and 
therefore  gave  himself  out  to  be  a  prophet  indeed ;  and  thence  acquired 
his  surname,  by  which  he  is  generally  known.  His  accomplishments 
were  too  great  not  to  have  some  success ;  for  several  tribes  of  the  Arabs 
of  the  deserts,  particularly  that  of  Kelab,  acknowledged  him  to  be  what 
he  pretended.  But  Lulu,  governor  of  those  parts  for  Akhshid  king  of 
Egypt  and  Syria,  soon  put  a  stop  to  the  farther  progress  of  this  new 
sect,  by  imprisoning  their  prophet,  and  obliging  him  to  renounce  his 
chimerical  dignity;  which  having  done,  he  regained  his  liberty,  and  ap- 
plied himself  solely  to  his  poetry,  by  means  whereof  he  got  very  consi- 
derable riches,  being  in  high  esteem  at  the  courts  of  several  princes. 
Al  Motanabbi  lost  his  life,  together  with  his  son,  on  the  bank  of  the 
Tigris,  in  defending  the  money  which  had  been  given  him  by  Adado- 
'ddawla,  soltan  of  Persia,  against  some  Arabian  robbers  who  demanded 
it  of  him;  with  which  money  he  was  returning  to  Cufa,  his  native 
city.     This  accident  happened  in  the  year  354.^ 

The  last  pretender  to  prophecy  I  shall  now  take  notice  of  is  one 
who  appeared  in  the  city  of  Amasia,  in  Natolia,  in  the  year  638,  and  by 
his  wonderful  feats  seduced  a  great  multitude  of  people  there.  He  was 
by  nation  a  Turkman,  and  called  himself  Baba,  and  had  a  disciple  named 
Isaac,  whom  he  sent  about  to  invite  those  of  his  own  nation  to  join  him. 
Isaac  accordingly,  coming  to  the  territory  of  Someisat,  published  his  com- 
mission, and  prevailed  on  many  to  embrace  his  master's  sect,  especially 
among  the  Turkmans;  so  that  at  last  he  had  six  thousand  horse  at  his 
heels,  besides  foot.  With  these  Baba  and  his  disciples  made  open  war 
on  all  who  would  not  cry  out  with  them.  There  is  no  God  but  God  ;  Baba 
is  the  apostle  of  God  ;  and  they  put  great  numbers  of  Mohammedans,  as 
well  as  Christians,  to  the  sword  in  those  parts  ;  till  at  length  both  Moham- 
medans and  Christians,  joined  together,  gave  them  battle,  and  having 
entirely  routed  them,  put  them  all  to  the  sword,  except  their  two 
chiefs,  who  being  taken  alive,  had  their  heads  struck  ofl'  by  the  execu- 
tioner.'" I  could  mention  several  other  impostors  of  the  same  kind,  which 
have  arisen  among  the  Mohammedans  since  their  prophet's  time,  and  very 
near  enough  to  complete  the  number  foretold  by  him :  but  I  apprehend 
the  reader  is  by  this  time  tired  as  well  as  myself,  and  shall  therefore  here 
conclude  this  discourse,  which  may  be  thought  already  too  long  for  an 
introduction. 

«  Vide  Abulfar.  p.  505,  &c.  D'Herbel.  p.  104,  437,  505,  620,  and  784.  '  Vide  EI- 

niacin,  p.  174,  and  286.     D'Herbel.  p.  194.  «  Vide  Abulfar.  p.  361,  374,  3S0,  483. 

"  Praef.  in  Opera  Motanabbis  MS.     Vide  D'Herbel,  p.  638,  &c.  '°  Abulfar.  p.  479, 

EbnShohnah,  D'Herbel.  Art.  Baba. 


AL  KORAN. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTITLED,  THE  PREFACE,  OR  INTRODUCTION-  REVEALED 
AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME    OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD.* 

Praise  be  to  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures  ;*  the  most  merciful,  the  king 
of  the  day  of  judgment.  Thee  do  we  worship,  and  of  thee  do  we  beg 
assistance.  Direct  us  in  the  right  way,  in  the  way  of  those  to  whom  thou 
hast  been  gracious ;  not  of  those  against  whom  thou  art  incensed,  nor  of 


those  who  go  astray. °      |] 


O'T  >  ^'^-l 


*  In  Arabic  al  Fdtihat.  This  chapter  is  a  prayer,  and  held  in  great  veneration  by  the 
Mohammedans,  who  give  it  several  other  honourable  titles  ;  as  the  chapter  of  prayer,  of 
praise,  of  thanksgiving,  of  treasure,  &LC.  They  esteem  it  as  the  quintessence  of  the 
whole  Koran,  and  often  repeat  it  in  their  devotions  both  pubhc  and  private,  as  the 
Christians  do  the  Lord's  Prayer/ 

*  "This  formula  is  prefixed  to  all  the  chapters  (with  the  exception  of  one).  It  is 
expressly  recommended  in  the  Koran.  The  Mohammedans  pronounce  it  whenever  they 
slaughter  an  animal,  and  at  the  commencement  of  their  reading,  and  of  all  important 
actions.  It  is  with  them  that  which  the  sign  of  the  cross  is  with  Christians.  Giaab,  one 
of  their  celebrated  authors,  says,  that  when  these  words  were  sent  down  from  heaven,  the 
clouds  fled  on  the  side  of  the  east,  the  winds  were  lulled,  the  sea  was  moved,  the  ani- 
mals erected  their  ears  to  listen,  the  devils  were  precipitated  from  the  celestial  spheres," 
(Soc — Savary. 

^  The  original  words  are  Rabbi  ^Idlamina,  which  literally  signify,  Lord  of  the  worlds  ; 
but  dlamina,  in  this  and  other  places  of  the  Koran,  properly  means  the  three  species  of 
rational  creatures,  men,  genii,  and  angels.  Father  Maracci  has  endeavoured  to  prove 
from  this  passage  that  Mohammed  believed  a  plurality  of  worlds,  which  he  calls  the  error 
of  the  Manichees,  &c.  :'^  but  this  imputation  the  learned  Reland  has  shown  to  be  entirely 
groundless.^    Savary  translates  it  "  Sovereign  of  the  worlds." 

'  This  last  sentence  contains  a  petition,  that  God  would  lead  the  supplicants  into  the  tnie 
religion,  by  which  is  meant  the  Mohammedan,  in  the  Koran  often  called  the  right  way  ; 
in  this  place  more  particularly  defined  to  be,  the  way  of  those  to  whom  God  hath  been  gra- 
cious, that  is,  of  the  prophets  and  faithful  who  preceded  Mohammed  ;  under  which  appella- 
tions are  also  comprehended  the  Jews  and  Christians,  such  as  they  were  in  the  times  of 
their  primitive  purity,  before  they  had  deviated  from  their  respective  institutions ;  not  the  way 

*  Vide  Bobovium  de  Precib.  Mohammed,  p.  3,  et  seq.  ^  In  Prodromo  ad  Refut.  AI- 
corani,  part  iv.  p.  76,  et  in  notis  ad  Ale.  cap.  1.        -De  Religione  Mohammed,  p.  262. 

0) 


AL  KORAN.  CHAP.  ii. 


CHAPTER    II. 

INTITLED,  THE  COW;'^  REVEALED  PARTLY  AT  MECCA,  AND 
PARTLY  AT  MEDINA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

A.  L.  M.®  There  is  no  doubt  in  this  book;  it  is  a  direction  to  the 
pious,  who  believe  in  the  mysteries  ^  of  faith,  who  observe  the  appointed 
times  of  prayer,  and  distribute  alms  out  of  what  we  have  bestowed  on 
them ;  and  who  beUeve  in  that  revelation,  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto 
thee,  and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  the  prophets  before  thee,s 
and  have  firm  assurance  of  the  life  to  come :  ^  these  are  directed  by  their 
Lord,  and  they  shall  prosper. \  As  for  the  unbelievers,  it  will  be  equal 
to  them  whether  thou  admonish  them,  or  do  not  admonish  them ;  they  will 
not  believe.  God  hath  sealed  up  their  hearts  and  their  hearing ;  a  dim- 
ness covereth  their  sight,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment. 
There  are  some  who  say.  We  believe  in  God,  and  the  last  day ;  but  are 
not  really  believers :  they  seek  to  deceive  God,  and  those  who  do  believe, 
but  they  deceive  themselves  only,  and  are  not  sensible  thereof  There 
is  an  infirmity  in  their  hearts,  and  God  hath  increased  that  infirmity ; ' 
and  they  shall  suffer  a  most  painful  punishment,  because  they  have  dis- 
believed.    When  one  saith  unto  them.  Act  not  corruptly  ^  in  the  earth ; 

of  the  modern  Jews,  whose  signal  calamities  are  marks  of  the  just  anger  of  God  against 
them  for  their  obstinacy  and  disobedience  ;  nor  of  the  Christians  of  ttns  age,  who  have 
departed  from  the  true  doctrine  of  Jesus,  and  are  bewildered  in  a  labyrinth  of  errors 

This  is  the  common  exposition  of  the  passage  ;  though  al  Zamakhshari,  and  some 
others,  by  a  different  application  of  the  negatives,  refer  the  whole  to  the  true  believers ; 
and  then  the  sense  will  run  thus  :  The  way  of  those  to  whom  thou  hast  been  gracious, 
against  whom  thou  art  not  incensed,  and  who  have  not  erred.  Which  translation  the  origi- 
nal will  very  well  bear. 

^  This  title  was  occasioned  by  the  story  of  the  red  heifer,  mentioned  pp.  9,  10. 

*  As  to  the  meaning  of  these  letters,  see  the  preliminary  discourse,  sect.  3. 

'  The  Arabic  word  is  gheib,  which  properly  signifies  a  thing  that  is  absent,  at  a  great 
distance,  or  invisible,  such  as  the  resurrection,  paradise,  and  hell.  And  this  is  agreeable 
to  the  language  of  scripture,  which  defines  faith  to  be  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen.^ 

s  The  Mohammedans  believe  that  God  gave  written  revelations  not  only  to  Moses, 
Jesus,  and  Mohammed,  but  to  several  other  prophets  f  though  they  acknowledge  none 
of  those  which  preceded  the  Koran  to  be  now  e.xtant,  except  the  Pentateuch  of  Moses, 
the  Pgalms  of  David,  and  the  Gospel  of  Jesus;  which  yet  they  say  were  even  before 
Mohammed's  time  altered  and  corrupted  by  the  Jews  and  Christians;  and  therefore  will 
not  allow  our  present  copies  to  be  genuine. 

^  The  original  word  al-akherat  properly  signifiies  the  latter  part  of  any  thing,  and  by  way 
of  excellence,  the  next  life,  the  latter  or  future  state  after  death;  and  is  opposed  to  al- 
donya,  this  world  ;  and  al-oula,  the  former  or  present  life.  The  Hebrew  word  ahharith, 
from  the  same  root,  is  used  by  Moses  in  this  sense,  and  is  translated  latter  e7id.'' 

'  Mohammed  here  and  elsewhere,  frequently  imitates  the  truly  inspired  writers,  in 
making  God,  by  operation  on  the  minds  of  reprobates,  to  prevent  their  conversion.  This 
fatality  or  predestination,  as  believed  by  the  Mohammedans,  hath  been  sufficiently 
treated  of  in  the  preliminary  discourse. 

^  Literally,  corrupt  not  in  the  earth,  by  which  some  expositors  understand  the  sowing 
of  false  doctrine,  and  corrupting  people's  principles. 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  Al  Beidawi,  &c.  ^  Heb.  xi.  1.  See  also  Rom.  xxiv.  25.  2  Cor.  iv. 
18,  and  v.  7.  ^  Vide  Reland.  De  Relig.  Moham.  p.  34,  et  Dissert,  de  Samaritanis,  p. 
34,  Sec.        '  Numb.  xxiv.  20.    Deut.  viii.  16. 


CHAP.  II.  .  AL  KORAN.  3 

they  reply,  Verily  we  are  men  of  integrity.^  Are  not  they  themselves 
corrupt  doers?  but  they  are  not  sensible  thereof.  And  when  one  sailh 
unto  them,  Believe  ye  as  others "^  believe;  they  answer.  Shall  we  believe 
as  fools  believe?  Are  not  they  themselves  fools?  but  they  know  it  not. 
When  they  meet  those  who  believe,  they  say.  We  do  believe :  but  when 
they  retire  privately  to  their  devils,**  they  say.  We  really  hold  with  you, 
and  only  mock  at  those  people  :  God  shall  mock  at  them,  and  continue 
them  in  their  impiety;  they  shall  wander  in  confusion.  These  are  the 
men  who  have  purchased  error  at  the  price  of  true  direction :  but  their 
traffic  hath  not  been  gainful,  neither  have  they  been  rightly  directed. 
They  are  like  unto  one  who  kindleth  a  fire,"  and  when  it  hath  enlight- 
ened all  around  him,?  God  taketh  away  their  lights  and  leaveth  them 
in  darkness,  they  shall  not  see;  they  are  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  therefore ^/^ 
will  they  not  repent.  Or  like  a  stormy  cloud  from  heaven,  fraught  with 
darkness,  thunder,  and  lightning,''  they  put  their  fingers  in  their  ears, 
because  of  the  noise  of  the  thunder,  for  fear  of  death ;  God  encompasseth 
the  infidels  f,  the  lightning  wanteth  but  little  of  taking  away  their  sight ;  so 
often  as  it  enlighteneth  them,  they  walk  therein,  but  when  darkness 
Cometh  on  them,  they  stand  still ;  and  if  God  so  pleased,  he  would  certainly 
deprive  them  of  their  hearing  and  their  sight,  for  God  is  almighty.  O  men 
q/*  Mecca,  serve  your  Lord  who  hath  created  you,  and  those  who  have  been 
before  you :  peradventure  ye  will  fear  him ;  who  hath  spread  the  earth  as 
a  bed  for  you,  and  the  heaven  as  a  covering,  and  hath  caused  water  to 
descend  from  heaven,  and  thereby  produced  fruits  for  your  sustenance. 
Set  not  up  therefore  any  equals  unto  God,  against  your  own  knowledge.  • 
If  ye  be  in  doubt  concerning  that  revelation  which  we  have  sent  down  unto 
our  servant,  produce  a  chapter  like  unto  it,  and  call  upon  your  witnesses, 

*  According  to  the  explication  in  the  preceding  note,  this  word  must  be  translated 
reformers,  who  promote  true  piety  by  their  doctrine  and  example. 

™  The  first  companions  and  followers  of  Mohammed.^ 

°  The  prophet,  making  use  of  the  liberty  zealots  of  all  religions  have,  by  prescription, 
of  giving  ill  language,  bestows  this  name  on  the  Jewish  rabbins  and  Christian  priests; 
though  he  seems  chiefly  to  mean  the  former,  against  whom  he  had  by  much  the  greater 
spleen. 

°  In  this  passage,  Mohammed  compares  those  who  believed  not  in  him  to  a  man  who 
wants  to  kindle  a  fire,  but  as  soon  as  it  burns  up,  and  the  flames  give  a  light,  shuts  his 
eyes,  lest  he  should  see.  As  if  he  had  said ;  You,  O  Arabians,  have  long  desired  a 
prophet  of  your  own  nation,  and  now  I  am  sent  unto  you,  and  have  plainly  proved  my 
mission  by  the  excellence  of  my  doctrine  and  revelation,  you  resist  conviction,  and  refuse 
to  beheve  in  me  ;  therefore  shall  God  leave  you  in  your  ignorance. 

p  The  sense  seems  to  be  here  imperfect,  and  may  be  completed,  by  adding  the  words, 
he  turns  from  it,  shuts  his  eyes,  or  ihe  like.  v, 

■i  That  is  of  the  believers,  to  whom  the  word  their  being  in  the  plural,  seems  to  refer ; 
though  it  is  not  unusual  for  Mohammed,  in  affectation  of  the  prophetic  style,  suddenly  to 
change  the  number  against  all  rules  of  grammar. 

'  Here  he  compares  the  unbelieving  Arabs  to  people  caught  in  a  violent  storm.  To  per- 
ceive the  beauty  of  this  comparison,  it  must  be  observed,  that  the  Mohammedan  doctors 
say,  this  tempest  is  a  type  or  image  of  the  Koran  itself:  the  thunder  signifying  the  threats 
therein  contained  ;  the  lightning,  the  promises ;  and  the  darkness,  the  mysteries.  The 
terror  of  the  threats  makes  them  stop  their  ears,  unwilling  to  hear  truths  so  disagreeable  ; 
when  the  promises  are  read  to  them,  they  attend  with  pleasure  ;  but  when  any  thing  mys- 
terious  or  difficult  of  belief  occurs,  they  stand  stock  still,  and  will  not  submit  to  be  directed. 

*  Jallalo'ddin. 


4  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

besides  God,»  if  ye  say  truth.  But  if  ye  do  it  not,  nor  shall  ever  he  able  to 
do  it ;  justly  fear  the  fire  whose  fuel  is  men  and  stones,  prepared  for  the 
unbelievers.  But  bear  good  tidings  unto  those  who  believe,  and  do  good 
works,  that  they  shall  have  gardens  watered  by  rivers  ;  so  often  as  they  eat 
of  the  fruit  thereof  for  sustenance,  they  shall  say,  this  is  what  we  have  for- 
merly eaten  of;  and  they  shall  be  supplied  with  several  sorts  of  fruit 
having  a  mutual  resemblance  to  one  another.*  There  shall  they  enjoy 
wives  subject  to  no  impurity,  and  there  shall  they  continue  for  ever. 
Moreover,  God  will  not  be  ashamed  to  propound  in  a  parable  a  gnat,*  or 
even  a  more  despicable  thing : "  for  they  who  believe  will  know  it  to  be 
the  truth  from  their  Lord  ;  but  the  unbelievers  will  say,  What  meaneth 
God  by  this  parable?  he  will  thereby  mislead  many,  and  will  direct 
many  thereby:  but  he  will  not  mislead  any  thereby,  except  the  trans- 
gi'essors,  who  make  void  the  covenant  of  God  afler  the  establishing  thereof, 
and  cut  in  sunder  that  which  God  hath  commanded  to  be  joined,  and  act 
corruptly  in  the  earth ;  they  shall  perish.  How  is  it  that  ye  believe  not  in 
God  1  Since  ye  were  dead,  and  he  gave  you  life ;  *  he  will  hereafter  cause 
you  to  die,  and  will  again  restore  you  to  life ;  then  shall  ye  return  unto 
him.  It  is  he  who  hath  created  for  you  whatsoever  is  on  earth,  and  then 
set  his  mind  to  the  creation  of  heaven,  and  formed  it  into  seven  heavens ; 
he  knoweth  all  things.  When  thy  Lord  said  unto  the  angels,  I  am  going 
to  place  a  substitute  on  earth ;  ^  they  said,  Wilt  thou  place  there  one  who 

'  i.  e.  Your  false  gods  and  idols. 

'  Some  commentators^  approve  of  this  sense,  supposing  the  fruits  of  paradise,  though 
of  various  tastes,  are  aUke  in  colour  and  outward  appearance  :  but  others*  think  the  mean- 
ing to  be,  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  will  find  their  fruits  of  the  same  or  the  hke 
kinds,  as  they  used  to  eat  while  on  earth. 

*  "  God  is  no  more  ashamed  to  propound  a  gnat  as  a  parable,  than  to  use  a  more  dig- 
nified illustration." — Savary. 

"  This  was  revealed  to  take  off  an  objection  made  to  the  Koran  by  the  infidels,  for 
condescending  to  speak  of  such  insignificant  insects,  as  the  spider,  the  pismire,  the 
bee,  &c.^ 

*  i.  e.  Ye  were  dead  while  in  the  loins  of  your  fathers,  and  he  gave  you  life  in  your 
mothers'  wombs ;  and  after  death  ye  shall  be  again  raised  at  the  resurrection.^ 

y  Concerning  the  creation  of  Adam,  here  intimated,  the  Mohammedans  have  several 
peculiar  traditions.  They  say  the  angels  Gabriel,  Michael,  and  Israfil  were  sent  by  God, 
one  after  another,  to  fetch  for  that  purpose  seven  handfuls  of  earth  from  difierent  depths, 
and  of  difierent  colours  (whence  some  account  for  the  various  complexions  of  mankind  ',") 
but  the  earth  being  apprehensive  of  the  consequence,  and  desiring  them  to  represent 
her  fear  to  God,  that  the  creature  he  designed  to  form  would  rebel  against  him,  and 
draw  down  his  curse  upon  her,  they  returned  without  performing  God's  command; 
whereupon  he  sent  Azrai'l  on  the  same  errand,  who  executed  his  commission  without 
remorse  ;  for  which  reason,  God  appointed  that  angel  to  separate  the  souls  from  the  bo- 
dies, being  therefore  called  the  angel  of  death.  The  earth  he  had  taken  was  carried  into 
Aral)ia,  to  a  place  between  Mecca  and  Tayef,  where  being  first  kneaded  by  the  angels, 
it  was  afterwards  fashioned  by  God  himself  into  a  human  form,  and  left  to  dry^  for  the 
space  of  forty  days,  or,  as  others  say,  as  many  years ;  the  angels  in  the  mean  time 
often  visiting  it,  and  Eblis  (then  one  of  the  angels  who  are  nearest  to  God's  presence, 
afterwards  the  devil)  among  the  rest ;  but  he,  not  contented  with  looking  on  it,  kicked  it 
with  his  foot  till  it  rung,  and  knowing  God  designed  that  creature  to  be  his  superior,  took 
a  secret  resolution  never  to  acknowledge  him  as  such.  After  this,  God  animated  the 
figure  of  clay,  and  endued  it  with  an  inteUigent  soul,  and  when  he  had  placed  him  in  para- 
dise, formed  Eve  out  of  his  left  side.'' 

'  Jallalo'ddin.        *  Al  Zamakhshari.        ^  Yahya.  ^      =*  Jallalo'ddin.        "  Al  Termedi 
from  a  tradition  of  Abu  Musa  al  Ashari.  ^  Koran,  c.  55.  *  Khond  amir.     Jal- 

lalo'ddin.    Comment,  in  Koran,  &c.     Vide  D'Herbelot,  Biblioth.  Orient,  p.  55. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KOKAN.  5 

will  do  evil  therein,  and  shed  blood  ?  but  we  celebrate  thy  praise,  and 
sanctify  thee.  God  answered,  Verily  I  know  that  which  ye  know  not ; 
and  he  taught  Adam  the  names  of  all  things,  and  then  proposed  them 
to  the  angels,  and  said,  Declare  unto  me  the  names  of  these  things  if  yo, 
say  truth.  They  answered,  Praise  be  unto  thee ;  we  have  no  knowledge  but 
what  thou  teachest  us,  for  thou  art  knowing  and  wise.  God  said,  O  Adam, 
tell  them  their  names.  And  when  he  had  told  them  their  names,  God  said, 
Did  I  not  tell  you  that  I  know  the  secrets  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  know 
that  which  ye  discover,  and  that  which  ye  conceal  1'^  And  when  we  said  unto 
the  angels.  Worship  *  Adam ;  they  all  worshipped  him,  except  Eblis,  ivho 
refused,  and  was  puffed  up  with  pride,  and  became  of  the  numher  of  unbe- 
lievers.* And  we  said,  Q  Adam,  dwell  thou  and  thy  wife  in  the  garden,*^  and 
eat  of  the  fruit  thereof  plentifully  wherever  ye  will ;  but  approach  not  this 
tree,*  lest  ye  become  of  the  numher  of  the  transgressors.  But  Satan  caused 
them  to  forfeit  paradise,""  and  turned  them  out  of  the  state  of  happiness 
wherein  they  had  been ;  whereupon  we  said.  Get  ye  down,^  the  one  of  you 
an  enemy  unto  the  other ;  and  there  shall  be  a  dwelling  place  for  you  on 

^  This  story  Mohammed  borrowed  from  the  Jewish  traditions;  which  say,  that  the 
angels  having  spoken  of  man  with  some  contempt,  when  God  consulted  them  about  his 
creation,  God  made  answer,  that  the  man  was  wiser  than  they  ;  and  to  convince  them 
of  it,  he  brought  all  kinds  of  animals  to  them,  and  asked  them  their  names ;  which  they 
not  being  able  to  tell,  he  put  the  same  question  to  the  man,  who  named  them  one  after 
another ;  and  being  asked  his  own  name,  and  God's  name,  he  answered  very  justly,  and 
gave  God  the  name  of  Jehovah.'' — The  angels  adoring  of  Adam  is  also  mentioned  in  the 
Talmud.« 

*  The  original  word  signifies  properly  to  prostrate  one's  self,  till  the  forehead  touches  the 
ground,  which  is  the  humblest  posture  of  adoration,  and  strictly  due  to  God  only  ;  but 
it  is  sometimes,  as  in  this  place,  used  to  express  that  civil  worship  or  homage,  which  may 
be  paid  to  creatures.^ 

^  This  occasion  of  the  devil's  fall  has  some  affinity  with  an  opinion  which  has  been 
pretty  much  entertained  among  Christians,^  viz,,  that  the  angels  being  informed  of  God's 
intention  to  create  man  after  his  own  image,  and  to  dignify  human  nature  by  Christ's 
assuming  it,  some  of  them,  thinking  their  glory  to  be  eclipsed  thereby,  envied  man's 
happiness,  and  so  revolted. 

'  Mohammed,  as  appears  by  what  presently  follows,  does  not  place  this  garden  or 
paradise  on  earth,  but  in  the  seventh  heaven." 

'^  Concerning  this  tree,  or  the  forbidden  fruit,  the  Mohammedans,  as  well  as  the 
Christians,  have  various  opinions.  Some  say  it  was  an  ear  of  wheat ;  some  will  have  it 
to  have  been  a  fig-tree,  and  others  a  vine.^  The  story  of  the  fall  is  told,  with  some  fur- 
ther circumstances,  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  chapter. 

*  They  have  a  tradition  that  the  devil,  offering  to  get  into  paradise  to  tempt  Adam, 
was  not  admitted  by  the  guard  ;  whereupon  he  begged  of  the  animals,  one  after  another, 
to  carry  him  in,  that  he  might  speak  to  Adam  and  his  wife;  but  they  all  refused  him, 
except  the  serpent,  who  took  him  between  two  of  his  teeth,  and  so  introduced  him. 
They  add,  that  the  serpent  was  then  of  a  beautiful  form,  and  not  in  the  shape  he  now 
bears.* 

^  The  Mohammedans  say,  that  when  they  were  cast  down  from  paradise,  Adam  fell  on 
the  isle  of  Ceylon  or  Serendib,  and  Eve  near  Joddah  (the  port  of  Mecca),  in  Arabia ;  and 
that,  after  a  separation  of  200  years,  Adam  was,  on  his  repentance,  conducted  by  the 
angel  Gabriel  to  a  mountain  near  Mecca,  where  he  found  and  knew  his  wife,  the  mountain 
being  thence  named  Arafat ;  and  that  he  afterwards  retired  with  her  to  Ceylon,  where 
they  continued  to  propagate  their  species.^ 

It  may  not  be  improper  here  to  mention  another  tradition  concerning  the  gigantic  stature 
of  our  first  parents.  Their  prophet,  they  say,  affirmed  Adam  to  have  been  as  tall  as  a  high 
palm-tree  ;''  but  this  would  be  too  much  in  proportion,  if  that  were  really  the  print  of  his 
foot,  which  is  pretended  to  be  such,  on  the  top  of  a  mountain  in  the  isle  of  Ceylon,  thence 

'  Vide  Rivin.  Serpent.  Seduct.  p.  56.  «  R.  Moses  Haddarshan,  in  Beresbit  rabbah. 
'  Jallalo'ddin.  '■  Irenaeus,  Lact.  Greg.  Nyssen,  &c.  "^  Vid.  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  24. 
=  Vide  ibid.  p.  22.  *  Vide  ib.  '  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  55.  «  Yahya. 


6  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

earth,*  and  a  provision  for  a  season.  And  Adam  learned  words  of  prayer 
Irom  his  Lord,  and  God  turned  unto  him,  for  he  is  easy  to  be  reconciled 
and  merciful.  We  said,  Get  ye  all  down  from  hence ;  hereafter  shall  there 
come  unto  you  a  direction  from  me,s  and  whoever  shall  follow  my  direction, 
on  them  shall  no  fear  come,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved ;  but  they  who 
shall  be  unbelievers,  and  accuse  our  signs  ^  of  falsehood,  they  shall  be  the 
companions  of  hell  fire,  therein  shall  they  remain  for  ever.  \  O  children  of 
Israel,'  remember  my  favour  wherewith  I  have  favoured  you  ;  and  perform 
your  covenant  with  me,  and  I  will  perform  my  covenant  with  you ;  and 
revere  me:  and  believe  in  the  revelation  which  I  have  sent  down,  con- 
firming that  which  is  with  you,  and  be  not  the  first  who  believe  not  therein, 
neither  exchange  my  signs  for  a  small  price  ;|  and  fear  me.  Clothe  not  the 
truth  with  vanity,  neither  conceal  the  truth  against  your  own  knowledge ; 
observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  pay  your  legal  alms,  and  bow  down 
yourselves  with  those  who  bow  down.  Will  ye  command  men  to  do 
justice,  and  forget  your  own  souls  ?  yet  ye  read  the  book  of  the  law  :  do  ye 
not  therefore  understand  ?  Ask  help  with  perseverance  and  prayer ;  this 
indeed  is  grievous  unless  to  the  humble,  who  seriously  think  they  shall 
meet  their  Lord,  and  that  to  him  they  shall  return.  O  children  of  Israel, 
remember  my  favour  wherewith  I  have  favoured  you,  and  that  I  have  pre- 
ferred you  above  all  nations;  dread  the  day  wherein  one  soul  shall  not 
make  satisfaction  for  another  soul,  neither  shall  any  intercession  be  accepted 
from  them,  nor  shall  any  compensation  be  received,  neither  shall  they  be 
helped.  Remember  when  we  delivered  you  from  the  people  of  Pharaoh, 
who  grievously  oppressed  you,  they  slew  your  male  children,  and  let  your 
females  live :  therein  was  a  great  trial  from  your  Lord.  And  when  we 
divided  the  sea  for  you  and  delivered  you,  and  drowned  Pharaoh's  people 
while  ye  looked   on.''     And  when  we  treated  with   Moses  forty  nights; 

named  Pico  de  Adam,  and  by  the  Arab  writers  Rahiin,  being  somewhat  above  two  spans 
long^  (though  others  say  it  is  seventy  cubits  long,  and  that  when  Adam  set  one  foot  here, 
he  had  the  other  in  the  sea)^ ;  and  too  little,  if  Eve  were  of  so  enormous  a  size,  as  it  is 
said,  that  when  her  head  lay  on  one  hill  near  Mecca,  her  knees  rested  on  two  others  in 
the  plain,  about  two  musket  shots  asunder.'' 

*  ''  We  said  to  them.  Get  ye  down.  You  have  been  mutual  enemies.  The  earth  shall 
be  your  habitation,  and  your  inheritance,  till  the  time." — Savary. 

s  God  here  promises  Adam  that  his  will  should  be  revealed  to  him  and  his  posterity ; 
which  promise  the  Mohammedans  beheve  was  fulfilled  at  several  times  by  the  ministry  of 
several  prophets  from  Adam  himself,  who  was  the  first,  to  Mohammed,  who  was  the  last. 
The  number  of  books  revealed  unto  Adam  they  say  was  ten.' 

''  This  word  has  various  significations  in  the  Koran ;  sometimes,  as  in  this  passage, 
it  signifies  divine  revelation,  or  scripture  in  general ;  sometimes  the  verses  of  the  Koran 
in  particular ;  and  at  other  times  visible  miracles.  But  the  sense  is  easily  distinguished 
by  the  context. 

'  The  Jews  are  here  called  upon  to  receive  the  Koran,  as  verifying  and  confirming 
the  Pentateuch,  particularly  with  respect  to  the  unity  of  God  and  the  mission  of  Moham- 
med.'- And  they  are  exhorted  not  to  conceal  the  passages  of  their  law,  which  bear  wit- 
ness to  those  truths,  nor  to  corrupt  them  by  publishing  false  copies  of  the  Pentateuch,  for 
which  the  writers  were  but  poorly  paid.' 

t  "  Corrupt  not  my  doctrine  for  vile  gain.     Fear  me." — Savary. 

^  See  the  story  of  Moses  and  Pharaoh  more  particularly  related  chap.  vii.  and  xx.  &c. 

■  Monconys'  Voyage,  part  1,  p.  372,  &,c.  See  Knox's  Account  of  Ceylon.  ^  Anciennes 
Relations  des  Indes,  fcc.  p.  3.  ^  Monconys,  ubi  sup.  '  Vide  Hettinger  Hist.  Orient, 
p.  11.     Reland.  de  Relig.  Mohammed,  p.  21.        ^  Yahya.        ==  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  7 

"^then  ye  took  the  calf^  for  your  God,  and  did  evil;  yet  afterwards  we 
forgave  you,  that  peradventure  ye  might  give  thanks,  jindjvhen  we  gave 
Moses  the  book  of  the  law,  and  the  distinction  between  good  and  evil,  that 
peradventure  ye  might  be  directed.  And  when  Moses  said  unto  his 
people,  O  my  people,  verily  ye  have  injured  your  own  souls,*  by  your 
taking  the  calf  for  your  God ;  therefore  be  turned  unto  your  Creator,  and 
slay  those  among  you  who  have  been  guilty  of  that  crime ; "»  this  will  be 
better  for  you  in  the  sight  of  your  Creator :  and  thereupon  he  turned  unto 
you,  for  he  is  easy  to  be  reconciled,  and  merciful.  And  when  ye  said,  O 
Moses,  we  will  not  believe  thee,  until  we  see  God  manifestly ;  therefore  a 
punishment  came  upon  you,  while  ye  looked  on;  then  we  raised  you 
to  life  after  ye  had  been  dead,  that  peradventure  ye  might  give  thanks." 
And  we  caused  clouds  to  overshadow  you,  and  manna  and  quails "  to  descend 
upon  you,  saying,  Eat  of  the  good  things  which  we  have  given  you  for 
food :  and  they  injured  not  us,|  but  injured  their  own  souls.  And  when 
we  said,  Enter  into  this  city,!"  and  eat  of  the  provisions  thereof  plentifully 
as  ye  will ;  and  enter  the  gate  worshipping,  and  say,  Forgiveness ! «  we  will 

'  The  person  who  cast  this  calf,  the  Mohammedans  say,  was  (not  Aaron,  but)  al 
Sanieri,  one  of  the  principal  men  among  the  children  of  Israel,  some  of  whose  descend- 
ants, it  is  pretended,  still  inhabit  an  island  of  that  name  in  the  Arabian  Gulf."  It 
was  made  of  the  rings*  and  bracelets  of  gold,  silver,  and  other  materials,  which  the 
IsraeUtes  had  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians :  for  Aaron,  who  commanded  in  his  brother's 
absence,  having  ordered  al  Sameri  to  collect  those  ornaments  from  the  people,  who 
carried  on  a  wicked  commerce  M'ith  them,  and  to  keep  them  together  till  the  return  of 
Moses ;  al  Sameri,  understanding  the  founder's  art,  put  them  altogether  into  a  fur- 
nace, to  melt  them  down  into  one  mass,  which  came  out  in  the  form  of  a  calf.^  The 
Israelites,  accustomed  to  the  Egyptian  idolatry,  paying  a  religious  worship  to  this 
image,  al  Sameri  went  further,  and  took  some  dust  from  the  footsteps  of  the  horse  of 
the  angel  Gabriel,  who  marched  at  the  head  of  the  people,  and  threw  it  into  the  mouth 
of  the  calf,  which  immediately  began  to  low,  and  became  animated ; ''  for  such  was  the 
virtue  of  that  dust.*  One  writer  says  that  all  the  Israelites  adored  this  calf,  except  only 
12.000.' 

*  "  O  my  people,  why  did  ye  give  yourselves  up  to  wickedness,  by  worshipping  a 
calf?" — Savary. 

^  In  this  particular,  the  narration  agrees  with  that  of  Moses,  who  ordered  the  Levites 
to  slay  every  man  his  brother:^  but  the  scripture  says,  there  fell  of  the  people  that  day 
about  3000  (the  Vulgate  says  23,000)  men;'^  whereas  the  commentators  of  the  Koran 
make  the  number  of  the  slain  to  amount  to  70,000 ;  and  add,  that  God  sent  a  dark  cloud 
which  hindered  them  from  seeing  one  another,  lest  the  sight  should  move  those  who  exe- 
cuted the  sentence  to  compassion.' 

"  The  persons  here  meant  are  said  to  have  been  seventy  men,  who  were  made  choice 
of  by  Moses,  and  heard  the  voice  of  God  talking  with  him.  But  not  being  satisfied  with 
that,  they  demanded"  to  see  God  ;  whereupon  they  were  all  struck  dead  by  lightning,  and 
on  Moses's  intercession  restored  to  life.* 

'  The  eastern  writers  say,  these  quails  were  of  a  peculiar  kind,  to  be  found  nowhere  but 
in  Yaman,  from  whence  they  were  brought  by  a  south  wind  in  great  numbers  to  the 
Israelites'  camp  in  the  desert.*  The  Arabs  call  these  birds  Salwa,  which  is  plainly 
the  same  with  the  Hebrew  Salwim,  and  say  they  have  no  bones,  but  are  eaten 
whole." 

t  "  Your  murmurs  have  been  injurious  only  to  yourselves." — Savary. 

'■"  Some  commentators  suppose  it  to  be  Jericho ;  others,  Jerusalem. 

1  The  Arabic  word  is  Hktalon,  which  some  take  to  signify  that  profession  of  the  unity 
of  God,  so  frequently  used  by  the  Mohammedans,  La  ilaha  ilia  'llaho.  There  is  no  god 
hut  God. 

'  Geogr.  Nubiens,  p.  45.        «  Koran,  c.  7.        "  See  Exod.  xxxii.  24.  '  Koran,  c.  7. 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  Vide  D'Herbelot  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  650.         "  Abu'lfeda.  '  Exod.  xxxii. 

26,  27.            '  Ibid.  28.            =«  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.           "  Ismael  Ebnali.  *  See  Psalm. 
Ixxviii.  26.        "  Vide  D'Herbelot  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  477. 


8  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

pardon  you  your  sins,  and  give  increase  unto  the  well-doers.  But  the  un- 
godly changed  the  expression  into  another,""  different  from  what  had  been 
spoken  unto  them ;  and  we  sent  down  upon  the  ungodly  indignation  from 
heaven,*  because  they  had  transgressed.  And  when  Moses  asked  drink 
for  his  people,  we  said.  Strike  the  rock  *  with  thy  rod ;  and  there  gushed 
thereout  twelve  fountains  ^  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes,  and  all 
men  knew  their  respective  drinking-place.  Eat  and  drink  of  the  bounty  of 
God,  and  commit  not  evil  on  the  earth,  acting  unjustly.  •  And  when 
ye  said,  O  Moses,  we  will  by  no  means  be  satisfied  with  o;i'e  kirid  of  food ; 
pray  unto  thy  Lord  therefore  for  us,  that  he  would  produce  for  us  of  that 
which  the  earth  bringeth  forth,  herbs  and  cucumbers,  and  garlick,  and 
lentils,  and  onions ;  *  Moses  answered,*  Will  ye  exchange  that  which 
is  better,  for  that  which  is  worse  ?  Get  ye  down  into  Egypt,  for  there 
shall  ye  find  what  ye  desire:  and  they  were  smitten  with  vileness  and 
misery,  and  drew  on  themselves  indignation  from  God.  This  they  suffered, 
because  they  believed  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  and  killed  the  prophets 
unjustly ;  this,  because  they  rebelled  and  transgressed.     Surely  those  who 

^According  to  Jallalo'ddin,  instead  of  Hittaton,  they  cried  Hahhat  fi  sha'irat,  i.  e.  a 
grain  in  an  ear  of  barley  ;  and  in  ridicule  of  the  divine  command  to  enter  the  city  in  an 
humble  posture,  they  indecently  crept  in  upon  their  breech. 

'  A  pestilence  which  carried  ofT  near  70,000  of  them.' 

*  The  commentators  say  this  was  a  stone  which  Moses  brought  from  Mount  Sinai,  and 
the  same  that  fled  away  with  his  garments  which  he  laid  upon  it  one  day,  while  he  washed : 
they  add  that  Moses  ran  after  the  stone  naked,  till  he  found  himself,  ere  he  was  aware,  in 
the  midst  of  the  people,  who  on  this  accident  were  convinced  of  the  falsehood  of  a  report, 
which  had  been  raised  of  their  prophet,  that  he  was  bursten,  or,  as  others  write,  an  her- 
maphrodite.^ 

They  describe  it  to  be  a  square  piece  of  white  marble,  shaped  Hke  a  man's  head ; 
wherein  they  differ  not  much  from  the  accounts  of  European  travellers,  who  say  this  rock 
stands  among  several  lesser  ones,  about  100  paces  from  Mount  Horeb,  and  appears  to  have 
been  loosened  from  the  neighbouring  mountains,  having  no  coherence  with  the  others ;  that 
it  is  a  huge  mass  of  red  granite,  almost  round  on  one  side,  and  flat  on  the  other;  twelve 
feet  high,  and  as  many  thick,  but  broader  than  it  is  high,  and  about  fifty  feet  in  circum- 
ference.^ 

"  Maracci  thinks  this  circumstance  looks  like  a  Rabbinical  fiction,  or  else  that  Moham- 
med confounds  the  water  of  the  rock  at  Horeb,  with  the  twelve  wells  at  Elim  ;*  for  he 
says,  several  who  have  been  on  the  spot,  affirm  there  are  but  three  orifices  whence  the 
water  issued.^  But  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  Mohammed  had  better  means  of  informa- 
tion in  this  respect,  than  to  fall  into  such  a  mistake  ;  for  the  rock  stands  within  the  bor- 
ders of  Arabia,  and  some  of  his  countrymen  must  needs  have  seen  it,  if  he  himself  had 
not,  as  it  is  most  probable  he  had.  And  in  effect  he  seems  to  be  in  the  right.  For  one 
who  went  into  those  parts  in  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  tells  us  expressly,  that  the 
water  issued  from  twelve  places  of  the  rock,  according  to  the  number  of  the  tribes  of 
Israel;  egresses  sunt  aquce  largissimcB  in  duodecim  locis  petras,  jiixta  numerum  duodecini 
trihuum  Israel.^  A  late  curious  traveller*  observes,  that  there  are  twenty-four  holes  in 
the  stone,  which  may  be  easily  counted  ;  that  is  to  say,  twelve  on  the  flat  side,  and  as 
many  on  the  opposite  round  side,  every  one  being  a  foot  deep,  and  an  inch  wide  ;  and  he 
adds,  that  the  holes  on  one  side  do  not  communicate  with  those  on  the  other ;  which  a 
less  accurate  spectator  not  perceiving  (for  they  are  placed  horizontally,  within  two  feet 
of  the  top  of  the  rock),  might  conclude  they  pierced  quite  through  the  stone,  and  so  reckon 
them  to  be  but  twelve. 

^  See  Numb.  xi.  5,  &c. 

*  "Moses  replied.  Do  ye  wish  to  enjoy  a  more  advantageous  lot  ?  Return  to  Egypt ; 
you  will  find  there  that  which  you  desire." — Savary. 

'  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  *  Breydenbach.  Itinerar.  charta  m. 

p.  1.  Sicard,  dans  les  Memoires  des  Missions,  vol.  vii.  p.  14.  '■  Exod.  xv.  27.  Numb, 
xxxiii.  9.         2  Marracc.  Prodr.  part  iv.  p.  80.  =  Breydenbach,  ubi  suo.  *  Sicard, 

ubi  sup. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  9 

believe,  and  those  who  Judaize,  and  Christians,  and  Sabianj^y  whoever 
believeth  in  God^  andjlie  last  day,^aiid_doth  that  which  is  right,  they  shall 
have  their  reward  with  their  Lord  ;  there  shall  come  no  Icar  on  them, 
neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  Call  to  mind  also  when  wc  accepted  your 
covenant,  and  lifted  up  the  mountain  of  Sinai  over  you,*  sayings  Receive 
the  laic  which  we  have  given  you,  with  a  resolution  to  keep  it,  and  remem- 
ber that  which  is  contained  therein,  that  ye  may  beware.  After  this 
ye  again  turned  back,  so  that  if  it  had  not  been  for  God's  indulgence 
and  mercy  towards  you,  ye  had  certainly  been  destroyed.  Moreover 
ye  know  what  befell  those  of  your  nation  who  transgressed  on  the  sabbath 
day ; »  We  said  unto  them.  Be  ye  changed  into  apes,  driven  away  from 
the  society  of  men.  And  we  made  them  an  example  unto  those  who  were 
contemporary  with  them,  and  unto  those  who  came  after  them,  and  a 
warning  to  the  pious.  And  when  Moses  said  unto  his  people,  Verily  God 
commandeth  you  to  sacrifice  a  cow ; ''  they  answered.  Dost  thou  make  a 

y  From  these  words,  which  are  repeated  in  the  fifth  chapter,  several  writers '  have 
wrongly  concluded  that  the  Mohammedans  hold  it  to  be  the  doctrine  of  their  prophet, 
that  every  man  may  be  saved  in  his  own  religion,  provided  he  be  sincere  and  lead  a 
good  life.  It  is  true,  some  of  their  doctors  do  agree  this  to  be  the  purport  of  the  words  ;'^ 
but  then  they  say  the  latitude  hereby  granted  was  soon  revoked,  for  that  this  passage 
is  abrogated  by  several  others  in  the  Koran,  which  expressly  declare  that  none  can  be 
saved  who  is  not  of  the  Mohammedan  faith;  and  particularly  by  those  words  of  the 
third  chapter.  Whoever  foUoweth  a?iy  other  religion  than  Islam  (i.  e.  the  Mohammedan), 
it  shall  not  be  accepted  of  him,  and  at  the  last  day  he  shall  be  of  those  who  perish.''  How- 
ever, others  are  of  opinion  that  this  passage  is  not  abrogated,  but  interpret  it  differently  ; 
taking  the  meaning  of  it  to  be,  that  no  man,  whether  he  be  a  Jew,  a  Christian,  or  a  Sabian, 
shall  be  excluded  from  salvation,  provided  he  quit  his  erroneous  rehgion  and  become  a 
Moslem,  which  they  say  is  intended  by  the  following  words.  Whoever  believeth  in  God 
and  the  last  day,  and  doth  that  which  is  right.  And  this  interpretation  is  approved  by  Mr. 
Reland,  who  thinks  the  words  here  import  no  more  than  those  of  the  apostle,  In  every 
natioTi  he  that  feareth  God,  and  worheth  righteousness,  is  accepted  with  him  ;*  from  which. 
it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  religion  of  nature,  or  any  other,  is  sufficient  to  save, 
without  faith  in  Christ.^ 

^  The  Mohammedan  tradition  is,  that  the  Israehtes  refusing  to  receive  the  law  of 
Moses,  God  tore  up  the  mountain  by  the  roots,  and  shook  it  over  their  heads,  to  terrify 
them  into  a  compliance.' 

"  The  story  to  which  this  passage  refers  is  as  follows.  In  the  days  of  David  some 
Israelites  dwelt  at  Ailah,  or  Elath,  on  the  Red  Sea,  where  on  the  night  of  the  sabbath  the 
fish  used  to  come  in  great  numbers  to  the  shore,  and  stay  there  all  the  sabbath,  to  tempt 
them  ;  but  the  night  following  they  returned  into  the  sea  again.  At  length,  some  of 
the  inhabitants,  neglecting  God's  command,  catched  fish  on  the  sabbath,  and  dressed  and 
ate  them  ;  and  afterwards  cut  canals  from  the  sea,  for  the  fish  to  enter,  with  sluices, 
which  they  shut  on  the  sabbath,  to  prevent  their  return  to  the  sea.  The  other  part  of 
the  inhabitants,  who  strictly  observed  the  sabbath,  used  both  persuasion  and  force  to  stop 
this  impiety,  but  to  no  purpose,  the  ofl'enders  growing  only  more  and  more  obstinate; 
whereupon  David  cursed  the  sabbath-breakers,  and  God  transformed  them  into  apes. 
It  is  said,  that  one  going  to  see  a  friend  of  his  that  was  among  them,  found  him  in  the 
shape  of  an  ape,  moving  his  eyes  about  wildly,  and  asking  him  whether  he  was  not  such 
a  one  ?  the  ape  made  a  sign  with  his  head,  that  it  was  he  ;  whereupon  the  friend  said  to 
him.  Did  not  I  advise  you  to  desist?  at  which  the  ape  wept.  They  add,  that  these  un- 
happy people  remained  three  days  in  this  condition,  and  were  afterwards  destroyed  by  a 
wind  which  swept  them  all  into  the  sea.^ 

"»  The  occasion  of  this  sacrifice  is  thus  related.  A  certain  man  at  his  death  left  his  son, 
then  a  child,  a  cow-calf,  which  wandered  in  the  desert  till  he  came  to  age ;  at  which  time  his 

^  Selden.  de  Jure.  Nat.  et  Gentium  sec.  Hebr.  1,  6,  c.  12.  Angel,  a.  S.  Joseph.  Gazo- 
phylac.  Persic,  p.  365.  Nic.  Cusanus  in  Cribratione  Alcorani,  1,  3,  c.  2,  &uc.  '^  See 
Chardin's  Voyages,  vol.  ii.  p.  326,  331.  ^  Abu'lkasem  Hebatallah  de  Abrocjante  et 
Abrogato.  *  Acts  x.  35.  »  Vide  Reland.  de  Rel.  Moham.  p.  128,  &c.  '  Jallalo'ddin. 
-  Abu'ifeda. 


10  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

jest  of  us?  Moses  said,  God  forbid  that  I  should  be  one  of  the  foolish. 
Tiiey  said.  Pray  for  us  unto  thy  Lord,  that  he  would  show  us  what  cow  it 
is.  Moses  answered,  He  saith,  She  is  neither  an  old  cow,  nor  a  young 
heifer,  but  of  a  middle  age  between  both :  do  ye  therefore  that  which  ye 
are  commanded.  They  said.  Pray  for  us  unto  thy  Lord,  that  he  would 
show  us  what  colour  she  is  of.  Moses  answered.  He  saith.  She  is  a  red 
cow,''  intensely  red,  her  colour  rejoiceth  the  beholders.  They  said.  Pray  for 
us  unto  thy  Lord,  that  he  wo\x\d  further  show  us  what  cow  it  is,  for  several 
cows  with  us  are  like  one  another,  and  we,  if  God  please,  will  be  directed. 
Moses  answered.  He  saith,  She  is  a  cow  not  broken  to  plough  the  earth,  or 
water  the  field,  a  sound  one,*  there  is  no  blemish  in  her.  They  said.  Now 
hast  thou  brought  the  truth.  Then  they  sacrificed  her ;  yet  they  wanted 
but  little  of  leaving  it  undone.**  And  when  ye  slew  a  man,  and  contended 
among  yourselves  concerning  him,  God  brought  forth  to  light  that  which  ye 
concealed.  For  we  said,  Strike  the  dead  body  with  part  of  the  sacrificed 
cow  :  ^  so  God  raiseth  the  dead  to  life,  and  showeth  you  his  signs,  that 
peradventure  ye  may  understand.  Then  were  }our  hearts  hardened  after 
this,  even  as  stones,  or  exceeding  them  in  hardness :  for  from  some  stones 
have  rivers  bursted  forth,  others  have  been  rent  in  sunder,  and  water  hath 
issued  from  them,  and  others  have  fallen  down  for  fear  of  God.  But  God 
is  not  regardless  of  that  which  ye  do.  Do  ye  therefore  desire  that  the  Jews 
should  believe  you?  yet  a  part  of  them  heard  the  word  of  God,  and  then 
perverted  it,  after  they  had  understood  it,  against  their  own  conscience. 
And  when  they  meet  the  true  believers,  they  say.  We  believe :  but  when 
they  are  privately  assembled  together,  they  say,  Will  ye  acquaint  them 

mother  told  him  the  heifer  was  his,  and  bid  him  fetch  her,  and  sell  her  for  three  pieces  of 
gold.  When  the  young  man  came  to  the  market  with  his  heifer,  an  angel  in  the  shape  of 
a  man  accosted  him,  and  bid  him  six  pieces  of  gold  for  her;  but  he  would  not  take  the 
money  till  he  had  asked  his  mother's  consent ;  which  when  he  had  obtained  he  returned  to 
the  market-place,  and  met  the  angel,  who  now  offered  him  twice  as  much  for  the  heifer, 
provided  he  would  say  nothing  of  it  to  his  mother  ;  but  the  young  man  refusing,  went  and 
acquainted  her  with  the  additional  ofier.  The  woman  perceiving  it  was  an  angel,  bid  her 
son  go  back  and  ask  him  what  must  be  done  with  the  heifer ;  whereupon  the  angel  told 
the  young  man,  that,  in  a  little  time,  the  children  of  Israel  would  buy  that  lieifer  of  him 
at  any  price.  And  soon  after  it  happened  that  an  Israehte,  named  Hammiel,  was  killed 
by  a  relation  of  his,  who,  to  prevent  discovery,  conveyed  the  body  to  a  place  considerably 
distant  from  that  where  the  fact  was  committed.  I'he  friends  of  the  slain  man  accused 
some  other  persons  of  the  murder  before  Moses;  but  they  denying  the  fact,  and  there 
being  no  evidence  to  convict  them,  God  commanded  a  cow,  of  such  and  such  particular 
marks,  to  be  killed ;  but  there  being  no  other  which  answered  the  description,  except  the 
orphan's  heifer,  they  were  obliged  to  buy  her  for  as  much  gold  as  her  hide  would  hold  ; 
according  to  some,  for  her  full  weight  in  gold,  and,  as  others  say,  for  ten  times  as  much. 
This  heifer  they  sacrificed,  and  the  dead  body  being,  by  divine  direction,  struck  with  a 
part  of  it,  revived,  and  standing  up,  named  the  person  who  had  killed  him  ;  after  which  it 
immediately  fell  down  dead  again. ^  The  whole  story  seems  to  be  borrowed  from  the 
red  heifer,  which  was  ordered  by  the  Jewish  law  to  be  burnt,  and  the  ashes  kept  for  puri- 
fying those  who  happened  to  touch  a  dead  corpse  ;"  and  from  the  heifer  directed  to  be 
slain  for  the  expiation  of  an  uncertain  murder.     See  Deut.  xxi.  1 — 9. 

"=  The  epithet  in  the  original  is  yellow;  but  this  word  we  do  not  use  in  speaking  of  the 
colour  of  cattle. 

*  "  That  hath  not  suffered  the  approach  of  the  male." — Savary. 

'  Because  of  the  exorbitant  price  which  they  were  obliged  to  pay  for  the  heifer. 

"  i.  e.  Her  tongue,  or  the  end  of  her  tail.' 

^  Abu'lfeda.  *  Numb.  xix.  *  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  11 

with  what  God  hath  revealed  unto  you,  that  they  may  dispute  with  you 
concerning  it  in  tlie  presence  of  your  Lord  ?  Do  ye  not  therefore*  under- 
stand ?  Do  not  they  know  tliat  God  knoweth  that  which  they  conceal  as 
well  as  that  which  they  publish  ?  But  there  are  illiterate  men  among  them, 
who  know  not  the  book  of  the  lmv,'\  but  only  lying  stories,  although  they 
think  otherwise.  And  woe  unto  them,  who  transcribe  corruptly  the  book 
of  the  laic^  with  their  hands,  and  then  say,  This  is  from  God  :  that  they  may 
sell  it  for  a  small  price.  Therefore  woe  unto  them  because  of  that  which 
their  hands  have  written ;  and  woe  unto  them  for  that  which  they  have 
gained.  They  say.  The  fire  of  hell  shall  not  touch  us  but  for  a  certain 
number  of  days.s  xVnswer,  Have  ye  received  any  promise  from  God  to  that 
purpose  ?  for  God  will  not  act  contrary  to  his  promise :  or  do  ye  speak 
concerning  God  that  which  ye  know  not?  ^ Verily  whoso  doth  evil,''  and  is 
encompassed  by  his  iniquity,  they  shall  be  the  companions  of  hell  fire,  they  shall 
remain  therein  for  ever  :  but  they  who  believe  and  do  good  works,  they  shall 
be  the  companions  of  paradise,  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever.  Remem- 
ber also,  when  we  accepted  the  covenant  of  the  children  of  Israel,  saying. 
Ye  shall  not  worship  any  other  except  God,  and  ye  shall  show  kindness  to 
your  parents  and  kindred,  and  to  orphans,  and  to  the  poor,  and  speak  that 
which  is  good  unto  men,  and  be  constant  at  prayer,  and  give  alms.  After- 
wards ye  turned  back,  except  a  few  of  you,  and  retired  afar  off.  And  when 
we  accepted  your  covenant,  saying,  Ye  shall  not  shed  your  brother''s  blood, 
nor  dispossess  one  another  of  your  habitations ;  then  ye  confirmed  it,  and 
were  witnesses  thereto.  Afterwards  ye  were  they  who  slew  one  another,' 
and  turned  several  of  your  brethren  out  of  their  houses,  mutually  assisting 
each  other  against  them  with  injustice  and  enmity ;  but  if  they  come  cap- 
tives unto  you,  ye  redeem  them :  yet  it  is  equally  unlawful  for  you  to  dis- 
possess them.  Do  ye  therefore  believe  in  part  of  the  book  of  the  law,  and 
reject  other  part  thereof?  But  whoso  among  you  doth  this,  shall  have  no 
other  reward  than  shame  in  this  life,  and  on  the  day  of  resurrection  they 

*  "  See  we  not  the  consequences  thereof?" — Savary. 

t  "  Among  them  the  vulgar  know  the  Pentateuch  only  by  tradition.  They  have  but 
a  blind  behef." — Savanj. 

^  Mohammed  again  accuses  the  Jews  of  corrupting  their  scripture. 

«  That  is,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  forty  ;  being  the  number  of  days  that  their  forefathers  wor- 
shipped the  golden  calf;  after  which  they  gave  out  that  their  punishment  should  cease.  It 
is  a  received  opinion  among  the  Jews  at  present,  that  no  person,  be  he  ever  so  wicked, 
or  of  whatever  sect,  shall  remain  in  hell  above  eleven  months,  or  at  most  a  year ;  except 
Dathan  and  Abiram,  and  atheists,  who  will  be  tormented  there  to  all  eternity.^ 

^  By  evil  m  this  case  the  commentators  generally  understand  polytheism  or  idolatry  ; 
which  sin,  the  Mohammedans  believe,  unless  repented  of  in  this  life,  is  unpardonable,  and 
will  be  punished  by  eternal  damnation ;  but  all  other  sins  they  hold  will  at  length  be  for- 
piven.  This  therefore  is  that  irremissible  impiety,  in  their  opinion,  which  in  the  New 
Testament  is  called  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 

'  This  passage  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  some  quarrels  which  arose  between  the 
Jews  of  the  tribes  of  Koreidha,  and  those  of  al  Aws,  al  Nadhir,  and  al  Khazraj,  and  came 
to  that  height  that  they  took  arms  and  destroyed  one  another's  habitations,  and  turned 
one  Another  out  of  their  houses ;  but  when  any  were  taken  captive,  they  redeemed  them. 
When  they  were  asked  the  reason  of  their  acting  in  this  manner,  they  answered.  That 
they  were  commanded  by  their  law  to  redeem  the  captives,  but  lliat  they  fouglit  out  of 
shame,  lest  their  chiefs  should  be  despised." 

=  Vide  Bartoloccii  Biblioih.  Rabbinic,  torn.  2,  p.  123,  et  t.  3,  p.  421.       ■"  Jallalo'ddio. 


J 
12  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

shall  be  sent  to  a  most  grievous  punishment ;  for  God  is  not  regardless  of 
that  which  ye  do.  These  are  they  who  have  purchased  this  present  life,  at 
the  price  of  that  which  is  to  come ;  wherefore  their  punishment  shall  not 
be  mitigated,  neither  shall  they  be  helped.  We  formerly  delivered  the  book 
of  the  law  unto  Moses,  and  caused  apostles  to  succeed  him,  and  gave  evident 
miracles  to  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary^L  and  strengthened  him  with  the  holy 
spirit.''  Do  ye  therefore,  whenever  an  apostle  cometh  unto  you  with  that 
which  your  souls  desire  not,  proudly  reject  7um,  and  accuse  some  of  im- 
posture, and  slay  others?  The  Jews  say,  Our  hearts  are  uncircumcised : 
but  God  hath  cursed  them  with  their  infidelity  ;*  therefore  few.  shall  be- 
lieve. And  when  a  book  came  unto  them  from  God,  confirming  the  scrip- 
tures which  were  with  them,  although  they  had  before  prayed  for  assistance 
against  those  who  believed  not,'  yet  when  that  came  unto  them  which  they 
knew  to  he  from  God,  they  would  not  believe  therein :  therefore  the  curse 
of  God  shall  be  on  the  infidels.  'For  a  vile  price  have  they  sold  their  souls, 
that  they  should  not  believe  in  that  which  God  hath  sent  down ;  ™  out  of 
envy,  because  God  sendeth  down  his  favours  to  such  of  his  servants  as  he 
pleaseth :  therefore  they  brought  on  themselves  indignation  on  indignation  ; 
and  the  unbelievers  shall  sufier  an  ignominious  punishment.  When  one 
saith  unto  them,  Believe  in  that  which  God  hath  sent  down ;  they  answer, 
We  believe  in  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  us :  °  and  they  reject 
what  hath  been  revealed  since,  although  it  be  the  truth,  confirming  that 
which  is  with  them.  Say,  Why  therefore  have  ye  slain  the  prophets  of  God 
in  times  past,  if  ye  be  true  believers  ?  Moses  formerly  came  unto  you  with 
evident  signs,  but  ye  afterwards  took  the  calfybr  your  god  and  did  wickedly. 
x\nd  when  we  accepted  your  covenant,  and  lifted  th-e  mountain  of  Sinai 
over  you,"  saying,  Receive  the  law  which  we  have  given  you,  with  a  reso- 
lution to  perform  it,  and  hear ;  they  said,  We  have  heard,  and  have  rebelled : 
and  they  were  made  to  drink  down  the  calf  into  their  hearts  p  for  their  un- 
belief. Say,  A  grievous  thing  hath  your  faith  commanded  you,  if  ye  be 
k-ue  believers  ?  *     Say,  if  the  future  mansion  with  God  be  prepared  pecu- 

^  We  must  not  imagine  Mohammed  here  means  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  the  Christian 
acceptation.  The  commentators  say,  this  spirit  was  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  sanctified 
Jesus,  and  constantly  attended  on  him.^ 

*  "  God  hath  cursed  them  because  of  their  perfidy.  O  how  small  is  the  number  of 
the  true  believers'." — Suvnnj. 

'  The  Jews,  in  expectation  of  the  coming  of  Mohammed  (according  to  the  tradition  of 
his  followers)  used  this  prayer,  0  God,  help  us  against  the  unbelievers,  by  the  prophet  who 
is  to  be  sent  in  the  last  times.^ 

""  The  Koran. 

"  The  Pentateuch. 

"  See  before  p.  9. 

p  Moses  took  the  calf  which  they  had  made,  and  burnt  it  in  the  fire,  and  ground  it  to  pow- 
der, and  stretved  it  upon  the  water  {of  the  brook  that  descended  from  the  mount),  and  made 
the  children  of  Israel  drink  of  it^ 

■^  Mohammed  here  infers  from  their  forefathers'  disobedience  in  worshipping  the  calf,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  pretended  to  believe  in  the  law  of  Moses,  that  the  faith  of  the 
Jews  in  his  time  was  as  vain  and  hypocritical,  since  they  rejected  him,  who  was  foretold 
therein,  as  an  impostor.^ 

«  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Idem.  '  Exod.  xxxii.  20;  Deut.  ix.  21.  *  Jallalo'ddin. 

Yahya,  al  BeidawL 


CHAP.  n.  AL  KORAN.  13 

liarly  for  you,  exclusive  of  the  rest  of  mankind,  wish  for  death,  if  ye  say 
truth ;  but  they  will  never  wish  for  it,  because  of  that  which  their  hands 
have  sent  before  them  ;  •"  God  knoweth  the  wicked-doers ;  and  thou  shalt 
surely  find  them  of  all  men  the  most  covetous  of  life,  even  more  than  the 
idolaters :  one  of  them  would  desire  his  life  to  be  prolonged  a  thousand 
years,  but  none  shall  reprieve  himself  from  punishment,  that  his  life  may  be 
prolonged :  God  seeth  that  which  they  do.  Say,  Whoever  is  an  enemy  to 
Gabriel  *  (for  he  hath  caused  the  Koran  to  descend  on  thy  heart,  by  the  per- 
mission of  God,  confirming  that  which  was  before  revealed,  a  direction,  and 
good  tidings  to  the  faithful) ;  whosoever  is  an  enemy  to  God,  or  his  angels, 
or  his  apostles,  or  to  Gabriel,  or  Michael,  verily  God  is  an  enemy  to  the 
unbelievers.  And  now  we  have  sent  down  unto  thee  evident  signs,^  and 
none  will  disbelieve  them  but  the  evil-doers.  Whenever  they  make  a 
covenant,  will  some  of  them  reject  it  1  yea,  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not 
believe.  And  when  there  came  unto  them  an  apostle  from  God,  confirming 
that  scripture  which  was  with  them,  some  of  those  to  whom  the  scriptures 
were  given  cast  the  book  of  God  behind  their  backs,  as  if  they  knew  it  not : 
and  they  followed  the  device  which  the  devils  devised  against  the  kingdom 
of  Solomon  ;  »*  and  Solomon  was  not  an  unbeliever ;  but  the  devils  believed 
not,  they  taught  men  sorcery,  and  that  which  was  sent  down  to  the  two 
angels  at  Babel,*  Harut  and  Marut :  ^  yet  those  two  taught  no  man  until 

^  That  is,  by  reason  of  the  wicked  forgeries  which  they  have  been  guilty  of  in  respect 
to  the  scriptures.  An  expression,  much  like  that  of  St.  Paul  where  he  says,  that  some 
men's  sins  are  open  beforehand,  going  before  to  judgment.^ 

"  The  commentators  say,  that  the  Jews  asked,  what  angel  it  was  that  brought  the  divine 
revelations  to  Mohammed;  and  being  told  that  it  was  Gabriel,  they  replied  that  he  was 
their  enemy,  and  the  messenger  of  wrath  and  punishment ;  but  if  it  had  been  Michael, 
they  would  have  believed  in  him,  because  that  angel  was  their  friend,  and  the  messeno-er 
of  peace  and  plenty.     And  on  this  occasion,  they  say,  this  passage  was  revealed.* 

That  Michael  was  really  the  protector  or  guardian  angel  of  the  Jews,  we  know  from 
scripture  ;'  and  it  seems  that  Gabriel  was,  as  the  Persians  call  him,  the  angel  of  revelations, 
being  frequently  sent  on  messages  of  that  kind  f  for  which  reason,  it  is  probable,  Mo- 
hammed pretended  he  was  the  angel  t"rom  whom  he  received  the  Koran. 

'  i.  e.  The  revelations  of  this  book, 

"  The  devils  having,  by  God's  permission,  tempted  Solomon  without  success,  they 
made  use  of  a  trick  to  blast  his  character.  For  they  wrote  several  books  of  magic,  and 
hid  them  under  that  prince's  throne,  and  after  his  death  told  the  chief  men  that  if  they 
wanted  to  know  by  what  means  Solomon  had  obtained  his  absolute  power  over  men, 
genii,  and  the  winds,  they  should  dig  under  his  throne  ;  which  having  done,  they  found 
the  aforesaid  books,  which  contained  impious  superstitions.  The  better  sort  refused  to 
learn  the  evil  arts  therein  delivered,  but  the  common  people  did  ;  and  the  priests  published 
this  scandalous  story  of  Solomon,  which  obtained  credit  among  the  Jews,  till  God,  say 
the  Mohammedans,  cleared  that  king  by  the  mouth  of  their  prophet,  declaring  that  Solo- 
mon was  no  idolater.' 

*  ''  He  (the  devil)  taught  unto  men  magic  and  the  science  of  the  two  angels,  Ilariit  and 
Marut,  who  are  condemned  to  remain  at  Babylon." — Savary. 

'  Some  say  only  that  these  were  two  magicians  or  angels  sent  by  God  to  teach  men 
magic,  and  to  tempt  them."  But  others  tell  a  longer  fable  ;  that  the  angels  expressing 
then-  surprise  at  the  wickedness  of  the  sons  of  Adam,  after  prophets  had  been  sent  to 
them  with  divine  commissions,  God  hid  them  choose  two  out  of  their  own  number  to  be 
sent  down  to  be  judges  on  earth.  Whereupon  they  pitched  upon  Harut  and  Marut,  who 
executed  their  office  with  integrity  for  some  time,  till  Zohara,  or  the  planet  Venus,  de- 
scended and  appeared  before  them  in  the  shape  of  a  beautiful  woman  bringing  a  complamt 

M  Tim.  v.  24.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  al  Zamnkh.  Yahya.  '  Dan.  xii.  1.  *  Ibid, 

oh.  viii.  16.  and  ix.  21.;  Luke  i.  19,  26.  See  Hyde  de  Rel.  Vet.  Persar.  p.  263.  '  Yahya. 
Jallalo'ddin,  ^  Jallalo'ddin. 


14  AL  KORAN.  chap.  it. 

they  had  said,  Verily  we  are  a  temptation,  therefore  be  not  an  unbeliever. 
So  men  learned  from  those  two  a  charm  by  which  they  might  cause  division 
between  a  man  and  his  wife  ;*  but  they  hurt  none  thereby,  unless  by  God's 
permission ;  and  they  learned  that  which  would  hurt  them,  and  not  profit 
them  ;  and  yet  they  knew  that  he  who  bought  that  art  should  have  no  part 
in  the  life  to  come,  and  woful  is  the  price  for  which  they  have  sold  their 
souls,  if  they  knew  it.  But  if  they  had  believed,  and  feared  God,  verily  the 
reward  they  mould  have  had  from  God  would  have  been  better,  if  they  had 
known  it.  O  true  believers,  say  not  to  our  apostle,  Rai'na;  but  say 
Ondhorna;''  and  hearken :  the  infidels  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment. 
It  is  not  the  desire  of  the  unbelievers,  either  among  those  unto  whom  the 
scriptures  have  been  given,  or  among  the  idolaters,  that  any  good  should  be 
sent  down  unto  you  from  your  Lord  :  but  God  will  appropriate  his  mercy 
unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  for  God  is  exceeding  beneficent.  Whatever  verse 
we  shall  abrogate,  or  cause  thee  to  forget,  we  will  bring  a  better  Ihan  it,  or 
one  like  unto  it.  Dost  thou  not  know  that  God  is  almighty  t^-^Post  thou 
not  know  that  unto  God  belongeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth  \ 
neither  have  ye  any  protector  or  helper  except  God.  Will  ye  require  of 
your  apostle  according  to  that  which  was  formerly  required  of  Moses  ?  y  but 
he  that  hath  exchanged  faith  for  infidelity,  hath  already  erred  from  the 
straight  way.  Many  of  those  unto  whom  the  scriptures  have  been  given, 
desire  to  render  you  again  unbelievers,  after  ye  have  believed ;  out  of  envy 
from  their  souls,  even  after  the  truth  is  become  manifest  unto  them ;  but 
forgive  them,  and  avoid  them,  till  God  shall  send  his  command ;  for  God  is 
omnipotent.  Be  constant  in  prayer,  and  give  alms ;  and  what  good  ye  have 
sent  before  for  your  souls,  ye  shall  find  it  with  God  ;  surely  God  seeth  that 
which  ye  do.  They  say,  Verily  none  shall  enter  paradise,  except  they  who 
are  Jews  or  Christians :  ^  this  is  their  wish.     Say,  Produce  your  proof  of 

against  her  husband,  (though  others  say  she  was  a  real  woman.)  As  soon  as  they  saw 
her,  they  fell  in  love  with  her,  and  endeavoured  to  prevail  on  her  to  satisfy  their  desires; 
but  she  flew  up  again  to  heaven,  whither  the  two  angels  also  returned,  but  were  not 
admitted.  However  on  the  intercession  of  a  certain  pious  man,  they  were  allowed  to 
choose  whether  they  would  be  punished  in  this  life,  or  in  the  other ;  whereupon  they  chose 
the  former,  and  now  suflTer  punishment  accordingly  in  Babel,  where  they  are  to  remain 
till  the  day  of  judgment.  They  add  that  if  a  man  has  a  fancy  to  learn  magic,  he  may  go 
to  them,  and  hear  their  voice,  but  cannot  see  them.^ 

This  story  Mohammed  took  directly  from  the  Persian  Magi,  who  mention  two  rebellious 
angels  of  the  same  names,  now  hung  up  by  the  feet  with  tneir  heads  downwards,  in  the 
territory  of  Babel.'  And  the  Jews  have  something  like  this,  of  the  angel  Shamhozai, 
who  having  debauched  himself  with  women,  repented,  and  by  way  of  penance,  hung 
himself  up  between  heaven  and  earth. '^ 

*  "  They  taught  the  diflference  between  man  and  woman." — Savanj. 

'  Those  two  Arabic  words  have  both  the  same  signification,  viz.  Look  on  us;  and  are  a 
kind  of  salutation.  Mohammed  had  a  great  aversion  to  the  first,  because  the  Jews  fre- 
quently used  ii  in  derision,  it  being  a  word  of  reproach  in  their  tongue.'  They  alluded, 
it  seems,  to  the  Hebrew  verb  j;n  rud,  which  signifies  to  be  bad  or  mischievous. 

y  Namely,  to  see  God  manifestly.* 

^  This  passage  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  a  dispute  which  Mohammed  had  with  the 
Jews  of  Medina,  and  the  Christians  of  Najran,  each  of  them  asserting  that  those  of  their 
religion  only  should  be  saved. ^ 

"  Yahya,  &c.  *  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  cap.  12.  ^  Bereshit  rabbah,  in  Genes,  vi.  2. 
'  Jallalo'ddin.         *  See  before  p.  9.        '  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP  II.  AL  KORAN.  15 

this,  if  ye  speak  truth.  Nay,  but  he  who  resigneth  himself*  to  God,  and 
dolli  that  which  is  right,''  he  shall  have  his  reward  with  his  Lord  :  there 
sliall  co?nc  no  fear  on  them,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  The  Jews  say, 
The  Christians  are  grounded  on  nothing  ;*=  and  the  Christians  say.  The  Jews 
are  grounded  on  nothing ;  yet  they  both  read  the  scriptures.  So  likewise  say 
they  who  know  not  the  scripture,  according  to  their  saying.  But  God  shall 
judge  between  them  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  concerning  that  about 
which  they  noio  disagree.  Who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  prohibiteth 
the  temples  of  God,*  that  his  name  should  be  remembered  therein,  and 
who  hasteth  to  destroy  them  ?  Those  men  cannot  enter  therein,  but  with 
fear:  they  shall  have  shame  in  this  world,  and  in  the  next  a  grievous 
punishment.  To  God  helongeth  the  east  and  the  west;  therefore  whither- 
soever ye  turn  yourselves  to  pray,  there  is  the  face  of  God  ;  for  God  is 
omnipresent  and  omniscient.  They  say,  God  hath  begotten  children  : «  God 
forbid !  To  him  helongeth  whatever  is  in  heaven,  and  on  earth ;  all  is  pos- 
sessed by  him,  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  when  he  decreeth  a 
thing,  he  only  saith  unto  it.  Be,  and  it  is.  And  they  who  know  not  the 
scriptures  say,  Unless  God  speak  unto  us,  or  thou  show  us  a  sign,  ice  will 
not  believe.  So  said  those  before  them,  according  to  their  saying :  their 
hearts  resemble  each  other.  We  have  already  shown  manifest  signs  unto 
people  who  firmly  believe ;  we  have  sent  thee  in  truth,  a  bearer  of  good 
tidings  and  a  preacher ;  and  thou  shalt  not  be  questioned  concerning  the 
companions  of  hell.  But  the  Jews  will  not  be  pleased  with  thee,  neither 
the  Christians,  until  thou  follow  their  religion ;  say.  The  direction  of  God 
is  the  true  direction.  And  verily  if  thou  follow  their  desires,  after  the 
knowledge  which  hath  been  given  thee,  thou  shalt  find  no  patron  or  pro- 
tector against  God.  They  to  whom  we  have  given  the  book  of  the  Koran, 
and  who  read  it  with  its  true  reading,  they  believe  therein ;  and  whoever 
believeth  not  therein,  they  shall  perish.  O  children  of  Israel,  remember  my 
favour  wherewith  I  have  favoured  you,  and  that  I  have  preferred  you 
before  all  nations  ;  and  dread  th«  day  wherein  one  soul  shall  not  make  satis- 
faction for  another  soul,  neither  shall  any  compensation  be  accepted  from 
them,  nor  shall  any  intercession  avail,  neither  shall  they  be  helped. 
Remember  when  the  Lord  tried  Abraham  by  certain  words,^  which  he 

*  Literally,  resignelh  his  face,  &lc. 

"  That  is,  asserteth  the  unity  of  God.^ 

<;  The  Jews  and  Christians  are  here  accused  of  denying  the  truth  of  each  other's  re- 
ligion, notwithstanding  they  read  the  scriptures.  Whereas  the  Pentateuch  bears  testimony 
to  Jesus,  and  the  gospel  bears  testimony  to  Moses.' 

■^  Or  hindereih  men  from  paying  their  adorations  to  God  in  those  sacred  places.  This 
passage,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  was  revealed  on  news  being  brought,  that  the  Romans  had 
spoiled  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ;  or  else  when  the  idolatrous  Arabs  obstructed  Moham- 
med's visiting  the  temple  of  Mecca,  in  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiya,  which  happened 
in  the  sixth  year  of  the  Hejra.' 

'This  is  spoken  not  only  of  the  Christians,  and  of  the  Jews  (for  they  are  accused  of 
holding  Ozair,  or  Ezra,  to  be  the  son  of  God),  but  also  the  pagan  Arabs,  who  imagined 
the  angels  to  be  daughters  of  God. 

'  God  tried  Abraham  chiefly  by  commanding  him  to  leave  his  native  country,  and  to  ofTer 
his  son.  But  the  commentators  suppose  the  trial  here  meant  related  only  to  some  particular 
«  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Idem.  »  Vide  Abu'lfeds  Vit.  Moham.  p.  84,  &c. 


16  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

fulfilled :  God  said,  Verily  I  will  constitute  thee  a  model  of  religions*  unto 
mankind ;  he  answered,  And  also  of  my  posterity ;  God  said,  My  covenant 
doth  not  comprehend  the   ungodly.     And   when  we  appointed  the  holy 
house  ^  of  Mecca  to  be  a  place  of  resort  for  mankind,  and  a  place  of  security  ; 
and  said,  Take  the  station  of  Abraham '  for  a  place  of  prayer ;  and  we 
covenanted  with  Abraham  and  Ismael,  that  they  should  cleanse  my  house 
for  those  who   should   compass  i^,|  and  those  who  should  be  devoutly 
assiduous    there,  and   those  who   should   bow  down   and  worship.     And 
when  Abraham  said,  Lord  make  this  a  territory  of  security,  and  boun- 
teously  bestow   fruits   on   its   inhabitants,   such   of  them   as   believe   in 
God  and   the   last   day;    God   answered,  And  whoever  believeth  not,  I 
will  bestow  on  him  little  | ;  afterwards  I  will  drive  him  to  the  punish- 
ment of  hell  fire;  an  ill  journey  shall  it  be!     And  when  Abraham  and 
Ismael  raised  the  foundations  of  the  house,  saying,  Lord,  accept  it  from 
us,  for  thou  art  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth :  Lord,  make  us  also  re- 
signed ^  unto  thee,  and  of  our  posterity  a  people  resigned  unto  thee,  and 
show  us  our  holy  ceremonies,  and  be  turned  unto  us,  for  thou  art  easy  to 
be    reconciled,   and    merciful :    Lord,   send   them   likewise    an    apostle 
from  among  them,  who  may  declare  thy  signs  unto  them,  and  teach  them 
the  book  of  the  Koran  and  wisdom,  and  may  purify  them ;  for  thou  art 
mighty  and  wise.     Who  will  be  averse  to  the  religion  of  Abraham,  but  he 
whose  mind  is  infatuated  1     Surely  we  have  chosen  him  in  this  world,  and 
in  that  which  is  to  come  he  shall  be  one  oflhe  righteous.    When  his  Lord 
said   unto  him.  Resign  thyself  unto  me ;  he  answered,  I  have  resigned 
myself  unto  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.     And  Abraham  bequeathed  this 
religion  to  his  children,  and  Jacob  did  the  same,  saying.  My  children,  verily 
God  hath  chosen  this  rehgion  for  you,  therefore  die  not,  unless  ye  also  be 
resigned.     Were  ye  present  when  Jacob  was  at  the  point  of  death?  when 

ceremonies,  such  as  circumcision,  pilgrimage  to  the  Caaba,  several  rites  of  purification, 
and  the  like.^ 

8 1  have  rather  expressed  the  meaning,  than  truly  translated  the  Arabic  word  Imam, 
which  answers  to  the  Latin  Antistes.  This  title  the  Mohammedans  give  to  their  priests, 
who  begin  the  prayers  in  their  Mosques,  and  whom  all  the  congregation  follow. 

*  "  I  will  establish  thee  the  leader  of  the  people." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  the  Caaba,  which  is  usually  called  by  way  of  eminence,  the  House.  Of  the 
sanctity  of  this  building  and  other  particulars  relating  to  it,  see  the  Preliminary  Discourse, 
sect.  iv. 

'  A  place  so  called  within  the  inner  enclosure  of  the  Caaba,  where  they  pretend  to 
show  the  print  of  his  foot  in  a  stone.' 

t  "  Purify  my  temple'^  from  the  idols  which  are  around  it,  and  from  those  which  are 
within  it,  and  from  their  worshippers." — Savary. 

t  "I  will  extend,  replied  the  Lord,  my  gifts  even  to  the  unbelievers,  but  they  shall 
enjoy  little.  They  shall  be  condemned  to  the  flames,  and  deplorable  shall  be  their  end." 
— Savary, 

^  The  Arabic  word  is  Moslemuna,  in  the  singular  Moslem,  which  the  Mohammedans 
take  as  a  title  peculiar  to  themselves.  The  Europeans  generally  write  and  pronounce  it 
Musulman. 

'■^  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

^  The  descendants  of  Abraham  and  of  Ishmael  lost  the  belief  of  an  only  God.  They 
still  reverenced  the  temple  of  IVIecca  as  the  work  of  those  two  patriarchs,  but  around  it 
and  within  it  they  had  placed  idols,  to  which  they  paid  divine  worship.  Mahomet  over- 
threw them,  and  restored  the  worship  of  the  only  true  God. — Savary. 


CHAP.  n.  AL  KORAN.  17 

he  said  to  his  sons,  Whom  will  ye  worship  after  me?  They  answered, 
We  will  worship  thy  God,  and  the  God  of  thy  fathers  Abraham,  and 
Ismael,  and  Isaac,  one  God,  and  to  him  will  we  be  resigned.  That  people 
are  now  passed  away,  they  have  what  they  have  gained^,  and  ye  shall  have 
what  ye  gain ;  and  ye  shall  not  be  questioned  concerning  that  which  they 
have  done.  They  say.  Become  Jews  or  Christians  that  ye  may  be  directed. 
Say,  Nay,  we  follow  the  religion  of  Abraham  the  orthodox,  who  was  no  idola- 
ter. Say,  We  believe  in  God,  and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  us, 
and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  Abraham,  and  Ismael,  and  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  and  the  tribes,  and  that  which  was  delivered  unto  Moses,  and 
Jesus,  and  that  which  was  delivered  unto  the  prophets  from  their  Lord  : 
We  make  no  distinction  between  any  of  them,  and  to  God  are  we  resigned. 
Now  if  they  believe  according  to  what  ye  believe,  they  are  surely  directed, 
but  if  they  turn  back,  they  are  in  schism.  God  shall  support  thee  against 
them,  for  he  is  in  the  hearer,  the  wise.  The  baptism  of  God"»  have  we 
received,  and  who  is  better  than  God  to  baptize  1  him  do  we  worship.  Say, 
Will  ye  dispute  with  us  concerning  God,''  who  is  our  Lord,  and  your 
Lord  ?  we  have  our  works,  and  ye  have  your  works,  and  unto  him  are  we 
sincerely  devoted.  Will  ye  say,  truly  Abraham,  and  Ismael,  and  Isaac, 
and  Jacob,  and  the  tribes  were  Jews  or  Christians  1  Say,  are  ye  wiser,  or 
God  1  And  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  hideth  the  testimony  which 
he  hath  received  from  God  1"  But  God  is  not  regardless  of  that  which  ye 
do.  That  people  are  passed  away,  they  have  what  they  have  gained,  and 
ye  shall  have  what  ye  gain,  nor  shall  ye  be  questioned  concerning  that 
which  they  have  done.  [*II.]  The  foolish  men  will  say.  What  hath 
turned  them  from  their  Keblah,  towards  which  they  formerly  prayed  f^ 
Say  unto  God  lelongeih  the  east  and  the  west:  he  directeth  whom  he 
pleaseth  into  the  right  way.     Thus  have  we  placed  you,  0  Arabians,  an 

'  Or  deserved.  The  Mohammedan  notion,  as  to  the  imputation  of  moral  actions  to 
man,  which  they  call  gain,  or  acquisition,  is  sufficiently  explained  in  the  Preliminary 
Discourse. 

■"  By  baptism  is  to  be  understood  the  religion  which  God  instituted  in  the  beginning  ;  be- 
cause the  signs  of  it  appear  in  the  person  who  professes  it,  as  the  signs  of  water  appear  in 
the  clothes  of  him  that  is  baptized.^ 

°  These  words  were  revealed,  because  the  Jews  insisted,  that  they  first  received  the 
scriptures,  that  their  Keblah  was  more  ancient,  and  that  no  prophets  could  arise  among 
the  Arabs ;  and  therefore  if  Mohammed  was  a  prophet,  he  must  have  been  of  their  nation.* 

"  The  Jews  are  again  accused  of  corrupting  and  suppressing  the  prophecies  in  the  Pen- 
tateuch relating  to  Mohammed. 

p  At  first,  Mohammed  and  his  followers  observed  no  particular  rite  in  turning  their  faces 
towards  any  certain  place,  or  quarter  of  the  world,  when  they  prayed ;  it  being  declared  to 
be  perfectly  indifferent.*  Afterwards,  when  the  prophet  fled  to  Medina,  he  directed  them 
to  turn  towards  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  (probably  to  ingratiate  himself  with  the  Jews,) 
which  continued  to  be  their  Keblah  for  six  or  seven  months ;  but  either  finding  the  Jevvs 
too  intractable,  or  despairing  otherwise  to  gain  the  pagan  Arabs,  who  could  not  forget  their 
respect  to  the  temple  of  Mecca,  he  ordered  that  prayers  for  the  future  should  be  towards 
the  last.  This  change  was  made  in  the  second  year  of  the  Hejra,*  and  occasioned  many 
to  fall  from  him,  taking  offence  at  his  inconstancy.'" 

■i  This  seems  to  be  the  sense  of  the  words ;  though  the  commentators^  will  have  the 
meaning  to  be,  that  the  Arabians  are  here  declared  to  be  a  most  just  and  good  nation. 

'  Jallalo'ddin.          *Idem  'See  before  p.  15.         « Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  54. 

■"  Jallalo'ddin.        «  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  &c. 


18  AL  KORAN.  chap.  n. 

intermediate  nation, «i*  that  ye  may  be  witness  against  the  rest  of  mankind, 
and  that  the  apostle  may  be  a  witness  against  you.  We  appointed  the 
Keblah  towards  which  thou  didst  formerly  jpray,  only  that  we  might  know 
him  who  foUowcth  the  apostle,  from  him  who  turncth  back  on  the  heels  ;"■ 
though  this  change  seem  a  great  matter,  unless  unto  those  whom  God  hath 
directed.  But  God  will  not  render  your  faith  of  none  effect ;  *  for  God  is 
gracious  and  merciful  unto  man.  We  have  seen  thee  turn  about  thy  face 
towards  heaven  with  uncertainty,  but  we  will  cause  thee  to  turn  thyself 
towards  a  Keblah  that  will  please  thee.  Turn,  therefore,  thy  face  towards 
the  holy  temple  of  Mecca ;  and  wherever  ye  be,  turn  your  faces  towards 
that  place.  They  to  whom  the  scripture  hath  been  given,  know  this  to  be 
truth  from  their  Lord.  God  is  not  regardless  of  that  wliich  ye  do.  Verily 
although  thou  shouldest  show  unto  those  to  whom  the  scripture  hath  been 
given  all  kinds  of  signs,  yet  they  will  not  follow  thy  Keblah,  neither  shalt 
thou  follow  their  Keblah ;  nor  will  one  part  of  them  follow  th^e  Keblah  of 
the  other.  And  if  thou  follow  their  desires,  after  the  knowledge  which 
hath  been  given  thee,  verily  thou  wilt  become  one  of  the  ungodly.  They 
to  whom  we  have  given  the  scripture  know  our  apostle,  even  as  they  know 
their  own  children ;  but  some  of  them  hide  the  truth,  against  their  own 
knowledge.  Truth  is  from  thy  Lord,  therefore  thou  shalt  not  doubt. 
Every  sect  hath  a  certain  tract  of  heaven  to  which  they  turn  themselves  in 
prayer ;  but  do  ye  strive  to  run  after  good  things ;  wherever  ye  be,  God 
will  bring  you  all  back  at  the  resurrection,  for  God  is  almighty.  And  from 
what  place  soever  thou  comest  forth,  turn  thy  face  towards  the  holy  temple  ; 
for  this  is  truth  from  thy  Lord  ;  neither  is  God  regardless  of  that  which  ye 
do.  From  what  place  soever  thou  comest  forth,  turn  thy  face  towards  the 
holy  temple ;  and  wherever  ye  be,  thitherward  turn  your  faces,  lest  men 
have  matter  of  dispute  against  you ;  but  as  for  those  among  them  who  are 
unjust  doers,  fear  them  not,  but  fear  me,  that  I  may  accomplish  my  grace 
upon  you,  and  that  ye  may  be  directed.  As  we  have  sent  unto  you  an 
apostle  from  among  you,*  to  rehearse  our  signs  unto  you,  and  to  purify 
you,  and  to  teach  you  the  book  of  the  Koran  and  wisdom,  and  to  teach  you 
that  which  ye  knew  not:  therefore  remember  me,  and  I  will  remember 
you,  and  give  thanks  unto  me,  and  be  not  unbelievers.  O  true  believers, 
beg  assistance  with  patience  and  prayer,  for  God  is  with  the  patient.  And 
say  not  of  those  who  are  slain  in  fight  for  the  religion  of  God,"  that  they  are 
dead;  yQ^,  they  are  living:^  but  ye  do  not  understand.  We  will  surely 
prove  you  hy  afflicting  you  in  some  measure  with  fear,  and  hunger,  and 

*  "  We  have  established  you,  O  chosen  people,  to  bear  witness  against  the  rest  of  the 
nation,  as  your  apostle  will  bear  it  against  you." — Savary. 

■^  I.  e.  Returneth  to  Judaism. 

^  Or  will  not  sufler  it  to  go  without  its  reward,  while  ye  prayed  towards  Jerusalem. 

'  That  is,  of  your  own  nation, 

""  The  original  words  are  literally,  who  are  slain  in  the  way  of  God ;  by  which  expression, 
frequently  occurring  in  the  Koran,  is  always  meant  war  undertaken  against  unbelievers  for 
the  propagation  of  the  Mohammedan  faith. 

'  The  souls  of  martyrs  (for  such  they  esteem  those  who  die  in  battle  against  infidels) 
says  Jallalo'ddin,  are  in  the  crops  of  green  birds,  which  have  liberty  to  fly  wherever  they 
please  in  paradise,  and  feed  on  the  fruits  thereof. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  19 

decrease  of  wealth,  and  loss  of  lives,  and  scarcity  of  fruits ;  but  bear  good 
tidings  unto  the  patient,  who,  when  a  misfortune  bcfallcth  them,  say^^Vc 
are  GrQD's^and  unto  him  shall  wc  surely  return. J'  Upon  them  shall  be  bless- 
ings from  their  Lord  and  mercy,  and  they  arc  the  rightly  directed.  More- 
over Safa  and  Merwah  are  tivo  of  the  monuments  of  God :  whoever 
therefore  goeth  on  pilgrimage  to  the  temple  of  Mecca  or  visiteth  it*  it  shall 
be  no  crime  in  him  if  he  compass  them  both.*  And  as  for  him  who  volun- 
tarily performcth  a  good  work  ;  verily  God  is  grateful  and  knowing.  They 
who  conceal  any  of  the  evident  signs,  or  the  direction  which  we  have  sent 
down,  after  what  we  have  manifested  unto  men  in  the  scripture,  God  shall 
curse  them  ;  and  they  who  curse  shall  curse  them.*/^But  as  for  those  who  re- 
pent and  amend,  and  make  known  what  they  concealed^  I  will  be  turned  unto 
them,  for  I  am  easy  to  be  reconciled  and  merciful.  Surely  they  who  believe 
not,  and  die  in  their  unbelief,  upon  them  shall  be  the  curse  of  God,  and  of  the 
angels,  and  of  all  men ;  they  shall  remain  under  it  for  ever,  their  punish- 
ment shall  not  be  alleviated,  neither  shall  they  be  regarded.''  Your  God 
is  one  God  ;  there  is  no  God  but  He,  the  most  merciful.  Now  in  the 
creation  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  the  vicissitude  of  night  and  day,  and 
in  the  ship  which  saileth  in  the  sea,  loaden  with  what  is  profitable  for  man- 
kind, and  in  the  rain  water  which  God  sendeth  from  heaven,  quickening 
thereby  the  dead  earth,  and  replenishing  the  same  with  all  sorts  of  cattle, 
and  in  the  change  of  winds,  and  the  clouds  that  are  compelled  to  do 
service "  between  heaven  and  earth,  are  signs  to  people  of  understanding : 
yet  some  men  take  idols  beside  God,  and  love  them  as  with  the  love  due  to 
God  ;  but  the  true  believers  are  more  fervent  in  love  towards  God.  Oh 
that  they  who  act  unjustly  did  perceive,*^  when  they  behold  their  punish- 

'  An  expression  frequently  in  the  mouths  of  the  Mohammedans,  when  under  any  great 
affliction,  or  in  any  imminent  danger. 

*  "He  who  shall  have  performed  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  and  shall  have  visited  the 
holy  house,  shall  be  exempted  from  offering  an  expiatory  victim,  provided  that  he  maketh 
the  circuit  of  those  two  mountains.  He  who  goeth  beyond  what  the  precept  requireth 
shall  experience  the  gratitude  of  the  Lord." — Savary. 

^  Safa  and  Merwa  are  two  mountains  near  Mecca,  whereon  were  anciently  two  idols,  to 
which  the  pagan  Arabs  used  to  pay  a  superstitious  veneration.*  Jallalo'ddin  says  this 
passage  was  revealed  because  the  followers  of  Mohammed  made  a  scruple  of  going  round 
these  mountains,  as  the  idolaters  did.  But  the  true  reason  of  his  allowing  this  relic  of 
ancient  superstition  seems  to  be  the  difficulty  he  found  in  preventing  it.  Abu'l  Kasem 
Hebato'llah  thinks  these  last  words  are  abrogated  by  those  other,  Who  will  reject  the  re- 
ligion 0/ Abraham,  except  he  who  hath  infatuated  his  soul  ?'^  So  that  he  will  have  the 
meaning  to  be  quite  contrary  to  the  letter,  as  if  it  had  been,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  him  if 
he  do  not  compass  them.  However,  the  expositors  are  all  against  him,*  and  the  ceremony 
of  running  between  these  two  hills  is  still  observed  at  the  pilgrimage.^ 

»  That  is,  the  angels,  the  believers,  and  all  things  in  general."  But  Yahya  interprets  it 
of  the  curses  which  will  be  given  to  the  wicked,  when  they  cry  out  because  of  the  pun- 
ishment of  the  sepulchre,*  by  all  who  hear  them,  that  is  by  all  creatures  except  men  and 
genii. 

''  Or,  as  Jallalo'ddin  expounds  it,  God  will  not  wait  for  their  repentance. 

'  The  ori:,nnal  word  signifies  properly  that  are  pressed  or  compelled  to  do  persoiial  service 
luithout  hire;  which  kind  of  service  is  often  exacted  by  the  eastern  princes  of  their  subjects, 
and  is  called  by  the  Greek  and  Latin  writers,  Angaria.  The  scripture  often  mentions  this 
sort  of  compulsion  or  force.* 

"  Se€  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  '  See  before  p.  16.  ^  Vide  Marracc.  in  Ale. 

p.  69,  &c.         ^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect  iv.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  Prelim.  Disc. 

sect.  iv.  «  Matt.  v.  41. ;  xxvii.  32,  &c. 

^  Or  it  may  be  translated,  Although  the  ungodly  will  perceive,  &.c.     But  some  copies 


20  AL  KORAN.  chap.  n. 

ment,  that  all  power  belongcth  unto  God,  and  that  he  is  severe  in  punish- 
ing !     When  those  who  have  been  followed  shall  separate  themselves  from 
their  followers,**  and  shall  see  the  punishment,  and  the  cords  of  relation  be- 
tween them  shall  be  cut  in  sunder ;  the  followers  shall  say,  If  we  could 
return  to  life,  we  would  separate  ourselves  from  them,  as  they  have  now 
separated  themselves  from  us.     So  God  will  show  them  their  works ;  they 
shall  sigh  grievously,  and  shall  not  come  forth  from  the  fire  of  hell.    O  men, 
eat  of  that  which   is   lawful  and  good   on  the  earth;    and  tread  not  in 
the  steps  of  the  devil,  for  he  is  your  open  enemy.     Verily  he  commandeth 
you  evil  and  wickedness,  and  that  ye  should  say  that  of  God  which  ye 
know  not.    And  when  it  is  said  unto  them  who  helieve  not,  Follow  that  which 
God  hath  sent  down ;  they  answer,  Nay,  but  we  will  follow  that  which  we 
found  our  fathers  practise.    What  ?  though  their  fathers  knew  nothing,  and 
were  not  rightly  directed  ?     The  unbelievers  are  like  unto  one  who  crieth 
aloud  to  that  which  heareth  not  so  much  as  his  calling,*  or  the  sound  of  his 
voice.     They  are  deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  therefore  do  they  not  understand. 
O  true  believers,  eat  of  the  good  things  which  we  have  bestowed  on  you  for 
food,  and  return  thanks  unto  God,  if  ye  serve  him.     Verily  he  hath  for- 
bidden you  to  eat  that  which  dieth  of  itself,  and  blood  and  swine's  flesh,  and 
that  on  which  any  other  name  but  God's  hath  been  invocated.^    But  he  who  is 
forced  by  necessity,  not  lusting,  nor  returning  to  transgress,  it  shall  be  no 
crime  in  him  if  he  eat  of  those  things,  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful. 
Moreover  they  who  conceal  any  part  of  the  scripture  which  God  hath  sent 
down  unto  them,  and  sell  it  for  a  small  price,  they  shall  swallow  into  their 
beUies  nothing  but  fire ;  God  shall  not  speak  unto  them  on  the  day  of 
resurrection,  neither  shall  he  purify  them,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous 
punishment.  •   These  are  they  who  have  sold  direction  for  error,  and  pardon 
for  punishment :  but  how  great  will  their  -suffering  be  in  the  fire  !     This 
they  shall  endure,  because  God  sent  down  the  book  of  the  Koran  with 
truth,  and  they  who  disagree  concerning  that  book  are  certainly  in  a  wide 
mistake.     It  is  not  righteousness  that  ye  turn  your  faces  in  prayer  towards 
the  east  and  the  west,  but  righteousness  is  of  him  who  believeth  in  God 
and  the  last  day,  and  the  angels,  and  the  scriptures,  and  the  prophets ; 
who  givcth  money  for  God's  sake  unto  his  kindred,  and  unto  orphans,  and 
the  needy,  and  the  stranger,  and  those  who  ask,  and  for  redemption  of 
captives ;  who  is  constant  at  prayer,  and  giveth  alms ;  and  of  those  who 
perform   their   covenant,  when  they  have   covenanted,  and   who   behave 
themselves  patiently  in  adversity,  and  hardships,  and  in  time  of  violence : 

instead  of  yara,  in  the  third  person,  read  tara,  in  the  second  ;  arid  then  it  must  be  ren- 
dered, Oh' if  thou  didst  see  when  the  un<rodh/  behold  their  punishment,  &c. 

*  That  is.  when  the  broachers  or  heads  of  new  sects  shall  at  the  last  day  forsake  or  wash 
their  hands  of  their  disciples,  as  if  they  were  not  accomplices  in  their  superstitions. 

*  "  The  unbelievers  are  like  unto  him  who  heareth  the  sound  of  the  voice  without  com- 
prehending any  thing.    Deaf,  dumb,  and  blind,  they  have  no  understanding." — Savary. 

'  For  this  reason,  whenever  the  Mohammedans  kill  any  animal  for  food,  they  always 
say  Bismi'llah,  or  In  the  name  of  God ;  which  if  it  be  neglected,  they  think  it  not  lawful 
to  eat  of  it. 


CHAP  II.  AL  KORAN.  21 

these  are  they  who  are  true,  and  these  are  they  who  fear  God.  O  true 
behevers,  the  law  of  retaUation  is  ordained  you  for  the  slain :  the  free  shall 
die  for  the  free,  and  the  servant  for  the  servant,  and  a  woman  for  a 
woman :  e  but  he  whom  his  brother  shall  forgive  may  be  prosecuted,*  and 
obliged  to  make  satisfaiition  according  to  what  is  just,  and  a  fine  shall  be  set 
on  him'*  with  humanity.'i  This  is  indulgence  from  your  Lord,  and  mercy. 
And  he  who  shall  traij^gre^s  after  this,  hj  killing  the  murderer,  shall  suffer 
a  grievous  punishment.  And  in  this  law  of  retaliation  ye  have  life,  O  ye 
of  understanding,  that  peradventure  ye  may  fear.  It  is  ordained  you, 
when  any  of  you  is  at  the  point  of  death,  if  he  leave  any  goods,  that  he 
bequeath  a  legacy  to  his  parents,  and  kindred,  according  to  what  shall  be 
reasonable.*  This  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  those  who  fear  God.  But  he 
who  shall  change  the  legacy,  after  he  hath  heard  it  bequeathed  by  the  dying 
person,  surely  the  sin  thereof  shall  be  on  those  who  change  it,  for  God  is 
he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  Howbeit  he  who  apprehendeth  from  the 
testator  any  mistake  or  injustice,  and  shall  compose  the  matter  between 
them,  that  shall  be  no  crime  in  him,  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful. 
O  true  believers,  a  fast  is  ordained  you,  as  it  was  ordained  unto  those 
before  you,  that  ye  may  fear  God.  A  certain  number  of  days  shall  ye  fast : 
but  he  among  you  who  shall  be  sick,  or  on  a  journey,  shall  fast  an  equal 
number  of  other  days.  And  those  who  can  '^  keep  it,  and  do  not,  must 
redeem  their  neglect  by  maintaining  of  a  poor  man.^  And  he  who  volun- 
tarily dealeth  better  with  the  poor  man  than  he  is  obliged,  this  shall  be 
better  for  him.  But  if  ye  fast  it  will  be  better  for  you,  if  ye  knew  it. 
The  month  of  Ramadan  shall  ye  fast,  in  which  the  Koran  was  sent  down 

e  This  is  not  to  be  strictly  taken ;  for,  according  to  the  Sonna,  a  man  is  also  to  be  put 
to  death  for  the  murder  of  a  woman.  Regard  is  also  to  be  had  to  difference  in  religion,  so 
that  a  Mahommedan,  though  a  slave,  is  not  to  be  put  to  death  for  an  infidel,  though  a 
freeman.'  But  the  civil  magistrates  do  not  think  themselves  always  obliged  to  conform 
to  the  last  determination  of  the  Sonna. 

*  "  He  who  forgiveth  the  murderer  of  his  brother,  shall  have  the  right  of  requiring  a 
reasonable  reparation,  which  shall  be  thankfully  paid." — Savary. 

''This  is  tile  common  practice  in  Mahommedan  countries,  particularly  in  Persia;* 
where  the  relations  of  the  deceased  may  take  their  choice,  either  to  have  the  murderer 
put  into  their  hands  to  be  put  to  death ;  or  else  to  accept  of  pecuniary  satisfaction. 

*  That  is,  the  legacy  was  not  to  exceed  a  third  part  of  the  testator's  substance,  nor  to  be 
given  where  there  was  no  necessity.  But  this  injunction  is  abrogated  by  the  law  concern- 
ing inheritances. 

*  The  expositors  differ  much  about  the  meaning  of  this  passage,  thinking  it  very  impro- 
bable that  people  should  be  left  entirely  at  liberty  either  to  fast  or  not,  on  compounding  for 
it  in  this  manner.  .Tallalo'ddin  therefore  supposes  the  negative  particle  not  to  be  understood, 
and  that  this  is  allowed  only  to  those  who  are  not  able  to  fast,  by  reason  of  age  or  dangerous 
sickness :  but  afterwards  he  says,  that  in  the  beginning  of  Mahommedism  it  was  free  for 
them  to  choose  whether  they  would  fast  or  maintain  a  poor  man ;  which  liberty  was  soon 
after  taken  away,  and  this  passage  abrogated  by  the  following.  Therefore  let  him  who  shall 
be  present  in  this  month,  fast  the  same  month.  Yet  this  abrogation,  he  says,  does  not  ex- 
tend to  women  with  child,  or  that  give  suck,  lest  the  infant  suffer. 

Al  Zamakhshari,  having  first  given  an  explanation  of  Ebn  Abbas,  who  by  a  different 
interpretation  of  the  Arabic  word  Yotikunaho  which  signifies  can  or  are  able  to  fast,  ren- 
ders it,  Those  who  find  great  difficulty  therein,  &:,c.,  adds  an  exposition  of  his  own,  by  sup- 
posing something  to  be  understood  ;  according  to  which  the  sense  will  be.  Those  who  can 
fast,  and  yet  have  a  legal  excuse  to  break  it,  must  redeem  it,  Sec. 

'  According  to  the  usual  quantity  which  a  man  eats  in  a  day,  and  the  custom  of  the 
country.'^ 

'  Jallalo'ddin.      «  Vide  Chardin,  Voyage  de  Perse,  t.  ii.  p.  299,  &c.      »  Jallalo'ddin. 


22  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

from  heaven,"^  a  direction  unto  men,  and  declarations  of  direction,  and  the 
distinction  between  good  and  evil  Therefore,  let  him  among  you  who  shall 
be  present  °  in  this  month,  fast  the  same  month ;  but  he  who  shall  be  sick, 
or  on  a  journey,  shall  fast  the  like  number  of  other  days.  God  would 
tnake  this  an  case  unto  you,  and  would  not  make  it  a  difficulty  unto  you ; 
that  ye  may  fulfil  the  number  of  days,  and  glorify  God,  for  that  he  hath 
directed  you,  and  that  ye  may  give  thanks.  When  my  servants  ask  thee 
concerning  me,  Verily  I  am  near;  I  will  hear  the  prayer  of  him  that 
prayeth,  when  he  praycth  unto  me :  but  let  them  hearken  unto  me,  and 
believe  in  me,  that  they  may  be  rightly  directed.  It  is  lawful  for  you,  on 
the  night  of  the  fast,  to  go  in  unto  your  wives ; »  they  are  a  garment  p  unto 
you,  and  ye  are  a  garment  unto  them.  God  knoweth  that  ye  defraud 
yourselves  therein,  wherefore  he  turneth  unto  you,  and  forgiveth  you. 
Now,  therefore,  go  in  unto  them ;  and  earnestly  desire  that  which  God 
ordaineth  you,  and  eat  and  drink,  until  ye  can  plainly  distinguish  a 
white  thread  from  a  black  thread  by  the  day-break :  then  Ivcep  the  fast 
until  night,  and  go  not  in  unto  them,  but  be  constantly  present  in  the 
places  of  worship.  These  are  the  prescribed  bounds  of  God,  therefore 
draw  not  near  them  to  transgress  them.  Thus  God  declareth  his  signs 
unto  men,  that  ye  may  fear  him.  Consume  not  your  wealth  among 
yourselves  in  vain;  nor  present  it  unto  judges,  that  ye  may  devour 
part  of  men's  substance  unjustly,  against  your  own  consciences.  They 
will  ask  thee  concerning  the  phases  of  the  moon:  Answer,  They  are 
times  appointed  unto  men,  and  to  show  the  season  of  the  pilgrimage  to 
Mecca.  It  is  not  righteousness  that  ye  enter  your  houses  by  the  back 
parts  thereof,i  but  righteousness  is  of  him  who  feareth  God.  Therefore 
enter  your  houses  by  their  doors ;  and  fear  God,  that  ye  may  be  happy. 
And  fight  for  the  religion  of  God  against  those  who  fight  against  you ;  but 
transgress  not  by  attacking  them  first,  for  God  loveth  not  the  transgressors. 
And  kill  them  wherever  ye  find  them,  and  turn  them  out  of  that  whereof 
they  have  dispossessed  you ;  for  temptation  to  idolatry  is  more  grievous 
than  slaughter ;  yet  fight  not  against  them  in  the  holy  temple,  until  they 
attack  you  therein ;  but  if  they  attack  you,  slay  them  there.  This  shall 
be  the  reward  of  infidels.  But  if  they  desist,  God  is  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful.  Fight  therefore  against  them,  until  there  be  no  temptation  to  idola- 
try, and  the  religion  be  God's  ;  but  if  they  desist,  then  let  there  be  no 

°  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  jv. 

°  i.  e.  At  home,  and  not  in  a  strange  country,  where  the  fast  cannot  be  performed,  or 
on  a  journey. 

'  In  the  beginning  of  Mohammedism,  during  the  fast,  they  neither  lay  with  their  wives 
nor  ate  nor  drank  after  supper.     But  both  are  permitted  by  this  passage.' 

p  A  metaphorical  expression,  to  signify  the  mutual  comfort  a  man  and  his  wife  find  in 
each  other. 

=1  Some  of  the  Arabs  had  a  superstitious  custom  after  they  had  been  at  Mecca,  (in  piU 
grimage,  as  it  seems)  on  tlieir  return  home,  not  to  enter  their  house  by  the  old  door,  but 
to  make  a  hole  through  the  back  part  for  a  passage,  which  practice  is  here  reprehended. 

*  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  23 

liostility,  except  against  the  ungodly.  A  sacred  month  for  a  sacred  month, 
and  the  holy  hmits  of  Mecca^  if  they  attack  you  therein,  do  ye  also  attack 
them  therein  in  retahation ;  and  whoever  transgresseth  against  you  by  so 
doing,  do  ye  transgress  against  him  in  hke  manner  as  he  hath  transgressed 
against  you,  and  fear  God,  and  know  that  God  is  with  those  who  fear  him. 
Contribute  out  of  your  siibstance  toward  the  defence  of  the  rchgion  of  God. 
and  throw  not  yourselves  with  your  own  hands  into  perdition ;  *  and  do 
good,  for  God  loveth  those  who  do  good.  Perform  the  pilgrimage  of 
Mecca,  and  the  visitation  of  God  ;  and,  if  ye  be  besieged,  send  that  offer- 
ing which  shall  be  the  easiest;  and  shave  not  your  heads,*  until  your 
offering  reacheth  the  place  of  sacrifice. '  But,  whoever  among  you  is  sick, 
or  is  troubled  with  any  distemper  of  the  head,  must  redeem  the  shaving  his 
head,  by  fasting,  or  alms,  or  some  offering."^  When  ye  are  secure  from 
enemies,  he  who  tarrieth^  in  the  visitation  of  the  temple  of  Mecca  until  the 
pilgrimage,  shall  bring  that  offering  which  shall  be  the  easiest.  But  he 
who  findeth  not  any  thing  to  offer,  shall  fast  three  days  in  the  pilgrimage, 
and  seven  when  ye  are  returned :  they  shall  be  ten  days  complete.  This 
75  incumbent  on  him  whose  family  shall  not  be  present  at  the  holy  temple. 
And  fear  God,  and  know  that  God  is  severe  in  punishing.  The  pilgrimage 
fiiust  be  performed  in  the  known  months  :  ^  whosoever  therefore  purposeth 
to  go  on  pilgrimage  therein,  let  him  not  know  a  woman,  nor  transgress, 
nor  quarrel  in  the  pilgrimage.  The  good  which  ye  do,  God  knoweth  it. 
Make  provision  for  your  journey ;  but  the  best  provision  is  piety :  and 
fear  me,  O  ye  of  understanding.  It  shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  if  ye  seek  an 
increase  from  your  Lord,  by  trading  during  the  pilgrimage.  And  when 
ye  go  in  processiony  from  Arafat^  remember  God  near  the  holy  monument''; 
and  remember  him  for  that  he  hath  directed  you,  although  ye  were  before 

■"  As  to  these  sacred  months,  wherein  it  was  unlawful  for  the  ancient  Arabs  to  attack  one 
another,  see  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vii. 

*  i.  e.  Be  not  accessary  to  your  own  destruction,  by  neglecting  your  contributions  towards 
the  wars  against  infidels,  and  thereby  suffer  them  to  gather  strength. 

'  For  this  was  a  sign  they  had  completed  their  vow,  and  performed  all  the  ceremonies  of 
the  pilgrimage  .- 

"  That  is,  either  by  fasting  three  days,  or  feeding  six  poor  people,  or  sacrificing  a  sheep. 

''This  passage  is  somewhat  obscure.  Yahya  interprets  it  of  him  who  marries  a  wife 
during  the  visitation,  and  performs  the  pilgrimage  the  year  following.  But  Jallalo'ddin  ex- 
pounds it  of  him  who  stays  within  the  sacred  enclosures,  in  order  to  complete  the  cere- 
monies, which  (as  it  should  seem)  he  had  not  been  able  to  do  within  the  prescribed  time. 

*  I.  €.  Shawal,  Dhu'lkaada,  and  Dhu'lhajja.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

^  The  original  word  signifies  to  rush  forward  impetuously  ;  as  the  pilgrims  do  when  they 
proceed  from  Arafat  to  Mozdalifa. 

'  A  mountain  near  Mecca,  so  called,  because  Adam  there  met  and  knew  his  wife,  after 
a  long  separation.^  Yet  others  say  that  Gabriel,  after  he  had  instructed  Abraham  in  all 
the  sacred  ceremonies,  coming  to  Arafat  there  asked  him  if  he  knew  the  ceremonies  which 
had  been  shown  him  ;  to  which  Abraham  answering  in  the  affirmative,  the  mountain  had 
thence  its  name.* 

*  In  Arabic,  al  Masher  al  haram.  It  is  a  mountain  in  the  farther  part  of  Mozdalifa, 
where  it  is  said  ^Mohammed  stood  praying  and  praising  God,  till  his  face  became  extremely 
shming,^  Bobovius  calls  it  Forkh,«  but  the  true  name  seems  to  be  Kazah  ;  the  variation 
being  occasioned  only  by  the  different  pointing  of  the  Arabic  letters. 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  before  p.  5.  note  f.  '  Al  Hasan.  'Jallalo'ddin. 

*  Bobov.  de  Peregr.  Meccana,  p.  15. 


24      '  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

this  of  the  number  of  those  who  go  astray.  Therefore  go  in  procession 
from  whence  the  people  go  in  procession,  and  ask  pardon  of  God,  for  God 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  And  when  ye  have  finished  your  holy  cere- 
monies, remember  God,  according  as  ye  remember  your  fathers,  or  with  a 
more  reverent  commemoration.  There  are  some  men  who  say,  O  Lord, 
give  us  our  portion  in  this  world ;  but  such  shall  have  no  portion  in  the 
next  life :  and  there  are  others  who  say,  O  Lord,  give  us  good  in  this 
world  and  also  good  in  the  next  world,  and  deliver  us  from  the  torment  of 
hell  fire.  They  shall  have  a  portion  of  that  which  they  have  gained :  God 
is  swift  in  taking  an  account."  Remember  God  the  appointed  number  of 
days%-  but  if  any  haste  to  depart  from  the  valley  of  Mina  in  two  days,  it 
shall  be  no  crime  in  him.  And  if  any  tarry  longer,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in 
him,  in  him  who  feareth  God.  Therefore  fear  God,  and  know  that  unto 
him  ye  shall  be  gathered.  There  is  a  man  who  causeth  thee  to  marvel* 
by  his  speech  concerning  this  present  life,  and  calleth  God  to  witness  that 
which  is  in  his  heart,  yet  he  is  most  intent  in  opposing  thee;  and 
when  he  turneth  Siway  from  thee,  he  hasteth  to  act  corruptly  in  the  earth, 
and  to  destroy  that  which  is  sown,  and  springeth  up :''  but  God  loveth 
not  corrupt  doing.  And  if  one  say  unto  him.  Fear  God  ;  pride 
seizeth  him,  together  with  wickedness ;  but  hell  shall  be  his  reward, 
and  an  unhappy  couch  shall  it  be.  There  is  also  a  man  who  selleth 
his  soul  for  the  sake  of  those  things  which  are  pleasing  unto  God;*^ 
and  God  is  gracious  unto  his  servants.  O  true  believers,  enter  into  the 
true  religion  wholly,  and  follow  not  the  steps  of  Satan,  for  he  is  your 
open  enemy.  If  ye  have  slipped  after  the  declarations  of  our  will  have 
come  unto  you,  know  that  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  Do  the  infidels  expect 
less  than  that  God  should  come  down  to  them  overshadowed  with  clouds, 
and  the  angels  also  ?  but  the  thing  is  decreed,  and  to  God  shall  all  things 
return.  Ask  the  children  of  Israel  how  many  evident  signs  we  have 
showed  them ;  and  whoever  shall  change  the  grace  of  God  after  it  shall 
have  come  unto  him,  verily  God  will  be  severe  in  punishing  him.  The 
present  life  was  ordained  for  those  who  believe  not,*  and  they  laugh  the 
faithful  to  scorn ;  but  they  who  fear  God  shall  be  above  them,  on  the  day 
of  the  resurrection :  for  God  is  bountiful  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  without 
measure.  Mankind  was  of  one  faith,  and  God  sent  prophets  bearing  good 
tidings,  and  denouncing  threats,  and  sent  down  with  them  the  scripture  in 

^  For  he  will  judge  all  creatures,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  in  the  space  of  half  a  day. 

'  i.  e.  Three  days  after  slaying  the  sacrifices. 

^  This  person  was  al  Akhnas  Ebn  Shoraik,  a  fair-spoken  dissembler,  who  swore  that  he 
believed  in  Mohammed,  and  pretended  to  be  one  of  his  friends,  and  to  contemn  this  world. 
But  God  here  reveals  to  the  prophet  his  hypocrisy  and  wickedness.'' 

*  Setting  fire  to  his  neighbour's  corn,  and  killing  his  asses  by  night.^ 

*  The  person  here  meant  was  one  Soheib,  who  being  persecuted  by  the  idolaters  of 
Mecca,  forsook  all  he  had,  and  fled  to  Medina.' 

*  "  The  life  of  this  world  is  strewed  with  flowers  for  the  unbelievers.  They  make 
a  scoff  of  the  faithful.  Those  who  have  the  fear  of  the  Lord  shall  be  raised  above 
them  at  the  day  of  resurrection.  God  dispenseth  as  he  pleaseth  his  innumerable  gifts." — 
Savory. 

'  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Idem .  » Idem. 


CHAP.  n.  AL  KORAN.  25 

truth,  that  it  might  judge  between  men  of  that  concerning  which  they 
disagreed :  and  none  disagreed  concerning  it,  except  those  to  whom  the 
same  scriptures  were  delivered,  after  the  declarations  of  God's  will  had 
come  unto  them,  out  of  envy  among  themselves.  And  God  directed  those 
who  believed,  to  that  truth  concerning  which  they  disagreed,  by  his  will  : 
for  God  directeth  whom  he  pleaseth  into  the  right  way.  Did  ye  think  ye 
should  enter  paradise,  when  as  yet  no  such  thing  had  happened  unto  you, 
as  haih  happened  unto  those  who  have  been  before  you  ?  They  suffered 
calamity,  and  tribulation,  and  were  afflicted  ;  so  that  the  apostle,  and  they 
who  believed  with  him,  said;  When  will  the  help  of  God  comef  Is 
not  the  help  of  God  nigh  ?  They  will  ask  thee  what  they  shall  bestow  in 
alms :  Answer,  The  good  which  ye  bestow,  let  it  be  given  to  parents, 
and  kindred,  and  orphans,  and  the  poor  and  the  stranger.  Whatsoever 
good  ye  do,  God  knoweth  it.  War  is  enjoined  you  against  the  Infidels ; 
but  this  is  hateful  unto  you :  yet  perchance  ye  hate  a  thing  which  is  better 
for  you,  and  perchance  ye  love  a  thing  which  is  worse  for  you :  but  God 
knoweth  and  ye  know  not.  They  will  ask  thee  concerning  the  sacred 
month,  whether  they  may  war  therein  :  Answer,  To  war  therein  is  grievous ; 
but  to  obstruct  the  way  of  God,  and  infidelity  towards  him,  and  to  keep  men 
from  the  holy  temple,  and  to  drive  out  his  people  from  thence,  is  more 
grievous  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  the  temptation  to  idolatry  is  more 
grievous  than  to  kill  in  the  sacred  months.  They  will  not  cease  to  war 
against  you,  until  they  turn  you  from  your  religion,  if  they  be  able :  but 
whoever  among  you  shall  turn  back  from  his  religion,  and  die  an  infidel, 
their  works  shall  be  vain  in  this  world,  and  the  next;  they  shall  be 
the  companions  of  hell  fire,  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever.  But 
they  who  believe,  and  who  fly  for  the  sake  of  religion,  and  fight  in  God's 
cause,  they  shall  hope  for  the  mercy  of  God  ;  for  God  is  gracious  and  mer- 
ciful. They  will  ask  thee  concerning  wine  e  and  lots :  ^  Answer,  In  both 
there  is  great  sin,  and  also  some  things  of  use  unto  men  ;^  but  their  sinful- 
ness is  greater  than  their  use.  They  will  ask  thee  also  what  they  shall 
bestow  in  alms  :  Answer,  What  ye  have  to  spare.  Thus  God  showeth  his 
signs  unto  you,  that  peradventure  ye  might  seriously  think  of  this  present 
world,  and  of  the  next.  They  will  also  ask  thee  concerning  orphans  : 
Answer,  To  deal  righteously  with  them  is  best ;  and  if  ye  intermeddle 
with   the   management   of  what   belongs   to   them,    do   them   no   wrong; 

e  Under  the  name  of  wine  all  sorts  of  strong  and  inebriating  liquors  are  comprehended/ 
^  The  original  word,  al  Meiser,  properly  signifies  a  particular  game  performed  with 
arrows,  and  much  in  use  with  the  pagan  Arabs.    But  by  lots  we  are  here  to  understand  all 
games  whatsoever,  which  are  subject  to  chance  or  hazard,  as  dice,  cards,  jfec.'* 

'  From  these  words  some  suppose  that  only  drinking  to  excess  and  too  frequent  gaming 
are  prohibited.^  And  the  moderate  use  of  wine  they  also  think  is  allowed  by  these  words 
of  the  U')th  chapter,  A  ?id  of  the  fruits  of  palm-trees  and  grapes  ye  ohtaiti  inebriating  drink, 
and  also  good  nourishment.  But  the  more  received  opinion  is,  that  both  drinking  wine 
or  other  strong  hquors  in  any  quantity,  and  playing  at  any  game  of  chance,  are  absolutely 
forbidden.* 

'  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  v.  »  See  ibid.  ^  Vide  Jallalo'ddin  et  al  Zamakshari. 
*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  ubi  sup. 

M 


26  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

they  are  your  brethren :  God  knoweth  the  corrupt  dealer  from  the 
righteous;  and  if  God  please,  he  will  surely  distress  you,*^  for  God  is 
mighty  and  wise.  Marry  not  women  who  are  idolaters,  until  they  believe : 
verily  a  maid-servant  who  believelh,  is  better  than  an  idolatress,  although 
she  please  you  more.  And  give  not  women  ivho  believe  in  marriage  to  the 
idolaters,  until  they  believe :  for  verily  a  servant  who  is  a  true  believer,  is 
better  than  an  idolater,  though  he  please  you  more.  They  invite  unto  hell 
tire,  but  God  inviteth  unto  paradise  and  pardon  through  his  will,  and 
declareth  his  signs  unto  men,  that  they  may  remember.  They  will 
ask  thee  also  concerning  the  courses  of  women :  Answer,  They  are  a 
pollution :  therefore  separate  yourselves  from  women  in  their  courses,  and 
go  not  near  them,  until  they  be  cleansed.  But  when  they  are  cleansed,  go 
in  unto  them  as  God  hath  commanded  you,^  for  God  loveth  those  who 
repent,  and  loveth  those  who  are  clean.  Your  wives  are  your  tillage  ;  go 
in  therefore  unto  your  tillage  in  what  manner  soever  ye  will :"»  and  do  first 
some  act  that  may  be  'profitable  unto  your  souls ; "  and  fear  God,  and  know 
that  ye  must  meet  him ;  and  bear  good  tidings  unto  the  faithful.  Make 
not  God  the  object  of  your  oaths,"  that  ye  will  deal  justly,  and  be  devout, 
and  make  peace  among  men ;  p  for  God  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth. 
God  will  not  punish  you  for  an  inconsiderate  word  ^  in  your  oaths ;  but  he 
will  punish  you  for  that  which  your  hearts  have  assented  unto ;  God 
is  merciful  and  gracious.  They  who  vow  to  abstain  from  their  wives,  are 
allowed  to  wait  four  months  :•"  but  if  they  go  back  from  their  vow,  verily 
God  is  gracious  and  merciful  ;^  and  if  they  resolve  on  a  divorce,  God  is  he 
who  heareth  and  knoweth  The  women  who  are  divorced  shall  wait  con- 
cerning themselves  until  they  have  their  courses  thrice,*  and  it  shall  not  be 

*  vi2.  By  his  curse,  which  will  certainly  bring  to  nothing  what  ye  shall  wrong  the 
orphans  of. 

'  But  not  while  they  have  their  courses,  nor  by  using  preposterous  venery.' 

"  That  is  in  any  posture  ;  either  standing,  sitting,  lying,  forwards,  or  backwards.  And 
this  passage,  it  is  said  was  revealed  to  answer  the  Jews,  who  pretended  that  if  a  man  lay 
with  his  wife  backwards,  he  would  get  a  more  witty  child .^  It  has  been  imagined  that 
these  words  allow  that  preposterous  lust,  which  the  commentators  say  is  forbidden  by  the 
preceding  ;  but  I  question  whether  this  can  be  proved. 

°  i.  e.  Perform  some  act  of  devotion  or  charity. 

"  So  as  to  swear  frequently  by  him.  The  word  translated  object,  properly  signifies  a 
butt  to  shoot  at  with  arrows.' 

"  Some  commentators*  expound  (his  negatively,  T%at  ye  will  not  deal  justly,  nor  he 
devout,  &c.  For  such  wicked  oaths,  they  say,  were  customary  among  the  idolatrous 
inhabitants  of  Mecca ;  which  gave  occasion  to  the  following  saying  of  Mohammed  ;  When 
you  swear  to  do  a  thing,  and  afterwards  fiiid  it  better  to  do  otherwise;  do  that  which  is  better, 
and  make  void  your  oath. 

'  When  a  man  swears  inadvertently  and  without  design. 

■■  That  is,  they  may  take  so  much  time  to  consider  ;  and  shall  not  by  a  rash  oath,  be 
obliged  actually  to  divorce  them. 

'  i.  e.  If  they  be  reconciled  to  their  wives  within  four  months,  or  after,  they  may  retain 
them :  and  God  will  dispense  with  their  oath. 

'  This  is  to  be  understood  of  those  only  with  whom  the  marriage  has  been  consummated  ; 
for  as  to  the  others  there  is  no  time  hmited.  Those  who  are  not  quite  past  childbearing 
(which  a  woman  is  reckoned  to  be  after  her  courses  cease,  and  she  is  fifty-five  lunar  years, 
or  about  fifty-three  solar  years  old)  and  those  who  are  too  young  to  have  children,  are 
allowed  three  months  only ;  but  they  who  are  with  child  must  wait  till  they  be  deUvered.^ 

*  Ebn  Abbas,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  Al  Zamakshari.     Vide  Lucret. 

de  ver.  Nat.  1.  iv.  v.  1258,  &c.         '  Jallalo'ddin.         "  Idem.  Yahya.        »  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  27 

lawful  for  them  to  conceal  that  which  God  hath  created  hi  their  wombs,'^ 
if  they  believe  in  God  and  the  last  day ;  and  their  husbands  will  act  more 
justly  to  bring  them  back  at  this  tifne,  if  they  desire  a  reconciliation.  The 
women  ought  also  to  behave  towards  their  husbands  in  like  manner  as  their 
husbands  should  behave  towards  them,  according  to  what  is  just :  but  the 
men  ought  to  have  a  superiority  over  them.  God  is  mighty  and  wise. 
Ye  may  divorce  your  wives  twice;  and  then  either  retain  them  with 
humanity,  or  dismiss  them  with  kindness.  But  it  is  not  lawful  for  you  to 
take  away  any  thing  of  what  ye  have  given  them,  unless  both  fear  that  they 
cannot  observe  the  ordinances  of  God.*  And  if  ye  fear  that  they  cannot 
observe  the  ordinance  of  God,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  either  of  them 
on  account  of  that  for  which  the  wife  shall  redeem  herself.^  These  are  the 
ordinances  of  God  ;  therefore  transgress  them  not ;  for  whoever  trans- 
gresseth  the  ordinances  of  God,  they  are  unjust  doers.  But  if  the  husband 
divorce  her  a  third  time,  she  shall  not  be  lawful  for  him  again,  until  she 
marry  another  husband.*  But  if  he  also  divorce  her,  it  shall  be  no  crime 
in  them  if  they  return  to  each  other,  if  they  think  they  can  observe 
the  ordinances  of  God,  and  these  are  the  ordinances  of  God,  he  declareth 
them  to  people  of  understanding.  But  when  ye  divorce  women,  and  they 
Iiave  fulfilled  their  prescribed  time,  either  retain  them  with  humanity, 
or  dismiss  them  with  kindness ;  and  retain  them  not  by  violence,  so  that 
ye  transgress ;  ^  for  he  who  doth  this,  surely  injureth  his  own  soul.  And 
make  not  the  signs  of  God  a  jest :  but  remember  God's  favour  towards 
you,  and  that  he  hath  sent  down  unto  you  the  book  of  the  Koran, 
and  wisdom  admonishing  you  thereby;  and  fear  God,  and  know  that 
God  is  omniscient.  But  when  ye  have  divorced  your  wives,  and  they 
have  fulfilled  their  prescribed  time,  hinder  them  not  from  marrying  their 
husbands,  when  they  have  agreed  among  themselves  according  to  what  is 
honourable.  This  is  given  in  admonition  unto  him  among  you  who 
belie veth  in  God,  and  the  last  day.  This  is  most  righteous  for  you, 
and  most  pure.     God  knowcth,  but  ye  know  not.     Mothers  after  they  are 

"  That  is,  they  shall  tell  the  real  truth,  whether  they  have  their  courses,  or  be  with  child, 
or  not ;  and  shall  not  by  deceiving  their  husband,  obtain  a  separation  from  him  before  the 
term  be  accomplished;  lest  the  first  husband's  child  should,  by  that  means,  go  to  the 
second  ;  or  the  wife,  in  case  of  the  firf?t  husband's  death,  should  set  up  her  child  as  his 
heir,  or  demand  her  maintenance  during  the  time  she  went  with  such  child,  and  the  ex- 
penses of  her  lying-in,  under  pretence  that  she  waited  not  her  full  prescribed  time/ 

*  For  if  there  be  a  settled  aversion  on  either  side,  their  continuing  together  may  have 
very  ill,  and  perhaps  fatal  consequences. 

'  i.  e.  If  she  prevail  on  her  husband  to  dismiss  her,  by  releasing  part  of  her  dowry. 

*  "  The  Mahometan  who  has  thrice  sworn  to  divorce  his  wife,  religion  punishes  by  not 
allowing  him  to  take  her  again  till  she  has  shared  the  bed  of  another  man.  The  faulty 
person,  who  is  thus  unpleasantly  circumstanced,  endeavours  to  elude  the  law.  He  chooses 
a  friend  on  whose  discretion  he  can  reckon  ;  shuts  him  up  with  his  wife  in  the  presence 
of  witnesses,  and  tremblingly  awaits  the  result.  The  trial  is  a  dangerous  one.  If,  when 
he  quits  the  room,  the  obliging  friend  declares  that  he  divorces  her,  the  first  husband  has 
a  right  to  resume  her;  but  if,  having  forgotten  friendship  in  the  arms  of  love,  he  should 
say  that  he  acknowledges  her  as  his  wife,  he  takes  her  away  with  him,  and  the  marriage 
18  valid." — Savary. 

-  viz.  By  obliging  them  to  purchase  their  liberty  with  part  of  their  dowry. 

*  Yahya. 


28  AL  KORAN.  chap.  it. 

divorced  shall  give  suck  unto  their  children  two  full  years,  to  him  who 
desireth  the  time  of  giving  suck  to  be  completed ;  and  the  father  shall  be 
obliged  to  maintain  them  and  clothe  them  in  the  mean  time,  according 
to  that  which  shall  be  reasonable.  No  person  shall  be  obliged  beyond  his 
ability.  A  mother  shall  not  be  compelled  to  lohat  is  unreasonable  on 
account  of  her  child,  nor  a  father  on  account  of  his  child.  And  the  heir  of 
the  father  shall  be  obliged  to  do  in  like  manner.  But  if  they  chose  to  wean 
the  child  before  the  end  of  two  years,  by  common  consent,  and  on  mutual 
consideration,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  them.  And  if  ye  have  a  mind 
to  provide  a  nurse  for  your  children,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  in  case  ye 
fully  pay  what  ye  offer  her,  according  to  that  which  is  just.  And  fear 
God,  and  know  that  God  seeth  whatsoever  ye  do.  Such  of  you  as  die, 
and  leave  wives,  their  wives  must  wait  concerning  themselves  four  months 
and  ten  days,""  and  when  they  shall  have  fulfilled  their  term,  it  shall  be  no 
crime  in  you,  for  that  which  they  shall  do  with  themselves,''  according  to 
what  is  reasonable.  God  well  knoweth  that  which  ye  do.  And  it 
shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  whether  ye  make  public  overtures  of  marriage 
unto  such  women,  loithin  the  said  four  months  and  ten  days,  or  whether  ye 
conceal  such  your  designs  in  your  minds :  God  knoweth  that  ye  wijl 
remember  them.*  But  make  no  promises  unto  them  privately,  unless 
ye  speak  honourable  words  ;  and  resolve  not  on  the  knot  of  marriage  until 
the  prescribed  time  be  accomplished ;  and  know  that  God  knoweth 
that  which  is  in  your  minds,  therefore  beware  of  him  and  know  that  God 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  It  shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  if  ye  divorce 
your  wives,  so  long  as  ye  have  not  touched  them,  nor  settled  any  dowry 
on  them.  And  provide  for  them  (he  who  is  at  his  ease  must  provide 
according  to  his  circumstances,  and  he  who  is  straitened  according  to 
his  circumstances)  necessaries,  according  to  what  shall  be  reasonable. 
This  is  a  duty  incumbent  on  the  righteous.  But  if  ye  divorce  them 
before  ye  have  touched  them,  and  have  already  settled  a  dowry  on 
them,  ye  shall  give  them  half  of  what  ye  have  settled,  unless  they  release 
a7iy  part,  or  he  release  part  in  whose  hand  the  knot  of  marriage  is  ,•«=  and  if 
ye  release  the  whole,  it  will  approach  nearer  unto  piety.  And  not  forget  liber- 
ality among  you,  for  God  seeth  that  which  ye  do.  Carefully  observe  the 
appointed  prayers,  and  the  middle  prayer,*^  and  be  assiduous  therein,  with 

»  That  is  to  say  before  they  marry  again  ;  and  this  not  only  for  decency  sake,  but  that 
it  may  be  known  whether  they  be  with  child  by  the  deceased  or  not. 

''  That  is,  if  they  leave  off  their  mourning  weeds,  and  look  out  for  new  husbands. 

*  "  The  desire  of  marrying  a  wife,  whether  you  show  it  openly,  or  conceal  it  in  your 
own  breasts,  shall  not  render  you  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God.  fie  knoweth  ye  cannot 
prevent  yourselves  from  thinking  of  women ;  but  make  to  them  no  promise  in  secret,  un- 
less ye  veil  your  love  in  decorous  language." — Savary. 

•■  i.  e.  Unless  the  wife  agree  to  take  less  than  half  her  dowry,  or  unless  the  husband  be 
so  generous  as  to  give  her  more  than  half,  or  the  whole  ;  which  is  here  approved  of  as 
most  commendable. 

•*  Yahya  interprets  this  from  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  who  being  asked  which  was 
the  middle  praijer,  answered,  The  evening  prayer,  which  was  mstituted  by  the  prophet 
Solomon.  But  Jallalo'ddin  allows  a  greater  latitude,  and  supposes  it  may  be  the  after- 
noon prayer,  the  morning  prayer,  the  noon  prayer,  or  any  other. 


CHAP.  n.  AL  KORAN.  29 

devotion  towards  God.  But  if  ye  fear  any  danger^  pray  on  foot  or  on 
horseback ;  and  when  ye  are  safe  remember  God,  how  he  hath  taught  you 
what  as  yet  ye  knew  not.  And  such  of  you  as  shall  die  and  leave  wives, 
ought  to  bequeath  their  wives  a  year's  maintenance,  without  putting  them 
out  of  their  houses  :  but  if  they  go  out  voluntarily,  it  shall  be  no  crime 
in  you,  for  that  which  they  shall  do  with  themselves,  according  to  what 
shall  be  reasonable ;  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  And  unto  those  who  are 
divorced,  a  reasonable  provision  is  also  due  ;  this  is  a  duty  incumhent  on 
those  who  fear  God.  Thus  God  declareth  his  signs  unto  you,  that  ye  may 
understand.  Hast  thou  not  considered  those,  who  left  their  habitations, 
(and  they  were  thousands)  for  fear  of  death  1 "  And  God  said  unto  them, 
Die ;  then  he  restored  them  to  life,  for  God  is  gracious  towards  mankind  ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  men  do  not  give  thanks.  Fight  for  the  religion  of 
God,  and  know  that  God  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  Who  is  he 
that  will  lend  unto  God  on  good  usury  ? '  verily  he  will  double  it  unto  him 
manifold ;  for  God  contracteth  and  extendeth  his  hand  as  he  pleaseth,  and 
to  him  shall  ye  return.  Hast  thou  not  considered  the  assembly  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  after  the  time  of  Moses ;  when  they  said  unto  their 
prophet  Samuel,  Set  a  king  over  us,  that  we  may  fight  for  the  religion 
of  God.  The  prophet  answered,*  If  ye  are  enjoined  to  go  to  war,  will  ye 
be  near  refusing  to  fight  ?  They  answered.  And  what  should  ail  us  that 
we  should  not  fight  for  the  religion  of  God,  seeing  we  are  dispossessed 
of  our  habitations,  and  deprived  of  our  children  ?  But  when  they  were 
enjoined  to  go  to  war,  they  turned  back,  except  a  few  of  them :  and 
God  knew  the  ungodly.  And  their  prophet  said  unto  them.  Verily  God 
hath  set  Talut,s  king  over  you  :  they  answered,  How  shall  he  reign  over 
us,  seeing  we  are  more  worthy  of  the  kingdom  than  he,  neither  is  he 
possessed  of  great  riches  ?  Samuel  said,  Verily  God  hath  chosen  him  be- 
fore you,  and  hath  caused  him  to  increase  in  knowledge  and  stature,|  for 

*  These  were  some  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  abandoned  their  dwellings  because  of  a 
pestilence;  or,  as  others  say,  to  avoid  serving  in  a  rehgious  war  :  but  as  they  fled,  God 
struck  them  all  dead  in  a  certain  valley.  About  eiofht  days  or  more  after,  when  their  bodies 
were  corrupted,  the  prophet  E/.ekiel,  the  son  of  Buzi,  happening  to  pass  that  way,  at  the 
sight  of  their  bones,  wept ;  whereupon  God  said  to  him,  Call  to  them,  O  Ezekiel,  and  I  will 
restore  them  to  life.  And  accordingly  on  the  phophet's  call  they  all  arose,  and  lived  seve- 
ral years  after;  but  they  retained  the  colour  and  stench  of  dead  corpses,  as  long  as  they 
lived,  and  the  clothes  they  wore  changed  as  black  as  pitch;  which  qualities  they  trans- 
mitted to  their  posterity.'*  As  to  the  tmmber  of  these  Israelites,  the  commentators  are  not 
agreed :  they  who  reckon  least  say  they  were  3000,  and  they  who  reckon  most,  70,000. 
This  story  seems  to  have  been  taken  from  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  resurrection  of  dry  bones. ^ 

Some  of  the  Mohammedan  writt-rs  will  have  Ezekiel  to  have  been  one  of  the  judges  of 
Israel,  and  to  have  succeeded  Oihoiiiel,  the  son  of  Caleb.  They  also  call  this  prophet 
Ebn  al  ajPiz,  or  the  son  of  the  old  woman;  because  they  say  his  mother  obtained  him  by 
her  prayers  in  her  old  age.* 

'  viz.  By  contributing  towards  the  establishment  of  his  true  religion. 

*  "  Will  you  be  ready  to  go  forth  to  fight  (said  the  prophet  to  them)  when  the  time  shall 
be  come  ?  And  who,  replied  they,  could  prevent  us  from  marching  under  the  banner  of 
the  faith  ?" — Savory. 

8  So  the  Mohammedans  name  Saul. 

t  "  The  Lord,  replied  Samuel,  hath  chosen  him  to  be  your  leader.  He  hath  enlightened 
his  mind  and  strengthened  his  arm." — Savary. 

^  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  Abulfeda,  &c.  '  Ezek.  xxxvii.  1—10.  *  Al  Thalabi,  Abu 
Ishak,  &c. 


30  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

God  giveth  his  kingdom  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  God  is  bounteous  and 
wise.  And  their  prophet  said  unto  them,  Verily  the  sign  of  his  kingdom 
shall  be,  that  the  ark  shall  come  unto  you."*  therein  shall  be  tranquillity 
from  your  Lord,'  and  the  relics*^  which  have  been  left  by  the  family  of 
Moses  and  the  family  of  Aaron ;  the  angels  shall  bring  it.  Verily  this 
shall  be  a  sign  unto  you  if  ye  believe.  And  when  Talut  departed  with 
his  soldiers  he  said.  Verily  God  will  prove  you  by  the  river :  for  he  who 
drinketh  thereof  shall  not  be  on  my  side  (but  he  who  shall  not  taste 
thereof  he  shall  be  on  my  side),  except  he  who  drinketh  a  draught  out 
of  his  hand.  And  they  drank  thereof,  except  a  few  of  them.^  And 
when  they  had  passed  the  river,  he  and  those  who  believed  with  him, 
they  said.  We  have  no  strength  to-day,  against  Jalut""  and  his  forces. 
But  they  who  considered  that  they  should  meet  God  at  the  resurrection, 
said.  How  often  hath  a  small  army  discomfited  a  great  one,  by  the 
will  of  God  !  and  God  is  with  those  who  patiently  persevere.  And  when 
they  went  forth  to  battle  against  Jalut  and  his  forces,  they  said,  O 
Lord,  pour  on  us  patience,  and  confirm  our  feet,  and  help  us  against 
the  unbelieving  people.  Therefore  they  discomfited  them,  by  the  will 
of  God,  and  David  slew  Jalut.  And  God  gave  him  the  kingdom  and 
wisdom,  and  taught  him  his  will ;  °  and  if  God  had  not  prevented  men, 
the  one  by  the  other,  verily  the  earth  had  been  corrupted:  but  God  is 
beneficent  towards  his  creatures.  These  are  the  signs  of  God  :  we  rehearse 
them  unto  thee  with  truth,  and  thou  art  surely  one  of  those  who  have  been 
sent  hj  God.  [*  HI-]  These  are  the  apostles ;  we  have  preferred  some 
of  them  before  others ;  some  of  them  hath  God  spoken  unto,  and  hath 
exalted  the  degree  of  others  of  them.  And  we  gave  unto  Jesus  the  son  of 
Mary  manifest  signs,  and  strengthened  him  with  the  holy  spirit."  And  if 
God  had  pleased,  they  who  came  after  those  apostles  would  not  have  con- 

•"  This  ark,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  contained  the  images  of  the  prophets,  and  was  sent  down 
from  heaven  to  Adam,  and  at  length  came  to  the  IsraeUtes,  who  put  great  confidence  there- 
in, and  continually  carried  it  in  the  front  of  their  army,  till  it  was  taken  by  the  Amalekites. 
But  on  this  occasion  the  angels  brought  it  back,  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and  placed 
it  at  the  feet  of  Taliit,  who  was  thereupon  unanimously  acknowledged  for  their  king. 

This  relation  seems  to  have  arisen  from  some  imperfect  tradition  of  the  taking  and  send- 
ing back  the  ark  by  the  Philistines. ^ 

*  That  is,  because  of  the  great  confidence  the  Israelites  placed  in  it,  haying  won  several 
battles  by  its  miraculous  assistance.  I  imagine  however  that  the  Arabic  word  Sakinat, 
which  signifies  tranquillity  or  security  of  mind,  and  is  so  understood  by  the  commentators, 
may  not  improbably  mean  the  divine  presence  or  glory,  which  used  to  appear  on  the  ark, 
and  which  the  Jews  express  by  the  same  word  Shechinah. 

^  These  were  the  shoes  and  rod  of  Moses,  the  Mitre  of  Aaron,  a  pot  of  manna,  and  the 
broken  pieces  of  the  two  tables  of  the  Iaw.« 

'  The  number  of  those  who  drank  out  of  their  hands  was  about  313.''  It  seems  that 
Mohammed  has  here  confounded  Saul  with  Gideon,  who  by  the  divine  direction  took  with 
him  against  the  Midianites  such  of  his  army  only  as  lapped  water  out  of  their  hands,  which 
were  300  men.* 

">  Or  Goliah. 

°  Or  what  he  pleased  to  teach  him.  Yahya  most  rationally  understands  hereby  the  divine 
revelations  which  David  received  from  God  ;  but  Jallalo'ddin  the  art  of  making  coats  of 
mail  (which  the  Mohammedans  believe  was  that  prophet's  peculiar  trade)  and  the  know- 
ledge of  the  language  of  birds. 

°  See  before  p.  12,  Note  k. 

*  1  Sam.  iv,  v,  and  vi.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Idem.  Yahya.  '  Judges  vii. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  31 

tended  among  themselves,  after  manifest  signs  had  been  shown  unto  them. 
But  they  fell  to  variance ;  therefore  some  of  them  believed,  and  some  of 
them  believed  not;  and  if  God  had  so  pleased,  they  would  not  have 
contended  among  themselves;  but  God  doth  what  he  will.  O  true  be- 
lievers, give  alms  of  that  which  we  have  bestowed  unto  you,  before  the  day 
Cometh  wherein  there  shall  be  no  merchandising,  nor  friendship ,  nor  inter- 
cession. The  infidels  are  unjust  doers.  God!  there  is  no  God  but  he;'' 
the  living,  the  self-subsisting :  neither  slumber  nor  sleep  seizcth  him ;  to 
him  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven,  and  on  earth.  Who  is  he  that  can 
intercede  with  him,  but  through  his  good  pleasure  ?  He  knoweth  that  which 
is  past,  and  that  which  is  to  come  unto  them,  and  they  shall  not  compre- 
hend any  thing  of  his  knowledge,  but  so  far  as  he  pleaseth.  His  throne  is 
extended  over  heaven  and  earth,i  and  the  preservation  of  both  is  no  burden 
unto  him.  He  is  the  high,  the  mighty.  Let  there  be  no  violence  in 
Religion.'  Now  is  right  direction  manifestly  distinguished  from  deceit : 
whoever  therefore  shall  deny  Tagut,«  and  believe  in  God,  he  shall  surely 
take  hold  on  a  strong  handle,  which  shall  not  be  broken ;  God  is  he  who 
heareth  and  seeth.  God  is  the  patron  of  those  who  believe ;  he  shall  lead 
them  out  of  darkness  into  light :  but  as  to  those  who  believe  not,  their 
patrons  are  Tagut ;  they  shall  lead  them  from  the  light  into  darkness ;  they 
shall  be  the  companions  of  hell  fire,  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever. 
Hast  thou  not  considered  him  who  disputed  with  Abraham  concerning  his 
LoRD,^  because  God  had  given  him  the  kingdom  ?  When  Abraham  said. 
My  Lord  is  he  who  giveth  life,  and  killeth :  he  answered,  I  give  life,  and 
I  kill.  Abraham  said.  Verily  God  bringeth  the  sun  from  the  east,  now  do 
thou  bring  it  from  the  west.  Whereupon  the  infidel  was  confounded  ;  for 
God  directeth  not  the  ungodly  people.  Or  hast  thou  not  considered  how  he 
behaved  who  passed  by  a  city  which  had  been  destroyed,  even  to  her  found- 
ations?**    He  said.  How  shall  God  quicken  this  city,  after  she  hath  been 

p  The  following  seven  lines  contain  a  magnificent  description  of  the  divine  majesty  and 
providence  ;  but  it  must  not  be  supposed  the  translation  comes  up  to  the  dignity  of  the 
original.  This  passage  is  justly  admired  by  the  Mohammedans,  who  recite  it  in  their 
prayers;  and  some  of  them  wear  it  about  them  engraved  on  an  agate  or  other  precious 
stone.* 

'  This  throne,  in  Arabic  called  Corsi,  is  by  the  Mohammedans  supposed  to  be  God's  tri- 
bunal or  seat  of  justice;  being  placed  under  that  other  called  al  Arsh,  which  they  say  is 
his  imperial  throne.  The  Corsi  allegorically  signifies  the  divine  providence,  which  sustains 
and  governs  the  heaven  and  the  earth,  and  is  infinitely  above  human  comprehension.' 

'  This  passage  was  particularly  directed  to  some  of  Mohammed's  first  proselytes,  who 
having  sons  that  had  been  brought  up  in  idolatry  or  Judaism,  would  oblige  them  to  em- 
brace Mohammedism  by  force.' 

"  This  word  properly  signifies  an  idol,  or  whatever  is  worshipped  besides  God ;  particu- 
larly the  two  idols  of  the  Meccans,  Allat  and  al  Uzza ;  and  also  the  devil,  or  any  seducer. 

»  This  was  Nimrod ;  who,  as  the  commentators  say,  to  prove  his  power  of  life  and  death 
by  ocular  demonstration,  caused  two  men  to  be  brought  before  him  at  the  same  time,  one 
of  whom  he  slew,  and  saved  the  other  alive.  As  to  this  tyrant's  persecution  of  Abraham, 
see  chap.  21,  and  the  notes  thereon. 

"  The  person  here  meant  was  Ozair  or  Ezra,  who  riding  on  an  ass  by  the  ruins  of  Jeru- 
salem, after  it  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Chaldeans,  doubted  in  his  mind  by  what  means 
God  could  raise  the  city  and  its  inhabitants  again  ;  whereupon  God  caused  him  to  die,  and 

•  Vide  Bobov.  de  Prec.  Moham,  p.  5,  et  Reland.  Dissert,  de  Gemmis  Arab.  pp.  235,  239. 
'  Vide  D'Herbelot.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Corsi.  'Jallalo'ddin. 


32  AL  KORAN.  chap.  n. 

dead  ?  And  God  caused  him  to  die  for  an  hundred  years,  and  afterwards 
raised  him  to  life.  And  God  said,  how  long  hast  thou  tarried  here  ?  He 
answered,  A  day,  or  part  of  a  day.  God  said.  Nay,  thou  hast  tarried  here 
a  hundred  years.  Now  look  on  thy  food  and  thy  drink,  they  are  not  yet 
corrupted ;  and  look  on  thine  ass  :  and  this  have  we  done  that  we  might  make 
thee  a  sign  unto  men.  And  look  on  the  bones  of  thine  ass,  how  we  raise 
them,  and  afterwards  clothe  them  with  flesh.  And  when  this  was  shown 
unto  him,  he  said,  I  know  that  God  is  able  to  do  all  things.  And  when 
Abraham  said,  O  Lord,  show  me  how  thou  wilt  raise  the  dead  ;^  God  said. 
Dost  thou  not  yet  believe?  He  answered.  Yea,  but  /  ask  this  that  my 
heart  may  rest  at  ease.  God  said,  take  therefore  four  birds,  and  divide 
them  ;y  then  lay  a  part  of  them  on  every  mountain ;  then  call  them,  and 
they  shall  come  swiftly  unto  thee :  and  know  that  God  is  mighty  and  wise. 
The  similitude  of  those  who  lay  out  their  substance,  for  advancing  the 
religion  of  God,  is  as  a  grain  of  corn  which  produceth  seven  ears,  and  in 
every  ear  an  hundred  grains ;  for  God  giveth  twofold  unto  whom  he 
pleaseth :  God  is  bounteous  and  wise.  They  who  lay  out  their  substance 
for  the  religion  of  God,  and  afterwards  follow  not  what  they  have  so  laid  out 
by  reproaches  or  mischief,*  they  shall  have  their  reward  with  their  Lord  ; 
upon  them  shall  no  fear  come,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  A  fair  speech 
and  to  forgive,*  is  better  than  alms  followed  by  mischief.  God  is  rich  and 
merciful.  O  true  believers,  make  not  your  alms  of  none  effect  by  reproach- 
ing, or  mischief,  as  he  who  layeth  out  what  he  hath  to  appear  unto  men  to 
men  to  give  alms^  and  believeth  not  in  God  and  the  last  day.  The  like- 
ness of  such  a  one  is  as  a  flint  covered  with  earth,  on  which  a  violent  rain 
falleth,  and  leaveth  it  hard.  They  cannot  prosper  in  any  thing  which 
they  have  gained,  for  God  directeth  not  the  unbelieving  people.     And  the 

he  remained  in  that  condition  100  years  ;  at  the  end  of  which  God  restored  him  to  life,  and 
he  found  a  basket  of  figs  and  a  cruse  of  wine  he  had  with  him,  not  in  the  least  spoiled  or 
corrupted,  but  his  ass  was  dead,  the  bones  only  remaining;  and  these,  while  the  prophet 
looked  on,  were  raised  and  clothed  with  flesh,  becoming  an  ass  again,  which  being  inspired 
with  life,  began  immediately  to  bray.* 

This  apocryphal  story  may  perhaps  have  taken  its  rise  from  Nehemiah's  viewing  of  the 
ruins  of  Jerusalem.* 

"^  The  occasion  of  this  request  of  Abraham  is  said  to  have  been  on  a  doubt  proposed  to 
him  by  the  devil,  in  human  form,  how  it  was  possible  for  the  several  parts  of  the  corpse  of 
a  man  which  lay  on  the  sea  shore,  and  had  been  partly  devoured  by  the  wild  beasts,  the 
birds,  and  the  fish,  to  be  brought  together  at  the  resurrection.' 

y  These  birds,  according  to  the  commentators,  were  an  eagle  (a  dove,  say  others),  a 
peacock,  a  raven,  and  a  cock;  which  Abraham  cut  to  pieces,  and  mingled  their  flesh  and 
feathers  together,  or,  as  some  tell  us,  pounded  all  in  a  morlar,  and  dividing  the  mass  into 
four  parts,  laid  them  on  so  many  mountains,  but  kept  the  heads,  which  he  had  preserved 
whole,  in  his  hand.  Then  he  called  them  each  by  their  name,  and  immediately  one  part 
flew  to  the  other,  till  they  all  recovered  their  first  shape,  and  then  came  to  be  joined  to 
their  respective  heads." 

This  seems  to  be  taken  from  Abraham's  sacrifice  of  birds  mentioned  by  Moses,'  with 
some  additional  circumstances. 

^  i.  e.  Either  by  reproaching  the  person  whom  they  have  reheved,  with  what  they  have 
done  for  them  ;  or  by  exposing  his  poverty  to  his  prejudice.^ 

*  "  Humanity  in  words  and  actions  is  better  than  alms  after  injustice." — Savary. 

=•  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  &c.    See  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  Art.  Ozair.  •*  Nehem. 

ii.  12,  &c.  '  See  D'Herbelot,  p.  13.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  See  D'Herbelot,  ubi  supra. 

'  Gen.  XV.  *  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  II.  AL  KORAN.  8S 

likeness  of  those  who  lay  out  their  substance  from  a  desire  to  please  God, 
and  for  an  establishment  for  their  souls,  is  as  a  garden  on  a  hill,  on  which 
a  violent  rain  falleth,  and  it  bringeth  forth  its  fruits  twofold  ;  and  if  a  violent 
rain  fallclji  not  on  it,  yet  the  dew  falleth  thereon :  and  God  seeth  that 
which  ye  do.  Doth  any  of  you  desire  to  have  a  garden  of  palm  trees  and 
vines,*  through  which  rivers  flow,  wherein  ye  may  have  all  kinds  of  fruits, 
and  that  he  may  attain  to  old  age,  and  have  a  weak  offspring?  then  a 
violent  fiery  wind  shall  strike  it,  so  that  it  shall  be  burned.*  Thus  God 
declareth  his  signs  unto  you,  that  ye  may  consider.  O  true  believers, 
bestow  alms  of  the  good  things  which  ye  have  gained,  and  of  that  which 
we  have  produced  for  you  out  of  the  earth,  and  choose  not  the  bad  thereof, 
to  give  it  in  alms,  such  as  ye  would  not  accept  yourselves,  otherwise  than 
by  connivance  :•*  and  know  that  God  is  rich  and  worthy  to  be  praised. 
The  devil  threateneth  you  with  poverty,  and  commandeth  you  filthy  covet- 
ousness ;  but  God  promiseth  you  pardon  from  himself  and  abundance : 
God  is  bounteous  and  wise.  He  giveth  wisdom  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ; 
and  he  unto  whom  wisdom  is  given  hath  received  much  good :  but  none 
will  consider,  except  the  wise  of  heart.  And  whatever  alms  ye  shall  give, 
or  whatever  vow  ye  shall  vow,  verily  God  knoweth  it ;  but  the  ungodly 
shall  have  none  to  help  them.  If  ye  make  your  alms  to  appear,  it  is  well ; 
but  if  ye  conceal  them,  and  give  them  unto  the  poor,  this  will  be  better  for 
you,  and  will  atone  for  your  sins :  and  God  is  well  informed  of  that  which 
ye  do.  The  direction  of  them  belongeth  not  unto  thee ;  but  God  directeth 
whom  he  pleaseth.  The  good  that  ye  shall  give  in  alms  shall  redound  unto 
yourselves ;  and  ye  shall  not  give  unless  out  of  desire  of  seeing  the  face  of 
God."  And  what  good  thing  ye  shall  give  in  alms,  it  shall  be  repaid  you, 
and  ye  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly;  unto  the  poor  who  are  wholly  em- 
ployed in  fighting  for  the  religion  of  God,  and  cannot  go  to  and  fro  on  the 
earth ;  whom  the  ignorant  man  thinketh  rich,  because  of  their  modesty : 
thou  shalt  know  them  by  this  mark,  they  ask  not  men  with  importunity  ; 
and  what  good  ye  shall  give  in  alms,  verily  God  knoweth  it.  They  who 
distribute  alms  of  their  substance  night  and  day,  in  private  and  in  public, 
shall  have  their  reward  with  the  Lord  ;  on  them  shall  no  fear  come, 
neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  They  who  devour  usury  shall  not  arise /ro7n 
the  dead,  but  as  he  ariseth  whom  Satan  hath  infected  by  a  touch :  *  this 
shall  happen  to  them  because  they  say.  Truly  selling  is  but  as  usury :  and 

*  This  garden  is  an  emblem  of  alms  given  out  of  hypocrisy,  or  attended  with  reproaches, 
which  perish,  and  will  be  of  no  service  hereafter  to  the  giver.' 

*  "  Who  among  you  would  desire  to  possess  a  garden  planted  with  palm  trees,  adorned 
with  vines,  intersected  by  rivulets,  and  enriched  with  all  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ;  and  to  be 
then  seized  \>y  old  age,  to  leave  infants  in  the  cradle,  and  to  see  this  garden  devastated  by  a 
whirlwind  of  flame?  Thus  doth  God  reveal  his  mysteries  unto  you,  that  you  may  turn 
your  thoughts  unto  him." — Savary. 

*'  That  is,  on  having  some  amends  made  by  the  seller  of  such  goods,  either  by  abatement 
of  the  price,  or  giving  something  else  to  the  buyer  to  make  up  the  value. 

«  i.  e.  P'or  the  sake  of  a  reward  hereafter,  and  not  for  any  worldly  consideration.* 
"*  v/a;.  Like  demoniacs  or  possessed  persons,  that  is,  in  great  horror  and  distraction  of 
mind  and  convulsive  agitation  of  body. 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  » Idem. 


34  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ii. 

yet  God  hath  permitted  selling  and  forbidden  usury.  He  therefore  who 
when  there  cometh  unto  him  an  admonition  from  his  Lord  abstaineth 
from  usury  for  the  future,  shall  have  what  is  past  forgiven  him,  and  his 
affair  belongeih  unto  God.  But  whoever  returncth  to  usury,  they  shall  be 
the  companions  o£hell  fire,  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever.  God  shall 
take  his  blessing  from  usury,  and  shall  increase  alms :  for  God  loveth  no 
infidel,  or  ungodly  person.  But  they  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is  right, 
and  observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  pay  their  legal  alms,  they  shall 
have  their  reward  with  their  Lord  :  there  shall  come  no  fear  on  them, 
neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  O  true  believers,  fear  God,  and  remit  that 
which  remaineth  of  usury,*  if  ye  really  believe;  but  if  ye  do  it  not, 
hearken  unto  war,  which  is  declared  against  you  from  God  and  his  apostle : 
yet  if  ye  repent,  ye  shall  have  the  capital  of  your  money.  Deal  not  un- 
justly with  others,  and  ye  shall  not  be  dealt  with  unjustly.  If  there  be  any 
debtor  under  a  difficulty  of  paying  his  debt,  let  his  creditor  wait  till  it  be 
easy  for  him  to  do  it ;  but  if  ye  remit  it  as  alms,  it  will  be  better  for  you, 
if  ye  knew  it.  And  fear  the  day  wherein  ye  shall  return  unto  God  ;  then 
shall  every  soul  be  paid  what  it  hath  gained,  and  they  shall  not  be  treated 
unjustly.  O  true  believers,  when  ye  bind  yourselves  one  to  the  other  in  a 
debt  for  a  certain  time,  write  it  down ;  and  let  a  writer  write  between  you 
according  to  justice,  and  let  not  the  writer  refuse  writing  according  to  what 
God  hath  taught  him ;  but  let  him  write,  and  let  him  who  oweth  the  debt 
dictate,  and  let  him  fear  God  his  Lord,  and  not  diminish  aught  thereof. 
But  if  he  who  oweth  the  debt  be  foolish,  or  weak,  or  be  not  able  to  dictate 
himself,  let  his  agent'  dictate  according  to  equity;  and  call  to  witness  two 
witnesses  of  your  neighbouring  men ;  but  if  there  be  not  two  men,  let  there 
be  a  man  and  two  women  of  those  whom  ye  shall  choose  for  witnesses :  if 
one  of  those  women  should  mistake,  the  other  of  them  will  cause  her  to 
recollect.  And  the  witnesses  shall  not  refuse,  whensoever  they  shall  be 
called.  And  disdain  not  to  write  it  down,  be  it  a  large  debt,  or  be  it  a 
small  one,  until  its  time  of  payment :  this  will  be  more  just  in  the  sight  of 
God,  and  more  right  for  bearing  witness,  and  more  easy,  that  ye  may  not 
doubt.  But  if  it  be  a  present  bargain  which  ye  transact  between  your- 
selves, it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  if  ye  write  it  not  down.  And  take 
witnesses  when  ye  sell  one  to  the  other,  and  let  no  harm  be  done  to  the 
writer,  nor  to  the  witness ;  which  if  ye  do,  it  will  surely  be  injustice  in 
you  :  and  fear  God,  and  God  will  instruct  you,  for  God  knoweth  all  things. 
And  if  ye  be  on  a  journey,  and  find  no  writer,  let  pledges  be  taken :  but  if 
one  of  you  trust  the  other,  let  him  who  is  trusted  return  what  he  is  trusted 
with,  and  fear  God  his  Lord.  And  conceal  not  the  testimony,  for  he  who 
concealeth  it  hath  surely  a  wicked  heart :  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  do. 
Whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  God's  :  and  whether  ye  manifest 

*  Or  the  interest  due  before  usury  was  prohibited.     For  this  some  of  Mohammed's  fol- 
lowers exacted  of  their  debtors,  supposing  they  lawfully  might.^ 

'  Whoever  manages  his  affairs,  whether  his  father,  heir,  guardian,  or  interpreter.' 
»  Jallalo'ddin.  =>  Idem. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  35 

that  which  is  in  your  minds,  or  conceal  it,  God  will  call  you  to  account  for 
it,  and  will  forgive  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  punish  whom  he  pleaseth ; 
for  God  is  almighty.  The  apostle  believcth  in  that  which  hath  been  sent 
down  unto  him  from  his  Lord,  and  the  faithful  also.  Every  one  of  them 
believeth  in  God,  and  his  angels,  and  his  scriptures,  and  his  apostles:  we 
make  no  distinction  at  all  between  his  apostles.s  And  they  say,  We  have 
heard,  and  do  obey :  we  implore  thy  mercy,  O  Lord,  for  unto  thee  must 
we  return.  God  will  not  force  any  one  beyond  its  capacity  :  it  shall  have 
the  good  which  it  gaineth,  and  it  shall  suffer  the  evil  which  it  gaineth.  O 
Lord,  punish  us  not,  if  we  forget,  or  act  sinfully :  O  Lord,  lay  not  on  us 
a  burden  like  that  which  thou  hast  laid  on  those  who  have  been  before 
us ; "  neither  make  us,  O  Lord,  to  bear  what  we  have  not  strength  to  hear^ 
but  be  favourable  unto  us,  and  spare  us,  and  be  merciful  unto  us.  Thou 
art  our  patron,  help  us  therefore  against  the  unbelieving  nations. 


CHAPTER    III. 

INTITLED,  THE  FAMILY  OF  IMRAM;^  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al.  M."^  There  is  no  God  but  God,  the  living,  the  self-subsisting :  he 
hath  sent  down  unto  thee  the  book  of  the  Koran  with  truth,  confirming 
that  which  was  revealed  before  it ;  for  he  had  formerly  sent  down  the  law, 
and  the  gospel  a  direction  unto  men ;  and  he  had  also  sent  down  the  dis- 
tinction betiveen  good  and  evil.  Verily  those  who  believe  not  the  signs  of 
God  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment;  for  God  is  mighty,  able  to 
revenge.  Surely  nothing  is  hidden  from  God,  of  that  which  is  on  earth, 
or  in  heaven :  it  is  he  who  formeth  you  in  the  wombs,  as  he  pleaseth ; 
there  is  no  God  but  he,  the  mighty,  the  wise.  It  is  he  who  hath  sent 
down  unto  thee  the  book,  wherein  are  some  verses  clear  to  be  under- 
stood, they  are  the  foundation  of  the  book ;  and  others  are  parabolical.^ 
But  they  whose  hearts  are  perverse  will  follow  that  which  is  parabolical 
therein,  out  of  love  of  schism,  and  a  desire  of  the  interpretation  thereof; 

K  But  this,  say  the  Mohammedans,  the  Jews  do,  who  receive  Moses,  but  reject  Jesus ; 
and  the  Christians,  who  receive  both  those  prophets,  but  reject  Mohammed.* 

''  That  is,  on  the  Jews,  who,  as  the  commentators  tell  us,  were  ordered  to  kill  a  man 
by  way  of  atonement,  to  give  one  fourth  of  their  substance  in  alms,  and  to  cut  off  an  un- 
clean ulcerous  part,'  and  were  forbidden  to  eat  fat,  or  animals  that  divide  the  hoof,  and 
were  obliged  to  observe  the  sabbath,  and  other  particulars  wherein  the  Mohammedans  are 
at  hl)erty.'^ 

*  This  name  is  given  in  the  Koran  to  the  father  of  the  Virgin  Mary.    See  below,  p.  39. 

*  For  the  meanmg  of  these  letters,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  Preliminary  Discourse, 
sect.  iii. 

'  This  passage  is  translated  according  to  the  exposition  of  al  Zamakshari  and  Beidawi, 
which  seems  to  be  the  truest. 
The  contents  of  the  Koran  are  here  distinguished  into  such  passages  as  are  to  be  taken 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  » Idem.  =  Yahya. 


36  AL  KORAN.  chap.  m. 

yet  none  knoweth  the  interpretation  thereof,  except  God.  But  the}'  who 
are  well  grounded  in  the  knowledge  say,  We  believe  therein,  the  whole  is 
from  our  Lord  ;  and  none  will  consider  except  the  prudent.*  O  Lord, 
cause  not  our  hearts  to  swerve  from  truth,  after  thou  hast  directed  us :  and 
give  us  from  thee  mercy,  for  thou  art  he  who  giveth.  O  Lord,  thou  shalt 
surely  gather  mankind  together,  unto  a  day  of  resurrection  :  there  is  no 
doubt  of  it,  for  God  will  not  be  contrary  to  the  promise.  As  for  the  infi- 
dels, their  wealth  shall  not  profit  them  any  thing,  nor  their  children, 
against  God  :  they  shall  be  the  fuel  oHieU  fire.  According  to  the  wont  of 
the  people  of  Pharaoh,  and  of  those  who  went  before  them,  they  charged 
our  signs  with  a  lie ;  but  God  caught  them  in  their  wickedness,  and  God 
is  severe  in  punishing.  Say  unto  those  who  believe  not.  Ye  shall  be  over- 
come, and  thrown  together  into  hell;  and  an  unhappy  couch  shall  it 
he.  Ye  have  already  had  a  miracle  shown  you  in  two  armies,  which 
attacked  each  other :  ™  one  army  fought  for  God's  true  religion,  but  the 
other  were  infidels ;  they  saw  the  faithful  twice  as  many  as  themselves 
in  their  eye-sight ;  for  God  strengthened  with  his  help  whom  he  pleaseth. 
Surely  herein  was  an  example  unto  men  of  understanding.  The  love  and 
eager  desire  of  wives,  and  children,  and  sums  heaped  up  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  excellent  horses,  and  cattle,  and  land,  is  prepared  for  men :  this  is  the 
provision  of  the  present  life ;  |  but  unto  God  shall  be  the  most  excellent 
return.     Say,  Shall  I  declare  unto  you  better  things  than  this  ?     For  those 

in  the  literal  sense,  and  such  as  require  a  figurative  acceptation.  The  former  being  plain 
and  obvious  to  be  understood,  compose  the  fundamental  part,  or,  as  the  original  expresses 
it,  the  mother  of  the  book,  and  contain  the  principal  doctrines  and  precepts;  agreeably  to, 
and  consistently  with  which,  those  passages  which  are  wrapt  up  in  metaphors,  and  de- 
livered in  enigmatical,  allegorical  style,  are  always  to  be  interpreted.'' 

*  "  This  language  is  that  of  the  wise." — Savary. 

™  The  sign  or  miracle  here  meant  was  the  victory  gained  by  Mohammed  in  the  second 
year  of  the  Hejra,  over  the  idolatrous  Meccans,  headed  by  Abu  Sofian,  in  the  valley  of 
Bedr,  which  is  situate  near  the  sea  between  Mecca  and  Medina.  Mohammed's  forces 
consisted  of  no  more  than  three  hundred  and  nineteen  men,  but  the  enemy's  army  of  near 
a  thousand ;  notwithstanding  which  odds,  he  put  them  to  flight,  having  killed  seventy  of 
the  principal  Koreish,  and  taken  as  many  prisoners,  with  the  loss  of  only  fourteen  of  his 
own  men.*  This  was  the  first  victory  obtained  by  the  prophet,  and  though  it  may  seem  no 
very  considerable  action,  yet  it  was  of  great  advantage  to  him,  and  the  foundation  of  all 
his  future  power  and  success.  For  which  reason  it  is  famous  in  the  Arabian  history,  and 
more  than  once  vaunted  in  the  Koran, *  as  an  effect  of  the  divine  assistance.  The  miracle, 
it  is  said,  consisted  in  three  things;  1.  Mohammed  by  the  direction  of  the  angel  Gabriel, 
took  a  handful  of  gravel,  and  threw  it  towards  the  enemy  in  the  attack,  saying.  May  their 
faces  be  confounded  ;  whereupon  they  immediately  turned  their  backs  and  fled.  But, 
though  the  prophet  seemingly  threw  the  gravel  himself,  yet  it  is  told  in  the  Koran,'  that  it 
was  not  he,  but  God,  who  threw  it ;  that  is  to  say,  by  the  ministry  of  his  angel.  2.  The 
Mohammedan  troops  seemed  to  the  infidels  to  be  twice  as  many  in  number  as  themselves, 
which  greatly  discouraged  them.  And,  3.  God  sent  down  to  their  assistance  first  a  thou- 
sand, and  afterwards  three  thousand  angels,  led  by  Gabriel,  mounted  on  his  horse 
Haizum  ;  and  according  to  the  Koran,^  these  celestial  auxiliaries  really  did  all  the  execu- 
tion, though  Mohammed's  men  imagined  themselves  did  it,  and  fought  stoutly  at  the  same 
time. 

t  "  Such  are  the  enjoyments  of  this  earthly  life  ;  but  the  asylum  which  is  prepared  by 
God  is  far  more  delectable." — Savary. 

'See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  '  See  Elmacin.  p.  5.  Hettinger.  Hist.  Orient.  1.  2. 
c.  4.  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  56,  &c.  Prideaux's  Life  of  Moham,  p.  71,  &c.  'See 
this  chap,  below,  and  chaps,  8  and  32.       *  Chap.  8,  not  far  from  the  beginning.       ''Ibid. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  37 

who  are  devout  are  prepared  with  their  Lord  gardens  through  which 
rivers  flow ;  therein  shall  they  continue  for  ever :  and  they  shall  enjoy  wives 
free  from  impurity,  and  the  favour  of  God  ;  for  God  regardeth  his  servants  ; 
who  say,  O  Lord,  we  do  sincerely  believe ;  forgive  us  therefore  our  sins, 
and  deliver  us  from  the  pain  of  hell  fire:  the  patient,  and  the  lovers 
of  truth,  and  the  devout,  and  the  almsgivers,  and  those  who  ask  pardon 
early  in  the  morning.  God  hath  borne  witness  that  there  is  no  God  but 
he;  and  the  angels,  and  those  who  are  endowed  with  wisdom,  profess 
the  same ;  who  executeth  righteousness ;  there  is  no  God  but  he  ;  the 
mighty,  the  wise.  Verily  the  true  religion  in  the  sight  of  God  is  Islam  ;  ■* 
and  they  who  had  received  the  scriptures  dissented  not  therefrom,  until 
after  the  knowledge  of  God^s  unity  had  come  unto  them,  out  of  envy  among 
themselves ;  but  whosoever  beheveth  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  verily  God 
will  be  swift  in  hringing  him  to  account.  If  they  dispute  with  thee,  say,  I 
have  resigned  myself  unto  God,  and  he  who  followeth  me  doth  the  same : 
and  say  unto  them  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  and  to  the  ignorant," 
Do  ye  profess  the  religion  of  Islam  ?  now  if  they  embrace  Islam,  they  are 
surely  directed ;  but  if  they  turn  their  backs,  verily  unto  thee  belongeth 
preaching  only;  for  God  regardeth  his  servants.  And  unto  tliose  who 
believe  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  and  slay  the  prophets  without  a  cause,  and 
put  those  men  to  death  who  teach  justice ;  denounce  unto  them  a  painful 
punishment.  These  are  they  whose  works  perish  in  this  world,  and  in 
that  which  is  to  come  ;  and  they  shall  have  none  to  help  them.  Hast  thou 
not  observed  those  unto  whom  part  of  the  scripture  was  given  1  p  They 
were  called  unto  the  book  of  God,  that  it  might  judge  between  them;i 
then  some  of  them  turned  their  backs,  and  retired  afar  off.     This  they  did 

°  The  proper  name  of  the  Mohammedan  religion,  which  signifies  the  resigning  or  de- 
voting one's  se7/ entirely  to  God,  and  his  service.  This  they  say  is  the  religion  which  all 
the  prophets  were  sent  to  teach,  being  founded  on  the  unity  of  God.' 

°  i.  e.  The  pagan  Arabs,  who  had  no  knowledge  of  the  scriptures.* 

p  That  is,  the  Jews. 

•i  This  passage  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  a  dispute  Mohammed  had  with  some  Jews, 
which  is  differently  related  by  the  commentators. 

Al  Beidawi  says,  that  Mohammed  going  one  day  into  a  Jewish  synagogue,  Nairn  Ebn 
Amru  and  al  Hareih  Ebn  Zeid  asked  him  what  religion  he  was  of?  To  which  he 
answering,  Of  the  religion  of  Abraham  ;  they  replied,  Abraham  was  a  Jew ;  but  on 
Mohammed  proposing  that  the  Pentateuch  might  decide  the  question,  they  would  by  no 
means  agree  to  it. 

But  Jallalo'ddin  tells  us.  That  two  persons  of  the  Jewish  religion  having  committed 
adultery,  their  punishment  was  referred  to  Mohammed,  who  gave  sentence  that  they 
should  be  stoned,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses.  This  the  Jews  refused  to  submit  to, 
alleging  there  was  no  such  command  in  the  pentateuch  :  but  on  Mohammed's  appealing  to 
the  book,  the  said  law  was  found  therein.  Whereupon  the  criminals  were  stoned,  to  the 
great  mortification  of  the  Jews. 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  this  law  of  Moses  concerning  the  stoning  of  adulterers  is 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament'  (though  I  know  some  dispute  the  authenticity  of  that 
whole  passage),  but  it  is  not  now  to  be  found,  either  in  the  Hebrew  or  Samaritan  Pen- 
tateuch, or  in  the  Septuagint ;  it  being  only  said  that  such  shall  be  put  to  death.''  This 
omission  is  insisted  on  by  the  Mohammedans  as  one  instance  of  the  corruption  of  the  law 
of  Moses  by  the  Jews. 

It  is  also  observable  that  there  was  a  verse  once  extant  in  the  Koran,  commanding 

=»  Jallalo'ddin.  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  =•  John  viii.  5.  *  Lev.  xx.  10.     See 

Whiston's  Essay  towards  restoring  the  true  Text  of  the  Old  Test.  p.  99,  100. 


38  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

because  they  said,  the  fire  of  hell  shall  by  no  means  touch  us,  but  for 
a  certain  number  of  days:'  and  that  which  they  had  falsely  devised  hath 
deceived  them  in  their  religion.  How  then  will  it  he  with  them,  when  we 
shall  gather  them  together  at  the  day  of  judgment,^  of  which  there  is 
no  doubt ;  and  every  soul  shall  be  paid  that  which  it  hath  gained,  neither 
shall  they  be  treated  unjustly  ?  Say,  O  God,  who  possessest  the  kingdom ; 
thou  givest  the  kingdom  unto  whom  thou  wilt,  and  thou  takest  away  the 
kingdom  from  whom  thou  wilt :  thou  exaltest  whom  thou  wilt,  and  thou 
humblest  whom  thou  wilt :  in  thy  hand  is  good,  for  thou  art  almighty. 
Thou  makcst  the  night  to  succeed  the  day :  thou  bringest  forth  the  living 
out  of  the  dead,  and  thou  bringest  forth  the  dead  out  of  the  living;* 
and  providest  food  for  whom  thou  wilt  without  measure.  Let  not 
the  faithful  take  the  infidels  for  their  protectors,  rather  than  the  faithful : 
he  who  doth  this  shall  not  be  protected  of  God  at  all ;  unless  ye  fear  any 
danger  from  them :  but  God  warneth  you  to  beware  of  himself;  for  unto 
God  must  ye  return.  Say,  Whether  ye  conceal  that  which  is  in  your 
breasts,  or  whether  ye  declare  it,  God  knoweth  it ;  for  he  knoweth  what- 
ever is  in  heaven,  and  whatever  is  on  earth :  God  is  almighty.  On  the 
last  day  every  soul  shall  find  the  good  which  it  hath  wrought,  present;  and 
the  evil  which  it  hath  wrought,  it  shall  wish  that  between  itself  and  that 
were  a  wide  distance:  but  God  warneth  you  to  beware  of  himself;* 
for  God  is  gracious  unto  his  servants.  Say,  If  ye  love  God,  follow 
me :  then  God  shall  love  you,  and  forgive  you  your  sins ;  for  God  is 
gracious  and  merciful.  Say,  Obey  God,  and  his  apostle ;  but  if  ye  go 
back,  verily  God  loveth  not  the  unbelievers."  God  hath  surely  chosen 
Adam,  and  Noah,  and  the  family  of  Abraham,  and  the  family  of  Imran*^ 

adulterers  to  be  stoned ;  and  the  commentators  say  the  words  only  are  abrogated,  the  sense 
or  law  still  remaining  in  force.'' 

'  i.  e.  Forty ;  the  time  their  forefathers  worshipped  the  calf.^  AI  Beidawi  adds,  that 
some  of  them  pretended  their  punishment  was  to  last  but  seven  days,  that  is  a  day  for  every 
thousand  years  which  they  supposed  the  world  was  to  endure ;  and  that  they  imagined 
they  were  to  be  so  mildly  dealt  with,  either  by  reason  of  the  intercession  of  their  fathers 
the  prophets,  or  because  God  had  promised  Jacob  that  his  offspring  should  be  punished 
but  shghtly. 

'  The  Mohammedans  have  a  tradition  that  the  first  banner  of  the  infidels  that  shall  be 
set  up,  on  the  day  of  judgment,  will  be  that  of  the  Jews  ;  and  that  God  will  first  reproach 
them  with  their  wickedness,  over  the  heads  of  those  who  are  present,  and  then  order  them 
to  hell.' 

'  As  a  man  from  seed,  and  a  bird  from  an  egg  ;  and  vice  versa^ 

*  "The  Lord  exhorteth  you  to  dread  his  anger.  He  looketh  on  his  servants  with  a 
propitious  eye." — Savary. 

"  Or  Amran,  is  the  name  of  two  several  persons,  according  to  the  Mohammedan 
tradition.  One  was  the  father  of  Moses  and  Aaron ;  and  the  other  was  the  father  of 
the  Virgin  Mary  ;^  but  he  is  called  by  some  Christian  writers  Joachim.  The  com- 
mentators suppose  the  first,  or  rather  both  of  them,  to  be  meant  in  this  place  ;  however 
the  person  intended  in  the  next  passage,  it  is  agreed  was  the  latter ;  who  besides  Mary 
the  mother  of  Jesus,  had  also  a  son  named  Aaron,'  and  a  sister  named  Isha  (or  Eliza- 
beth), who  married  Zacharias,  and  was  the  mother  of  John  the  Baptist ;  whence  that 
prophet  and  Jesus  are  usually  called  by  the  Mohammedans  The  two  sons  of  the  aunt,  or 
the  cousins  german. 

From  the  identity  of  names  it  has  been  generally  imagined  by  Christian  writers*  that 

■*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  3.  'Seebeforep.il.  ^Al  Beidawi.  '  Jallalo'ddin. 
'  Al  Zamakshari,  al  Beidawi.  ^  Koran,  c.  19.  "  Vide  Reland,  de  Rel.  Moh.  p.  211. 
Marracc.  in  Ale,  p.  115,  &c.    Prideaux,  letter  to  the  deists,  p.  185. 


CHAP.  ni.  AL  KORAN.  39 

above  the  rest  of  the  world ;  a  race  descending  the  one  from  the  other  :  God 
is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  Remember  when  the  wife  of  Imran  ^ 
said,  Lord,  verily  I  have  vowed  unto  thee  that  which  is  in  my  womb,  to  be 
dedicated  to  thy  service  :^  accept  it  therefore  of  me;  for  thou  art  he  who 
heareth  and  knoweth!  And  when  she  was  delivered  of  it,  she  said,  Lord, 
verily  I  have  brought  forth  a  female  (and  God  well  knew  what  she 
had  brought  forth),  and  a  male  is  not  as  a  female.*  *  I  have  called  her 
Mary  ;  and  I  commend  her  to  thy  protection,  and  also  her  issue,  against 
Satan  driven  away  with  stones.*  Therefore  the  Lord  accepted  her  with  a 
gracious  acceptance,"  and  caused  her  to  bear  an  excellent  offspring.     And 


the  Koran  here  confounds  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus  with  Mary  or  Miriam,  the  sister  of 
Moses  and  Aaron ;  which  intolerable  anachronism,  if  it  were  certain,  is  sufficient  of  itself 
to  destroy  the  pretended  authority  of  this  book.  But  though  Mohammed  may  be  supposed 
to  have  been  ignorant  enough  in  ancient  history  and  chronology,  to  have  committed 
so  gross  a  blunder ;  yet  I  do  not  see  how  it  can  be  made  out  from  the  words  of  the  Koran. 
For  it  does  not  follow,  because  two  persons  have  the  same  name,  and  have  each  a  father 
and  brother  who  bear  the  same  names,  that  they  must  therefore  necessarily  be  the  same 
person  :  besides  such  a  mistake  is  inconsistent  with  a  number  of  other  places  in  the  Koran, 
whereby  it  manifestly  appears  that  Mohammed  well  knew  and  asserted  that  Moses  pre- 
ceded Jesus  several  ages.  And  the  commentators  accordingly  fail  not  to  tell  us,  that 
there  had  passed  about  one  thousand  eight  hundred  years  between  Amran  the  father  of 
Moses,  and  Amran  the  father  of  the  Virgin  Mary :  they  also  make  them  the  sons  of 
different  persons :  the  first,  they  say,  was  the  son  of  Yeshar,  or  Izhar  (though  he  was 
really  his  brother)'  the  son  of  Kahath,  the  son  of  Levi ;  and  the  other  was  the  son  of 
Matthan,®  whose  genealogy  they  trace,  but  in  a  very  corrupt  and  imperfect  manner,  up 
to  David,  and  thence  to  Adam.'' 

It  must  be  observed  that  though  the  Virgin  Mary  is  called  in  the  Koran,*  the  sister  of 
Aaron,  yet  she  is  nowhere  called  the  sister  of  Moses;  however  some  Mohammedan 
writers  have  imagined  that  the  same  individual  Mary,  the  sister  of  Moses,  was  miracu- 
lously preserved  alive  from  his  time  till  that  of  Jesus  Christ,  purposely  to  become  the 
mother  of  the  latter.' 

^  The  Imran  here  mentioned  was  the  father  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  his  wife's  name 
was  Hannah  or  Ann,  the  daughter  of  Fakudh.  This  woman,  say  the  commentators, 
being  aged,  and  barren,  on  seeing  a  bird  feed  her  young  ones,  became  very  desirous  of 
issue,  and  begged  a  child  of  God,  promising  to  consecrate  it  to  his  service  in  the  temple  : 
whereupon  she  had  a  child,  but  it  proved  a  daughter.' 

y  The  Arabic  word  is  free  ;  but  here  signifies  particularly  one  that  is  free  or  detached 
from  all  worldly  desires  and  occupations,  and  wholly  devoted  to  God's  service.^ 

^  Because  a  female  could  not  minister  in  the  temple  as  a  male  could. ^ 

*"  God  knew  to  what  she  had  given  birth.  Obvious  characters  distinguish  the  two 
sexes." — Savary. 

*  This  expression  alludes  to  a  tradition,  that  Abraham,  when  the  devil  tempted  him  to 
disobey  God  in  not  sacrificing  his  son,  drove  the  fiend  away  by  throwing  stones  at  him  ; 
in  memory  of  which  the  Mohammedans,  at  the  pilgrimage  of  Mecca,  throw  a  certain 
number  of  stones  at  the  devil,  with  certain  ceremonies  in  the  valley  of  Mina." 

It  is  not  improbable  that  the  pretended  immaculate  conception  of  the  Virgin  Mary  is 
intimated  in  this  passage.  For  according  to  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  every  person  that 
comes  into  the  world  is  touched  at  his  birth  by  the  devil,  and  therefore  cries  out,  Mary 
and  her  son  only  excepted ;  between  whom  and  the  evil  spirit  God  placed  a  veil,  so  that 
his  touch  did  not  reach  them.'  And  for  this  reason,  they  say,  neither  of  them  was 
guilty  of  any  sin,  hke  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Adam  ;«  which  peculiar  grace  they 
obtained  by  virtue  of  this  recommendation  of  them  by  Hannah  to  God's  protection. 

''  Though  the  child  happened  not  to  be  a  male,  yet  her  mother  presented  her  to  the 
priests  who  had  the  care  of  the  temple,  as  one  dedicated  to  God ;  and  they  having  received 

■'  Exod.  vi.  18.  «  Al  Zamakh.  al  Beidawi.         ^  Vide  Reland,  ubi  sup.  D'Herbelot, 

Bibl.  Orient,  p.  583.  «  Chap.  19.  »  Vide  Guadagnol,  Apolog.  pro  Rel.  Christ, 

contra  Ahmed  Ebn  Zein  Al  Abedin,  p.  279.  '  Al  Beidawi,  al  Thalabi.  '  Jallalo'ddin, 
al  Ramakshari.  '  Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  »  Jallalo'ddin. 
Al  Beidawi.  « Kitada. 


40  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  hi. 

Zacharias  took  care  of  the  child ;  whenever  Zacharias  went  into  the 
chamber  to  her,  he  found  provisions  with  her:<=  and  he  said,  O  Mary, 
whence  hadst  thou  this  ?  she  answered,  This  is  from  God  ;  for  God 
provideth  for  whom  he  pleaseth  without  measure/  There  Zacharias  called 
on  his  Lord,  and  said.  Lord,  give  me  from  thee  a  good  offspring,  for  thou 
art  the  hearer  of  prayer.  And  the  angels^  called  to  him,  while  he  stood 
praying  in  the  chamber,  saying,  Verily  God  promiseth  thee  a  son  named 
John,  who  shall  bear  witness  to  the  Word  *"  ivhich  comtth  from  God  ; 
an  honourable  person,  chaste,^  and  one  of  the  righteous  prophets.  He 
answered.  Lord,  how  shall  I  have  a  son,  when  old  age  hath  overtaken  me,'^ 
and  my  wife  is  barren?  The  angel  said.  So  God  doth  that  which  he 
pleaseth.  Zacharias  answered.  Lord,  give  me  a  sign.  The  angel  said, 
Thy  sign  shall  be,  that  thou  shalt  speak  unto  no  man  ^  for  three  days, 
otherwise  than  by  gesture  :  remember  thy  Lord  often,  and  praise  him 
evening  and  morning.  And  when  the  angels  said,  O  Mary,  verily  God 
hath  chosen  thee,  and  hath  purified  thee  and  hath  chosen  thee  above  all 
the  women  of  the  world  :  O  Mary,  be  devout  towards  thy  Lord,  and  wor- 
ship, and  bow  down  with  those  who  bow  down.  This  is  a  secret  history  : 
we  reveal  it  unto  thee,  although  thou  wast  not  present  with  them  when 
they  threw  in  their  rods  to  cast  lots  which  of  them  should  have  the  education 
of  Mary;^  neither  wast  thou  with  them,  when  they  strove  among  them- 

her,  she  was  committed  to  the  care  of  Zacharias,  as  will  be  observed  by  and  bye,  and  he 
built  her  an  apartment  in  the  temple,  and  supplied  her  with  necessaries.'' 

<=  The  commentators  say  that  none  went  into  Mary's  apartment  but  Zacharias  himself, 
and  that  he  locked  seven  doors  upon  her ;  yet  he  found  she  had  always  winter  fruits  in 
summer,  and  summer  fruits  in  winter.^ 

^  There  is  a  story  of  Fatema,  Mohammed's  daughter,  that  she  once  brought  two  loaves 
and  a  piece  of  flesh  to  her  father,  who  returned  them  to  her,  and  having  called  for  her 
again,  when  she  uncovered  the  dish,  it  was  full  of  bread  and  meat ;  and  on  Moham- 
med's asking  her  whence  she  had  it ;  she  answered  in  the  words  of  this  passage.  This 
is  from  God:  for  God  provideth  for  whom  ?ie  pleaseth  without  measure.  Whereupon  he 
blessed  God,  who  thus  favoured  her,  as  he  had  the  most  excellent  of  the  daughters  of 

*=  Though  the  word  be  in  the  plural,  yet  the  commentators  say  it  was  the  angel  Gabriel 
only.     The  same  is  to  be  understood  where  it  occurs  in  the  following  passages. 

f  That  is  Jesus ;  who  al  Beidawi  says,  is  so  called,  because  he  was  conceived  by  the 
word  or  command  of  God,  without  a  father. 

s  The  original  word  signifies  one  who  not  only  refrains  from  women,  but  from  all  other 
worldly  delights  and  desires.  Al  Beidawi  mentions  a  tradition,  that  during  his  childhood 
some  boys  invited  him  to  play,  but  he  refused,  saying  that  he  was  not  created  to 
play. 

•"  Zacharias  was  then  ninety-nine  years  old,  and  his  wife  eighty-nine.* 

'  Though  he  could  not  speak  to  any  body  else,  yet  his  tongue  was  at  liberty  to  praise 
God  ;  as  he  is  directed  to  do  by  the  following  words. 

''  When  Mary  was  first  brought  to  the  temple,  the  priests,  because  she  was  the  daughter 
of  one  of  their  chiefs,  disputed  among  themselves  who  should  have  the  education  of  her. 
Zacharias  insisted  that  he  ought  to  be  preferred,  because  he  had  married  her  aunt ;  but 
the  others  not  consenting  it  should  be  so,  they  agreed  to  decide  the  matter  by  casting  of 
lots  :  whereupon  twenty-seven  of  them  went  to  the  river  Jordan,  and  threw  in  their  rods 
(or  arrows  without  heads  or  feathers,  such  as  the  Arabs  used  for  the  same  purpose),  on 
which  they  had  written  some  passages  of  the  law,  but  they  all  sunk,  except  that  of 
Zacharias,  which  floated  on  the  water ;  and  he  had  thereupon  the  care  of  the  child  com- 
mitted to  him.'^ 

■"  Jallalo'ddin.  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Lud.  de  Dieu,  in  not,  ad  Hist.  Christi  Xaverii,  p.  542. 
Al  Beidawi.     Vide  de  Dieu,  ub.  supr.  p.  548,  ®  Al  Beidawi.         '  Idem.  'Idem. 

Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  41 

selves.  When  the  angels  said ;  O  Mary,  verily  God  sendeth  thee  good 
tidings,  that  thou  shalt  bear  the  Word  proceeding  from  himself;  his 
name  shall  be  Christ  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  honourable  in  this  world 
and  in  the  world  to  come,  and  one  of  those  who  approach  near  to 
the  presence  of  God  ;  and  he  shall  speak  unto  men  in  the  cradle,^  and 
when  he  is  grown  up  ;  ™  and  he  shall  be  one  of  the  righteous  :  she  answered, 
Lord,  how  shall  I  have  a  son,  since  a  man  hath  not  touched  me?  the  angel 
said,  So  God  createth  that  which  he  pleaseth ;  when  he  decreeth  a  thing, 
he  only  saith  unto  it.  Be,  and  it  is :  God  shall  teach  him  the  scripture,  and 
wisdom,  and  the  law,  and  the  gospel ;  and  shall  appoint  him  his  apostle  to 
the  children  of  Israel ;  and  he  shall  say,  Verily  I  come  unto  you  with  a  sign 
from  your  Lord  ;  for  I  will  make  before  you,  of  clay,  as  it  were  the  figure 
of  a  bird ;"  then  I  will  breathe  thereon,  and  it  shall  become  a  bird,  by  the 
permission  of  God  ;  *»  and  I  will  heal  him  that  hath  been  blind  from  his 
birth ;  and  the  leper :  and  I  will  raise  the  dead  p  by  the  permission  of  God  : 
and  I  will  prophesy  unto  you  what  ye  eat,  and  what  ye  lay  up  for  store 
in  your  houses.    Verily  herein  will  be  a  sign  unto  you,  if  ye  believe.    And 

'  Besides  an  instance  of  this  given  in  the  Koran  itself,'  which  I  shall  not  here  antici- 
pate, a  Mohammedan  writer  (of  no  very  great  credit  indeed)  tells  two  stories,  one  of 
Jesus' s  speaking  while  in  his  mother's  womb,  to  reprove  her  cousin  Joseph  for  his  unjust 
suspicions  of  her  ;*  and  another  of  his  giving  an  answer  to  the  same  person  soon  after  he 
was  born.  For  Joseph  being  sent  by  Zacharias  to  seek  Mary  (who  had  gone  out  of  the 
city  by  night  to  conceal  her  delivery),  and  having  found  her,  began  to  expostulate  with 
her,  but  she  made  no  reply :  whereupon  the  child  spoke  these  words :  Rejoice,  0  Joseph, 
and  he  of  good  cheer  ;  for  God  hath  brought  me  forth  from  the  darkness  of  the  womb,  to  the 
light  of  the  world  ;  and  I  shall  go  to  the  children  of  Israel  and  invite  them  to  the  obedience 
of  God." 

These  seem  all  to  have  been  taken  from  some  fabulous  traditions  of  the  eastern  Chris- 
tians, one  of  which  is  preserved  to  us  in  the  spurious  gospel  of  the  Infancy  of  Christ ; 
where  we  read  that  Jesus  spoke  while  yet  in  the  cradle,  and  said  to  his  mother,  Verily  I 
am  Jesus  the  son  of  God,  the  word  which  thou  hast  brought  forth,  as  the  angel  Gabriel  did 
declare  unto  thee  ;  and  my  Father  hath  sent  me  to  save  the  world.^ 

""The  Arabic  word  properly  signifies  a  man  of  full  age,  that  is,  between  thirty  or 
thirty-four  and  fifty-one  ;  and  the  passage  may  relate  to  Christ's  preaching  here  on  earth. 
But  as  he  had  scarce  attained  this  age  when  he  was  taken  up  into  heaven,  the  commen- 
tators choose  to  understand  it  of  his  second  coming.'' 

°  Some  say  it  was  a  bat,^  though  others  suppose  Jesus  made  several  birds  of  different 
sorts.' 

This  circumstance  is  also  taken  from  the  following  fabulous  tradition,  which  may  be 
found  in  the  spurious  gospel  abovementioned.  Jesus  being  seven  years  old,  and  at  play 
with  several  children  of  his  age,  they  made  several  figures  of  birds  and  beasts,  for  their 
diversion,  of  clay;  and  each  preferring  his  own  workmanship,  Jesus  told  them  that  he 
would  make  his  walk  and  leap  ;  which  accordingly,  at  his  command,  they  did.  He  made 
also  several  figures  of  sparrows  and  other  birds,  which  flew  about  or  stood  on  his  hands 
as  he  ordered  them,  and  also  ate  and  drank  when  he  offered  them  meat  and  drink.  The 
children  telling  this  to  their  parents,  were  forbidden  to  play  any  more  with  Jesus,  whom 
they  held  to  be  a  sorcerer.' 

°  The  commentators  observe  that  these  words  are  added  here,  and  in  the  next  sentence, 
lest  it  should  be  thought  Jesus  did  these  miracles  by  his  own  power,  or  was  God.^ 

p  Jallalo'ddin  mentions  three  persons  whom  Christ  restored  to  hfe,  and  who  lived  seve- 
ral years  after  and  had  children;  viz,  Lazarus,  the  widow's  son,  and  the  publican's  (I 
suppose  he  means  the  ruler  of  the  synagogue's)  daughter.  He  adds,  that  he  also  raised 
Shem  the  son  of  Noah,  who,  as  another  writes,^  thinking  he  had  been  called  to  judgment, 
came  out  of  his  grave  with  his  head  half  grey,  whereas  men  did  not  grow  grey  in  his 
days  ;  after  which  he  immediately  died  again. 

»  Chap.  19.  "  Vide  Sikii  notas  in  Evan^  Infant,  p.  5.  =•  Al  Kessai,  apud  eundem. 
«  Evang.  Infant,  p.  5.  'Jallalo'ddin.  A  IBeidawi.  "Jallalo'ddin.         'AI  Thalabi. 

'Evang.  Infant,  p.  Ill,  &c.  »  Al  Beidawi,  &c.  Al  Thalabi. 


42  AL  KORAN.  chap.  in. 

/  come  to  confirm  the  law  which  was  revealed  before  me,  and  to  allow  unto 
you  as  lawful  part  of  that  which  hath  been  forbidden  you :  *  and  I  come 
unto  you  with  a  sign  from  your  Lord  ;*  therefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me. 
Verily  God  is  my  Lord,  and  your  Lord  ;  therefore  serve  him.  JThis  is  the 
right  way.  But  when  Jesus  perceived  their  unbelief,  he  saiH^Who  loill 
he  my  helpers  towards  God?  The  apostles''  answered.  We  will  be  the 
helpers  of  God  ;  we  believe  in  God,  and  do  thou  bear  witness  that  we  are 
true  believers.  O  Lord,  we  believe  in  that  which  thou  hast  sent  down, 
and  we  have  followed  thy  apostle ;  write  us  down  therefore  with  those  who 
bear  witness  of  him.  And  the  Jeivs  devised  a  stratagem  against  him  ;^  but 
God  devised  a  stratagem  against  them  ;'\^  and  God  is  the  best  deviser  of 

1  Such  as  the  eating  offish  that  have  neither  fins  nor  scales,  the  cawl  and  fat  of  aninials, 
and  camels'  flesh,  and  to  work  on  the  sabbath.     These  things,  say  the  commentators, 
being  arbitrary  institutions  in  the  law  of  Moses,  were  abrogated  by  Jesus ;  as  several  of 
the  same  kind  instituted  by  the  latter  have  been  since  abrogated  by  Mohammed." 
*  "  God  has  given  unto  me  the  power  of  miracles." — Savary. 

^  In  Arabic,  al  Hawariyiin  ;  which  word  they  derive  from  Hara,  to  be  white,  and  sup- 
pose the  apostles  were  so  called  either  from  the  candour  and  si7icerity  of  their  minds,  or 
because  they  were  princes  and  wore  white  garments,  or  else  because  they  were  by  trade 
fullers.^  According  to  which  last  opinion,  their  vocation  is  thus  related:  That  as  Jesus 
passed  by  the  sea  side,  he  saw  some  fullers  at  work,  and  accosting  them,  said.  Ye  cleanse 
these  cloths,  but  cleanse  not  your  hearts  ;  upon  which  they  beheved  on  him.  But  the  true 
etymology  seems  to  be  from  the  Ethiopic  verb  Hawyra,  to  go  ;  whence  Ilawarya  signifies 
one  that  is  sent,  a  messenger  or  apostle.^ 

"  I.  e.  They  laid  a  design  to  take  away  his  life. 

t  *'  The  Jews  were  treacherous  unto  Jesus.  God  frustrated  their  treachery.  He  is 
more  powerful  than  the  deceivers." — Savary. 

'  This  stratagem  of  God's  was  the  taking  of  Jesus  up  into  heaven,  and  stamping  his 
likeness  on  another  person,  who  was  apprehended  and  crucified  in  his  stead.  For 
it  is  the  constant  doctrine  of  the  Mohammedans,  that  it  was  not  Jesus  himself  who 
underwent  that  ignominious  death,  but  somebody  else  in  his  shape  and  resemblance.'' 
The  person  crucified  some  will  have  to  be  a  spy  that  was  sent  to  entrap  him  ;  others  that 
it  was  one  Thian,  who  by  the  direction  of  Judas  entered  in  at  a  window  of  the  house 
where  Jesus  was,  to  kill  him  ;  and  others  that  it  was  Judas  himself,  who  agreed  with 
the  rulers  of  the  Jews  to  betray  him  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and  led  those  who  were 
sent  to  take  him. 

They  add,*  that  Jesus  after  his  crucifixion  in  effigie  was  sent  down  again  to  the  earth, 
to  comfort  his  mother  and  disciples,  and  acquaint  them  how  the  Jews  were  deceived ; 
and  was  then  taken  up  a  second  time  into  heaven. 

It  is  supposed  by  several  that  this  story  was  an  original  invention  of  Mohammed's ;  but 
they  are  certainly  mistaken  :  for  several  sectaries  held  the  same  opinion,  long  before  his 
time.  The  Basilidians,^  in  the  very  beginning  of  Christianity,  denied  that  Christ  him- 
self suffered,  but  that  Simon  the  Cyrenean  was  crucified  in  his  place.  The  Corinthians 
before  them,  and  the  Carpocratians  next  (to  name  no  more  of  those,  who  affirmed  Jesus 
to  have  been  a  mere  man)  did  believe  the  same  thing ;  that  it  was  not  himself  but  one 
of  his  followers,  very  like  him,  that  was  crucified.  Fhotius  tells  us,  that  he  read  a  book 
entitled  The  journeys  of  the  apostles,  relating  the  acts  of  Peter,  John,  Andrew,  Thomas, 
and  Paul,  and  among  other  things  contained  therein,  this  was  one,  that  Christ  was  not 
crucified,  biU  another  in  his  stead,  and  that  therefore  he  laughed  at  his  crucifiers,  or  those 
Avho  thought  they  had  crucified  him.^ 
/  I  have  in  another  place^  mentioned  an  apocryphal  gospel  of  Barnabas,  a  forgery  originally 
/  of  some  nominal  Christians,  but  interpolated  since  by  Mohammedans  ;  wliich  gives  this 
part  of  the  history  of  Jesus  with  circumstances  too  curious  to  be  omitted.  It  is  therein 
related,  that  the  moment  the  Jews  were  going  to  apprehend  Jesus  in  the  garden,  he  was 
snatched  up  into  the  third  heaven,  by  the  ministry  of  four  angels,  Gabriel,  Michael, 
Raphael,  and  Uriel ;  that  he  will  not  die  till  the  end  of  the  world,  and  that  it  was  Judas 

*AlBeidawi.     Jallalo'ddin.  ^lidem.  ^  Vide  Ludolfi  Lexic.  .^thiop.  col.  40,  et 

Golii  notas  ad  cap.  61.  Korani,  p.  205.  '  See  Koran,  c.  iv.  *  Vide  Marracc.  in 

Ale.  p.  113,  &c.  et  in  Podr.  part  iii.  p.  63,  &c.  ^  Iraneus,  1.  1,  c.  23,  &c.  Epiphan. 

Hasres.  24,  num.  3.      '  Photius.  Bibl.  Cod.  114,  col  291.      =  Toland's  Nazarenus,  p.  17, 
&c.         °  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KOKAN.  43 

stratagems.  When  God  said,  O  Jesus,  verily  I  will  cause  thee  to  die,"  and 
I  will  take  thee  up  unto  me,*  and  I  will  deliver  thee  from  the  unbelievers ; 
and  I  will  place  those  who  follow  thee  above  the  unbelievers,  until  the  day 
of  resurrection : y  then  unto  me  shall  ye  return,  and  I  will  judge  between 
you  of  that  concerning  which  ye  disagree.  Moreover,  as  for  the  infidels,  I 
will  punish  them  with  a  grievous  punishment  in  this  world,  and  in  that 
which  is  to  come;  and  there  shall  be  none  to  help  them.  But  they 
who  believe,  and  do  that  which  is  right,  he  shall  give  them  their  reward : 
for  God  loveth  not  the  wicked  doers.  These  signs  and  this  prudent  ad- 
monition do  we  rehearse  unto  thee.  Verily  the  likeness  of  Jesus  in  the 
sight  of  God  is  as  the  likeness  of  Adam ;  he  created  him  out  of  the 
dust,  and  then  said  unto  him.  Be;  and  he  was.^*  This  is  the  truth 
from  thy  Lord;  be  not  therefore  one  of  those  who  doubt;  and  whoever 
shall  dispute  with  thee,  concerning  him,*  after  the  knowledge  which  hath 

who  was  crucified  in  his  stead  ;  God  having  permitted  that  traitor  to  appear  so  like  his 
master  in  the  eyes  of  the  Jews,  that  they  took  and  dcHvered  him  to  Pilate.  That  this 
resemblance  was  so  great,  that  it  deceived  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  apostles  themselves; 
but  that  Jesus  Christ  afterwards  obtained  lea\''e  of  God  to  go  and  comfort  them.  That 
Barnabas  having  then  asked  him,  why  the  divine  goodness  had  suffered  the  mother  and 
disciples  of  so  holy  a  prophet  to  believe  even  for  one  moment  that  he  had  died  in  so  igno- 
minious a  manner?  Jesus  returned  the  following  answer.  "O  Barnabas,  believe  me 
that  every  sin,  how  small  soever,  is  punished  by  God  with  great  torment,  because  God 
is  offended  with  sin.  My  mother  therefore  and  faithful  disciples,  having  loved  me  with  a 
mixture  of  earthly  love,  the  just  God  has  been  pleased  to  punish  this  love  with  their  pre- 
sent grief,  that  they  might  not  be  punished  for  it  hereafter  in  the  flames  of  hell.  And  as 
for  me,  though  I  have  myself  been  blameless  in  the  world,  yet  other  men  having  called 
me  God,  and  the  son  of  God ;  therefore  God,  that  I  might  not  be  mocked  by  the  devils 
at  the  day  of  judgment,  has  been  pleased  that  in  this  world  I  should  be  mocked  by  men 
with  the  death  of  Judas,  making  every  body  believe  that  I  died  upon  the  cross.  And 
hence  it  is  that  this  mocking  is  still  to  continue  till  the  coming  of  Mohammed  the  mes- 
senger of  God;  who,  coming  into  the  world,  will  undeceive  every  one  who  shall  believe 
in  the  law  of  God,  from  this  mistake."  * 

'^  It  is  the  opinion  of  a  great  many  Mohammedans  that  Jesus  was  taken  up  into  heaven 
without  dying :  which  opinion  is  consonant  to  what  is  delivered  in  that  spurious  gospel 
abovementioned.  Wherefore  several  of  the  commentators  say  that  there  is  a  hys(ero?i 
proteron  in  these  words,  I  will  cause  thee  to  die,  and  I  will  take  thee  up  unto  me:  and 
that  the  copulative  does  not  import  order,  or  that  he  died  before  his  assumption  ;  the 
meaning  being  this,  viz.  that  God  would  first  take  Jesus  up  to  heaven,  and  deliver  him 
from  the  infidels,  and  afterwards  caused  him  to  die  :  which  they  suppose  is  to  happen 
when  he  shall  return  into  the  world  again,  before  the  last  day.^  Some,  thinking  the 
order  of  the  words  is  not  to  be  changed,  interpret  them  figuratively,  and  suppose  their 
signification  to  be  that  Jesus  was  lifted  up  while  he  was  asleep,  or  that  God  caused 
him  to  die  a  spiritual  death  to  all  worldly  desires.  But  others  acknowledge  that  he 
actually  died  a  natural  death,  and  continued  in  that  state  three  hours,  or,  according 
to  another  tradition,  seven  hours ;  after  which  he  was  restored  to  life,  and  then  taken  up 
to  heaven.* 

^  Some  Mahommedans  say  this  was  done  by  the  ministry  of  Gabriel :  but  others  that 
a  strong  whirlwind  took  him  up  from  mount  Olivet.'' 

"f  That  is,  they  who  believe  in  Jesus  (among  whom  the  Mahommedans  reckon  them- 
selves) shall  be  for  ever  superior  to  the  Jews,  both  in  arguments  and  in  arms.  And 
accordingly,  says  al  Beidavvi,  to  this  very  day  the  Jews  have  never  prpvailed  either 
against  the  Christians  or  Moslems,  nor  have  they  any  kingdom  or  established  govern- 
ment of  their  own. 

^  He  was  like  unto  Adam  in  respect  of  his  miraculous  production  by  the  immediate 
power  of  God.* 

*  "  In  the  sight  of  the  Highest,  Jesus  is  a  man  Hke  unto  Adam.  Adam  was  created 
out  of  the  dust.     God  said  unto  him,  Be  !  and  he  was." — Savary. 

*  Namely,  Jesus. 

*  See  the  MenaLnana,  torn.  iv.  p.  32fi,  &c.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Di.?c.  sect.  iv.  *  Al 
Beidawi.  .■■  Al  Thalabi.    See  2  Kings  ii.  1,  11.  «  Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 


44  AL  KORAN.  chap.  m. 

been  given  thee,  say  unto  them,  Come,  let  us  call  together  our  sons  and 
your  sons,  and  our  wives,  and  your  wives,  and  ourselves,  and  yourselves ; 
then  let  us  make  imprecations,  and  lay  the  curse  of  God  on  those 
who  lie.^  Verily  this  is  a  true  history :  and  there  is  no  God,  but  God  ; 
and  God  is  most  mighty  and  wise.  If  they  turn  back,  God  well  knoweth 
the  evil  doers.  Say,  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scripture,  come  to  a  just 
determination  between  us  and  you ;  "^  that  we  worship  not  any  except  God, 
and  associate  no  creature  with  him ;  and  that  the  one  of  us  take  not  the 
other  for  lords,"*  beside  God.  But  if  they  turn  back,  say.  Bear  witness 
that  we  are  true  believers.  O  ye  to  whom  the  scriptures  have  been  given, 
why  do  ye  dispute  concerning  Abraham,^  since  the  Law  and  the  Gospel 
were  not  sent  down  until  after  him  ?  Do  ye  not  therefore  understand  ? 
Behold  ye  are  they  who  dispute  concerning  that  which  ye  have  some  know- 
ledge in ;  why  therefore  do  you  dispute  concerning  that  which  ye  have  no 
knowledge  of?^  God  knoweth,  but  ye  know  not.  Abraham  was  neither  a 
Jew  nor  a  Christian ;  but  he  was  of  the  true  religion,  one  resigned  unto 
God,  and  was  not  of  the  number  of , the  idolaters.  Verily  the  men  who  are 
the  nearest  of  kin  unto  Abraham  are  they  who  follow  him  ;  and  this  prophet, 
and  they  who  believed  on  him  :  God  is  the  patron  of  the  faithful.  Some 
of  those  who  have  received  the  scriptures  desire  to  seduce  you  ;  e  but  they 
seduce  themselves  only,  and  they  perceive  it  not.  0  ye  who  have  received 
the  scriptures,  why  do  ye  not  believe  in  the  signs  of  God,  since  ye  are  wit- 
nesses of  them  f  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  why  do  you  clothe 
truth  with  vanity,  and  knowingly  hide  the  truth?'*  And  some  of 
those  to  whom  the  scriptures  were  given  say.  Believe  in  that  which 
hath  been  sent  down  unto  those  who    believe,  in   the    beginning  of  the 

^  To  explain  this  passage  the  commentators  tell  the  following  story.  That  some 
Christians  with  their  bishop  named  Abu  Hareth,  coming  to  Mohammed  as  ambassadors 
from  the  inhabitants  of  Najran,  and  entering  into  some  disputes  with  him  touching 
religion  and  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  agreed  the  next  morning  to  abide  the 
trial  here  mentioned,  as  a  quick  way  of  deciding  which  of  them  were  in  the  wrong. 
Mohammed  met  them  accordingly,  accompanied  by  his  daughter  Fatima,  his  son-in-law 
Ali,  and  his  two  grandsons,  Hasan  and  Hosein,  and  desired  them  to  wait  till  he  had  said 
his  prayers.  But  when  they  saw  him  kneel  down,  their  resolution  failed  them,  aud  they 
durst  not  venture  to  curse  him,  but  submitted  to  pay  him  tribute.^ 

"  That  is,  to  such  terms  of  agreement  as  are  indisputably  consonant  to  the  doctrine 
of  all  the  prophets  and  scriptures,  and  therefore  cannot  be  reasonably  rejected.' 

^  Besides  other  charges  of  idolatry  on  the  Jews  and  Christians,  Mohammed  accused 
them  of  paying  too  implicit  an  obedience  to  their  priest  and  monks,  who  took  upon  them 
to  pronounce  what  things  were  lawful,  and  what  unlawful,  and  to  dispense  with  the  laws 
of  God."- 

^  Viz.  By  pretending  him  to  have  been  of  your  religion. 

'  i.  e.  Ye  perversely  dispute  even  concerning  those  things  which  ye  find  in  the  Law 
and  the  Gospel,  whereby  it  appears  that  they  were  both  sent  down  long  after  Abraham's 
time:  why  then  will  ye  offer  to  dispute  concerning  such  points  of  Abraham's  religion, 
of  which  your  scriptures  say  nothing,  and  of  which  ye  consequently  can  have  no  know- 
ledge?' 

e  This  passage  was  revealed  when  the  Jews  endeavoured  to  pervert  Hodheifa,  Ammar, 
and  Moadh  to  their  rehgion.* 

■•  The  Jews  and  Christians  are  again  accused  of  corrupting  the  scriptures,  and  stifling 
Jhe  prophecies  concerning  Mohammed. 

Jallalo'ddin.     Al  Beidawi.        *  lidem.        ^  lidem.        '  Al  Beidawi.        *  lidem. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  45 

day  ;  and  deny  it  in  the  end  thereof;  that  they  may  go  back  fro?n  their  faith  ;' 
and  believe  him  only  who  foUowetli  your  rehgion.  Say,  Verily  the  true 
direction  is  the  direction  of  God,  that  there  may  be  given  unto  some  other 
a  revelation  like  unto  what  hath  been  given  unto  you.  Will  they  dispute  with 
you  before  your  Lord  ?  Say,  Surely  excellence  is  in  the  hand  of  God,  he 
giveth  it  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  God  is  bounteous  and  wise:  he  will  con- 
fer peculiar  mercy  on  whom  he  pleaseth ;  for  God  is  endued  with  great  be- 
neficence. There  is  of  those  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  unto  whom  if 
thou  trust  a  talent  he  will  restore  it  unto  thee;"  and  there  is  also  of  them, 
unto  whom  if  thou  trust  a  dinar,  he  will  not  restore  it  unto  thee,  unless  thou 
stand  over  him  continually  with  great  urgency.^  This  they  do,  because  they  say. 
We  are  not  obliged  to  observe  justice  with  the  heathen ;  but  they  utter  a 
lie  against  God,  knowingly.  Yea,  whoso  kcepeth  his  covenant,  and  feareth 
God,  God  surely  loveth  those  who  fear  him.  But  they  who  make  mer- 
chandize of  God's  covenant,  and  of  their  oaths,  for  a  small  price,  shall 
liave  no  portion  in  the  next  life,  neither  shall  God  speak  to  them  or 
regard  them  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  nor  shall  he  cleanse  them ;  but 
they  shall  sufTer  a  grievous  punishment.     x\nd  there  are  certainly  some  of 

'  The  commentators  to  explain  this  passage  say,  that  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf  and  Malec 
Ebn  al  Seif  (two  Jews  of  Medina)  advised  their  companions,  when  the  Kebla  was 
changed/  to  make  as  if  they  beheved  it  was  done  by  the  divine  direction,  and  to  pray 
towards  the  Caaba  in  the  morning,  but  that  in  the  evening  they  should  pray  as  formerly 
towards  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ;  that  Mohammed's  followers,  imagining  the  Jews  were 
better  judges  of  this  matter  than  themselves,  might  imitate  their  example.  But  others 
say  these  were  certain  Jewish  priests  of  Khaibar,  who  directed  some  of  their  people  to  pre- 
tend in  the  morning  that  they  had  embraced  Mohammedism,  but  in  the  close  of  the  day 
to  say  that  they  had  looked  into  their  books  of  scripture,  and  consulted  their  Rabbins, 
and  could  not  find  that  Mohammed  was  the  person  described  and  intended  in  the  law ; 
by  which  trick  they  hoped  to  raise  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the  Mohammedans.*^ 

•^  As  an  instance  of  this,  the  commentators  bring  Abd'allah  Ebn  Salam,  a  Jew,  very 
intimate  with  Mohammed,'  to  whom  one  of  the  Koreish  lent  1200  ounces  of  gold,  which 
he  very  punctually  paid  at  the  time  appointed.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi  produces  an  example  of  such  a  piece  of  injustice  in  one  Phineas  Ebn 
Azura,  a  Jew,  who  borrowed  a  dinar,  which  is  a  gold  coin  worth  about  ten  shillings,  of 
a  Koreishite,  and  afterwards  had  the  conscience  to  deny  it. 

But  the  person  more  directly  struck  at  in  this  passage  was  the  above-mentioned  Caab  Ebn 
al  Ashraf,  a  most  inveterate  enemy  of  Mohammed  and  his  religion,  of  whom  Jallalo'ddin 
relates  the  same  story  as  al  Beidawi  does  of  Phineas.  This  Caab  after  the  battle  of  Bedr 
went  to  Mecca,  and  there,  to  excite  the  Koreish  to  revenge  themselves,  made  and  recited 
verses  lamenting  the  death  of  those  who  were  slain  in  the  battle,  and  rcllecting  very  severely 
on  Mohammed ;  and  he  afterwards  returned  to  Medina,  and  had  the  boldness  to  repeat 
them  publicly  there  also;  at  which  Mohammed  was  so  exceedingly  provoked,  that  he 
proscribed  him,  and  sent  a  party  of  men  to  kill  him,  and  he  was  circumvented  and  slain 
by  Mohammed  Ebn  Moslema  in  tlie  third  yearof  the  Hejra.''  Dr.  Prideaux'  has  confounded 
the  Caab  we  are  now  speaking  of,  with  another  very  difl'erent  person  of  the  same  name,  and 
a  famous  poet,  but  who  was  the  son  of  Zohair,  and  no  Jew  ;  as  a  learned  gentleman  has 
already  observed.'^  In  consequence  of  which  mistake,  the  doctor  attributes  what  the 
Arabian  historians  write  of  the  latter,  to  the  former,  and  wrongly  aflirms  that  he  was  not 
put  to  death  by  Mohammed. 

Some  of  the  commentators  however  suppose  that  in  the  former  part  of  this  passage  the 
Christians  are  intended,  who,  they  say,  are  generally  people  of  some  honour  and  justice; 
and  in  the  latter  part  the  Jews,  who  they  think  are  more  given  to  cheating  and  dis- 
honesty.' 

5  See  before,  c.  2,  p.  17.         «  Al  Beidawi.  ■"  See  Prideaux's  Life  of  Moham.  p.  33. 

«  Al  Beidawi.  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Al  Jannabi.  Elmacin.  '  Life  of  Moham.  p.  78,  &c. 
2  Vide  Gagnier,  in  Not.  ad  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  64,  et  122.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


46  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

them  who  read  the  scriptures  perversely,  that  ye  may  think  what  theij  read 
to  be  really  in  the  scriptures,  yet  it  is  not  in  the  scripture;  and  they  say, 
This  is  from  God  ;  but  it  is  not  from  God  :  and  they  speak  that  which  is 
false  concerning  God,  against  their  own  knowledge.  It  is  not  Jit  for  a  man, 
that  God  should  give  him  a  book  of  revelations,  and  wisdom,  and  prophecy  ; 
and  then  he  should  say  unto  men.  Be  ye  worshippers  of  me,  besides  God  ; 
but  he  ought  to  say,  Be  ye  perfect  in  knowledge  and  in  works,  since  ye 
know  the  scriptures,  and  exercise  yourselves  therein.*"  God  hath  not  com- 
manded you  to  take  the  angels  and  the  prophets  for  your  lords  :  Will  he 
command  you  to  become  infidels,  after  ye  have  been  true  believers  ?  And 
remember  when  God  accepted  the  covenant  of  the  prophets,"  saying,  This 
verily  is  the  scripture  and  the  wisdom  which  I  have  given  you :  hereafter 
shall  an  apostle  come  unto  you,  confirming  the  truth  of  that  scripture  which 
is  with  you ;  ye  shall  surely  believe  in  him,  and  ye  shall  assist  him.  God 
said.  Are  ye  firmly  resolved,  and  do  ye  accept  my  covenant  on  this  con- 
dition ?  They  answered.  We  are  firmly  resolved  :  God  said.  Be  ye  there- 
fore witnesses ;  and  I  also  bear  witness  with  you :  and  whosoever  turneth 
back  after  this,  they  are  surely  the  transgressors.  Do  they  therefore  seek 
any  other  religion  but  God's  ?  since  to  him  is  resigned  whosoever  is  in 
heaven  or  on  earth,  voluntarily  or  of  force :  and  to  him  shall  they  return. 
Say,  We  believe  in  God,  and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  us,  and 
that  which  was  sent  down  unto  Abraham,  and  Ismael,  and  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  and  the  tribes,  and  that  which  was  delivered  to  Moses,  and  Jesus, 
and  the  prophets  from  their  Lord  ;  we  make  no  distinction  between  any 
of  them;  and  to  him  are  we  resigned.  Whoever  followeth  any  other 
religion  than  Islam,  it  shall  not  be  accepted  of  him  :  and  in  the  next  life 
he  shall  be  of  those  who  perish."  How  shall  God  direct  men  who  have 
become  infidels  after  they  had  believed,  and  borne  witness  that  the  apostle 
was  true,  and  manifest  declarations  of  the  divine  icill  had  come  unto  them  ? 
for  God  directeth  not  the  ungodly  people.  Their  reward  shall  be,  that  on 
them  shall  fall  the  curse  of  God,  and  of  angels,  and  of  all  mankind  :  they 
shall  remain  under  the  same  for  ever ;  their  torment  shall  not  be  mitigated, 
neither  shall  they  be  regarded;  except  those  who  repent  after  this,  and 
amend ;  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Moreover  they  who  become 
infidels  after  they  have  believed,  and  yet  increase  in  infidelity,  their  repen- 
tance shall  in  no  wise  be  accepted,  and  they  are  those  who  go  astray. 
Verily  they  who  believe  not,  and  die  in  their  unbelief,  the  world  full  of  gold 

^  This  passage  was  revealed,  say  the  commentators,  in  answer  to  the  Christians,  who  in- 
sisted that  Jesus  had  commanded  them  to  worship  him  as  God.  Al  Beidawi  adds,  that 
two  Christians,  named  Abu  Rafe  al  Koradhi  and  al  Seyid  al  Najrani,  offered  to  acknow- 
ledge Mohammed  for  their  Lord,  and  to  worship  him  ;  to  which  he  answered,  God  forbid 
that  we  should  worship  any  besides  God. 

"  Some  commentators  interpret  this  of  the  children  of  Israel  themselves,  of  whose  race 
the  prophets  were.  But  others  say  the  souls  of  all  the  prophets,  even  of  those  who  were  not 
then  born,  w^ere  present  on  Mount  Sinai,  when  God  gave  the  law  to  Moses,  and  that  they 
entered  into  the  covenant  here  mentioned  with  him.  A  story  borrowed  by  Mohammed 
from  the  Talmudists,  and  therefore  most  probably  his  true  meaning  in  this  place. 

"  See  before  chap.  2.  p.  9,  note.^ 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  47 

shall  in  no  wise  be  accepted  from  any  of  them,  even  though  he  should  give 
it  for  his  ransom  ;  they  shall  sutler  a  grievous  punishment,  and  they  shall 
have  none  to  help  them..*[IV.]  Ye  will  never  attain  unto  righteousness, 
until  ye  give  in  alms  of  that  which  ye  love :  and  whatever  ye  give,  God 
knoweth  it.  All  food  was  permitted  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  except 
what  Israel  forbad  unto  himselfjP  before  the  Pentateuch  was  sent  down.^ 
Say  unto  the  Jews,  Bring  hither  the  Pentateuch  and  read  it,  if  ye  speak  truth. 
Whoever  therefore  contriveth  a  lie  against  God  after  this,  they  will  be  evil 
doers.  Say,  God  is  true :  follow  ye  therefore  the  religion  of  Abraham  the 
orthodox ;  for  he  was  no  idolater.  Verily  the  first  house  appointed  unto 
men  to  worship  in  was  that  which  was  in  Bccca ;  •"  blessed,  and  a  direction 
to  all  creatures.8  Therein  are  manifest  signs  :  *  the  place  where  Abraham 
stood;  and  whoever  entereth  therein,  shall  be  safe.  And  it  is  a  duty 
towards  God,  incumhent  on  those  who  are  able  to  go  thither,'^  to  visit  this 
house;  but  whosoever  disbelieveth,  verily  God  nccdcth  not  the  service  of 
any  creature.  Say,  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  why  do  ye  not 
believe  in  the  signs  of  God  ?  Say,  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures, 
why  do  ye  keep  back  from  the  way  of  God,  him  who  believeth  ?  Ye  seek 
to  make  it  crooked,  and  yet  are  witnesses  that  it  is  the  right :  but  God 
will  not  be  unmindful  of  what  ye  do.    O  true  believers,  if  ye  obey  some  of 

p  This  passage  was  revealed  on  the  Jews  reproaching  Mohammed  and  his  followers 
with  their  eating  of  the  flesh  and  milk  of  camels,*  which  they  said  was  forbidden  Abra- 
ham, whose  religion  Mohammed  pretended  to  follow.  In  answer  to  which  he  tells  them, 
that  God  ordained  no  distinction  of  meats  before  he  gave  the  law  to  Moses,  though  Jacob 
voluntarily  abstained  from  the  flesh  and  milk  of  camels ;  which  some  commentators  say 
was  the  consequence  of  a  vow  made  by  that  patriarch,  when  aftiicted  with  the  sciatica, 
that  if  he  were  cured  he  would  eat  no  more  of  that  meat  which  he  liked  best ;  ajid 
that  was  camel's  flesh:  but  others  suppose  he  abstained  from  it  by  the  advice  of  phy- 
sicians only.^ 

This  exposition  seems  to  be  taken  from  the  children  of  Israel's  not  eating  of  the  sinew 
on  the  hollow  of  the  thigh,  because  the  angel,  with  whom  Jacob  wrestled  at  Peniel, 
touched  the  hollow  of  his  thigh  in  the  sinew  that  shrank.^ 

■^  Wherein  the  Israelites,  because  of  their  wickedness  and  perverseness,  were  forbidden 
to  eat  certain  animals  which  were  allowed  their  predecessors.' 

'  Mohammed  received  this  passage,  when  the  Jews  said  that  their  Kebla,  or  the  temple 
of  Jerusalem,  was  more  ancient  than  that  of  the  Mohammedans,  or  the  Caaba.^  Becca  is 
another  name  of  Mecca."  AI  Beidawi  observes  that  the  Arabs  used  the  M  and  B  pro- 
miscuously in  several  words. 

"  t.  e.  The  Kebla,  towards  which  they  are  to  turn  their  faces  in  prayer. 

'  Such  as  the  ston6  wherein  they  show  the  print  of  Abraham's  feet,  and  the  inviolable 
security  of  the  place,  immediately  mentioned  ;  that  the  birds  light  not  on  the  roof  of  the 
Kaaba,  and  wild  beasts  put  oft'  their  fierceness  there  ;  that  none  who  came  against  it  in  a 
hostile  manner  ever  prospered,'  as  appeared  particularly  in  the  unfortunate  expedition  of 
Abraha  al  Ashram  ;^  and  other  fables  of  the  same  stamp  which  the  Mohammedans  are 
taught  to  believe. 

"  According  to  an  exposition  of  this  passage,  attributed  to  Mohammed,  he  is  supposed  to 
be  able  to  perform  the  pilgrimage,  who  can  supply  himself  with  provisions  for  the  journey, 
and  a  beast  to  ride  upon.  Al  Shafei  has  decided  that  those  who  have  money  enough,  if 
they  cannot  go  themselves,  must  hire  some  other  to  go  in  their  room.  Malec  Ebn  Ans 
thinks  he  is  to  be  reckoned  able,  who  is  strong  and  healthy,  and  can  bear  the  fatigue  of 
the  journey  on  foot,  if  he  has  no  beast  to  ride,  and  can  also  earn  his  living  by  the  way. 
But  Abu  Ilanfu  is  of  opinion  that  both  money  sufilcient  and  health  of  body  are  requisite 
to  make  the  pilgrimage  a  duty.^* 

*  See  Lev.  xi.  4.     Deut.  xiv.  7,  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Gen.  xxxii.  32. 

'  Koran,  c.  4.     See  the  notes  there.         «  Al  Beidasvi,  Jallalo'ddin.         '  See  the  Prelim. 
Disc.  sect.  1.        '  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.        =  See  Koran,  c.  105.        ^  Al  Beidawi. 


48  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

those  who  have  received  the  scripture,  they  will  render  you  infidels,  after 
ye  have  believed ;  *  and  how  can  ye  be  infidels,  when  the  signs  of  God  are 
read  unto  you,  and  his  apostle  is  among  you  1  But  he  who  cleaveth  firmly 
unto  God,  is  already  directed  in  the  right  way.  O  believers,  fear  God 
with  his  true  fear ;  and  die  not  unless  ye  also  be  true  believers.*  And 
cleave  all  of  you  unto  the  covenant  y  of  God,  and  depart  noi  from  it,  and  re- 
member the  favour  of  God  towards  you :  since  ye  were  enemies,  and  he 
reconciled  your  hearts,  and  ye  became  companions  and  brethren  by  his 
favour :  and  ye  were  on  the  brink  of  a  pit  of  fire,  and  he  delivered  you 
thence.  Thus  God  declareth  unto  you  his  signs,  that  ye  may  be  directed. 
Let  there  be  people  among  you  who  invite  to  the  best  religion ;  and  com- 
mand that  which  is  just,  and  forbid  that  which  is  evil ;  and  they  shall  be 
happy.  And  be  not  as  they  who  are  divided,  and  disagree  in  matters  of 
religion,^  after  manifest  proofs  have  been  brought  unto  them :  they  shall 
suffer  a  great  torment.  On  the  day  of  resurrection  some  faces  shall  become 
white,  and  other  faces  shall  become  black.*  And  unto  them  whose  faces 
shall  become  black,  God  ivill  say,  Have  ye  returned  unto  your  unbelief, 
after  ye  had  believed?  therefore  taste  the  punishment,  for  that  ye  have 
been  unbelievers :  but  they  whose  faces  shall  become  white  shall  be  in  the 
mercy  of  God,  therein  shall  they  remain  for  ever.  These  are  the  signs  of 
God  ;  we  recite  them  unto  thee  with  truth.  God  will  not  deal  unjustly 
with  his  creatures.  And  to  God  belongeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on 
earth ;  and  to  God  shall  all  things  return.  Ye  are  the  best  nation  that 
hath  been  raised  up  unto  mankind :  ye  command  that  which  is  just,  and 
ye  forbid  that  which  is  unjust,  and  ye  believe  in  God.  And  if  they  who 
have  received  the  scriptures  had  believed,  it  had  surely  been  the  better  for 

^  This  passage  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  a  quarrel  excited  between  the  tribes  of  al 
Aws  and  al  Khazraj  by  one  Shas  Ebn  Kais,  a  Jew  ;  who  passing  by  some  of  both  tribes 
as  they  were  sitting  and  discoursing  familiarly  together,  and  being  inwardly  vexed  at  the 
friendship  and  harmony  which  reigned  among  them  on  their  embracing  Mohammedism, 
whereas  they  had  been,  for  120  years  before,  most  inveterate  and  mortal  enemies,  though 
descendants  of  two  brothers ;  in  order  to  set  them  at  variance,  sent  a  young  man  to  sit 
down  by  them,  directing  him  to  relate  the  story  of  the  battle  of  Boath  (a  place  near 
Medina) ,  wherein,  after  a  bloody  fight,  al  Aws  had  the  better  of  Al  Khazraj,  and  to  re- 
peat some  verses  on  that  subject.  The  young  man  executed  his  orders  ;  whereupon  those 
of  each  tribe  began  to  magnify  themselves,  and  to  reflect  on  and  irritate  the  other,  till  at 
length  they  called  to  arms,  and  great  numbers  getting  together  on  each  side,  a  dangerous 
battle  had  ensued,  if  Mohammed  had  not  stept  in  and  reconciled  them ;  by  representing 
to  them  how  much  they  would  be  to  blame  if  they  returned  to  paganism,  and  revived  those 
animosities  which  Islam  had  composed  ;  and  telling  them,  that  what  had  happened  was  a 
trick  of  the  devil  to  disturb  their  present  tranquillity/ 

*  "  O  believers  I  have  a  righteous  fear  of  God,  and  ye  will  die  in  the  faith." — Savary. 
>■  Literally,  Hold  fast  by  the  cord  of  God.     That  is.  Secure  yourselves  by  adhering  to 

Islam,  which  is  here  metaphorically  expressed  by  a  cord,  because  it  is  as  sure  a  means  of 
saving  those  who  profess  it  from  perishing  hereafter,  as  holding  by  a  rope  is  to  prevent 
one's  faUing  into  a  well,  or  other  like  place.  It  is  said  that  Mohammed  used  for  the  same 
reason  to  call  the  Koran,  Habl  Allah  al  matin,  i.  e.  the  sure  cord  of  God. ^ 

^  i.  e.  As  the  Jews  and  Christians,  who  dispute  concerning  the  unity  of  God,  the  future 
state,  &c.^ 

•  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem.  •  Idem. 


CHAP.  m.  AL  KORAN.  49 

them :  there  are  beUevers  among  them,''  but  the  greater  part  of  them  are 
transgressors.  They  shall  not  hurt  you,  unless  with  a  slight  hurt;  and  if 
they  fight  against  you,  they  shall  turn  their  backs  to  you  ;  and  they  shall 
not  be  helped.'^  They  are  smitten  with  vileness  wheresoever  they  are 
found ;  unless  they  ohtain  security  by  entering  into  a  treaty  with  God,  and 
a  treaty  with  men:**  and  they  draw  on  themselves  indignation  from  God, 
and  they  are  afflicted  with  poverty.  This  they  suffer,  because  they  dis- 
believed the  signs  of  God,  and  slew  the  prophets  unjustly ;  this,  because 
they  were  rebellious,  and  transgressed.  Yet  they  are  not  all  alike :  there 
are  of  those  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  upright  people;®  they 
meditate  on  the  signs  of  God  ^  in  the  night  season,  and  worship ;  they 
believe  in  God,  and  the  last  day ;  and  command  that  which  is  just,  and 
forbid  that  which  is  unjust,  and  zealously  strive  to  excel  in  good  works ; 
these  are  of  the  righteous.  And  ye  shall  not  be  denied  the  reward  of  the 
good  which  ye  do ;  s  for  God  knoweth  the  pious.  As  for  the  unbelievers, 
their  wealth  shall  not  profit  them  at  all,  neither  their  children,  against 
God :  they  shall  be  the  companions  of  hell  fire ;  they  shall  continue  therein 
for  ever.  The  likeness  of  that  which  they  lay  out  in  this  present  life,*  is 
as  a  wind  wherein  there  is  a  scorching  cold :  it  falleth  on  the  standing  corn 
of  those  men  who  have  injured  their  own  souls,  and  destroyeth  it.  And 
God  dealeth  not  unjustly  with  them ;  but  they  injure  their  own  souls. 
O  true  believers,  contract  not  an  intimate  friendship  with  any  besides 
yourselves :  ^  they  will  not  fail  to  corrupt  you.  They  wish  for  that 
which  may  cause  you  to  perish :  their  hatred  hath  already  appeared 
from  out  of  their  mouths ;  but  what  their  breasts  conceal  is  yet  more  in- 
veterate. We  have  already  shown  you  signs  of  their  ill  ivill  toivards 
you,  if  ye  understand.  Behold,  ye  love  them,  and  they  do  not  love  you : 
ye  believe  in  all  the  scriptures,  and  when  they  meet  you,  they  say,  We 
believe  ;  but  when  they  assemble  privately  together,  they  bite  their  fingers' 
ends  out  of  wrath  against  you.  Say  unto  them,  Die  in  your  wrath :  verily 
God  knoweth  the  innermost  part  of  your  breasts.  If  good  happen  unto  you, 
It  grieveth  them ;  and  if  evil  befall  you,  they  rejoice  at  it.  But  if  ye  be 
patient,  and  fear  God,  their  subtlety  shall  not  hurt  you  at  all ;  for  God 
comprchendeth  whatever  they  do.     Call  to  mind  when  thou  wentest  forth 

^  As  Abd'allah  Ebn  Salam  and  his  companions,''  and  those  of  the  tribe  of  al  Aws  and 
al  Khazraj  who  had  embraced  Mohammedism. 

"^  This  verse,  al  Beidawi  says,  is  one  of  those  whose  meaning  is  mysterious,  and  relates 
to  something  future  ;  intimating  the  low  condition  to  which  the  Jewish  tribes  of  Koreidha, 
Nadir.  Banu  Kainoka,  and  those  who  dwelt  at  Khaibar,  were  afterwards  reduced  by 
IMohammed. 

"^  i.  e.  Unless  they  either  profess  the  Mohammedan  religion,  or  submit  to  pay  tribute. 

'  Those  namely  who  have  embraced  Islam. 

'  That  is,  the  Koran. 

5  Some  copies  have  a  different  reading  in  this  passage,  which  they  express  in  the  third 
person  ;    Tkei/  shall  not.  be  denied,  &c. 

*  "  Their  alms  are  like  unto  an  icy  wind,  which  bloweth  on  the  fields  of  the  p)erverse, 
and  destroyeth  their  productions." — Savary. 

^  i.  e.  Of  a  different  religion. 

'Al  Beidawi. 


50  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

early  from  thy  family,  that  thou  mightest  prepare  the  faithful  a  camp  for 
war ; '  and  God  heard  and  knew  it ;  when  two  companies  of  you  were 
anxiously  thoughtful,  so  that  ye  became  faint-hearted;''  but  God  was  the 
supporter  of  them  both  ;  and  in  God  let  the  faithful  trust.  And  God  had 
already  given  you  the  victory  at  Bedr,^  when  ye  were  inferior  in  number  ; 
therefore  fear  God,  that  ye  may  be  thankful.  When  thou  saidst  unto  the 
faithful.  Is  it  not  enough  for  you,  that  your  Lord  should  assist  you  with 
three  thousand  angels  sent  down  from  heaven?  Verily  if  ye  persevere, 
and  fear  God,  and  your  enemies  come  upon  you  suddenly,  your  Lord  will 
assist  you  with  five  thousand  angels,  distinguished  by  their  horses  and 
attire.'^  And  this  God  designed  only  as  good  tidings  for  you"  that  your 
hearts  might  rest  secure ;  for  victory  is  from  God  alone,  the  mighty,  the 
wise.  That  he  should  cut  off  the  uttermost  part  of  the  unbelievers,  or  cast 
them  down,  or  that  they  should  be  overthrown  and  unsuccessful,*  is 
nothing  to  thee.  It  is  no  business  of  thine ;  whether  God  be  turned  unto 
them,  or  whether  he  punish  them ;  they  are  surely  unjust  doers."  To 
God  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth :  he  spareth  whom 

'  This  was  the  battle  of  Ohod,  a  mountain  about  four  miles  to  the  north  of  Medina. 
The  Koreish,  lo  revenge  their  loss  at  Bedr,*  the  next  year  being  the  third  of  the  Hejra, 
got  together  an  army  of  3000  men,  among  whom  there  were  2(}0  horse,  and  700  armed 
with  coats  of  mail.  These  forces  marched  under  the  conduct  of  Abu  Sofian  and  sat  down 
at  Dhu'lholeifa,  a  village  about  six  miles  from  Medina.  Mohammed  being  much  inferior 
to  his  enemies  in  number,  at  first  determined  to  keep  himself  within  the  town,  and  re- 
ceive them  there ;  but  afterwards  the  advice  of  some  of  his  companions  prevailing,  he 
marched  out  against  them  at  the  head  of  1000  men  (some  say  he  had  1050  men,  others 
but  900),  of  whom  100  were  armed  with  coats  of  mail,  but  he  had  no  more  than  one  horse, 
besides  his  own,  in  the  whole  army.  With  these  forces  he  formed  a  camp  in  a  village 
near  Ohod.  which  mountain  he  contrived  to  have  on  his  back  ;  and  the  better  to  secure 
his  men  from  being  surrounded,  he  placed  50  archers  in  the  rear,  with  strict  orders  not  to 
quit  their  post.  When  they  came  to  engage,  Mohammed  had  the  better  at  first,  but 
afterwards  by  the  fault  of  his  archers,  who  left  their  ranks  for  the  sake  of  plunder,  and 
suffered  the  enemies'  horse  to  encompass  the  Mohammedans  and  attack  them  in  the  rear, 
he  lost  the  day,  and  was  very  near  losing  his  life  ;  being  struck  down  by  a  shower  of 
stones,  and  wounded  in  the  face  with  two  arrows,  on  pulling  out  of  which  his  two  fore- 
teeth dropped  out.  Of  the  Moslems  70  men  were  slain,  and  among  them  fiamza  the 
uncle  of  Mohammed,  and  of  the  infidels  22.*  To  excuse  the  ill  success  of  this  battle, 
and  to  raise  the  drooping  courage  of  his  followers,  is  Mohammed's  drift  in  the  remaining 
part  of  this  chapter. 

^  These  were  some  of  the  families  of  Banu  Salma  of  the  tribe  of  al  Khazraj,  and  Banu'! 
Hareth  of  the  tribe  of  al  Aws,  who  composed  the  two  wings  of  Mohammed's  army. 
Some  ill  impression  had  been  made  on  them  by  Abda'llah  Ebn  Obba  Solul,  then  an 
infidel,  who  having  drawn  off  300  men,  told  them  that  they  were  going  to  certain  death, 
and  advised  them  to  return  back  with  him  ;  but  he  could  prevail  on  but  a  few,  the  others 
being  kept  firm  by  the  divine  influence,  as  the  following  words  intimate.' 

'  See  before,  p.  36. 

"  The  angels  who  assisted  the  Mohammedans  at  Bedr,  rode,  say  the  commentators,  on 
Black  and  white  horses,  and  had  on  their  heads  white  and  yellow  sashes,  the  ends  of 
which  hung  down  between  their  shoulders. 

°  i.  e.  As  an  earnest  of  future  success. 

*  "  He,  at  his  pleasure,  can  overthrow  the  infidels,  put  them  to  flight,  or  exterminate 
them." — Savary. 

"  This  passage  was  revealed  when  Mohammed  received  the  wounds  abovementioned  at 
the  battle  of  Ohod,  and  cried  out,  How  shall  that  people  prosper  who  have  stained  their 
propheVs  face  with  blood,  while  he  called  them  to  their  Lord?  The  person  who  wounded 
him  was  Otha  the  son  of  Abbu  Wakkas.* 

*  See  before,  p.  36.  ®  Abulfeda,  in  vita  Moham.  p.  64,  &c.  Elamacin.  1.  1. 
Prideaux's  Life  of  Mah.  p.  80.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem.    Abulfed.  ubi  supra. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  51 

he  pleaseth,  and  he  punisheth  whom  he  plcascth ;  for  God  is  mcr- 
ciful.  O  true  behevers,  devour  not  usury,  doubhng  it  twofold ;  but  fear 
God,  that  ye  may  prosper :  and  fear  the  fire  which  is  prepared  for  the 
unbehevers ;  and  obey  God,  and  his  apostle  tliat  ye  may  obtain  mercy. 
And  run  witli  emulation  to  obtain  remission  from  your  Lord,  and 
paradise,  whose  breath  equalleth  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  which  is  pre- 
pared for  the  godly ;  who  give  alms  in  prosperity  and  adversity ;  who 
bridle  their  anger,  and  forgive  men  ;  for  God  loveth  the  beneficent.p  And 
who,  after  they  have  committed  a  crime,  or  dealt  unjustly  with  their  own 
souls,  remember  God,  and  ask  pardon  for  their  sins,  (for  who  forgiveth 
sins  except  God?)  and  persevere  not  in  what  they  have  done  knowingly; 
their  reward  shall  be  pardon  from  their  Lord,  and  gardens  wherein  rivers 
flow,  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever :  and  how  excellent  is  the  reward 
of  those  who  labour !  There  have  already  been  before  you  examples  of 
punishment  of  Infidels*  therefore  go  through  the  earth,  and  behold  what 
hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  accuse  God^s  apostles  of  imposture.  This 
hook  is  a  declaration  unto  men,  and  a  direction  and  an  admonition  to  the 
pious.  And  be  not  dismayed,  neither  be  ye  grieved ;  for  ye  shall  be  supe- 
rior to  the  unbelievers  if  ye  believe.  If  a  wound  hath  happened  unto  you  in 
war,'^  a  like  wound  hath  already  happened  unto  the  unbelieving  people :" 
and  we  cause  these  days  of  different  success  interchangably  to  succeed  each 
other  among  men ;  that  God  may  know  those  who  believe,  and  may  have 
martyrs  from  among  you :  (God  loveth  not  the  workers  of  iniquity  ;)  and 
that  God  might  prove  those  who  believe,  and  destroy  the  infidels.  Did 
ye  imagine  that  ye  should  enter  paradise,  when  as  yet  God  knew  not  those 
among  you  who  fought  strenuously  in  his  cause;  nor  knew  those  who 
persevered  with  patience?  Moreover  ye  did  sometimes  wish  for  death 
before  that  ye  met  it  ;^  but  ye  have  now  seen  it,  and  ye  looked  on,  but  re- 
treated from  it.  Mohammed  is  no  more  than  an  apostle;  the  other 
apostles  have  already  deceased  before  him :  if  he  die,  therefore,  or  be  slain, 
will  ye  turn  back  on  your  heels?*  but  he  who  turneth  back  on  his  heels 

p  It  is  related  of  Hasan  the  son  of  Ali,  that  a  slave  having  once  thrown  a  dish  on  him 
boiling  hot,  as  he  sat  at  table,  and  fearing  his  master's  resentment,  fell  on  his  knees,  and 
repeated  these  words.  Paradise  is  for  those  who  bridle  their  aiiger :  Hasan  answered,  / 
am  not  ansry.  The  slave  proceeded,  and  for  those  who  forgive  men  :  I  forgive  you,  said 
Hasan.  The  slave  however  finished  the  verse,  adding,  for  God  loveth  the  beneficent. 
Siyice  it  is  so,  replied  Hasan,  /  give  you  your  liberty,  and  four  hu7idred  pieces  of  silver.^ 
A  noble  instance  of  moderation  and  generosity. 

*  "  God  hath  given  precepts  before  thy  time.  Go  through  the  earth,  and  behold  wlftit 
has  been  the  end  of  those  who  have  accused  us  of  falsehood." — Savary. 

1  That  is,  by  our  being  worsted  at  Ohod. 

'  When  they  were  defeated  at  Bedr.  It  is  observable  that  the  number  of  Moham- 
medans sliin  at  Ohod  was  equal  to  that  of  the  idolaters  slain  at  Bedr,  which  was  so 
ordered  by  God  for  a  reason  to  be  given  elsewhere.' 

•  Several  of  Mohammed's  followers  who  were  not  present  at  Bedr,  wished  for  an  op- 
portunity of  obtaining,  in  another  action,  the  like  honour  as  those  had  gained  who  fell 
martyrs  in  that  battle  ;  yet  were  discouraged  on  seeing  the  superior  numbers  of  the  idol- 
aters in  the  expedition  of  Ohod.     On  which  occasion  this  passage  was  revealed.' 

'  These  words  were  revealed  when  it  was  reported  in  the  battle  of  Ohod,  that  Moham- 

» Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Hassan.        "In  not.  ad,  cap.  8.       •  Al  Beidawi. 


52  AL  KORAN.  chap.  m. 

will  not  hurt  God  at  all ;  and  God  will  surely  reward  the  thankful.  No 
soul  can  die  unless  by  the  permission  of  God,  according  to  what  is  written 
i7i  the  book  containing  the  determinations  of  things."  And  whoso  chooseth 
the  reward  of  this  world,  we  will  give  him  thereof:  but  whoso  chooseth 
the  reward  of  the  world  to  come,  we  will  give  him  thereof:  and  we  will 
surely  reward  the  thankful.  How  many  prophets  have  encountered  those 
who  had  many  myriads  of  troops  :  and  yet  they  desponded  not  in  their 
mind  for  what  had  befallen  them  in  fighting  for  the  religion  of  God  ;  and 
were  not  weakened,  neither  behaved  themselves  in  an  abject  manner? 
God  loveth  those  who  persevere  patiently.  And  their  speech  was  no  other 
than  what  they  said,  Our  Lord  forgive  us  our  offences,  and  our  transgres- 
sions in  our  business ;  and  confirm  our  feet,  and  help  us  against  the  unbe- 
lieving people.  And  God  gave  them  the  reward  of  this  world,  and  a 
glorious  reward  in  the  life  to  come ;  for  God  loveth  the  well  doers.  O  ye 
who  believe,  if  you  obey  the  infidels,  they  will  cause  you  to  turn  back  on 
your  heels,  and  ye  will  be  turned  back  and  perish :  ^  but  God  is  your 
Lord  ;  and  he  is  the  best  helper.  We  will  surely  cast  a  dread  into  the 
hearts  of  the  unbelievers,^  because  they  have  associated  with  God  that  con- 
cerning which  he  sent  them  down  no  power :  their  dwelling  shall  be  the 
fire  of  hell ;  and  the  receptacle  of  the  wicked  shall  be  miserable.  God  had 
already  made  good  unto  you  his  promise,  when  ye  destroyed  them  by  his 
permission,'*  until  ye  became  faint-hearted,  and  disputed  concerning  the 
command  of  the  apostle,  and  were  rebellious  ;»  afler  God  had  shown  you 
what  ye  desired.     Some  of  you  chose  this  present  world,  and  others  of  you 

med  was  slain  :  whereupon  the  idolaters  cried  out  to  his  followers,  Since  your  prophet  is 
slain,  return  to  your  ancient  religion,  and  to  your  friends  ;  if  Mohammed  had  been  a 
prophet,  he  had  not  been  slain.  It  is  related  that  a  Moslem  named  Ans  Ebn  al  Nadar, 
uncle  to  Malec  Ebn  Ans,  hearing  these  words,  said  aloud  to  his  companions,  My  friends, 
though  Mohammed  be  slain,  certainly  Mohammed' s  Lord  liveth  and  dieth  not  ;  therefore 
value  not  your  lives  since  the  prophet  is  dead,  but  fight  for  the  cause  for  which  he  fought  ; 
then  he  cried  out,  0  God,  I  am  excused  before  thee,  and  acquitted  in  thy  sight  of  what  they 
say  ;  and,  drawing  his  sword,  fought  valiantly  till  he  was  killed.^ 

"Mohammed,  the  more  effectually  to  still  the  murmurs  of  his  party  on  their  defeat, 
represents  to  them  that  the  time  of  every  man's  death  is  decreed  and  predetermined  by 
God,  and  that  those  who  fell  in  the  battle  could  not  have  avoided  their  fate,  had  they  staid 
at  home,  whereas  they  had  now  obtained  the  glorious  advantage  of  dying  martyrs  for  the 
faith.  Of  the  Mohammedan  doctrine  of  absolute  predestination  I  have  spoken  in  another 
place.' 

^  This  passage  was  also  occasioned  by  the  endeavours  of  the  Koreish  to  seduce  the 
Mohammedans  to  their  old  idolatry,  as  they  fled  in  the  battle  of  Ohod. 

^  To  this  Mohammed  attributed  the  sudden  retreat  of  Abu  Sofian  and  his  troops,  with- 
out making  any  further  advantage  of  their  success  ;  only  giving  Mohammed  a  challenge 
to  meet  them  the  next  year  at  Bedr,  which  he  accepted.  Others  say,  that  as  they  were 
on  their  march  home,  they  repented  they  had  not  utterly  extirpated  the  Mohammedans, 
and  began  to  think  of  going  back  to  Medina  for  that  purpose  ;  but  were  prevented  by  a 
sudden  consternation  or  panic  fear,  which  fell  on  them  from  God.* 

^  i.  e.  In  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  when  the  Moslems  had  the  advantage,  putting 
the  idolaters  to  flight,  and  killing  several  of  them. 

*  That  is,  till  the  bow-men,  who  were  placed  behind  to  prevent  their  being  surrounded, 
seeing  the  enemy  fly,  quitted  their  post  contrary  to  Mohammed's  express  orders,  and  dis- 
persed themselves  to  seize  the  plunder;  whereupon  Khaled  Ebn  al  VValid,  perceiving 
their  disorder,  fell  on  their  rear  with  the  horse  which  he  commanded,  and  turned  the  fortune 

•  Al  Beidawi.  '  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  "  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  53 

chose  the  world  to  come.^  Then  he  turned  you  tojlight  from  before  them, 
that  he  might  make  trial  of  you :  (but  he  hath  now  pardoned  you :  for 
God  is  endued  with  beneficence  towards  the  faithful ;)  when  ye  went  up 
as  ye  Jled,  and  looked  not  back  on  any  :*  while  the  apostle  called  you/  in 
the  uttermost  part  of  you.  Therefore  God  rewarded  you  with  affliction  on 
affliction,  that  ye  be  not  grieved  hereafter  for  the  spoils  which  ye  fail  of,  nor 
for  that  which  befalleth  you,"*  for  God  is  well  acquainted  with  whatever  ye 
do.  Then  he  sent  down  upon  you  after  affliction  security;  a  soft  sleep 
which  fell  on  some  part  of  you ;  but  other  part  were  troubled  by  their  own 
souls  ;^|  falsely  thinking  of  God,  a  foolish  imagination  saying.  Will  any 
thing  of  the  matter  happen  unto  us  ?  ^  Say,  Verily,  the  matter  belongeth 
wholly  unto  God.  They  concealed  in  their  minds  what  they  declared  not 
unto  thee ;  saying,^  If  anything  of  the  matter  had  happened  unto  us,'»  we 
had  not  been  slain  here.  Answer,  If  ye  had  been  in  your  houses,  verily 
they  would  have  gone  forth  to  fight,  whose  slaughter  was  decreed,  to  the 
places  where  they  died,  and  this  came  to  pass  that  God  might  try  what  was 
in  your  breasts,  and  might  discern  what  was  in  your  hearts ;  for  God 
knoweth  the  innermost  parts  of  the  breasts  of  men.  Verily  they  among 
you  who  turned  their  backs  on  the  day  whereon  the  two  armies  met  each 
other  at  Ohod,  Satan  caused  them  to  slip  for  some  crime  which  they  had 
committed;'  but  now  hath  God  forgiven  them;  for  God  is  gracious  and 
merciful.     O  true  believers,  be  not  as  they  who  believed  not,  and  said 

of  the  day.  It  is  related  that  though  Abda'Uah  Ebn  Johair,  their  captain,  did  all  he 
could  to  make  them  keep  their  ranks,  he  had  not  ten  that  staid  with  him  out  of  the  whole 
fifty.' 

"  The  former  were  they  who,  tempted  by  the  spoil,  quitted  their  post ;  and  the  latter 
they  who  stood  firm  by  their  leader. 

*  "When  you  took  to  disorderly  flight,  you  no  longer  listened  to  the  voice  of  the 
apostle,  who  called  you  back  to  the  combat.  Heaven  chastised  you  for  your  disobedience. 
Let  not  your  disgrace  and  loss  of  booty,  render  you  inconsolable  ;  all  your  actions  are 
known  unto  God." — Savary. 

"  Crying  aloud,  Come  hither  to  me,  0  servants  of  God  ;  I  am  the  apostle  of  God:  he  who 
returneth  back  shall  enter  paradise.  But  notwithstanding  all  his  endeavours  to  rally  his 
men,  he  could  not  get  above  thirty  about  him. 

^  i.  e.  God  punished  your  avarice  and  disobedience  by  suffering  you  to  be  beaten  by 
your  enemies,  and  to  be  discouraged  by  the  report  of  the  prophet's  death ;  that  ye  might 
be  inured  to  patience  under  adverse  fortune,  and  not  repine  at  any  loss  or  disappointment 
for  the  future. 

^  After  the  action,  those  who  had  stood  firm  in  the  battle  were  refreshed,  as  they  lay  in 
the  field,  by  falling  into  an  agreeable  sleep,  so  that  the  swords  fell  out  of  their  hands  ; 
but  those  who  haa  behaved  themselves  ill  were  troubled  in  their  minds,  imagining  they 
were  now  given  over  to  destruction.' 

t  "After  this  disastrous  event  God  caused  security  and  slumber  to  descend  upon  a  part 
of  you.  The  others,  disturbed  in  mind,  dared,  in  their  wild  imaginations,  to  attribute 
falsehood  unto  God.  Are  these,  said  they,  the  promises  of  the  prophet?  Answer  to 
them,  The  Highest  is  the  author  of  this  calamity." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  Is  there  any  appearance  of  success,  or  of  the  divine  favour  and  assistance 
which  we  have  been  promised  P 

B  i.  e.  To  themselves,  or  to  one  another  in  private. 

■^  If  God  had  assisted  us  according  to  his  promise  ;  or,  as  others  interpret  the  words,  if 
we  had  taken  the  advice  of  Abdallah  Ebn  Obba  Soliil,  and  had  kept  within  the  town  of 
Medina;  our  companions  had  not  lost  their  fives. ^ 

'  viz.  For  their  covctousness  in  quitting  their  post  to  seize  the  plunder. 

"  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  Abulfed.  Vit  Moh.  p.  65,  66,  et  not.  ib.  *  Al  Beidawi. 

Jallalo'ddln.  *  lidem.  ^lidem. 


54  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

of  their  brethren  when  they  had  journeyed  in  the  land  or  had  been  at 
war,  If  they  had  been  with  us,  those  had  not  died,  nor  had  these  been 
slain :  loliereas  ivhat  befell  them  was  so  ordained  that  God  might  take  it 
rnatter  of  sighing  in  their  hearts.  God  giveth  life,  and  causcth  to  die : 
and  God  sceth  that  which  ye  do.  Moreover  if  ye  be  slain,  or  die  in 
defence  of  the  religion  of  God  ;  verily  pardon  from  God,  and  mercy, 
is  better  than  what  they  heap  together  of  loorldly  riches.  And  if  ye  die, 
or  be  slain,  verily  unto  God  shall  ye  be  gathered.  And  as  to  the  mercy 
granted  unto  the  disobedient  from  God,  thou  O  Mohammed,  hast  been  mild 
towards  them;  but  if  thou  hadst  been  severe,  and  hard-hearted,  they 
had  surely  separated  themselves  from  about  thee.  Therefore  forgive  them, 
and  ask  pardon  for  them :  and  consult  them  in  the  affair  of  war ;  and  after 
thou  hast  deliberated,  trust  in  God  ;  for  God  loveth  those  who  trust 
in  him.  If  God  help  you,  none  shall  conquer  you  ;  but  if  he  desert  you, 
who  is  it  that  will  help  you  after  him  ?  Therefore  in  God  let  the  faithful 
trust.  It  is  not  the  part  of  a  prophet  to  defraud,^  for  he  who  defraudeth 
shall  bring  with  him  what  he  hath  defrauded  any  one  of  on  the  day  of  the 
resurrection.^  Then  shall  every  soul  be  paid  what  he  hath  gained ;  and 
they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  Shall  he  therefore  who  folio weih  that 
which  is  well-pleasing  unto  God  be  as  he  who  bringeth  on  himself 
wrath  from  God,  and  whose  receptacle  is  hell  ?  an  evil  journey  shall  it  be 
thither.  There  shall  be  degrees  of  rewards  and  punishments  with  God,  for 
God  seeth  what  they  do.  Now  hath  God  been  gracious  unto  the  believers 
when  he  raised  up  among  them  an  apostle  of  their  own  nation,°>  who  should 
recite  his  signs  unto  them,  and  purify  them,  and  teach  them  the  book 
of  the  Koran  and  wisdom ; "  whereas  they  were  before  in  manifest  error. 
After  a  misfortune  had  befallen  you  at  Ohod,  (ye  had  already  obtained  two 
equal  advantages «)  do  ye  say.  Whence  cometh  this  ?  Answer,  This  is  from 
yourselves  :P  for  God  is  almighty.  And  what  happened  unto  you,  on  the 
day  whereon  the  two  armies  met,  was  certainly  by  the  permission  of  God  ; 
and  that  he  might  know  the  ungodly.     It  was  said  unto  them.  Come,  fight 

^  This  passage  was  revealed,  as  some  say,  on  the  division  of  the  spoil  at  Bedr ;  when 
some  of  the  soldiers  suspected  Mohammed  of  having  privately  taken  a  scarlet  carpet  made 
all  of  silk  and  very  rich,  which  was  missing/  Others  suppose  the  archers,  who  occasioned 
the  loss  of  the  battle  of  Ohod,  left  their  station  because  they  imagined  Mohammed  would 
not  give  them  their  share  of  the  plunder;  because,  as  it  is  related,  he  once  sent  out  a 
party  as  an  advanced  guard,  and  in  the  meantime  attacking  the  enemy,  took  some  spoils 
which  he  divided  among  those  who  were  with  him  in  the  action,  and  gave  nothing  to  the 
party  that  was  absent  on  duty.' 

'  According  to  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  whoever  cheateth  another  will  on  the  day  of 
judgment  carry  his  fraudulent  purchase  on  his  neck. 

"  Some  copies  instead  of  min  avfosihim,  i.  e.  of  themselves,  read  min  anfasihim,  i.  e.  of 
the  noblest  among  them;  for  such  was  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  of  which  Mohammed  was  de- 
scended.'' 

■^  i.  e.  The  Sonna.'' 

"  viz.  in  the  battle  of  Bedr,  where  ye  slew  seventy  of  the  enemy,  equalling  the  num- 
ber of  those  who  lost  their  hves  at  Ohod,  and  took  as  many  prisoners,* 

^  It  was  the  consequence  of  your  disobeying  the  orders  of  the  prophet,  and  abandoning 
your  post  for  the  sake  of  plunder. 

^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  'AlBeidawi.  *  Idem.  ""Idem. 

3  See  before,  p.  36. 


CHAP.  in.  AL  KORAN.  55 

for  the  religion  of  God,  or  drive  back  the  enemy:  they  answered,  If  we  had 
know^n  ye  went  out  to  fight,  we  had  certainly  followed  you.'i  They  were  on 
that  day  nearer  unto  unbelief,  than  they  were  to  faith  ;  they  spake  with 
their  mouths,  what  was  not  in  their  hearts:  but  God  perfectly  knew  what 
they  concealed ;  who  said  of  their  brethren,  while  themselves  stayed  at  home, 
if  they  had  obeyed  us,  they  had  not  been  slain.  Say,  Then  keep  back 
death  from  yourselves,  if  ye  say  truth.  Thou  shalt  in  no  wise  reckon  those 
who  have  been  slain  at  Ohod,  in  the  cause  of  God,  dead ;  nay,  they 
are  sustained  alive  with  their  Lord,*"  rejoicing  for  what  God  of  his  favour 
hath  granted  them ;  and  being  glad  for  those  who,  coming  after  them,  have 
not  as  yet  overtaken  them;*  because  there  shall  no  fear  come  on  them, 
neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  They  are  filled  with  joy  for  the  favour 
which  they  have  received  from  God  and  his  bounty ;  and  for  that  God 
sufTereth  not  the  reward  of  the  faithful  to  perish.  They  who  hearkened 
unto  God  and  his  apostle,  after  a  wound  had  befallen  them  at  Ohod,^  such 
of  them  as  do  good  works,  and  fear  God,  shall  have  a  great  reward ;  unto 
whom  certain  men  said.  Verily  the  men  of  Mecca  have  already  gathered 
forces  against  you,  be  ye  therefore  afraid  of  them  :"  but  this  increased  their 
faith,  and  they  said,  God  is  our  support,  and  the  most  excellent  patron. 

'  That  is,  if  we  had  conceived  the  least  hopes  of  success  when  ye  marched  out  of 
Medina  to  encounter  the  infidels,  and  had  not  known  that  ye  went  rather  to  certain  de- 
struction than  to  battle,  we  had  gone  with  you.  But  this  Mohammed  here  tells  them 
was  only  a  feigned  excuse  ;  the  true  reason  of  their  staying  behind  being  their  want  of 
faith  and  firmness  in  their  religion.* 

■■  See  before,  p.  18. 

■^  i.  e.  Rejoicing  also  for  their  sakes,  who  are  destined  to  suffer  martyrdom,  but  have 
not  as  yet  attained  it.^ 

'  The  commentators  differ  a  little  as  to  the  occasion  of  this  passage.  When  news  was 
brought  to  Mohammed,  after  the  battle  of  Ohod,  that  the  enemy,  repenting  of  their  retreat, 
were  returning  towards  Medina,  he  called  about  him  those  who  had  stood  by  him  in  the 
battle,  and  marched  out  to  meet  the  enemy  as  far  as  Homara  al  Asad,  about  eight  miles 
from  that  town,  notwithstanding  several  of  his  men  were  so  ill  of  their  wounds  that  they 
were  forced  to  be  carried  ;  but  a  panic  fear  having  seized  the  army  of  the  Koreish,  they 
changed  their  resolution,  and  continued  their  march  home ;  of  which  Mohammed 
having  received  intelligence,  he  also  went  back  to  Medina:  and  according  to  some 
commentators,  the  Koran  here  approves  the  faith  and  courage  of  those  who  attended  tiie 
prophet  on  this  occasion.  Others  say  the  persons  intended  in  this  passage  were  those  who 
went  with  Mohammed  the  next  year,  to  meet  Abu  Sofian  and  the  Koreish,  according  to 
their  challenge,  at  Bedr,-  where  they  waited  some  time  for  the  enemy,  and  then  returned 
home ;  for  the  Koreish,  though  they  set  out  from  Mecca,  yet  never  came  so  far  as  the 
place  of  appointment,  their  hearts  failing  them  on  their  march :  which  Mohammed 
attributed  to  their  being  struck  with  a  terror  from  God.'  This  expedition  the  Arabian 
iiistories  call  the  second  or  lesser  expedition  o/Bedr. 

'  The  persons  who  thus  endeavoured  to  discourage  the  Mohammedans  were,  according 
to  one  tradition,  some  of  the  tribe  of  Abd  Kais,  who  going  to  Medina  were  bribed  by 
Abu  Sofian  with  a  camel's  load  of  dried  raisins;  and  according  to  another  tradition,  it 
was  Noaim  Ebn  Masud  al  Ashja'i,  who  was  also  bribed  with  a  she  camel  ten  months  gone 
with  young  (a  valuable  present  in  Arabia).  This  Noaim,  they  say,  finding  Mohammed 
and  his  men  preparing  for  the  expedition,  told  them  that  Abu  Sofian  to  spare  them  the 
pains  of  coming  so  far  as  Bedr,  would  seek  them  in  their  own  houses,  and  that  none  of 
them  could  possibly  escape  otherwise  than  by  timely  flight.  Upon  which  Mohammed, 
seeing  his  followers  a  little  dispirited,  swore  that  he  would  go  himself  though  not  one 
of  them  went  with  him.  And  accordingly  he  set  out  with  seventy  horsemen,  every  one 
of  them  crying  out,  Hashna  Allah,  i.  e.  God  is  our  support.* 

'  Al  Beidawi.  '  Vide  Revel,  vi.  11.  -  See  before,  p.  52,  note  y.  '  Al  Beidawi. 
*  Idem.    Jallalo'ddin. 


56  AL  KORAN.  chap.  hi. 

Wherefore  they  returned  with  favour  from  God,  and  advantage  :  ^  no  evil 
befell  them :  and  they  followed  what  was  well  pleasing  unto  God  :  for  God 
is  endowed  with  great  liberality.  Verily  that  devil  ^^  would  cause  you 
to  fear  his  friends :  but  be  ye  not  afraid  of  them :  but  fear  me,  if  ye  be  true 
believers.  They  shall  not  grieve  thee,  who  emulously  hasten  unto  infidelity ; 
for  they  shall  never  hurt  God  at  all.  God  will  not  give  them  a  part  in  the 
next  Hfe,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  great  punishment.  Surely  those  who  pur- 
chase infidelity  with  faith  *  shall  by  no  means  hurt  God  at  all,  but  they 
shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment.  And  let  not  the  unbelievers  think, 
because  we  grant  them  lives  long  and  prosperous,  that  it  is  better  for  their 
souls :  we  grant  them  long  and  prosperous  lives  only  that  their  iniquity 
may  be  increased ;  and  they  shall  suffer  an  ignominious  punishment. 
God  is  not  disposed  to  leave  the  faithful  in  the  condition  which  ye  are  now 
in,^  until  he  sever  the  wicked  from  the  good  ;'f  nor  is  God  disposed  to  make 
you  acquainted  with  what  is  a  hidden  secret,  but  God  chooseth  such  of  his 
apostles  as  he  pleaseth,  to  reveal  his  mind  unto  :  *  believe  therefore  in  God, 
and  his  apostles ;  and  if  ye  believe,  and  fear  God,  ye  shall  receive  a  great 
reward.  And  let  not  those  who  are  covetous  of  what  God  of  his  bounty 
hath  granted  them  imagine  that  their  avarice  is  better  for  them :  nay, 
rather  it  is  worse  for  them.  That  which  they  have  covetously  reserved 
shall  be  bound  as  a  collar  about  their  neck,''  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection  : 
unto  God  helongeth  the  inheritance  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  God  is  well 
acquainted  with  what  ye  do.  God  hath  already  heard  the  saying  of  those 
who  said.  Verily  God  is  poor,  and  we  are  rich : "  we  will  surely  write 
down  what  they  have  said,  and  the  slaughter  which  they  have  made  of  the 
prophets  without  a  cause ;  and  we  will  say  unto  them,  Taste  ye  the  pain  of 
burning.  This  shall  they  suffer  for  the  evil  which  their  hands  have  sent 
before  them,  and  because  God  is  not  unjust  towards  mankind ;  who  also 
say.  Surely  God  hath  commanded  us,  that  we  should  not  give  credit  to  any 
apostle,  until  one   should   come   unto   us  with  a  sacrifice,  which   should 

^  While  they  staid  at  Bedr  expecting  the  enemy,  they  opened  a  kind  of  fair  there,  and 
traded  to  very  considerable  profit.* 
y  Meaning  either  Noaim,  or  Abu  Sofian  himself. 

*  "  Those  who  apostatize  from  interest  do  not  hurt  the  highest.  Hell  shall  be  their 
abode." — Savary. 

"■  That  is,  he  will  not  suffer  the  good  and  sincere  among  you  to  continue  indiscriminately 
mixed  with  the  wicked  and  hypocritical. 

t  "  God  leaveth  the  believers  in  the  state  which  they  now  are,  only  till  he  shall  have 
discriminated  the  wicked  from  the  righteous." — Savary. 

*  This  passage  was  revealed  on  the  rebellious  and  disobedient  Mohammedans  telUng 
Mohammed  that  if  he  was  a  true  prophet,  he  could  easily  distinguish  those  who  sincerely 
beheved  from  the  dissemblers.'' 

"  Mohammed  is  said  to  have  declared,  that  whoever  pays  not  his  legal  contribution  of 
alms  duly  shall  have  a  serpent  twisted  about  his  neck  at  the  resurrection.'' 

■^  It  is  related  that  Mohammed,  writing  to  the  Jews  of  the  tribe  of  Kainoka  to  invite 
them  to  Islam,  and  exhorting  them,  among  other  things,  in  the  words  of  the  Koran,"  to 
lend  unto  God  on  good  usury,  Phineas  Ebn  Azua,  on  hearing  that  expression,  said, 
Surely  God  is  poor,  since  they  ask  to  borrow  for  him.  Whereupon  Abu  Beer,  who  was 
the  bearer  of  that  letter,  struck  him  on  the  face,  and  told  him,  that  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  truce  between  them  he  would  have  struck  off  his  head :  and  on  Phineas's  complain- 
ing to  Mohammed  of  Abu  Beer's  ill  usage,  this  passage  was  revealed.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.       « Idem.       ■"  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.       «  Chap.  ii.  p.  29.       =*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  III.  AL  KORAN.  57 

be  consumed  by  fire.*  Say,  Apostles  have  already  come  unto  you  before 
me,*  with  plain  proofs,  and  with  the  miracle  which  ye  mention :  why 
therefore  have  ye  slain  them,  if  ye  speak  truth?  If  they  accuse  thee 
of  imposture,  the  apostles  before  thee  have  also  been  accounted  impostors, 
who  brought  evident  demonstrations,  and  the  scriptures,  and  the  boolc 
which  enlighteneth  the  understanding.  Every  soul  shall  taste  of  death, 
and  ye  shall  have  your  reward  on  the  day  of  resurrection  ;  and  he  who 
shall  be  far  removed  from  hell  fire,  and  shall  be  admitted  into  paradise, 
shall  be  happy :  but  the  present  life  is  only  a  deceitful  provision.*  Ye 
shall  surely  be  proved  in  your  possessions,  and  in  your  persons;  and 
ye  shall  bear  from  those  unto  whom  the  scripture  was  delivered  before  you, 
and  from  the  idolaters,  much  hurt :  but  if  ye  be  patient  and  fear  God^  this 
is  a  matter  that  is  absolutely  determined.  And  when  God  accepted  the 
covenant  of  those  to  whom  the  book  of  the  law  was  given,  sayings  Ye 
shall  surely  publish  it  unto  mankind,  ye  shall  not  hide  it :  yet  they  threw 
it  behind  their  backs,  and  sold  it  for  a  small  price:  but  woeful  is  the 
price  for  which  they  have  sold  it.^  Think  not  that  they  who  rejoice 
at  what  they  have  done,  and  expect  to  be  praised  for  what  they  have  not 
done ;  s  think  not,  O  prophet,  that  they  shall  escape  from  punishment, 
for  they  shall  suffer  a  painful  punishment ;  and  unto  God  belongeih  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth  :  God  is  almighty.  Now  in  the  creation  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  the  vicissitude  of  night  and  day,  are   signs  unto 

^  The  Jews,  say  the  commentators,  insisted  that  it  was  a  pecuUar  proof  of  the  mission 
of  all  the  prophets  sent  to  them,  that  they  could,  by  their  prayers,  bring  down  fire  from 
heaven  to  consume  the  sacrifice,  and  therefore  they  expected  Mohammed  should  do  the 
Uke.  And  some  Mohammedan  doctors  agree  that  God  appointed  this  miracle  as  the  test 
of  all  their  prophets,  except  only  Jesus  and  Mohammed  ; '  though  others  say  any  other 
miracle  was  a  proof  full  as  sufficient  as  the  bringing  down  fire  from  heaven.'^ 

The  Arabian  Jews  seem  to  have  drawn  a  general  consequence  from  some  particular 
instances  of  this  miracle  in  the  Old  Testament.^  And  the  Jews  at  this  day  say,  that 
first  the  fire  which  fell  from  heaven  on  the  altar  of  the  tabernacle,*  after  the  consecration, 
of  Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  afterwards  that  which  descended  on  the  altar  of  Solomon's 
temple,  at  the  dedication  of  that  structure,*  was  fed  and  constantly  maintained  there  by 
the  priests,  both  day  and  night,  without  being  suffered  once  to  go  out;  till  it  was  extin- 
guished, as  some  think,  in  the  reign  of  Manasses,^  but  according  to  the  more  received, 
opinion,  when  the  temple  was  destroyed  by  the  Chaldeans.  Several  Christians'"  have 
given  credit  to  this  assertion  of  the  Jews,  with  what  reason  I  shall  not  here  inquire  ;  and 
the  Jews,  in  consequence  of  this  notion,  might  probably  expect  that  a  prophet  who  came 
to  restore  God's  true  religion  should  rekindle  for  them  this  heavenly  fire,  which  they  had 
not  been  favoured  with  since  the  Babylonish  captivity. 

*  Among  these  the  commentators  reckon  Zacharias  and  John  the  Baptist. 

*  "  Human  life  is  no  more  than  a  deceitful  enjoyment." — Savary. 

f }.  e.  Dearly  shall  they  pay  hereafter  for  taking  bribes  to  stifle  the  truth.  Whoever  con- 
cealeth  the  knoioledge  which  God  has  given  him,  says  Mahommed,  God  shall  put  on  him  a 
bridle  of  fire  on  the  day  of  resurrection. 

E ;.  e.  Who  think  they  have  done  a  commendable  deed  in  concealing  and  dissembling 
the  testimonies  in  the  Pentateuch  concerning  Mohammed,  and  in  disobeying  God's  com- 
mands to  the  contrary.  It  is  said  that  Mohammed  once  asking  some  Jews  concerning 
a  passage  in  their  law,  they  gave  him  an  answer  very  different  from  the  truth,  and  were 
mightily  pleased  that  they  had,  as  they  thought,  deceived  him.  Others  however  think  this 
passage  relates  to  some  pretended  Mohammedans  who  rejoiced  in  their  hypocrisy,  and 
expected  to  be  commended  for  their  wickedness.* 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  'Lev.  ix.  24.  1  Chron.  xxi.  26.  2  Chron.  vii.  1. 
1  Kings  xviii.  38.  *  Lev.  ix.  24.  » 2  Chron.  vii.  1.  «  Talmud,  Zebachim,  c.  6. 
'  See  Prideaux's  Connect,  part  1.  book  3.  p.  158.               '  Al  Beidawi. 

o 


53  AL  KORAN.  chap.  m. 

those  who  are  endued  with  understanding ;  who  remember  God  standing, 
and  sitting,  and  lying  on  their  sides ;  ^  and  meditate  on  the  creation  of 
heaven  and  earth,  saying,  O  Lord,  thou  hast  not  created  this  in  vain ;  far 
be  it  from  thee:  therefore  dehver  us  from  the  torment  oHiell  fire:  O  Lord, 
surely  whom  thou  shalt  throw  into  the  fire,  thou  wilt  also  cover  with  shame : 
nor  shall  the  ungodly  have  any  to  help  them.  O  Lord,  we  have  heard  a 
preacher '  inviting  us  to  the  faith  and  saying,  Believe  in  your  Lord  :  and 
M'e  believed.  O  Lord  forgive  us  therefore  our  sins,  and  expiate  our  evil 
deeds  from  us,  and  make  us  to  die  with  the  righteous.  O  Lord,  give  us 
also  the  rtward  which  thou  hast  promised  by  thy  apostles ;  and  cover  us  not 
with  shame  on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  for  thou  art  not  contrary  to  the 
])romise  *  Their  Lord  therefore  answered  them,  saying,  I  will  not  suffer 
the  work  of  him  among  you  who  worketh  to  be  lost,  whether  he  be  male, 
or  female :  ^  the  one  of  you  is  from  the  other.  They  therefore  who  have 
left  their  country,  and  have  been  turned  out  of  their  houses,  and  have  suf- 
fered for  my  sake,  and  have  been  slain  in  battle ;  verily  I  will  expiate 
their  evil  deeds  from  them,  and  I  will  surely  bring  them  into  gardens 
watered  by  rivers ;  a  reward  from  God;  and  with  God  is  the  most  ex- 
cellent reward.  Let  not  the  prosperous  dealing  of  the  unbelievers  in  the 
land  deceive  thee  ;^  it  is  hut  a  slender  provision  ;•"  and  then  their  receptacle 
shall  be  hell ;  an  unhappy  couch  shall  it  be.  But  they  who  fear  the  Lord 
shall  have  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow,  they  shall  continue  therein 
for  ever:  this  is  the  gift  of  God  ;|  for  what  is  with  God  shall  be  better  for 
the  righteous  than  shortlived  worldly  prosperity.  There  are  some  of  those 
who  have  received  the  scriptures,  who  believe  in  God,  and  that  which  hath 
l^en  sent  down  unto  you,  and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  to  them, 
submitting  themselves  unto  God  ;"  they  sell  not  the  signs  of  God  for  a  small 

"  viz.  At  all  times  and  in  all  postures.  Al  Beidawi  mentions  a  saying  of  Mohammed  to 
one  Iniran  Ebn  Hosein,  to  this  purpose;  pray  standing,  if  thou  art  able  ;  if  not,  sitting; 
and  if  thou  canst  not  sit  up,  then  as  thou  liest  along.  Al  Shafei  directs  that  the  sick  should 
pray  lying  on  their  right  side. 

'  Namely  Mohammed,  with  the  Koran. 

*  "  Since  thou  failest  not  in  thy  promises." — Savary. 

''These  words  were  added,  as  some  relate,  on  0mm  Salma,  one  of  the  prophet's 
wives,  telling  him  that  she  had  observed  God  often  made  mention  of  the  rneri  who  fled 
their  country  for  the  sake  of  their  faith,  but  took  no  notice  of  the  v)omen.^ 

'  The  original  word  properly  signifies  success  in  the  affairs  of  life,  and  particularly  in 
trade.  It  is  said  that  some  of  Mohammed's  followers  observing  the  prosperity  the  idol- 
aters enjoyed,  expressed  their  regret  that  those  enemies  of  God  should  live  in  such  ease 
and  plenty,  while  themselves  were  perishing  of  hunger  and  fatigue  ;  whereupon  this 
passage  was  revealed.' 

"  Because  of  its  short  continuance. 

t  "  They  who  fear  the  Lord  shall  dwell  in  the  gardens  of  delights.  Thev  shall  dwell 
in  them  eternally.  They  shall  be  the  guests  of  the  Lord.  Who  is  more  able  than  he  to 
load  with  favours  the  just?" — Savary. 

"  The  persons  here  meant,  some  will  have  to  be  Abd'allah  Ebn  Salam^  and  his  com- 
panions ;  others  suppose  they  were  forty  Arabs  of  Majran,  or  thirty-two  Ethiopians,  or  else 
eight  Greeks,  who  were  converted  from  Christianity  to  Mohamnicdism  ;  and  others  say  this 
passage  was  revealed  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra.  when  Mohammed,  on  Gabriel's  bring- 
ing him  the  news  of  the  death  of  Ashama  king  of  Ethiopia,  who  had  embraced  the  Mo- 
hammedan religion  some  years  before,"  prayed  for  the  soul  that  departed;  at  which  some 

Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  ^See  before,  p.  45.  =>  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect  ii. 


CHAP.  TV.  AL  KORAN.  59 

price :  these  shall  have  their  reward  with  their  Lord  ;  for  God  is  swift  in 
taking  an  account."  O  true  believers,  be  patient  and  strive  to  excel  in 
patience,  and  be  constant-minded,  and  fear  God,  that  ye  may  be  happy. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
INTITLED,  WOMEN  ;p  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  MEN,  fear  your  Lord,  who  hath  created  you  o|^t  of  one  man,  and  out 
of  him  created  his  wife,  and  from  them  two  hath  multiplied  many  men,  and 
women:*  and  fear  God  by  whom  ye  beseech  .one  another ;■!  and  respect 
women  *■  who  have  home  you,  for  God  is  watching  over  you.  And  give  the 
orphans  whe7i  they  come  to  age  their  substance ;  and  render  the7n  not  in 
exchange  bad  for  good :  *  and  devour  not  their  substance,  by  adding  it  to 
your  own  substance ;  for  this  is  a  great  sin.  And  if  ye  fear  that  ye  shall 
not  -act  with  equity  towards  orphans  of  the  female  sex*  take  in  marriage 
of  such  other  women  as  please  you,  two,  or  three,  or  four,  and  not  more.*- 

of  his  hypocritical  followers  were  displeased,  and  wondered  that  he  should  pray  for  a 
Christian  proselyte  whom  he  had  never  seen." 

"  See  before,  p.  24,  and  the  Preliminary  Discourse,  sect.  iv. 

p  This  title  was  given  to  this  chapter,  because  it  chiefly  treats  of  matters  relating  to 
women;  as,  marriages,  divorces,  dower,  prohibited  degrees,  &c. 

*  "  Mortals  1  fear  the  Lord,  who  created  you  all  from  one  man,  of  whom  he  formed  a 
woman,  and  who  has  covered  the  earth  with  their  posterity.  Fear  the  Lord,  in  the  name 
of  whom  ye  beseech  each  other.  Revere  the  ties  of  consanguinity.  God  observeth  your 
actions." — Savary. 

''  Saying,  I  beseech  thee  for  God's  sake.* 
'  Literally,  the  wombs. 

"  That  is,  take  not  what  ye  find  of  value  among  their  effects  to  your  own  use,  and  give 
them  worse  in  its  stead. 

*  ''  If  ye  fear  to  be  unjust  unto  orphans,  fear  also  to  be  unjust  unto  your  wives.  Marry 
only  two,  three,  or  four."'^ 

'  The  commentators  understand  this  passage  differently.  The  true  meaning  seems  to 
be,  as  it  is  here  translated  ;  Mohammed  advising  his  followers  that  if  they  found  they 
should  wrong  the  female  orphans  under  their  care,  either  by  marrying  them  against  their 
inclinations,  for  the  sake  of  their  riches  or  beauty,  or  by  not  using  or  maintainiag  them  so 
well  as  they  ought,  by  reason  of  their  having  already  several  wives,  they  should  rather 
choose  to  marry  other  women,  to  avoid  all  occasion  of  sin.''  Others  say,  that  when  fhip 
passage  was  revealed,  many  of  the  Arabians,  fearing  trouble  and  temptation,  refused  to 
take  upon  them  the  charge  of  orphans,  and  yet  multiplied  wives  to  a  great  excess,  and 
used  them  ill ;  or,  as  others  write,  gave  themselves  up  to  fornication ;  which  occa- 
sioned the  passage.  And  according  to  these  its  meaning  must  be  either,  that  if  they 
iearcd  they  could  not  act  justly  towards  orphans,  they  had  as  great  reason  to  apprehend 
they  could  not  deal  equitably  with  so  many  wives,  and  therefore  are  commanded  to  marry 
but  a  certain  number;  or  else,  that  since  fornication  was  a  crime  as  well  as  a  wronging 
oi'  orphans,  they  ought  to  avoid  that  also,  by  marrying  according  to  their  abilities.' 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 

^  "  When  this  verse  was  sent  down  from  heaven,  the  greater  part  of  the  Arabs  had 
each  of  them  eight  or  ten  wives ;  and  they  often  treated  them  badly.  Polygamy  has 
always  been  established  in  the  East.  Mahomet  restrained  it  within  narrower  bounds."  — 
Savary. 

■"  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem.  Jallalo'ddin. 


60  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

But  if  ye  fear  that  ye  cannot  act  equitably  towards  so  many,  marry  one 
only,  or  the  slaves  which  ye  shall  have  acquired.*^  This  will  be  easier, 
that  ye  swerve  not  from  righteousness.  And  give  women  their  dowry 
freely ;  but  if  they  voluntarily  remit  unto  you  any  part  of  it,  enjoy  it  with 
satisfaction  and  advantage.  And  give  not  unto  those  who  are  weak  of 
understanding  the  substance  which  God  hath  appointed  you  to  preserve 
for  them ;  but  maintain  them  thereout,  and  clothe  them,  and  speak  kindly 
unto  them.  And  examine  the  orphans*  until  they  attain  the  age  of  mar- 
riage :  >■  but  if  ye  perceive  they  are  able  to  manage  their  affairs  well,  deliver 
their  substance  unto  them ;  and  waste  it  not  extravagantly,  or  hastily,* 
because  they  grow  up."  Let  him  who  is  rich  abstain  entirely  from  the 
orphans'*  estates ;  and  let  him  who  is  poor  take  ifAereq/"  according  to  what 
shall  be  reasonable.*  And  when  ye  deliver  their  substance  unto  them, 
call  witnesses  thereof  in  their  presence :  God  taketh  sufficient  account  of 
your  actions.  Men  ought  to  have  a  part  of  what  their  parents  and  kindred 
leave  behind  them  when  they  die  :  and  women  also  ought  to  have  a  part  of 
what  their  parents  and  kindred  leave,"  whether  it  be  little,  or  whether 
it  be  much ;  a  determinate  part  is  due  to  them.  And  when  they  who  are 
of  kin  are  present  at  the  dividing  of  what  is  left,  and  also  the  orphans, 
and  the  poor;  distribute  unto  them  some  part  thereof;  and  if  the 
estate  he  too  small,  at  least  speak  comfortably  unto  them.  And  let  those 
fear  to  abuse  orphans,  who  if  they  leave  behind  them  a  weak  offspring, 
are  solicitous  for  them :  let  them  therefore  fear  God,  and  speak  that 
which  is  convenient.'^  Surely  they  who  devour  the  possessions  of  orphans 
unjustly  shall  swallow  down  nothing  but  fire  into  their  bellies,  and  shall 
broil  in  raging  flames.  God  hath  thus  commanded  you  concerning  your 
children,  A  male  shall  have  as  much  as  the  share  of  two  females;* 
but  if  they  be  females  only,  and  above  two  in  number,  they  shall  have 
two-third  parts  of  what  the  deceased  shall  leave;®  and  if  there  be  but 

"  For  slaves  requiring  not  so  large  a  dower,  nor  so  good  and  plentiful  a  main- 
tenance as  free  women,  a  man  might  keep  several  of  the  former,  as  easily  as  one  of 
the  latter. 

^  i.  e.  Try  whether  they  be  well  grounded  in  the  principles  of  religion,  and  have  suffi- 
cient prudence  for  the  management  of  their  affairs.  Under  this  expression  is  also  com- 
prehended the  duty  of  a  curator's  instructing  his  pupils  in  those  respects. 

y  Or  age  of  maturity,  which  is  generally  reckoned  to  be  fifteen;  a  decision  supported 
by  a  tradition  of  their  prophet ;  though  Abu  Hanifah  thinks  eighteen  the  proper  age.' 

*"  Beware  of  dissipating  it  by  prodigality,  or  by  hastening  to  entrust  them  with  it, 
when  they  are  too  young." — Savary. 

*  i.  e.  Because  they  will  shortly  be  of  age,  to  receive  what  belongs  to  them. 

*  That  is,  no  more  than  what  shall  make  sufficient  recompense  for  the  trouble  of  their 
education. 

"  This  law  was  given  to  abolish  a  custom  of  the  pagan  Arabs,  who  suffered  not  women 
or  children  to  have  any  part  of  their  husband's  or  father's  inheritance  ;  on  pretence  that 
they  only  should  inherit  who  were  able  to  go  to  war.' 

"  viz.  Either  to  comfort  the  children,  or  to  assure  the  dying  fatlier  they  shall  be  justly 
dealt  by.^ 

<*  This  is  the  general  rule  to  be  followed  in  the  distribution  of  the  estate  of  the  deceased, 
as  may  be  observed  in  the  following  cases. ^ 

^  Or  if  there  be  two  and  no  more,  they  will  have  the  same  share. 

®  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  'Idem.  ^  Vide  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vi. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  61 

one,  she  shall  have  the  halt7  And  the  parents  of  the  deceased  shall 
have  each  of  them  a  sixth  part  of  what  he  shall  leave,  if  he  have  a 
child;  but  if  he  have  no  child,  and  his  parents  be  his  heirs,  then  his 
mother  shall  have  the  third  part.s  And  if  he  have  brethren,  his  mother 
shall  have  a  sixth  part,  after  the  legacies "  which  he  shall  bequeath,  and 
his  debts  he  paid.  Ye  know  not  whether  your  parents  or  your  children 
be  of  greater  use  unto  you.  This  is  an  ordinance  from  God,  and 
God  is  knowing  and  wise.  Moreover  ye  may  claim  half  of  what  your 
wives  shall  leave,  if  they  have  no  issue ;  but  if  they  have  issue, 
then  ye  shall  have  the  fourth  part  of  what  they  shall  leave,  after 
the  legacies  which  they  shall  bequeath,  and  the  debts  be  paid.  They 
also  shall  have  the  fourth  part  of  what  ye  shall  leave,  in  case  ye  have 
no  issue;  but  if  ye  have  issue,  then  they  shall  have  the  eighth  part 
of  what  ye  shall  leave,  after  the  legacies  which  ye  shall  bequeath,  and  your 
debts  he  paid.  And  if  a  man  or  woman's  suhstance  be  inherited  by  a  distant 
relation,'  and  he  or  she  have  a  brother  or  sister;  each  of  them  two  shall 
have  a  sixth  part  of  the  estate.^  But  if  there  be  more  than  this  number^ 
they  shall  be  equal  sharers  in  a  third  part,  after  payment  of  the  legacies 
which  shall  be  bequeathed,  and  the  debts,  without  prejudice  to  the  heirs. 
This  is  an  ordinance  from  God  ;  and  God  is  knowing  and  gracious.  These 
are  the  statutes  of  God.  And  whoso  obeyeth  God  and  his  apostle,  God  shall 
lead  him  into  gardens  wherein  rivers  flow,  they  shall  continue  therein 
for  ever;  and  this  shall  be  great  happiness.  But  whoso  disobeyeth 
God,  and  his  apostle,  and  transgresseth  his  statutes,  God  shall  cast 
him  into  hell  fire;  he  shall  remain  therein  for  ever,  and  he  shall 
suffer  a  shameful  punishment.  If  any  of  your  women  be  guilty  of 
whoredom,^  produce  four  witnesses  from  among  you  against  them,  and  if 
they  bear  witness  against  them,  imprison  them  in  separate  apartments  until 
death  release  them,  or  God  affbrdeth  them  a  way  to  escape.""     And  if  two 

^  And  the  remaining  third  part,  or  the  remaining  moiety  of  the  estate,  which  is  not  here 
expressly  disposed  of,  if  the  deceased  leaves  behind  him  no  son,  nor  a  father,  goes  to  the 
pubhc  treasury.  It  must  be  observed,  that  Mr.  Selden  is  certainly  mistaken,  when  in  ex- 
plaining this  passage  of  the  Koran,  he  says,  that  where  there  is  a  son  and  an  only 
daughter,  each  of  them  will  have  a  moiety  :*  for  the  daughter  can  have  a  moiety  but  in 
one  case  only,  that  is  where  there  is  no  son ;  for  if  there  be  a  son,  she  can  have  but  a 
third,  according  to  the  above-mentioned  rule. 

«  And  his  father  consequently  the  other  two-thirds.' 

**  By  legacies  in  this  and  the  following  passages  are  chiefly  meant  those  bequeathed  to 
pious  uses;  for  the  Mohammedans  approve  not  of  a  person's  giving  away  his  substance 
from  his  family  and  near  relations  on  any  other  account. 

'  For  this  may  happen  by  contract,  or  on  some  other  special  occasion. 

^  Here,  and  in  the  next  case,  the  brother  and  sister  are  made  equal  sharers,  which  is 
an  exception  to  the  general  rule,  of  giving  a  male  twice  as  much  as  a  female ;  and  the 
reason  is  said  to  be,  because  of  the  smallness  of  the  portions,  which  deserve  not  such 
exactness  of  distribution ;  for  in  other  cases  the  rule  holds  between  brother  and  sister,  as 
well  as  other  relations.* 

'  Either  adultery  or  fornication. 

""  Their  punishment  in  the  beginning  of  Mohammedism  was  to  be  immured  till  they 
died,  but  afterwards  this  cruel  doom  was  mitigated,  and  they  might  avoid  it  by  under- 

*  Selden,  de  success  ad  Leges  Ebra^or.  lib.  1.  chap.  i.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  this 

chap,  near  the  end. 


62  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  iv. 

of  you  commit  the  like  wickedness^''  punish  them  both : "  but  if  they  repent 
and  amend,  let  them  both  alone  ;  for  God  is  easy  to  be  reconciled  and  mer- 
ciful. Verily  repentance  will  he  accented  with  God,  from  those  who  do  evil 
itrnorantly,  and  then  repent  speedily ;  unto  them  will  God  be  turned :  for 
God  is  knowing  and  wise.  But  no  repentance  shall  be  accepted  from  those 
who  do  evil  until  the  time  when  death  prescnteth  itself  unto  one  of  ihern, 
and  he  saith,  Verily  I  repent  now ;  nor  unto  those  who  die  unbelievers ; 
for  them  have  we  prepared  a  grievous  punishment.  O  true  believers, 
it  is  not  lawful  for  you  to  be  heirs  of  women  against  their  will,p  nor  to 
hinder  them /rowi  marrying  others,'*^  that  ye  may  take  away  part  of  what  ye 
have  given  them  in  dowry ;  unless  they  liave  been  guilty  of  a  manifest 
crime  :^  but  converse  kindly  with  them.  And  if  ye  hate  them,  it  may 
happen  that  ye  may  hate  a  thing  wherein  God  hath  placed  much  good. 
If  ye  be  desirous  to  exchange  a  wife  for  another  wife,^  and  ye  have  already 
given  one  of  them  a  talent,*  take  not  away  any  thing  therefrom  :  '^  will  ye 
take  it  by  slandering  her,  and  doing  her  manifest  injustice?  And  how  can 
ve  take  it,  since  the  one  of  you  hath  gone  in  unto  the  other,  and  they  have 
received  from  you  a  firm  covenant  ?  Marry  not  women  whom  your  fathers 
have  had  to  wife ;  (except  what  is  already  past :)  for  this  is  uncleanness, 
and  an  abomination,  and  an  evil  way.  Ye  are  forbidden  to  7narry  your 
mothers,  and  your  daughters,  and  your  sisters,  and  your  aunts  both  on  the 

going  the  punishment  ordained  in  its  stead  by  the  Sonna ;  according  to  which  the  maidens 
are  to  be  scourged  with  a  hundred  stripes,  and  to  be  banished  for  a  full  year ;  and  the 
married  women  are  to  be  stoned. 

°  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  whether  the  text  speaks  of  fornication  or  sodomy. 
Al  Zamakshari,  and  from  him,  al  Beidawi  supposes  the  former  is  here  meant:  but 
Jallalo'ddin  is  of  opinion  that  the  crime  intended  in  this  passage  must  be  committed 
between  two  men,  and  not  between  a  man  and  a  woman  ;  not  only  because  the  pronouns 
are  in  the  mascuhne  gender,  but  because  both  are  ordered  to  suffer  the  same  slight  pun- 
ishment, and  are  both  allowed  the  same  repentance  and  indulgence  ;  and  especially 
for  that  a  different  and  much  severer  punishment  is  appointed  for  the  women  in  the 
preceding  words.  Abu'l  Kasem  Hebatallah  takes  simple  fornication  to  be  the  crime 
intended^  and  that  this  passage  is  abrogated  by  that  of  the  24th  chapter,  where  the  man 
and  the  woman  who  shall  be  guilty  of  fornication  are  ordered  to  be  scourged  with  a  hun- 
dred stripes  each. 

0  The  original  is.  Do  them  some  Jmrt  or  damage ;  by  which  some  understand  that  they 
are  only  to  reproach  them  in  public,^  or  strike  them  on  the  head  with  their  slippers,^  (a 
great  indignity  in  the  east ;)  though  some  imagine  they  may  be  scourged.' 

p  It  was  customary  among  the  pagan  Arabs,  when  a  man  died,  for  one  of  his  relations 
to  claim  a  right  to  his  widow,  which  he  asserted  by  throwing  his  garment  over  her :  and 
then  he  either  married  her  himself,  if  he  thought  fit,  on  assigning  her  the  same  dower 
that  her  former  husband  had  done,  or  kept  her  dower  and  married  her  to  another,  or  else 
refused  to  let  her  marry  unless  she  redeemed  herself  by  quitting  what  she  might  claim 
of  her  husband's  goods.^     This  unjust  custom  is  abolished  by  this  passage. 

■i  Some  say  these  words  are  directed  to  husbands  who  used  to  imprison  their  wives 
without  any  just  cause,  and  out  of  covetousness,  merely  to  make  them  relinquish  their 
dower  or  their  inheritance.' 

'  Such  as  disobedience,  ill-behaviour,  immodesty,  and  the  Uke.* 

"  That  is,  by  divorcing  one,  and  marrying  another. 

♦  i.  e.  Ever  so  large  a  dower. 

°  See  chap.  2,  p.  27,  28. 

■'  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  Ibid.  Yahya,  Abu'l  Kasem  Hebatallah,  Al  Beidawi.  » Jallalo'ddin, 
Al  Beidawi.  '  Al  Beidawi.  ^Idem.  'Idem.  '•Idem. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  >  63 

father's  and  on  the  mother's  side,  and  your  brothers'  daughters,  and  your 
sisters'  daughters,  and  your  mothers  who  have  given  you  suck,  and  your 
foster-sisters,  and  your  wives'  mothers,  and  your  daughters-in-law  which 
are  under  your  tuition,  horn  of  your  wives  unto  whom  ye  have  gone  in,  (but 
if  ye  have  not  gone  in  unto  them,  it  shall  be  no  sin  in  you  to  marry  them,) 
and  the  wives  of  your  sons  who  proceed  out  of  your  loins ;  and  ye  are  also 
forhidden  to  take  to  wife  two  sisters,^  except  what  is  already  past :  for  Gop 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  *[V.]  Ye  are  also  forbidden  to  take  to  wife  free 
women  loho  are  married,  except  those  loomen  whom  your  right  hands  shall 
possess  as  slavesJ  This  is  ordained  you  from  God.  Whatever  is  beside 
this  is  allowed  you ;  that  ye  may  with  your  substance  provide  wives  for 
yourselves,  acting  that  which  is  right,  and  avoiding  whoredom.  And  for 
the  advantage  which  ye  receive  from  them,  give  them  their  reward,* 
according  to  what  is  ordained :  but  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you  to  make 
any  other  agreement  among  yourselves, =*  after  the  ordinance  shall  he  com- 
plied with ;  for  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  Whoso  among  you  hath  not 
means  sufficient  that  he  may  marry  free  women,  who  are  believers,  let  him 
marry  with  such  of  your  maid-servants  whom  your  right  hands  possess,  as 
are  true  believers  ;  for  God  well  knoweth  your  faith.  Ye  arc  the  one  from 
the  other  : "  therefore  marry  them  with  the  consent  of  their  masters ;  and 
give  them  their  dower  according  to  justice ;  such  as  are  modest,  not  guilty 
of  whoredom,  nor  entertaining  lovers.  And  when  they  are  married,  if  they 
be  guilty  of  adultery,  they  shall  suffer  half  the  punishment  which  is 
appointed  for  the  free  women.''  This  is  allowed  unto  him  among  you,  who 
feareth  to  sin  hy  marrying  free  women ;  but  if  ye  abstain  from  marrying 
slaves,  it  will  he  better  for  you ;  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  God  is 
willing  to  declare  these  things  unto  you,  and  to  direct  you  according  to  the 
ordinances  of  those  who  have  gone  before  you,''  and  to  be  merciful  unto 
you.  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  God  desireth  to  be  gracious  unto  you  ; 
but  they  who  follow  their  lusts,®  desire  that  ye  should  turn  aside  from  the 

"^  The  same  was  also  prohibited  by  the  Levitical  law.* 

'  According  to  this  passage  it  is  not  lawful  to  marry  a  free  woman  that  is  already  married, 
be  she  a  Mohammedan  or  not,  unless  she  be  legally  parted  from  her  husband  by  divorce  ; 
but  it  is  lawful  to  marry  those  who  are  slaves,  or  taken  in  war,  after  they  shall  have  gone 
through  the  proper  purifications,  though  their  husbands  be  living.  Yet,  according  to  the 
decision  of  Abu  Hanifah,  it  is  not  lawful  to  marry  such  whose  husbands  shall  be  taken, 
or  in  actual  slavery  with  them.* 

'  That  is,  assign  them  their  dower. 

*  That  is,  either  to  increase  their  dower,  or  to  abate  some  part  or  even  the  whole  of  it. 
''  Being  alike  descended  from  Adam,  and  of  the  same  faith.'' 

•■  The  reason  of  this  is  because  they  are  not  presumed  to  have  had  so  good  an  education. 
A  slave  therefore,  in  such  a  case,  is  to  have  fifty  stripes,  and  to  be  banished  for  half  a 
year;  but  she  shall  not  be  stoned,  because  it  is  a  punishment  which  cannot  be  inflicted  by 
halves.' 

^  viz.  Of  the  prophets,  and  other  holy  and  prudent  men  of  former  ages.' 

*  Some  commentators  suppose  that  these  words  have  a  particular  regard  to  the  Magians, 
who  formerly  were  frequently  guilty  of  incestuous  marriages,  their  prophet  Zerdusht 
having  allowed  them  to  take  their  mothers  and  sisters  to  wife ;  and  also  to  the  Jews,  who 
likewise  might  marry  within  some  of  the  degrees  here  prohibited.* 

'  Levit.  xviii.  18.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ''Idem.  "Idem.  »  Jallalo'ddin. 

Al  Beidawi.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


64  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

truth  with  great  deviation.  God  is  minded  to  make  his  religion  light  unto 
you :  for  man  was  created  weak/  O  true  believers,  consume  not  your 
weahh  among  yourselves  in  vanity  ;e  unless  there  be  merchandizing  among 
you  by  mutual  consent:  neither  slay  yourselves;^  for  God  is  merciful 
towards  you:  and  whoever  doth  this  maliciously'  and  wickedly,  he  will 
surely  cast  him  to  be  broiled  in  hell  fire ;  and  this  is  easy  with  God.  If  ye 
turn  aside  from  the  grievous  sins,''  of  those  which  ye  are  forbidden  to 
commit,  we  will  cleanse  you  from  your  smaller  faults ;  and  will  introduce 
you  into  paradise  with  an  honourable  entry.  Covet  not  that  which  God 
hath  bestowed  on  some  of  you  preferably  to  others.^  Unto  the  men  shall 
he  given  a  portion  of  what  they  shall  have  gained,  and  unto  the  women 
shall  he  given  a  portion  of  what  they  shall  -have  gained  :™  therefore  ask 
God  of  his  bounty  :  for  God  is  omniscient.  We  have  appointed  unto  every 
one  kindred,  to  inherit  part  of  what  their  parents  and  relations  shall  leave 
at  their  deaths.  And  unto  those  with  whom  your  right  hands  have  made 
an  alliance,  give  their  part  of  the  inheritance ;  °  for  God  is  witness  of  all 
things.  Men  shall  have  the  pre-eminence  above  women,  because  of  those 
advantages  wherein  God  hath  caused  the  one  of  them  to  excel  the  other," 
and  for  that  which  they  expend  of  their  substance  in  maintaining  their 
wives.     The  honest  women  are  obedient,  careful  in  the  absence  of  their 

'  Being  unable  to  refrain  from  women,  and  too  subject  to  be  led  away  by  carnal 
appetites. 

e  That  is,  employ  it  not  in  things  prohibited  by  God ;  such  as  usury,  extortion,  rapine, 
gaming,  and  the  Uke.^ 

^Literally,  slay  not  your  sovls ;  i.  e.  says  Jallalo'ddin,  by  committing  mortal  sins,  or 
such  crimes  as  will  destroy  them.  Others  however  are  of  opinion  that  sell- murder, 
which  tlie  gentile  Indians  did,  and  still  do,  often  practise  in  honour  of  their  idols,  or  else 
the  taking  away  the  life  of  any  true  believer,  is  hereby  forbidden.* 

'  See  Wisdom,  xvi.  14,  in  the  vulgate. 

"  These  sins  al  Beidawi,  from  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  reckons  to  be  seven  (equalling 
in  number  the  sins  called  deadly  by  Christians),  that  is  to  say,  idolatry,  murder,  falsely 
accusing  modest  women  of  adultery,  wasting  the  substance  of  orphans,  taking  of  usury, 
desertion  in  a  religious  expedition,  and  disobedience  to  parents.  But  Ebn  Abbas  says 
they  amount  to  near  seven  hundred;  and  others  suppose  that  idolatry  only,  of  different 
kinds  in  worshipping  idols  or  any  creature,  either  in  opposition  to,  or  jointly  with  the  true 
God,  is  here  intended;  that  sin  being  generally  esteemed  by  Mohammmedans,  and  in 
a  few  hues  after  declared  by  the  Koran  itself,  to  be  the  only  one  which  God  will  not 
pardon.* 

'Such  as  honour,  power,  riches,  and  other  worldly  advantages.  Some  however  under- 
stand this  of  the  distribution  of  inheritances  according  to  the  preceding  determinations, 
whereby  some  have  a  larger  share  than  others.® 

^  That  is,  they  shall  be  blessed  according  to  their  deserts ;  and  ought  therefore,  instead 
of  displeasing  God  by  envying  of  others,  to  endeavour  to  merit  his  favour  by  good  works, 
and  to  apply  to  him  by  prayer. 

°  A  precept  conformable  to  an  old  custom  of  the  Arabs,  that  where  persons  mutually 
entered  into  a  strict  friendship  or  confederacy,  the  surviving  friend  should  have  a  sixth 
part  of  the  deceased's  estate.  But  this  was  afterwards  abrogated,  according  to  Jallalo'ddin 
and  Zamakhshari,  at  least  as  to  infidels.  The  passage  may  likewise  be  understood  of  a 
private  contract,  whereby  the  survivor  is  to  inherit  a  certain  part  of  the  substance  of  him 
that  dies  first.'' 

"  Such  as  superior  understanding  and  strength,  and  the  other  privileges  of  the  male  sex, 
which  enjoys  the  dignities  in  church  and  state,  goes  to  war  in  defence  of  God's  true  re- 
lio-ion,  and  claims  a  double  share  of  their  deceased  ancestors'  estates.* 

*  AI  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.  ■*  Al  Beidawi,  'Idem.     See  before, 

chap.  2,  p,  11.  *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  ""  Vide  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  65 

hushands,^  for  that  God  prcserveth  them,  by  committing  them  to  the  care 
and  protection  of  the  men*  But  those,  whose  perverseness  ye  shall  be 
apprehensive  of,  rebuke ;  and  remove  them  into  separate  apartments, i  and 
chastise  them/  But  if  they  shall  be  obedient  unto  you,  seek  not  an 
occasion  of  quarrel  against  them  :  for  God  is  high  and  great.  And  if  ye 
fear  a  breach  between  the  husband  and  wife,  send  a  judge*  out  of  his 
family,  and  a  judge  out  of  her  family  :  if  they  shall  desire  a  reconciliation, 
God  will  cause  them  to  agree ;  for  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  Serve  God, 
and  associate  no  creature  with  him  ;  and  shoio  kindness  unto  parents,  and 
relations,  and  orphans,  and  the  poor,  and  your  neighbour  who  is  of  kin  to 
you,*  and  also  your  neighbour  who  is  a  stranger,  and  to  your  familiar  com- 
panion, and  the  traveller,  and  the  captives  whom  your  right  hands  shall 
possess ;  for  God  loveth  not  the  proud  or  vain-glorious,  >vho  are  covetous, 
and  recommend  covetousness  unto  men,  and  conceal  that  which  God  of  his 
bounty  hath  given  them  ;  ^  (we  have  prepared  a  shameful  punishment  for 
the  unbelievers ;)  and  who  bestow  their  wealth  in  charity  to  be  observed 
of  men,  and  believe  not  in  God,  nor  in  the  last  day ;  and  whoever  hath 
Satan  for  a  companion,  an  evil  companion  hath  he  !  And  what  har7n  would 
befall  them  if  they  should  believe  in  God,  and  the  last  day,  and  give  alms 
out  of  that  which  God  hath  bestowed  on  them '?  since  God  knoweth  them 
who  do  this.  Verily  God  will  not  wrong  any  one  even  the  weight  of  an 
ant :  *  and  if  it  be  a  good  action,  he  will  double  it,  and  will  recompense  it 
in  his  sight  with  a  great  reward.  How  will  it  be  with  the  unbelievers  when 
we  shall  bring  a  witness  out  of  each  nation  against  itself/  and  shall  bring 
thee,  0  Mohammed,  a  witness  against  these  people  f  "^  In  that  day  they 
who  have  not  believed,  and  have  rebelled  against  the  apostle  of  God,  shall 
wish  the  earth  was  levelled  with  them ;  j"  and  they  shall  not  be  able  to  hide 
any  matter  from  God.     O  true  believers,  come  not  to  prayers  when  ye  are 

p  Both  to  preserve  their  husbands's  substance  from  loss  or  waste,  and  themselves  from 
all  degrees  of  imrnodesty.' 

*  "  Wives  ought  to  be  obedient,  and  keep  the  secrets  of  their  husbands,  because  that 
Heaven  hath  entrusted  them  to  their  care." — Savary. 

■>  That  is,  banish  them  from  your  bed. 

'  By  this  passage  the  Mohammedans  are  in  plain  terms  allowed  to  beat  their  wives,  in 
case  of  stubborn  disobedience ;  but  not  in  a  violent  or  dangerous  manner. 

'  i.  e.  Let  the  magistrates  first  send  two  arbitrators  or  mediators,  one  on  each  side,  to 
compose  the  difference,  and  prevent,  if  possible,  the  ill  consequences  of  an  open  rupture. 

'  Either  of  your  own  nation  or  religion. 

°  Whether  it  be  wealth,  knowledge,  or  any  other  talent  whereby  they  may  help  their 
neighbour. 

*  Either  by  diminishing  the  recompense  due  to  his  good  actions,  or  too  severely  punish- 
ing his  sins.  On  the  contrary,  he  will  reward  the  former  in  the  next  life,  far  above  their 
deserts.  The  Arabic  word  dharra,  which  is  translated  an  ant,  signifies  a  very  small  sort 
of  that  insect,  and  is  used  to  denote  a  thing  that  is  exceeding  small,  as  a  mite. 

^  When  the  prophet,  who  was  sent  to  each  nation  in  particular,  shall  on  the  last  day  be 
produced  to  give  evidence  against  such  of  them  as  refused  to  believe  in  him,  or  observed 
not  the  laws  which  he  brought. 

*  That  is,  the  Arabians,  to  whom  Mohammed  was,  as  he  pretended,  more  peculiarly 
sent.^ 

t  "  In  that  terrible  day  they  shall  wish  to  be  reduced  into  dust." — Savary. 

*  Al  Beid^wi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ^  See  before,  c.  2,  p.  17. 


66  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

drunk,*  until  ye  understand  what  ye  say ;  nor  when  ye  are  polluted  by 
emission  of  seed,  unless  ye  be  travelling  on  the  road,  until  ye  wash  your- 
selves. But  if  ye  be  sick,  or  on  a  journey,  or  any  of  you  come  from  easing 
nature,  or  have  touched  women,  and  find  no  water  ;  take  fine  clean  sand 
and  rub  your  faces  and  your  hands  therewith ;  ^  for  God  is  merciful  and 
inclined  to  forgive.  Hast  thou  not  observed  those  unto  whom  part  of  tlie 
scripture «=  was  delivered?  they  sell  error,  and  desire  that  ye  may  wander 
from  the  right  way  ;  but  God  well  knoweth  your  enemies.  God  is  a  suf- 
ficient  patron ;  and  God  is  a  sufficient  helper.  Of  the  Jews  there  are  some 
who  pervert  words  from  their  places  ;'i  and  say,  We  have  heard,  and  have 
disobeyed ;  and  do  thou  hear  without  understanding  our  meaning,^  and  look 
upon  us:^  perplexing  with  their  tongues,  and  reviling  the  true  religion. 
But  if  they  had  said.  We  have  heard,  and  do  obey ;  and  do  thou  hear,  and 
regard  us ;  s  certainly  it  were  better  for  them,  and  more  right.  But  God 
hath  cursed  them  by  reason  of  their  infidelity ;  therefore  a  few  of  them  only 
shall  believe.  O  ye  to  whom  the  scriptures  have  been  given,  believe  in 
the  revelation  which  we  have  sent  down,  confirming  that  which  is  with 
you ;  before  we  deface  your  countenances,  and  render  them  as  the  back 
parts  thereof;''  or  curse  them,  as  we  cursed  those  who  transgressed  on 
the  sabbath  day;'  and  the  command  of  God  was  fulfilled.  Surely  God 
will  not  pardon  the  giving  him  an  equal ;  ^  but  will  pardon  any  other  sin^ 
except  that,  to  whom  he  pleaseth :  ^  and  whoso  giveth  a  companion  unto 
God,  hath  devised  a  great  wickedness.  Hast  thou  not  observed  those  who 
justify  themselves?™      But  God  justifieth  whomsoever  he  pleaseth,  nor 

*  It  is  related,  that  before  the  prohibition  of  wine,  Abd'alrahman  Ebn  Awf  made  an 
entertainment,  to  which  he  invited  several  of  the  apostle's  companions  ;  and  after  they  had 
eaten  and  drunk  plentifully,  the  hour  of  evenmg  prayer  being  come,  one  of  the  company 
rose  up  to  pray,  but  being  overcome  with  liquor,  made  a  shameful  blunder  in  reciting  a 
passage  of  the  Koran ;  whereupon  to  prevent  the  danger  of  any  such  indecency  for  the 
future,  this  passage  was  revealed. =* 

"  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

«  Meaning  the  Jews,  and  particularly  their  Rabbins. 

^  That  is,  (according  to  the  commentators,)  who  change  the  true  sense  of  the  Pentateuch 
by  dislocating  passages,  or  by  wresting  the  words  according  to  their  own  fancies  and  lusts.* 
But  Mohammed  seems  chiefly  to  intend  here  the  Jews  bantering  of  him  in  their  addresses, 
by  making  use  of  equivocal  words,  seeming  to  bear  a  good  sense  in  Arabic,  but  spoken 
by  them  in  derision  according  to  their  acceptation  in  Hebrew ;  an  instance  of  which  he 
gives  in  the  following  words. 

*  Literally,  without  being  made  to  hear,  or  apprehend  what  we  say. 

'  The  original  word  is  Eaina,  which  being  a  term  of  reproach  in  Hebrew,  Mohammed 
forbad  their  using  to  him.* 

^  In  Arabic,  Ondhorna  ;  which  having  no  ill  equivocal  meaning,  the  prophet  ordered 
them  to  use  instead  of  the  former. 

^  That  is,  perfectly  plain,  without  eyes,  nose,  or  mouth.  The  original  however  may 
also  be  translated,  and  turn  them  hehiiid,  by  wringing  their  necks  backward. 

'  And  were  therefore  changed  into  apes.^ 

^  That  is,  idolatry  of  all  kinds. 

'  viz.  To  those  who  repent.' 

™  i.  e.  The  Christians  and  Jews,  who  called  themselves  the  children  of  God,  and  hh 
beloved  people.^ 

^  See  before, 
not  far  from  the 


^Al  Beidawi. 

*  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.          *  See  before,  c.  2,  p.  14. 

:.  2,  p.  9. 
)eginning. 

'  Al  Beidawi.                *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.     See  c.  5, 

CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  67 

shall  they  be  wronged  a  hair.''  Behold,  how  they  imagine  a  lie  against 
God  ;  and  therein  is  iniquity  sufficiently  manifest.  Hast  thou  not  con- 
sidered those  to  whom  part  of  the  scripture  hath  been  given?  They 
believe  in  false  gods  and  idols/'  and  say  of  those  who  believe  not,  These 
are  more  rightly  directed  in  the  way  of  truth,  than  they  who  believe 
on  Mohammed-  Those  are  the  men  whom  God  hath  cursed;  and  unto  him 
whom  God  shall  curse,  thou  shalt  surely  find  no  helper.  Shall  they  have 
a  part  of  the  kingdom, p  *  since  even  then  they  would  not  bestow  the 
smallest  matter  i  on  men  ?  Do  they  envy  other  men  that  which  God  of 
his  bounty  hath  given  them  1  "^  We  formerly  gave  unto  the  family  of 
Abraham  a  book  of  revelations  and  wisdom  ;  and  we  gave  them  a  great 
kingdom.^  There  is  of  them  who  believeth  on  him  ;  *  and  there  is  of  them 
who  turneth  aside  from  him :  but  the  raging  fire  of  hell  is  a  sufficient 
punishment.  Verily  those  who  disbelieve  our  signs,  we  will  surely  cast  to 
be  broiled  in  hell  fire ;  so  often  as  their  skins  shall  be  well  burned,  we  will 
give  them  other  skins  in  exchange,  that  they  may  taste  the  sharper  torment  ; 
for  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  But  those  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is 
right,  we  will  bring  into  gardens  watered  by  rivers,  therein  shall  they 
remain  for  ever,  and  there  shall  they  enjoy  wives  free  from  all  impurity ; 
and  we  will  lead  them  into  perpetual  shades.  Moreover  God  commandeth 
you  to   restore  what   ye    are   trusted  with,  to    the   owners : "  and  when 

"  The  original  word  signifies  a  little  skin  in  the  cleft  of  a  date-stone,  and  is  used  to  ex- 
press a  thing  of  no  value. 

"  The  Arabic  is,  in  Jibt  and  Taghut.  The  former  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  proper 
name  of  some  idol ;  but  it  seems  rather  to  signify  any  false  deity  in  general.  The  latter 
we  have  explained  already.' 

It  is  said  that  this  passage  was  revealed  on  the  following  occasion.  Hoyai  Ebn  Akhtab 
and  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf,'  two  chief  men  among  the  Jews,  with  several  others  of  that 
religion,  went  to  Mecca,  and  offered  to  enter  into  a  confederacy  with  the  Koreish,  and  to 
join  their  forces  against  Mohammed.  But  the  Koreish  entertaining  some  jealousy  of  them, 
told  them,  that  the  Jews  pretended  to  have  a  written  revelation  from  heaven,  as  well  as 
Mohammed,  and  their  doctrines  and  worship  approached  much  nearer  to  what  he  taught 
than  the  religion  of  their  tribe  ;  wherefore,  said  they,  if  you  would  satisfy  us  that  you  are 
sincere  in  the  matter,  do  as  we  do,  and  worship  our  gods.  Which  proposal,  if  the  story 
be  true,  these  Jews  complied  with,  out  of  their  inveterate  hatred  to  Mohanmied.- 

^  For  the  Jews  gave  out  that  they  should  be  restored  to  their  ancient  power  and 
grandeur;^  depending,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  on  the  victorious  Messiah  whom  they 
expected. 

•  "  Shall  they  have  a  portion  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  they  who  would  grudge  a 
farthing  bestowed  on  their  fellow-creatures?" — Savary. 

■i  The  original  word  properly  signifies  a  small  dent  on  the  back  of  a  date-stone ;  and  is 
commonly  used  to  express  a  thing  of  little  or  no  value. 

'  viz.  The  spiritual  gifts  of  prophecy,  and  divine  revelations;  and  the  temporal  blessings 
of  victory  and  success,  bestowed  on  Mohammed  and  his  followers. 

•  Wherefore  God  will  doubtless  show  equal  favour  to  this  prophet,  (a  descendant  also 
of  Abraham,)  and  those  who  believe  on  him.* 

'  Namely,  on  Mohammed. 

"This  passage,  it  is  said,  was  revealed  on  the  day  of  the  taking  of  Mecca,  the  primary 
design  of  it  being  to  direct  Mohammed  to  return  the  keys  of  the  Caaba  to  Othman  Ebn 
Telha  Ebn  Abdaldar,  who  had  then  the  honour  to  be  keeper  of  that  holy  place,'  and  not 
to  deliver  them  to  his  uncle  al  Abbas,  who  having  already  taken  the  custody  of  the  well 
Zemzem,  would  fain  have  had  also  that  of  Caaba.  The  prophet  obeying  the  divine  order, 
Othman  was  so  affected  with  the  justice  of  the  action,  notwithstandiiig  he  had  at  first  re- 

•  See  p.  31,  note  s.  See  before,  p.  45,  note  1.  *A1  Beidawi.  ='Jdem.  *  Idem. 
*  See  Prideaux's  Life  of  Mahom.  p.  2. 


68  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

ye  judge  between  men,  that  ye  judge  according  to  equity :  and  surely  an 
excellent  virtue  it  is  to  which  God  exhorteth  you  ;  for  God  both  heareth  and 
seeth.  O  true  believers,  obey  God,  and  obey  the  apostle ;  and  those  who 
are  in  authority  among  you :  and  if  ye  differ,  in  any  thing,  refer  it  unto 
God  *  and  the  apostle,  if  ye  believe  in  God,  and  the  last  day :  this  is  better, 
and  a  fairer  metlwd  of  determination.  Hast  thou  not  observed  those  who 
pretend  they  believe  in  what  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee,  and  what  hath 
been  revealed  before  thee  ?  They  desire  to  go  to  judgment  before  Taghut,y 
although  they  have  been  commanded  not  to  believe  in  him  ;  and  Satan 
desireth  to  seduce  them  into  a  wide  error.  And  when  it  is  said  unto 
them.  Come  unto  the  hook  which  God  hath  sent  down,  and  to  the  apostle ; 
thou  seest  the  ungodly  turn  aside  from  thee,  with  great  aversion.  But 
how  will  they  behave  when  a  misfortune  shall  befall  them,  for  that  which 
their  hands  have  sent  before  them?  Then  will  they  come  unto  thee,  and 
swear  by  God,  saying,  If  we  intended  any  other  than  to  do  good,  and 
to  reconcile  the  parties."^  God  knoweth  what  is  in  the  hearts  of  these  men ; 
therefore  let  them  alone,  and  admonish  them,  and  speak  unto  them  a  word 
which  may  affect  their  souls.  We  have  not  sent  any  apostle,  but  that  he 
might  be  obeyed  by  the  permission  of  God  :  but  if  they,  after  they  have 
injured  their  own  souls/  come  unto  thee,  and  ask  pardon  of  God,  and 
the  apostle  ask  pardon  for  them,  they  shall  surely  find  God  easy  to 
be  reconciled  and  merciful.  And  by  thy  Lord  they  will  not  perfectly 
believe,  until  they  make  thee  judge  of  their  controversies ;  and  shall  not 
afterwards  find  in  their  own  minds  any  hardship  in  what  thou  shalt 
determine,  but  shall  acquiesce  therein  with  entire  submission.  And  if  we 
had  commanded  them,  saying,  Slay  yourselves,  or  depart  from  your  houses;" 
they  would  not  have  done  it  except  a  few  of  them.     And  if  they  had  done 

fused  him  entrance,  that  he  immediately  embraced  Mohammedism  ;  whereupon  the 
guardianship  of  the  Caaba  was  confirmed  to  this  Othman  and  his  heirs  for  ever. 

^  i.  e.  To  the  decision  of  the  Koran. 

y  That  is,  before  the  tribunals  of  infidels.  This  passage  was  occasioned  by  the  follow- 
ing remarkable  accident.  A  certain  Jew  having  a  dispute  with  a  wicked  Mohammedan, 
the  latter  appealed  to  the  judgment  of  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf,  a  principal  Jew,  and  the  former 
to  Mohammed.  But  at  length  they  agreed  to  refer  the  matter  to  the  prophet  singly,  who 
giving  it  in  favour  of  the  Jew,  the  Mohammedan  refused  to  acquiesce  in  his  sentence,  but 
would  needs  have  it  re-heard  by  Omar,  afterwards  Khalif  When  they  came  to  him,  the 
Jew  told  him  that  Mohammed  had  already  decided  the  affair  in  his  favour,  but  that  the 
other  would  not  submit  to  his  determination  ;  and  the  Mohammedan  confessing  this  to  be 
true,  Omar  bid  them  stay  a  little,  and  fetching  his  sword,  struck  ofl'  the  obstinate  Moslem's 
head,  saying  aloud.  This  is  the  reward  of  him  who  refuseth  to  submit  to  the  judgment  of 
God  and  his  apostle.  And  from  this  action  Omar  had  the  surname  of  al  Faruk,  which 
alludes  both  to  his  separating  that  knave's  head  from  his  body,  and  to  his  distinguishing 
between  truth  and  falsehood.''  The  name  of  Taghut '  therefore  in  this  place  seems  to  be 
given  to  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf 

^  For  this  was  the  excuse  of  the  friends  of  the  Mohammedan  whom  Omar  slew,  when 
they  came  to  demand  satisfaction  for  his  blood." 

^  Viz.  By  acting  wickedly,  and  appealing  to  the  judgment  of  infidels. 

"  Some  understand  these  words  of  their  venturing  their  lives  in  a  religious  expedition  ; 
and  others,  of  their  undergoing  the  same  punishments  which  the  Israelites  did,  for  their 
idolatry  in  worshipping  the  golcien  calf 

«  Al  Beidawi.  See  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  pp.  220,  221.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi. 
See  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  688,  and  Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Sarac.  v.  i.  p.  365.  «  See 
before,  p.  31.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.    See  before,  p.  7. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  69 

what  they  were  admonished,  it  would  certainly  have  been  better  for  them, 
and  more  efficacious  for  confirming  their  faith ;  and  we  should  then  have 
surely  given  them  in  our  sight  an  exceeding  great  reward,  and  we  should 
have  directed  them  in  the  right  way.  Whoever  obeyeth  God  and  the 
apostle,  they  shall  be  with  those  unto  whom  God  hath  been  gracious,  of  the 
prophets,  and  the  sincere,  and  the  martyrs,  and  the  righteous ;  and  these 
are  the  most  excellent  company.  This  is  bounty  from  God ;  and  God  is 
sufficiently  knowing.  O  true  believers,  take  your  necessary  precaution^  ,, 
against  your  enemies,  and  either  go  forth  to  ivar  in  separate  parties,*  or  go 
forth  all  together  in  a  body.  There  is  of  you  who  tarricth  behind  ;**  and  if 
a  misfortune  befall  you,  he  saith.  Verily  God  hath  been  gracious  unto  me, 
that  I  was  not  present  with  them :  but  if  success  attend  you  from  God,  he 
will  say  (as  if  there  was  no  friendship  between  you  and  him*=).  Would  to 
God  I  had  been  with  them,  for  I  should  have  acquired  great  merit.  Let  ^/ 
them  therefore  fight  for  the  religion  of  God,  who  part  with  the  present  life 
in  exchange  for  that  which  is  to  come ;  ^  for  whosoever  fighteth  for  the 
religion  of  God,  whether  he  be  slain,  or  be  victorious,s  we  will  surely 
give  him  a  great  reward.  And  what  ails  you,  that  ye  fight  not  for 
God's  true  religion,  and  in  defence  of  the  weak  among  men,  women, 
and  children,J^  who  say,  O  Lord,  bring  us  forth  from  this  city,  whose 
inhabitants  are  wicked ;  grant  us  from  before  thee  a  protector,  and 
grant  us  from  before  thee  a  defender.*  They  who  believe  fight  for  the 
relision  of  God  ;  but  they  who  believe  not  fight  for  the  religion  of  Taghut.^ 
Fight  therefore  against  the  friends  of  Satan,  for  the  stratagem  of  Satan  is 
weak.  Hast  thou  not  observed  those  unto  whom  it  was  said.  Withhold 
your  hands  from  war,  and  be  constant  at  prayers,  and  pay  the  legal  alms  ?  ^ 
But  when  war  is  commanded  them,  behold  a  part  of  them  fear  men  as  they 
should  fear  God,  or  with  a  great  fear,  and  say,  O  Lord,  wherefore  hast 

'  i.  e.  Be  vigilant,  and  provide  yourselves  with  arms  and  necessaries. 

*  "  O  believers,  be  prudent  in  battle,  whether  you  attack  separately,  or  in  a  body.'" — 
Savary. 

•^  Mohammed  here  upbraids  the  hypocritical  Moslems,  who  for  want  of  faith  and  con- 
stancy in  their  religion  were  backward  in  going  to  war  for  its  defence. 

^  i.  e.  As  one  who  attendeth  not  to  the  pubhc,  but  his  own  private  interest.  Or  else 
these  may  be  the  words  of  the  hypocritical  Mohammedan  himself,  insinuating  that  he 
staid  not  behind  the  rest  of  the  army  by  his  own  fault,  but  was  left  by  Mohammed,  who 
chose  to  let  the  others  share  in  his  good  fortune  preferably  to  him.^ 

^  By  venturing  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  defence  of  the  faith. 

5  For  no  man  ought  to  quit  the  field,  till  he  either  fall  a  martyr,  or  gain  some  advantage 
for  the  cause. ^ 

^  viz.  Those  believers  who  staid  behind  at  Mecca,  being  detained  there  either  forcibly 
by  the  idolaters,  or  for  want  of  means  to  fly  for  refuge  to  Medina.  Al  Beidawi  observes, 
that  children  are  mentioned  here  to  show  the  inhumanity  of  the  Koreish,  who  persecuted 
even  that  tender  age. 

'  This  petition,  the  commentators  say,  was  heard.  For  God  afforded  several  of  them 
an  opportunity  and  means  of  escaping,  and  delivered  the  rest  at  the  taking  of  Mecca  by 
Mohammed,  who  left  Otab  Ebn  Osaid  governor  of  the  city:  and  under  his  care  and  pro- 
tection those  who  had  suffered  for  their  religion  became  the  most  considerable  men  in 
the  place. 

'  See  before,  p.  31. 

'These  were  some  of  Mohammed's  followers,  who  readily  performed  the  duties  of  their 
religion,  so  long  as  they  were  commanded  nothing  that  might  endanger  their  lives. 

'^  Al  Beidawi.  'Idem. 


70  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

thou  commanded  us  to  go  to  war,  and  hast  not  suffered  us  to  wait  our 
approaching  end?"*  Say  unto  them,  The  provision  of  this  life  is  hut  small  ; 
but  the  future  shall  he  better  for  him  who  feareth  God ;  *  and  ye  shall  not 
be  HI  the  least  injured  at  the  day  of  judgment.  Wheresoever  ye  be,  death 
will  overtake  you,  although  ye  be  in  lofty  towers.  If  good  befall  them, 
they  say.  This  is  from  God  ;  but  if  evil  befall  them,  they  say.  This  is  from 
thee,  O  Mohammed  :  °  say.  All  is  from  God  ;  and  what  aileth  these  people, 
that  they  are  so  far  from  understanding  what  is  said  unto  them  ?  What- 
ever good  befalleth  thee,  0  man,  it  is  from  God  ;  and  whatever  evil 
befalleth  thee,  it  is  from  thyself"  We  have  sent  thee  an  apostle  unto  men, 
and  God  is  a  sufficient  witness  thereof.  Whoever  obeyeth  the  apostle, 
obeyeth  God  ;  and  whoever  turneth  back,  we  have  not  sent  thee  to  he  a 
keeper  over  them.p  They  say,  Obedience :  yet  when  they  go  forth  from 
thee,  part  of  them  meditate  by  night  a  matter  different  from  what  thou 
speakest ;  but  God  shall  write  down  what  they  meditate  by  night :  there- 
fore let  them  alone,  and  trust  in  God,  for  God  is  a  sufficient  protector. 
Do  they  not  attentively  consider  the  Koran?  if  it  had  been  from  any 
besides  God,  they  would  certainly  have  found  therein  many  contradictions. 
When  any  news  cometh  unto  them,  either  of  security  or  fear,  they 
immediately  divulge  it;  but  if  they  told  it  to  the  apostle  and  to  those 
who  are  in  authority  among  them,  such  of  them  would  understand 
the  truth  of  the  matter,  as  inform  themselves  thereof  from  the  apostle 
and  his  chiefs.  And  if  the  favour  of  God  and  his  mercy  had  not 
heen  upon  you,  ye  had  followed  the  devil,  except  a  kw  of  you.'^  Fight 
therefore  for  the  religion  of  God,  and  oblige  not  any  to  what  is 
difficult,'"  except  thyself;  however  excite  the  faithful  to  war,  perhaps 
God  will  restrain  the  courage  of  the  unbelievers;  for  God  is  stronger 
than  they,  and  more  able  to  punish.  He  who  intercedeth  between  men  with  a 
good  intercession  *  shall  have  a  portion  thereof;  and  he  who  intercedeth  with 
an  evil  intercession  shall  have  a  portion  thereof;  for  God  overlooketh  all 

'^  That  is,  a  natural  death. 

*  "  Say  unto  them,  The  enjoyments  of  this  world  are  transient ;  the  future  life  is  the 
real  treasure  for  those  who  fear  God." — Savary. 

"  As  the  Jews  in  particular,  who  pretended  that  their  land  was  grown  barren  and  pro- 
visions scarce,  since  Mohammed  came  to  Medina.* 

"  These  words  are  not  to  be  understood  as  contradictory  to  the  preceding,  That  all  pro- 
ceeds from  God;  since  the  evil  which  befalls  mankind,  though  ordered  by  God,  is  yet  the 
consequence  of  their  own  wicked  actions. 

p  Or,  to  take  an  account  of  their  actions ;  for  this  is  God's  part. 

'  That  is,  if  God  had  not  sent  his  apostle  with  the  Koran  to  instruct  you  in  your  duty, 
ye  had  continued  in  idolatry  and  been  doomed  to  destruction ;  except  only  those  who,  by 
God's  favour,  and  their  superior  understanding,  should  have  true  notions  of  the  divinity  ,• 
such,  for  example,  as  Zeid  Ebn  Amru  Ebn  Nofail,^  and  Waraka  Ebn  Nawfal,^  who  left 
idols,  and  acknowledged  but  one  God,  before  the  mission  of  Mohammed.'' 

'  It  is  said  this  passage  was  revealed  when  the  Mohammedans  refused  to  follow  their 
prophet  to  the  lesser  expedition  of  Bedr,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  set  out  with  no  more 
than  seventy.^  Some  copies  vary  in  this  place,  and  instead  of  la  tokallafo,  in  the  second 
person  singular,  read  la  nokallafo,  in  the  first  person  plural.  We  do  not  oblige,  cf-c.  The 
meaning  being,  that  the  prophet  only  was  under  an  indispensable  necessity  of  obeying 
God's  commands,  however  diflicult,  but  others  might  choose,  though  at  their  peril. 

"  I.  e.  To  maintain  the  right  of  a  believer,  or  to  prevent  his  being  wronged. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Vide  Millium,  de  Mohammedismo  ante  Moh.  p.  311.  '  See  the 
Prehra.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  ''  Al  Beidawi.  ^  See  before,  ch.  iii.  p.  54. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  71 

things.  Wlien  ye  are  saluted  with  a  salutation,  salute  the  person  with  a 
better  salutation,*  or  at  least  return  the  same ;  for  God  takcth  an  account 
of  all  things.  God  !  there  is  no  God  but  he ;  he  will  surely  gather  you  to- 
gether on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  there  is  no  doubt  of  it :  and  who  is 
more  true  than  God  in  what  he  saith  ?  Why  are  ye  divided  concerning  the 
ungodly  into  two  parties;*^  since  God  hath  overturned  them  for  what  they 
have  committed?  Will  ye  direct  him  whom  God  hath  led  astray;  since 
for  him  whom  God  shall  lead  astray,  thou  shalt  find  no  true  path  ?  They 
desire  that  ye  should  become  infidels,  as  they  are  infidels,  and  that  ye 
should  be  equally  icicked  with  themselves.  Therefore  take  not  friends  from 
among  them,  until  they  fly  their  country  for  the  religion  of  God  ;  and 
if  they  turn  h^okfrom  the  faith,  take  them,  and  kill  them  wherever  ye  find 
them ;  and  take  no  friend  from  among  them,  nor  any  helper,  except  those 
who  go  unto  a  people  who  are  in  alliance  with  you,*  or  those  who  come 
unto  you,  their  hearts  forbidding  them  either  to  fight  against  you,  or 
to  fight  against  their  own  people.^  And  if  God  pleased  he  would  have 
permitted  them  to  have  prevailed  against  you,  and  they  would  have  fought 
against  you.  But  if  they  depart  from  you,  and  fight  not  against  you,  and 
offer  you  peace,  God  doth  not  allow  you  to  take  or  kill  them.  Ye  shall 
find  others  who  are  desirous  to  enter  into  confidence  with  you,*  and  at  the 
same  time  to  preserve  a  confidence  with  their  own  people :  ^  so  often  as  they 
return  to  sedition,  they  shall  be  subverted  therein ;  and  if  they  depart  not 
from  you,  and  offer  you  peace,  and  restrain  their  hands  from  ivarring 
against  you,  take  them  and  kill  them  wheresoever  ye  find  them ;  over  these 
have  we  granted  you  a  manifest  power.  It  is  not  lawful  for  a  believer  to 
kill  a  believer,  unless  it  happen  by  mistake;*  and  whoso  killeth  a  believer 
by  mistake,  the  penalty  shall  be  the  freeing  of  a  believer  from  slavery,  and  a 
fine  to  be  paid  to  the  family  of  the  deceased,^  unless  they  remit  it  as  alms : 

■  By  adding  something  farther.  As  when  one  salutes  another  by  this  form,  Peace  be 
upon  thee,  he  ought  not  only  to  return  the  salutation,  but  to  add,  and  the  mercy  of  God, 
arid  his  blessing. 

'■'  This  passage  was  revealed  according  to  some,  when  certain  of  Mohammed's  followers, 
pretending  not  to  like  Medina,  desired  leave  to  go  elsewhere,  and  having  obtained  it, 
went  farther  and  farther,  till  they  joined  the  idolaters;  or,  as  others  say,  on  occasion  of 
some  deserters  at  the  battle  of  Ohod  ;  concerning  whom  the  Moslems  were  divided  in 
opinion  whether  they  should  be  slain  as  infidels,  or  not. 

*  The  people  here  meant,  say  some,  were  the  tribe  of  Khozaah,  or,  according  to  others, 
the  Aslamians,  whose  chief,  named  Helal  Ebn  Owaimar,  agreed  with  Mohammed,  when 
he  set  out  against  Mecca,  to  stand  neuter  ;  or,  as  others  rather  think,  Banu  Beer  Ebn  Zeid.^ 

^  These,  it  is  said,  were  the  tribe  of  Modlaj,  who  came  in  to  Mohammed,  but  would 
not  be  obliged  to  assist  him  in  war. 

*  •'  There  are  others  who  wish  to  ally  your  belief  with  that  of  their  own  nation." — 
Savary. 

'  The  persons  hinted  at  here  were  the  tribes  of  Asad  and  Ghatfan,  or,  as  some  say,  Banu 
Abdaldar,  who  came  to  xMedinaand  pretended  to  embrace  Mohammedism,  that  they  might 
be  trusted  by  the  Moslems,  but  when  they  returned,  fell  back  to  their  old  idolatry.' 

'  That  is,  by  accident  and  without  design.  This  passage  was  revealed  to  decide  the 
case  of  Ayash  Ebn  Abi  Rabia,  the  brother,  by  the  mother's  side,  of  Abu  Jahl,  who 
meeting  Hareth  Ebn  Zeid  on  the  road,  and  not  knowing  that  he  had  embraced  Moham- 
medism, slew  him.- 

"  Which  fine  is  to  be  distributed  according  to  the  laws  of  inheritances  given  in  the 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *AlBeidawi.  *Idem. 


72  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

and  if  the  slain  person  be  of  a  people  at  enmity  with  you,  and  be  a  true 
believer,  the  ijcnaltij  shall  he  the  freeing  of  a  believer ;  "=  but  if  he  be  of  a 
people  in  confederacy  with  you,  a  fine  to  be  paid  to  his  family,  and  the 
freeing  of  a  believer.  And  he  who  findeth  not  whereioith  to  do  this  shall 
fast  two  months  consecutively  as  a  penance  enjoined  from  God  ;  and  God 
is  knowing  and  wise.  But  whoso  killeth  a  believer  designedly,  his  reward 
shall  be  hell;  he  shall  remain  therein /or  ever  ;'^  and  God  shall  be  angry 
with  him,  and  shall  curse  him,  and  shall  prepare  for  him  a  great  punish- 
ment. O  true  believers,  when  ye  are  on  a  march  in  defence  of  the  true 
religion,  justly  discern  such  as  ye  shall  happen  to  meet,  and  say  not  unto  him 
who  saluteth  you,  thou  art  not  a  true  believer ;  ^  seeking  the  accidental 
goods  of  the  present  life ;  *  for  with  God  is  much  spoil.  Such  have  ye  for- 
merly been  ;  but  God  hath  been  gracious  unto  you ;  s  therefore  make  a  just 
discernment,  for  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  Those 
believers  who  sit  still  at  home^  not  having  any  hurt,^  and  those  who  em- 
ploy their  fortunes  and  their  persons  for  the  religion  of  God,  shall  not  be 
held  equal.  God  hath  preferred  those  who  employ  their  fortunes  and  their 
persons  in  that  cause  to  a  degree  of  honour  above  those  who  sit  at  home  ; 
God  hath  indeed  promised  every  one  paradise,  but  God  hath  preferred  those 
who  fight /or  the  faith  before  those  who  sit  still,  by  adding  unto  them  a  great 
reward,  hy  degrees  of  honour  conferred  on  them  from  him,  and  by  granting 
them  forgiveness,  and  mercy ;  for  God  is  indulgent  and  merciful.  More- 
over unto  those  whom  the  angels  put  to  death,  having  injured  their  own 
souls,'  the  angels  said.  Of  what  religion  were  ye?  they  answered.  We  were 
weak  in  the  earth. ^  The  angels  replied,  Was  not  God's  earth  wide  enough^ 
that  ye  might  fly  therein  to  a  place  of  refuge  f  ^    Therefore  their  habitation 

beginning  of  this  chapter.' — "  The  sum  fixed  by  the  law  is  the  price  of  a  hundred  camels." 
— Savary. 

"  And  no  fine  shall  be  paid,  because  in  such  case  his  relations,  being  infidels  and  at  open 
war  with  the  Moslems,  have  no  right  to  inherit  what  he  leaves. 

^  That  is,  unless  he  repent.  Others  however  understand  not  here  an  eternity  of  damna- 
tion (for  it  is  the  general  doctrine  of  the  Mohammedans  that  none  who  profess  that  faith 
shall  continue  in  hell  for  ever),  but  only  a  long  space  of  time. 

*  On  pretence  that  he  only  feigns  to  be  a  Moslem,  that  he  might  escape  from  you.  The 
commentators  mention  more  instances  than  one  of  persons  slain  and  plundered  by  Moham- 
med's men  under  this  pretext,  notwithstanding  they  declared  themselves  Moslems  by 
repeating  the  usual  form  of  words,  and  saluting  them  ;  for  which  reason  this  passage  was 
revealed,  to  prevent  such  rash  judgments  for  the  future. 

'  That  is,  being  willing  to  judge  him  an  infidel,  only  that  ye  may  kill  and  plunder  him^ 

5  viz.  At  your  first  profession  of  Islamism,  before  ye  had  given  any  demonstration  of 
your  sincerity  and  zeal  therein. 

^  i.  e.  Not  being  disabled  from  going  to  war  by  sickness,  or  other  just  impediment.  It 
is  said  that  when  the  passage  was  first  revealed,  there  was  no  such  exception  therein, 
which  occasioned  Ebn  0mm  Mactum,  on  his  hearing  it  repeated,  to  object.  And  what  though 
I  he  blind  ?  Whereupon  Mohammed,  falling  into  a  kind  of  trance,  which  was  succeeded 
by  strong  agitations,  pretended  he  had  received  the  divine  direction  to  add  these  words  to 
the  text.' 

'  These  were  certain  inhabitants  of  Mecca,  who  held  with  the  hare  and  ran  wuh  the 
hounds  ;  for  though  they  embraced  Mohammedism,  yet  they  would  not  leave  that  city  to 
join  the  prophet,  as  the  rest  of  the  Moslems  did,  but  on  the  contrary  went  out  with  the 
idolaters,  and  were  therefore  slain  with  them  at  the  battle  of  Bedr.* 

''  Being  unable  to  fly,  and  compelled  to  follow  the  infidels  to  war. 

'  As  they  did  who  fled  to  Ethiopia  and  to  Medina. 

^AlBeidawi.  *  Idem.  *Idem.  «Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  73 

shall  be  hell ;  and  an  evil  journey  shall  it  be  thither  :  except  the  weak 
among  men,  and  women,  and  children,  who  were  not  able  to  find  means, 
and  were  not  directed  in  the  way ;  these  pcradventure  God  will  pardon,  for 
God  is  ready  to  forgive,  a7id  gracious.  Whosoever  flieth  from  his  country 
for  the  sake  of  God's  true  religion,  shall  find  in  the  earth  many  forced  to  do 
the  same,  and  plenty  of  provisions.  And  whoever  departeth  from  his  house, 
and  flieth  unto  God  and  his  apostle,  if  death  overtake  him  in  the  way,"^ 
God  will  be  obliged  to  reward  him,  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful. 
When  ye  march  to  war  in  the  earth,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you  if  ye 
shorten  your  prayers,  in  case  ye  fear  the  infidels  may  attack  you ;  for  the 
infidels  are  your  open  enemy.  But  when  thou,  O  prophet,  shall  be  among 
them,  and  shalt  pray  with  them,  let  a  party  of  them  arise  to  prayer  with 
thee,  and  let  them  take  their  arms ;  and  when  they  shall  have  worshipped, 
let  them  stand  behind  you,"  and  let  another  party  come  that  hath  not 
prayed,  and  let  them  pray  with  thee,  and  let  them  be  cautious  and  take 
their  arms.  The  unbelievers  would  that  ye  should  neglect  your  arms  and 
your  baggage  while  ye  pray,  that  they  might  turn  upon  you  at  once.  It 
shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  if  ye  be  incommoded  by  rain,  or  be  sick,  that  ye 
lay  down  your  arms ;  but  take  your  necessary  precaution  :  °  God  hath  pre- 
pared for  the  unbelievers  an  ignominious  punishment.  And  when  ye  shall 
have  ended  your  prayer,  remember  God,  standing,  and  sitting,  and  lying  on 
your  sides.p  But  when  ye  are  secure  from  danger,  complete  your  prayers: 
for  prayer  is  commanded  the  faithful,  and  appointed  to  be  said  at  the  stated 
times.  Be  not  negligent  in  seeking  out  the  unbelieving  people,  though  ye 
suffer  some  inconvenience ;  for  they  also  shall  suffer  as  ye  suffer,  and  ye  hope 
for  a  reicard  from  God  which  they  cannot  hope  for ;  and  God  is  knowing 
and  wise."!  We  have  sent  down  unto  thee  the  book  of  the  Koran  with  truth, 
that  thou  may  est  judge  between  men  through  that  wisdom  which  God 
showeth  thee  therein ;  and  be  not  an  advocate  for  the  fraudulent ;  ■"  but  ask 
pardon  of  God  for  thy  wrong  intention,  since  God  is  indulgent  and  merciful. 
Dispute  not  for  those  who  deceive  one  another,  for  God  loveth  not  him  who 

■°  This  passage  was  revealed,  says  Al  Beidawi,  on  account  of  Jonodob  Ebn  Damra. 
This  person  being  sick,  was,  in  his  flight,  carried  by  his  sons  on  a  couch,  and  before  he 
arrived  at  Medina,  perceiving  his  end  approached,  he  clapped  his  right  had  on  his  left, 
and  solemnly  plighting  his  faith  to  God  and  his  apostle,  died. 

°  To  defend  those  who  are  at  prayers,  and  to  face  the  enemy. 

»  By  keeping  strict  guard. 

p  That  is,  in  such  posture  as  ye  shall  be  able.'' 

'  This  verse  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  the  unwillingness  of  Mohammed's  men  to  ac- 
company him  on  the  lesser  expedition  to  Bedr.^ 

'  Tima  Abn  Obeirak  of  the  sons  of  Dhafar,  one  of  Mohammed's  companions,  stole  a 
coat  of  mail  from  his  neighbour  Kitada  Ebn  al  Noman,  in  a  bag  of  meal ;  and  hid  it  at  a 
Jew's,  named  Zeid  Ebn  al  Samin  :  Tima  being  suspected,  the  coat  of  mail  was  demanded 
of  him.  but  he  denying  he  knew  any  thing  ot  it,  they  followed  the  track  of  the  meal, 
which  had  run  through  a  hole  in  the  bag,  to  the  Jew's  house,  and  there  seized  it,  accusing 
him  of  the  theft ;  but  he  producing  witnesses  of  his  own  religion  that  he  had  it  of  Tima, 
the  sons  of  Dhafar  came  to  Mohammed,  and  desired  him  to  defend  his  companion's  repu- 
tation, and  condemn  the  Jew  ;  which  he  having  some  thoughts  of  doing,  this  passage  was 
revealed,  reprehending  him  for  his  rash  intention,  and  commanding  him  to  judge  not  ac- 
cording to  his  own  prejudice  and  opinion,  but  according  to  the  merit  of  the  ca-se." 

'  See  before,  ch.  iii.  p.  58.  »  Al  Beidawi.  "  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya. 

P 


74  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

is  a  deceiver  or  unjust.*     8uch  conceal  themselves  from  men,  but  they  con- 
ceal not  themselves  from  God  ;  for  he  is  with  them  when  they  im.agine  by 
night  a  saying  which  pleaseth  him  not,^  and  God  comprehendeth  what  they 
do.     Behold,  ye  are  they  who  have  disputed  for  them  in  this  present  life ; 
but  who  shall  dispute  with  God  for  them  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  or  who 
will  become  their  patron?  yet  he  who  doth  evil,  or  injureth  his  own  soul, 
and  afterwards  asketh  pardon  of  God,  shall  find  God  gracious  and  merciful. 
Whoso  committeth  wickedness,  committeth  it  against  his  own  soul:  God 
is  knowing  and  wise.     And  whoso  committeth  a  sin  or  iniquity,  and  after- 
wards laycth  it  on  the  innocent,  he  shall  surely  bear  the  guilt  of  calumny 
and  manifest  injustice.     If  the  indulgence  and  mercy  of  God  had  not  been 
upon  thee,  surely  a  part  of  them  had  studied  to  seduce  thee ;  '^  but  they  shall 
seduce  themselves  only,*  and  shall  not  hurt  thee  at  all.     God  hath  sent 
down  unto  thee  the  book  of  the  Koran  and  wisdom,  and  hath  taught  thee 
that  which  thou  knewest  not;''  for  the  favour  of  God  hath  been  great 
towards  thee.    There  is  no  good  in  the  multitude  of  their  private  discourses, 
unless  in  the  discourse  of  him  who  recommendeth  alms,  or  that  which  is  right, 
or  agreement  amongst  men :  whoever  doth  this  out  of  a  desire  to  please 
God,  we  will  surely  give  him  a  great  reward.     But  whoso  separateth  him- 
self from  the  apostle,  after  true  direction  hath  been  manifested  unto  him, 
and  followeth  any  other  way  than  that  of  the  true  believers,  we  will  cause 
him  to  obtain  that  to  which  he  is  inclined,^  and  will  cast  him  to  be  burned 
in  hell ;  and  an  unhappy  journey  shall  it  be  thither.     Verily  God  will  not 
pardon  the  giving  him  a  companion,  but  he  will  pardon  any  crime  besides 
that,  unto  whom  he  pleaseth :  and  he  who  giveth  a  companion  unto  God  is 
surely  led  aside  into  a  wide  mistake ;  the  infidels  invoke  beside  him  only  fe- 
male deities  ;^*  and  only  invoke  rebellious  Satan.    God  cursed  him  ;  and  he 
said.  Verily  I  will  take  of  thy  servants  a  part  cut  oW  from  the  rest,''  and  I 
will  seduce  them,  and  will  insinuate  vain  desires  into  them,  and  I  will  com- 
mand them  and  they  shall  cyt  off  the  ears  of  cattle ; ''  and  I  will  command 
them  and  they  shall  change  God's  creature.''     But  whoever  taketh  Satan 

«  Al  Beidawi,  as  an  instance  of  the  divine  justice,  adds,  that  Tima,  after  the  fact  above- 
mentioned,  fled  to  Mecca,  and  returned  to  idolatry  ;  and  there  undermining  the  wall  of  a 
house,  in  order  to  commit  a  robbery,  the  wall  fell  in  upon  him  and  crushed  him  to  death. 

^  That  is,  when  they  secretly  contrive  means,  by  false  evidence  or  otherwise,  to  lay 
their  crimes  on  innocent  persons. 

"  Meaning  the  sons  of  Dhafar. 

*  "A  part  of  the  unbelievers  conspired  thy  ruin  ;  but  they  brought  ruin  on  themselves. 
The  divine  goodness  watched  over  thy  safety.    They  had  not  power  to  hurt  thee." — Savanj. 

'  By  instructing  thee  in  the  knowledge  of  right  and  wrong,  and  the  rules  of  justice, 
y  viz.  Error  and  false  notions  of  religion. 

'■  Namely,  Allat,  al  Uzza,  and  Menat,  the  idols  of  the  Meccans ;  or  the  angels,  whom 
they  called  the  daughters  of  God.' 

*  "  They  have-  goddesses  for  divinities;  but  Satan  is  the  object  of  their  worship." — 
Savary. 

*  Or,  as  the  original  may  be  translated,  a  part  destined  ox  ■predetermined  to  be  seduced 
by  me. 

"  Which  was  done  out  of  superstition  by  the  old  pagan  Arabs.    See  more  of  this  custom 
in  the  notes  to  the  fifth  chapter. 
'■  Either  by  maiming  it,  or  puttmg  it  to  uses  not  designed  by  the  Creator.    Al  Beidawi 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i. 


cuAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  75 

for  his  patron,  besides  God,*'  shall  surely  perish  with  a  manifest  destruction. 
He  maketh  them  promises,  and  insinuateth  into  them  vain  desires;  yet 
Satan  maketh  them  only  deceitful  promises.  The  receptacle  of  these  shall 
be  hell,  they  shall  find  no  refuge  from  it.  But  they  who  believe,  and  do 
good  works,  we  will  surely  lead  them  into  gardens,  through  which  rivers 
flow,  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever,  according  to  the  true  promise  of 
God  ;  and  who  is  more  true  than  God  in  what  he  saith  ?  It  shall  not  be 
according  to  your  desires,  nor  according  to  the  desires  of  those  who  have 
received  the  scriptures.^  Whoso  doth  evil  shall  be  rewarded  for  it;  and 
shall  not  find  any  patron  or  helper,  beside  God  ;  but  whoso  doth  good 
works,  whether  he  be  male  or  female,  and  is  a  true  believer ;  they  shall  bci 
admitted  into  paradise,  and  shall  not  in  the  least  be  unjustly  dealt  with. 
Who  is  better  in  point  of  religion  than  he  who  resigneth  himself  unto 
God,  and  is  a  worker  of  righteousness,  and  followeth  the  law  of  Abraham 
the  orthodox  ?  since  God  took  Abraham  for  his  friend :  ^  and  to  God 
belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  ;  God  comprehendeth  all 
things.  They  will  consult  thee  concerning  women  ;s  Answer,  God 
instructeth  you  concerning  them,''  and  that  which  is  read  unto  you  in  the 
book  of  the  Koran  concerning  female  orphans,  to  whom  ye  give  not  that 
V.  hich  is  ordained  them,  neither  will  ye  marry  them,'  and  concerning  weak 

supposes  the  text  to  intend  not  only  the  superstitious  amputations  of  the  ears  and 
other  parts  of  cattle,  but  the  castration  of  slaves,  the  marking  their  bodies  with  figures, 
by  pricking  and  dyeing  them  with  woad  or  indigo  (as  the  Arabs  did  and  still  do),  the 
sharpening  their  teeth  by  filing ;  and  also  sodomy,  and  the  unnatural  amours  between 
those  of  the  female  sex,  the  worship  of  the  sun,  moon,  and  other  parts  of  nature,  and 
the  Uke. 

**  i.  e.  By  leaving  the  service  of  God,  and  doing  the  works  of  the  devil. 

^  That  is,  the  promises  of  God  are  not  to  be  gained  by  acting  after  your  own  fancies, 
nor  yet  after  the  fancies  of  the  Jews  or  Christians,  but  by  obeying  the  commands  of  God. 
This  passage,  they  say,  was  revealed  on  a  dispute  which  arose  between  those  of  the  three 
rehgions,  each  preferring  his  own,  and  condemning  the  others.  Some,  however,  sup- 
pose the  persons  here  spoken  to  in  the  second  person  were  not  the  Mohammedans,  but 
the  idolaters.- 

^  Therefore  the  Mohammedans  usually  call  that  patriarch,  as  the  scripture  also  does, 
Khalil  Allah,  ihe  friend  of  God,  and  simply  al  Khalil;  and  they  tell  the  following  story: 
— That  Abraham  in  a  time  of  dearth  sent  to  a  friend  of  his  in  Egypt  for  a  supply  of  corn  ; 
but  the  friend  denied  him,  saying  in  his  excuse,  that  though  there  was  a  famine  in  their 
country  also,  yet  had  it  been  for  Abraham's  own  family,  he  would  have  sent  what  he 
desired,  but  he  knew  he  wanted  it  only  to  entertain  his  guests,  and  give  away  to  the  poor, 
according  to  his  usual  hospitality.  The  servants  whom  Abraham  had  sent  on  this  message, 
being  ashamed  to  return  empty,  to  conceal  the  matter  from  their  neighbours,  filled  their 
sticks  vv'ith  fine  white  sand,  which  in  the  East  pretty  much  resembles  meal.  Abraham 
being  informed  by  his  servants,  on  their  return,  of  their  ill  success,  the  concern  he  was 
under  threw  him  into  a  sleep ;  and  in  the  mean  time  Sarah,  knowing  nothing  of  what  had 
happened,  opening  one  of  the  sacks,  found  good  flour  in  it,  and  immediately  set  out  about 
making  of  bread.  Abraham  awaking  and  smelling  the  new  bread,  asked  her  whence  she 
had  the  flour.  W?iy,  says  she,  from  your  friend  in  Egxjpt  ;  Nay,  replied  the  patriarch, 
7f  must  have  come  from  no  other  than  my  friend  God  Almighty.^ 

« i.  e.  As  to  the  share  they  are  to  have  in  the  distribution  of  the  inheritances  of  their 
deceased  relations ;  for  it  seems  the  Arabs  were  not  satisfied  with  Mohammed's  decision 
on  this  point,  against  the  old  customs. 

'■  i.  e.  He  hath  already  made  known  his  will  unto  you,  by  revealing  the  passages  con- 
cerning inheritances  in  the  beginning  of  this  chapter. 

'  Or  the  words  may  be  rendered  in  the  affirmative,  and  whom  ye  desire  to  marry.     For 

-  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  =  Al  Beidawi.  See  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p. 
14,  and  Morgan's  Mahometism  Explained,  vol.  i.  p.  132. 


76  AL  KOHAN.  chap.  iv. 

infants,''  and  that  ye  observe  justice  towards  orphans :  whatever  good  ye 
do,  God  knowcth  it.  If  a  woman  fear  ill  usage,*  or  aversion  from  her 
husband,  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  them  if  they  agree  the  matter  amicably 
between  themselves ;  ^  for  a  reconciliation  is  better  than  a  separation. 
Mai^s  souls  are  naturally  inclined  to  covetousness  :•"  but  if  ye  be  kind  toumrds 
women,  and  fear  to  wrong  them,  God  is  well  acquainted  with  what  ye  do. 
Ye  can  by  no  means  carry  yourselves  equally  between  women  in  all 
respects,  although  ye  study  to  do  it ;  therefore  turn  not  fro7n  a  wife  with  all 
manner  of  aversion,"  nor  leave  her  like  one  in  suspense ; "  if  ye  agree,  and 
fear  to  abuse  your  wives,  God  is  gracious  and  merciful ;  but  if  they  separate, 
God  will  satisfy  them  both  of  his  abundance ;  ^  for  God  is  extensive  and 
wise,  and  unto  God  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  We 
have  already  commanded  those  unto  whom  the  scriptures  were  given  before 
you,  and  we  command  you  also,  saying,  Fear  God  ;  but  if  ye  disbelieve, 
unto  God  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth ;  and  God  is  self- 
sufficient,'!  and  to  be  praised ;  for  unto  God  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  and  God  is  a  sufficient  protector.  If  he  pleaseth  he 
will  take  you  away,  0  men,  and  will  produce  others'"  in  your  stead;  for  God 
is  able  to  do  this.  Whoso  desireth  the  reward  of  this  world,  verily  with  God 
is  the  reward  of  this  world,  and  also  of  that  which  is  to  come ;  God  both 
heareth  and  seeth.  O  true  believers,  observe  justice  when  ye  bear  witness 
before  God,  although  it  be  against  yourselves,  or  your  parents,  or  relations  ; 
whether  the  party  be  rich,  or  ivhether  he  be  poor ;  for  God  is  more  worthy 
than  them  both :  therefore  follow  not  your  men  lust  in  bearing  testimony, 
so  that  ye  swerve  from  justice.  And  whether  ye  wrest  your  evidence,  or 
decline  giving  it,  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  O  true 
believers,  believe  in  God  and  his  apostle,  and  the  book  which  he  hath 
caused  to  descend  unto  his  apostle,  and  the  book  which  he  hath  formerly 

the  pagan  Arabs  used  to  wrong  their  female  orphans  in  both  instances  ;  obliging  them  to 
marry  against  their  inclinations,  if  tliey  were  beautiful  or  rich  ;  or  else  not  suffering  them 
to  marry  at  all,  that  they  might  keep  what  belonged  to  them." 

"  That  is,  male  children  of  tender  years,  to  whom  the  Arabs,  in  the  time  of  paganism, 
used  to  allow  no  share  in  the  distribution  of  their  parents'  estate.- 

*  "If  the  harshness  and  aversion  of  her  husband  cause  a  woman  to  fear  that  he  will 
divorce  her,  she  ought  to  endeavour  to  bring  him  back  to  mildness.  Mutual  reconciliation 
IS  the  wisest  plan  to  adopt.  Man  has  a  leaning  towards  avarice.  Be  beneficent,  and  fear 
to  be  unjust.     God  is  witness  of  your  actions." — Savary. 

'  By  the  wife's  remitting  part  of  her  dower  or  other  dues. 

"  So  that  the  woman,  on  the  one  side,  is  unwilling  to  part  with  any  of  her  right,  and 
the  husband,  on  the  other,  cares  not  to  retain  one  he  has  no  affection  for;  or,  if  he  should 
retain  her,  she  can  scarce  expect  he  will  use  her  in  all  respects  as  he  ought.'' 

"  i.  e.  Though  you  cannot  use  her  equally  well  witii  a  beloved  wife,  yet  observe  some 
measures  of  justice  towards  her ;  for  if  a  man  is  not  able  perfectly  to  perform  his  duty, 
he  ought  not,  for  that  reason,  entirely  to  neglect  it."" 

^  Or  like  one  that  neither  has  a  husband,  nor  is  divorced  and  at  liberty  to  marry 
'•Isewhere. 

p  That  is,  either  will  bless  them  with  a  better  and  more  advantageous  match,  or  v^^ith 
peace  and  tranquillity  of  mind." 

1  Wanting  the  service  of  no  creature. 

"■  Either  another  race  of  men,  or  a  different  species  of  creatures. 

*AlBeidawi.        *  See  before  p.  60,  note  d.        "AlBeidawi.        ''Idem.        Mdem. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  77 

sent  down.*  And  whosoever  believeth  not  in  God,  and  his  angels,  and  his 
scriptures,  and  his  apostles,  and  the  last  day,  he  surely  erreth  in  a  wide 
mistake.  Moreover  they  who  believed,  and  afterwards  became  infidels, 
and  then  believed  again,  and  after  that  disbelieved,  and  increased  in  infi- 
delity,* God  will  by  no  means  forgive  them,  nor  direct  them  into  the  right 
way.  Declare  unto  the  ungodly  "  that  they  shall  suffer  a  painful  punish- 
ment. They  who  take  the  unbelievers  for  their  protectors,  besides  the 
faithful,  do  they  seek  for  power  with  them  ?  since  all  power  belongeth  unto 
God.  And  he  hath  already  revealed  unto  you,  in  the  book  of  the  Koran,'' 
the  following  passage — When  ye  shall  hear  the  signs  of  God,  they  shall  not 
be  believed,  but  they  shall  be  laughed  to  scorn.  Therefore  sit  not  with 
them  ivho  believe  not,  until  they  engage  in  difTerent  discourse ;  for  if  ye  do 
ye  will  certainly  become  like  unto  them.  God  will  surely  gather  the 
ungodly  and  the  unbelievers  together  in  hell.  They  who  wait  to  observe 
what  btfalleth  you,  if  victory  be  granted  you  from  God,  say.  Were  we  npt 
with  yoLi?y  But  if  any  advantage  happen  to  the  infidels,  they  sny  unto 
them,  Were  we  not  superior  to  you,^  and  have  we  not  defended  you  against 
the  believers?  God  shall  judge  between  you  on  the  day  of  resurrection; 
and  God  will  not  grant  the  unbelievers  means  to  prevail  over  the  faithful. 
The  hypocrites  act  deceitfully  with  God,  but  he  will  deceive  them ;  and 
when  they  stand  up  to  pray,  they  stand  carelessly,  affecting  to  be  seen  of 
men,  and  remember  not  God,  unless  a  little,*  wavering  between  faith  and 
infidelity^  and  adhering  neither  unto  these  nor  unto  those : ''  and  for  him 
whom  Gqd  shall  lead  astray  thou  shalt  find  no  true  path.  O  true 
believers,  take  not  the  unbelievers  for  your  protectors,  besides  the  faithful. 
Will  ye  furnish  God  with  an  evident  argument  of  impiety  against  you? 
Moreover  the  hypocrites  shall  be  in  the  lowest  bottom  of  hell  fire,''  and 
thou  shalt  not  find  any  to  help  them  thence.  But  they  who  repent  and 
amend,  and  adhere  firmly  unto  God,  and  approve  the  sincerity  of  their 
religion  to  God,  they  shall  be  numbered  with  the  faithful ;  and  God  will 
surely  give  the  faithful  a  great  reward.     And  how  should  God  go  about  to 

*  It  is  said  that  Abdallah  Ebn  Salam  and  his  companions  told  Mohammed  that  they 
believed  in  him,  and  his  Koran,  and  in  Moses,  and  the  pentateuch,  and  in  Ezra,  but  no 
farther;  whereupon  this  passage  was  revealed,  declaring  that  a  partial  faith  is  httle  better 
than  none  at  all,  and  that  a  true  believer  must  believe  in  all  God's  prophets  and  revela- 
tions without  exception.^ 

*  These  were  the  Jews,  who  first  believed  in  Moses,  and  afterwards  fell  into  idolatry  by 
■worshipping  the  golden  calf;  and  though  they  repented  of  that,  yet  in  after  ages  rejected 
the  prophets  who  were  sent  to  them,  and  particularly  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  and  now 
filled  up  ihe  measure  of  their  unbelief  by  rejecting  of  Mohammed.' 

°  Mohammed  here  means  those  who  hypocritically  pretended  to  believe  in  him,  but 
really  did  mA.  and  by  their  treachery  did  great  mischief  to  his  party.* 
^  In  the  Koran,  chap.  vi. 
y  i.  e.  Did  we  not  assist  you  ?  therefore  give  us  a  part  of  the  spoil.' 

*  Would  not  our  army  have  cut  you  off,  if  it  had  not  been  for  our  faint  assistance, 
or  rather  desertion,  of  the  Moslems,  and  our  disheartening  them?* 

■  That  is,  with  the  tongue,  and  not  with  the  heart. 

"  Halting  between  two  opinions,  and  being  stanch  friends  neither  to  the  Moslems  nor 
the  infidels. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

'  Al  Beidawi.         *  Idem.         ^  Idem.         ^  Idem.         *  Idem. 


78  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

punish  you,  if  ye  be  thankful  and  believe  ?  for  God  is  grateful  and  wise. 
[*VI]  God  loveth  not  the  speaking  ill  of  any  one  in  public,  unless  he  who 
is  injured  call  for  assistance  ;  and  God  heareth  and  knoweth  :  whether 'ye 
publish  a  good  action,  or  conceal  it,  or  forgive  evil,  verily  God  is  gracious 
and  powerful.  They  who  believe  not  in  God,  and  his  apostles,  and  would 
make  a  distinction  between  God  and  his  apostles,**  and  say,  We  believe  in 
some  cf  the  prophets  and  reject  others  of  them,  and  seek  to  take  a  middle 
way  in  this  matter ;  these  are  really  unbelievers :  and  we  have  prepared 
for  the  unbelievers  an  ignominious  punishment.  But  they  who  believe 
in  God  and  his  apostles,  and  make  no  distinction  between  any  of  them, 
unto  those  will  we  surely  give  their  reward ;  and  God  is  gracious  and 
merciful.  They  who  have  received  the  scriptures  ^  will  demand  of  thee, 
that  thou  cause  a  book  to  descend  unto  them  from  heaven :  they  formerly 
asked  of  Moses  a  greater  thing  than  this ;  for  they  said.  Show  us  God 
visibly.^  Wherefore  a  storm  of  fire  from  heaven  destroyed  them,  because 
of  their  iniquity.  Then  they  took  the  calf /or  their  God,^  after  that  evident 
proofs  of  the  divine  unity  had  come  unto  them :  but  we  forgave  them  that, 
and  gave  Moses  a  manifest  power  to  punish  them.^  And  we  lifted  the~ 
mountain  of  Sinai  over  them,»  when  we  exacted  from  them  their  covenant  ;* 
and  said  unto  them.  Enter  the  gate  of  the  city  worshipping.''  We  also  said 
unto  them,  Transgress  not  on  the  sabbath  day.  And  we  received  from 
them  a  firm  covenant,  that  they  tvould  observe  these  things.  Therefore  for 
that^  they  have  made  void  their  covenant,  and  have  not  believed  in  the 
signs  of  God,  and  have  slain  the  prophets  unjustly,  and  have  said.  Our 
hearts  are  uncircumcised ;  (but  God  hath  sealed  them  up,  because  of 
their  unbelief;  therefore  they  shall  not  believe,  except  a  few  of  them  :) 
and  for  that  they  have  not  believed  in  Jesus,  and  have  spoken  against 
Mary  a  grievous  calumny ;  ™  and  have  said,  Verily  we  have  slain 
Christ  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  the  apostle  of  God  ;  yet  they  slew 
him  not,  neither  crucified  him,  but  he  was  represented  by  one  in  his 
likeness ; "  and  verily  they  who  disagreed  concerning  him"  were  in  a  doubt 

^  See  chap.  ii.  p.  35,  note  g. 

"-  That  is,  the  Jews,  who  demanded  of  Mohammed,  as  a  proof  of  his  mission,  that  they 
might  see  a  book  of  revelations  descend  to  him  from  heaven,  or  that  he  would  produce 
one  written  in  a  celestial  character,  hke  the  two  tables  of  Moses. 

f  See  chap.  ii.  p,  7. 

This  story  seems  to  be  an  addition  to  what  Moses  says  of  the  seventy  elders,  who  went 
up  to  the  mountain  with  him,  and  whh  Aaron,  Nadab,  and  Abihu,  and  saw  the  God 
of  Israel.* 

e  See  chap.  ii.  p.  7.  ^  See  ibid.  p.  7,  note  m.  '  See  ibid.  p.  9. 

*  "  We  raised  up  Mount  Sinai  as  a  pledge  of  our  covenant." — Savary. 

^  See  ibid.  p.  7. 

'  There  being  nothing  in  the  following  words  of  this  sentence  to  answer  to  the  casual 
for  that,  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  something  to  be  understood  to  complete  the  sense,  as,  there- 
fore v>e  have  cursed  them,  or  the  like. 

""  By  accusing  her  of  fornication.^        "  See  chap.  iii.  p.  42,  and  the  notes  there. 

°  For  some  maintained  that  he  was  justly  and  really  crucified  ;  some  insisted  that  it  was 
not  Jesus  who  suffered,  but  another  who  resembled  him  in  the  face,  pretending  the  other 
parts  of  his  body,  by  their  unUkeness,  plainly  discovered  the  imposition  ;  some  said  he  was 

5  Exod.  xxiv.  9,  10,  11.  ^  See  the  Koran,  ch.  xix.,  and  that  virulent  book  entitled 
Toldoth  Jesu. 


CHAP.  IV.  AL  KORAN.  79 

as  to  this  mafier,  and  had  no  sure  knowledge  thereof,  but  followed  only  an 
uncertain  opinion.  They  did  not  really  kill  him ;  but  God  took  him  up 
unto  himself:  and  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  And  there  shall  not  he  one  of 
those  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  who  shall  not  believe  in  him, 
before  his  death ;  ^  and  on  the  day  of  resurrection  he  shall  be  a  witness 
against  them.'i  Because  of  the  iniquity  of  those  who  Judaize,  we  have  for- 
bidden  them  good  things,  which  had  been  formerly  allowed  them ;  •"  and 
because  they  shut  out  many  from  the  way  of  God,  and  have  taken  usury, 
which  was  forbidden  them  by  the  law,  and  devoured  men's  substance 
vainly:  we  have  prepared  for  such  of  them  as  are  unbelievers  a  painful 
punishment.  But  those  among  them  who  are  well  grounded  in  know- 
ledge,^ and  the  faithful,  who  believe  in  that  which  hath  been  sent  down 
unto  thee,  and  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  the  prophets  before  thee, 
and  who  observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  give  alms,  and  believe  in 
God  and  the  last  day :  unto  these  will  we  give  a  great  reward.  Verily  we 
have  revealed  our  will  unto  thee,  as  we  have  revealed  it  unto  Noah  and  the 
prophets  who  succeeded  him ;  and  as  we  revealed  it  unto  Abraham,  and 
Ismael,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  the  tribes,  and  unto  Jesus,  and  Job,  and 
Jonas,  and  Aaron,  and  Solomon  ;  and  we  have  given  thee  the  Koran,  as  we 
gave  the  psalms  unto  David :  some  apostles  have  we  sent,  whom  we  have 
formerly  mentioned  unto  thee ;  and  other  apostles  have  we  sent,  whom  we 
have  not  mentioned  unto  thee ;  and  God  spake  unto  Moses,  discoursing 
with  him ;  apostles  declaring  good  tidings,  and  denouncing  threats,  lest 
men  should  have  an  argument  of  excuse  against  God,  after  the  apostles  had 
been  sent  unto  them ;  God  is  mip;hty  and  wise.  God  is  witness  of  that 
revelation  which  he  hath  sent  down  unto  thee;  he  sent  it  down  with  his 
special  knowledge :  the  angels  also  are  witnesses  thereof;  but  God  is  a 
sufficient  witness.     They  who  believe  not,  and  turn  aside  others  from  the 

taken  up  into  heaven ;  and  others,  that  his  manhood  only  suffered,  and  that  his  godhead 
ascended  into  heaven."" 

p  This  passage  is  expounded  two  ways. 

Some,  referring  the  relative  his  to  the  first  antecedent,  take  the  meaning  to  be,  that  no 
Jew  or  Christian  shall  die  before  he  beheves  in  Jesus ;  for  they  say  that  when  one  of  either 
of  those  rehgions  is  ready  to  breathe  his  last,  and  sees  the  angel  of  death  before  him,  he 
shall  then  believe  in  that  prophet  as  he  ought,  though  his  faith  will  not  then  be  of  any 
avail.  According  to  a  tradition  of  Hejaj,  when  a  Jew  is  expiring,  the  angels  will  strike 
him  on  the  back  and  face,  and  say  to  him,  0  thou  enemy  of  God,  Jesus  was  sent  as  a 
prophet  unto  thee  and  thou  didst  vot  believe  in  him  ;  to  which  he  will  answer,  I  now  believe 
him  to  be  the  servant  of  God;  and  to  a  dying  Christian  they  will  say,  Jesus  was  sent  as  a 
prophet  unto  thee,  and  thou  hast  imagined  him  to  be  God,  or  the  Son  of  God  ;  whereupon 
he  will  believe  him  to  be  the  servant  of  God  only,  and  his  apostle. 

Others,  taking  the  above-mentioned  relative  to  refer  to  Jesus,  suppose  the  intent  of  the 
passage  to  be,  that  all  Jews  and  Christians  in  general  shall  have  a  right  faith  in  that  pro- 
phet before  his  death ;  that  is,  when  he  descends  from  heaven  and  returns  into  the  world, 
where  he  is  to  kill  Antichrist,  and  to  establish  the  Mohammedan  religion,  and  a  most 
perfect  tranquillity  and  security  on  earth. ^ 

■i  i.  e.  Against  the  Jews  for  rejecting  him  ;  and  against  the  Christians,  for  calling  him 
God,  and  the  Son  of  God.' 

'  See  chap.  iii.  p.  42,  and  47,  and  the  notes  there. 

'  As  Abdallah  Ebn  Salam,  and  his  companions.* 

'  Al  Beidawi.  •  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  Al  Zamakhshari,  and  AI  Beidawi.     See  the 

Prehm,  Disc.  sect.  iv.  ®  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


80  AL  KORAN.  chap.  iv. 

way  of  God,  have  erred  in  a  wide  mistake.  Verily  those  who  believe  not, 
and  act  unjustly,  God  will  by  no  means  forgive,  neither  will  he  direct  them 
into  any  other  way,  than  the  way  of  hell ;  they  shall  remain  therein  for 
ever :  and  this  is  easy  with  God.  O  men,  now  is  the  apostle  come  unto 
you,  with  truth  from  your  Lord  ;  believe  therefore,  it  will  he  better  for  you. 
But  if  ye  disbelieve,  verily  unto  God  helongeih  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and 
on  earth ;  and  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  0  ye  who  have  received  the 
scriptures,  exceed  not  the  just  bounds  in  your  religion,*  neither  say  of  God 
aiiy  other  than  the  truth.  A^erily  Christ  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  is  the 
apostle  of  God,  and  his  Word,  which  he  conveyed  into  Mary,  and  a  spirit 
proceeding  from  him.  Believe  therefore  in  God,  and  his  apostles,  and  say 
not.  There  are  three  Gods ;  '^  forbear  this ;  it  will  be  better  for  you.  God 
is  but  one  God.  Far  be  it  from  him  that  he  should  have  a  son  !  unto  him 
helongeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth ;  and  God  is  a  sufficient  pro- 
tector.* Christ  doth  not  proudly  disdain  to  be  a  servant  unto  God  ;  neither 
the  angels  who  approach  near  to  his  presence  :  and  whoso  disdainelh  his 
service,  and  is  puffed  up  with  pride,  God  will  gather  them  all  to  himself,  on 
the  last  day.  Unto  those  who  believe,  and  do  that  which  is  right,  he  shall 
give  their  rewards,  and  shall  superabundantly  add  unto  them  of  his  liber- 
ality :  but  those  who  are  disdainful  and  proud,  he  will  punish  with  a 
grievous  punishment ;  and  they  shall  not  find  any  to  protect  or  to  help 
them,  besides  God.  O  men,  now  is  an  evident  proof  come  unto  you  from 
your  Lord,  and  we  have  sent  down  unto  you  manifest  light .^  They  who 
believe  in  God  and  firmly  adhere  to  him,  he  will  lead  them  into  mercy  from 
him,  and  abundance ;  and  he  will  direct  them  in  the  right  way  to  himself.^ 
They  will  consult  thee ybr  thy  decision  in  certain  cases ;  say  unto  them,  God 
giveth  you  these  determinations,  concerning  the  more  remote  degrees  of 
kindred.^  If  a  man  die  without  issue,  and  have  a  sister,  she  shall  have  the 
half  of  what  he  shall  leave :  *  and  he  shall  be  heir  to  her,''  in  case  she  have 
no  issue.  But  if  there  be  two  sisters  they  shall  have  between  them  two-third 
parts  of  what  he  shall  leave ;  and  if  there  be  several,  both  brothers  and 
sisters,  a  male  shall  have  as  much  as  the  portion  of  two  females.  God 
declareth  unto  you  these  precepts,  lest  ye  err :  and  God  knoweth  all  things. 

*  Either  by  rejecting  and  contemning  of  Jesus,  as  the  Jews  do ;  or  raising  him  to  an 
equahty  with  God,  as  do  the  Christians.^ 

"  Namely,  God,  Jesus,  and  Mary.^  For  the  eastern  writers  mention  a  sect  of  Christians 
which  held  the  Trinity  to  be  composed  of  those  three  ;*  but  it  is  allowed  that  this  heresy 
has  been  long  since  extinct.'  The  passage,  however,  is  equally  levelled  against  the  Holy 
Trinity,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  the  orthodox  Christians,  who,  as  Al  Beidawi  acknow- 
ledges, believe  the  divine  nature  to  consist  of  three  persons,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
HoTy  Ghost;  by  the  Father,  understanding  God's  essence,  by  the  Son,  his  knowledge, 
and  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  his  life. 

*  "  Far  from  having  a  son,  he  governeth  alone  the  heaven  and  the  earth.  He  is  suffi- 
cient unto  himself." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  Mohammed  and  his  Koran. 

y  Viz.  Into  the  religion  of  Islam,  in  this  world,  and  the  way  to  paradise  in  the  next.^ 

^  See  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  pp.  60,  61. 

»  And  the  other  half  will  go  to  the  public  treasury. 

•>  That  is,  he  shall  inherit  her  whole  substance. 

'Al  Beidawi.        ^'Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  *  Elmacin,  p.  227.     Eutych^p.  120. 

See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  '  Ahmed  Ebn  Abd'al  HaUm.  ®  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  81 


CHAPTER    V. 

INTITLED,  THE  TABLE-  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  true  believers,  perform  your  contracts.  Ye  are  allowed  to  eat  the 
brute  cattle/  other  than  what  ye  are  commanded  to  abstain  from ;  except 
the  game  which  ye  are  allowed  at  other  times,  but  not  while  ye  are  on 
pilgrimage  to  Mecca;  God  ordaineth  that  which  he  pleascth.  O  true 
believers,  violate  not  the  holy  rites  of  God,^  nor  the  sacred  month,^  nor 
the  offering,  nor  the  ornaments  hung  thereon,^  nor  those  who  are  travelling 
to  the  holy  house,  seeking  favour  from  their  Lord,  and  to  please  him.  But 
when  ye  shall  have  finished  your  pilgrimage  ;  then  hunt.  And  let  not  the 
malice  of  some,  in  that  they  hindered  you  from  entering  the  sacred 
temple,^  provoke  you  to  transgress,  by  taking  revenge  on  them  in  the  sacred 
months.  Assist  one  another  according  to  justice  and  piety,  but  assist  not 
one  another  in  injustice  and  malice :  therefore  fear  God  ;  for  God  is  severe 
in  punishing.  Ye  are  forbidden  to  eat  that  which  dieth  of  itself,  and  blood, 
and  swine's  flesh,  and  that  on  which  the  name  of  any  besides  God  hath  been 
invocated ; '  and  that  which  hath  been  strangled,  or  killed  by  a  blow,  or  by 
a  fall,  or  by  the  horns  of  another  beast.,  and  that  which  hath  been  eaten  by  a 
wild  beast,*^  except  what  ye  shall  kill  yourselves;'^  and  that  which  hath 
been  sacrificed  unto  idols.™  It  is  likewise  unlawful  for  you  to  make  division 
by  casting  lots  with  arrows.''  This  is  an  impiety.  On  this  day,**  woe  be  unto 
those  who  have  apostatized  from  their  religion ;  therefore  fear  not  them, 
but  fear  me.     This  day  have  I  perfected  your  religion  for  you,p  and  have 

'  This  title  is  taken  from  the  Table,  which,  towards  the  end  of  the  chapter,  is  fabled  to 
have  been  let  down  from  heaven  to  Jesus.  It  is  sometimes  also  called  the  chapter  of 
Contracts,  which  word  occurs  in  the  first  verse. 

^  As  camels,  oxen,  and  sheep  ;  and  also  wild  cows,  antelopes,  &C:''  but  not  swine,  nor 
what  is  taken  in  hunting  during  the  pilgrimage. 

*  The  ceremonies  used  in  the  pilgrimage  ot  Mecca. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vii. 

^  The  offering  here  meant  is  the  sheep  led  to  Mecca,  to  be  there  sacrificed  ;  about  the 
neck  of  which  they  use  to  hang  garlands,  green  boughs,  or  some  other  ornament,  that  it 
may  be  distinguished  as  a  thing  sacred.^ 

^  In  the  expedition  of  Al  Hodeibiya.^ 

'  For  the  idolatrous  Arabs  used,  in  killing  any  animal  for  food,  to  consecrate  it,  as  it 
were,  to  their  idols,  by  saying,  In  the  name  of  Allat,  or  al  Uzza.' 

*■  Or  by  a  creature  trained  up  to  hunting.* 

'  That  is,  unless  ye  come  up  time  enough  to  find  life  in  the  animal,  and  to  cut  its  throat. 

■"  'I'he  word  also  signifies  certain  stones,  which  the  pagan  Arabs  used  to  set  up  near 
their  houses,  and  on  which  they  superstitiously  slew  animals  in  honour  of  their  gods.' 

"  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v. 

"This  passage,  it  is  said,  was  revealed  on  Friday  evening,  being  the  day  of  the  pilgrims 
visiting  mount  Arafat,  the  last  time  Mohammed  visited  the  temple  of  Mecca,  therefore 
called  the  pUsrimage  of  valediction.* 

p  And  therefore  the  commentators  say  that  after  this  time  no  positive  or  negative  precept 
was  given.' 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  «  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  '  Ibid.  sect.  ii. 

*■  See  ch.  ii.  p.  20.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ^'Idem.  *Idem.     See  Prid.  of  Life 

Moham.  p.  99.  » Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  131. 


82  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

completed  my  mercy  upon  you ;  ^  and  I  have  chosen  for  you  Islam,  to  be 
your  religion.  But  whosoever  shall  be  driven  by  necessity  through  hunger, 
to  eat  of  what  we  have  forbidden,  not  designing  to  sin,  surely  God  will  he  in- 
dulgent and  merciful  unto  him.  They  will  ask  thee  what  is  allowed  them 
as  lawful  to  eat  ?  Answer,  such  things  as  are  good  •■  are  allowed  you  :  and 
what  ye  shall  teach  animals  of  prey  to  catch,""  training  them  up  for  hunting 
after  the  manner  of  dogs,  and  teaching  them  according  to  the  skill  which 
God  hath  taught  you.  Eat  therefore  of  that  which  they  shall  catch  for  you  ; 
and  commemorate  the  name  of  God  thereon ;  *  and  fear  God,  for  God  is 
swift  in  taking  an  account.  This  day  are  ye  allowed  to  eat  such  things  as 
are  good,  and  the  food  of  those  to  whom  the  scriptures  were  given  »*  is  also 
allowed  as  lawful  unto  you ;  and  your  food  is  allowed  as  lawful  unto  them. 
And  ye  are  also  allowed  to  marry  free  women  that  are  believers,  and  also 
free  women  of  those  who  have  received  the  scriptures  before  you,  when  ye 
shall  have  assigned  them  their  dower ;  living  chastely  iviih  them,  neither 
committing  fornication,  nor  taking  them  for  concubines.  Whoever  shall 
renounce  the  faith,  his  work  shall  be  vain,  and  in  the  next  life  he  shall  be 
of  those  who  perish.  O  true  believers,  when  ye  prepare  yourselves  to  pray, 
wash  your  faces,  and  your  hands  unto  the  elbows  ;  and  rub  your  heads,  and 
your  feet  unto  the  ankles  ;  and  if  ye  be  polluted  by  having  lain  with  a 
woman,  wash  yourselves  all  over.  But  if  ye  be  sick,  or  on  a  journey,  or  any 
of  you  Cometh  from  the  privy,  or  if  ye  have  touched  women,  and  ye  find  no 
water,  take  fine  clean  sand,  and  rub  your  faces  and  your  hands  therewith ; 
God  would  not  put  a  difficulty  upon  you ;  but  he  desireth  to  purify  you, 
and  to  complete  his  favour  upon  you,  that  ye  may  give  thanks.  Remember 
the  favour  of  God  towards  you,  and  his  covenant  which  he  hath  made 
with  you,  when  ye  said.  We  have  heard,  ^nd  will  obey.^  Therefore 
fear  God,  for  God  knoweth  the  innermost  parts  of  the  breasts  of  men. 
O  true  believers,  observe  justice  when  ye  appear  as  witnesses  before 
God,  and  let  not  hatred  towards  any  induce  you  to  do  wrong :  but  act 
justly ;  this  will  approach  nearer  unto  piety ;  *  and  fear  God,  for  God  is 
fully  acquainted  with  what  ye  do.  God  hath  promised  unto  those  who  be- 
lieve, and  do  that  which  is  right,  that  they  shall  receive  pardon  and  a  great 
reward.  But  they  who  believe  not,  and  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood,  they 
shall  be  the  companions  of  hell.  O  true  believers,  remember  God's  favour 
towards  you,  when  certain  men  designed  to  stretch  forth  their  hands  against 

I  By  having  given  you  a  true  and  perfect  religion  ;  or,  by  the  taking  of  Mecca,  and  the 
destruction  of  idolatry. 

'  Not  such  as  are  filthy,  or  unwholesome. 
'  Whether  beasts  or  birds. 

*  Either  when  ye  let  go  the  hound,  hawk,  or  other  animal,  after  the  game,  or  when  ye 
kill  it. 

"  Viz.  Slain  or  dressed  by  Jews  or  Christians. 

^  These  words  are  the  form  used  at  the  inauguration  of  a  prince  ;  and  Mohammed  here 
intends  the  oath  of  fidehty  which  his  followers  had  taken  to  him  at  al  Akaba.^ 

*  "  Justice  is  the  sister  of  piety." — Savary. 

8  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  43,  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  83 

you,  but  he  restrained  their  hands  from  hurling  you;^  therefore  fear  God, 
and  in  God  let  the  faithful  trust.  God  formerly  accepted  the  covenant  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  and  we  appointed  out  of  them  twelve  leaders :  and 
God  said,  Verily  I  am  with  you  ;^  if  ye  observe  prayer,  and  give  alms,  and 
believe  in  my  apostles,  and  assist  them,  and  lend  unto  God  on  good 
usury,-"^  *  I  will  surely  expiate  your  evil  deeds  from  you,  and  I  will  lead  you 
into  gardens,  wherein  rivers  flow  :  but  he  among  you  who  disbelieveth 
after  this,  erreth  from  the  straight  path.  Wherefore  because  they  have 
broken  their  covenant,  we  have  cursed  them,  and  hardened  their  hearts ; 
they  dislocate  the  words  of  the  Pentateuch  from  their  places,  and  have  for- 
gotten part  of  what  they  were  admonished ;  and  thou  wilt  not  cease  to 
discover  deceitful  practices  among  them,  except  a  few  of  them.  But  forgive 
them,"  and  pardon  them,  for  God  loveth  the  beneficent.  And  from  those 
who  say.  We  are  Christians,  we  have  received  their  covenant ;  but  they 
have  forgotten  part  of  what  they  were  admonished ;  wherefore  we  have 
raised  up  enmity  and  hatred  among  them,  till  the  day  of  resurrection;  and 
God  will  theji  surely  declare  unto  them  what  they  have  been  doing.  O  ye 
who  have  received  the  scriptures,  now  is  our  apostle  come  unto  you,  to 
make  manifest  unto  you  many  things  which  ye  concealed  in  the  scriptures  ;" 
and  to  pass  over  *  many  things.     Now  is  light  and  a  perspicuous  book  of 

^  The  commentators  tell  several  stories  as  the  occasion  of  this  passage.  One  says, 
that  Mohammed  and  some  of  his  followers  being  at  Osfan  (a  place  not  far  from  Mecca, 
in  the  way  to  Medina),  and  performing  their  noon  devotions,  a  company  of  idolaters, 
who  were  in  view,  repented  they  had  not  taken  that  opportunity  of  attacking  them, 
and  therefore  waited  till  the  hour  of  evening  prayer,  intending  to  fall  upon  them  then: 
but  God  defeated  their  design,  by  revealing  the  verse  of  fear.  Another  relates,  that 
the  prophet  going  to  the  tribe  of  Koreidha  (who  were  Jews)  to  levy  a  fine  for  the  blood 
of  two  Moslems,  who  had  been  killed  by  mistake,  by  Amru  Ebn  Ommeya  al  Dimri, 
they  desired  him  to  sit  down  and  eat  with  them,  and  they  would  pay  the  tino  ;  Moham- 
med complying  with  their  request,  while  he  was  sitting,  they  laid  a  design  against  his 
life,  one  Amru  Ebn  Jahash  undertaking  to  throw  a  mill-stone  upon  him  ;  but  God  with- 
held his  hand,  and  Gabriel  immediately  descended  to  acquaint  the  prophet  wiih  tiieir 
treachery,  upon  \vhich  he  rose  up  and  went  his  way.  A  third  story  is,  thut  Mohammed 
having  hung  up  his  arms  on  a  tree,  under  which  he  was  resting  himself,  and  his  compan- 
ions  being  dispersed  some  distance  from  him,  an  Arab  of  the  desert  came  up  to  him,  and 
drew  his  sword,  saying.  Who  fujiderelh  me  from  killin<r  thee?  to  which  Mohammed  an- 
swered, God:  and  Gabriel  beating  the  sword  out  of  the  Arab's  hand.  Mohammed  took 
it  up,  and  asked  him  the  same  question.  Who  hinders  me  from  killing  thee?  the  Arab 
replied.  Nobody  ;  and  immediately  professed  Mohammedanism.''  Abulfeda'*  tells  the 
same  story,  with  some  variation  of  circumstances. 

*  After  the  Israelites  had  escaped  from  Pharaoh,  God  ordered  them  to  go  against  Jeri- 
cho, which  was  then  inhabited  by  giants,  of  the  race  of  the  Canaanites,  promising  to  give 
it  into  their  hands;  and  Moses,  by  the  divine  direction,  appointed  a  prince  or  captain 
over  each  tribe,  to  lead  them  in  that  expedition,^  and  when  they  came  to  the  borders  of 
the  land  of  Canaan,  sent  the  captains  as  spies  to  get  information  of  the  state  of  the  coun- 
try, enj(jining  them  secresy  ;  but  they  being  terntied  at  the  prodigious  size  and  strength 
of  the  inhabitants,  disheartened  the  people  by  publicly  telling  what  they  had  seen,  except 
only  Cal.'b  the  son  of  Yufanna  (Jephuiineh)  and  Joshua  the  son  of  Nun.' 

■  By  contributing  towards  this  holy  war. 

*  ''  Employ  your  riches  in  the  defence  of  the  holy  religion." — Savanj. 

"  That  IS,  if  they  repent  and  believe,  or  submit  to  pay  tribute.  Some,  however,  think 
these  words  are  abrogated  by  the  verse  of  the  sword."" 

"  Such  as  the  verse  of  stoning  adulterers,^  the  description  of  Mohammed,  and  Christ's 
prophecy  of  him  by  the  name  of  Ahmed." 

''  I.  e.  Those  which  it  was  not  necessary  to  restore. 

'  Al  Beidawi.         «  Vit.  Moh.  p.  73.         »  See  Numb.  i.  4,  5.  '  Al  Beidawi.     See 

Numb.  xii.  and  xiv.        ^  Al  Beidawi.        '  See  chap.  iii.  p.  37.        *  Al  Beidawi. 


84  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

revelations  come  unto  you  from  God.     Thereby  will  God  direct  him  who 
shall  follow  his  good  pleasure,  into  the  paths  of  peace ;  and  shall  lead  them 
out  of  darkness  into  light,  by  his  will,  and  shall  direct  them  in  the  right 
way.     They  are  infidels,  who  say.  Verily  God  is  Christ  the  son  of  Mary. 
Say  unto  them,  And  who  could  obtain  any  thing  from  God  to  the  contrary, 
if  he  pleased  to  destroy  Christ  the  son  of  Mary,  and  his  mother,  and  all 
those  who  are  on  the  earth  ?     For  unto  God  belongeth  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  whatsoever  is  contained  between  them ;  he  createth 
what  he  pleaseth,  and  God  is  almighty.    The  Jews  and  the  Christians  say. 
We  are  the  children  of  God,  and  his  beloved.    Answer,  Why  therefore  doth 
he  punish  you  for  your  sins  ?     Nay,  but  ye  are  men,  of  those  whom  he 
hath  created.     He  forgiveth  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  punisheth  whom  he 
pleaseth ;  and  unto  God  belongeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of 
what  is  contained  between  them  both ;  and  unto  him  shall  all  things  return. 
O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  now  is  our  apostle  come  unto  you, 
declaring  unto  you  the  true  religion,  during  the  cessation  of  apostles,^  lest 
ye  should  say,  There  came  unto  us  no  bearer  of  good  tidings,  nor  any 
warner :  but  now  is  a  bearer  of  good  tidings,  and  a  warner  come  unto  you ; 
for  God  is  almighty.     Call  to  mind  when  Moses  said  unto  his  people,  O  my 
people,  remember  the  favour  of  God  towards  you,  since  he  hath  appointed 
prophets  among  you,  and  constituted  you  kings,^  and  bestowed  on  you 
what  he  hath  given  to  no  other  nation  in  the  world. ^     O  my  people,  enter 
the  holy  land,  which  God  hath  decreed  you,  and  turn  not  your  backs,  lest 
ye  be  subverted  and  perish.     They  answered,  O  Moses,  verily  there  are  a 
gigantic  people  in  the  land ;  ^  and  we  will  by  no  means  enter  it,  until  they 
depart  thence ;  but  if  they  depart  thence,  then  will  we  enter  therein.     And 
two  men  *  of  those  who  feared  God,  unto  whom  God  had  been  gracious, 
said.  Enter  ye  upon  them  suddenly  by  the  gate  of  the  city ;  and  when  ye 
shall  have  entered  the  same,  ye  shall  surely  be  victorious :  therefore  trust 
in  God,  if  ye  are  true  believers.     They  replied,  O  Moses,  we  will  never 
enter  the  land,  while  they  remain  therein :  go  therefore  thou,  and  thy  Lord, 
and  fight ;  for  we  will  sit  here.     Moses  said,  O  Lord,  surely  I  am  not 
master  of  any  except  myself,  and  my  brother ;  therefore  make  a  distinction 

•  The  Arabic  word  al  Fatra  signifies  the  intermediate  space  of  time  between  two  pro- 
phets, during  which  no  new  revelation  or  dispensation  was  given  ;  as  the  interval  between 
Moses  and  Jesus,  and  between  Jesus  and  Mohammed,  at  the  expiration  of  which  last, 
Mohammed  pretended  to  be  sent. 

f  This  was  fulfilled  either  by  God's  giving  them  a  kingdom,  and  a  long  series  of 
princes ;  or  by  his  having  made  them  kings  or  masters  of  themselves,  by  delivering  them 
from  the  Egyptian  bondage. 

e  Having  divided  the  Red  Sea  for  you,  and  guided  you  by  a  cloud,  and  fed  you  with 
quails  and  manna,  &c.' 

^  The  largest  of  these  giants,  the  commentators  say,  was  Og  the  son  of  Anak ;  con- 
cerning whose  enormous  stature,  his  escaping  the  flood,  and  the  manner  of  his  being 
slain  by  Moses,  the  Mohammedans  relate  several  absurd  fables.* 

«  Namely,  Caleb  and  Joshua. 

« Al  Beidawi.  "  Vide  Marracc.  in  Alcor.  p.  231,  &c.      D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient. 

p.  336. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  85 

between  us  and  the  ungodly  people.  God  answered,  Verily  the  land  shall 
be  forbidden  them  forty  years ;  during  which  time  they  shall  wander  like 
men  astonished  on  the  earth;''  therefore  be  not  thou  solicitous  for  the  un- 
godly people.  Relate  unto  them  also  the  history  of  the  two  sons  of  Adam,^ 
with  truth.  When  they  offered  their  offering,™  and  it  was  accepted  from 
one  of  them,"  and  was  not  accepted  from  the  other,  Cain  said  to  his  brother, 
I  will  certainly  kill  thee.  Abel  answered,  God  only  accepteth  the  offering 
of  the  pious ;  if  thou  stretchest  forth  thy  hand  against  me,  to  slay  me,  I  will 
not  stretch  forth  my  hand  against  thee,  to  slay  thee ;  for  J  fear  God,  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures."  I  choose  that  thou  shouldest  bear  my  iniquity  and 
thine  own  iniquity;  and  that  thou  become  a  companion  oHiell  lire;  for  that 
is  the  reward  of  the  unjust.?  But  his  soul  suffered  him  to  slay  his  brother, 
and  he  slew  him ;  *  wherefore  he  became  of  the  number  of  those  who 
perish.  And  God  sent  a  raven,  which  scratched  the  earth,  to  show  him 
how  he  should  hide  the  shame  of  his  brother,'"  and  he  said.  Woe  is  me !  am 

^  The  commentators  pretend  that  the  Israelites,  while  they  thus  wandered  in  the  desert, 
were  kept  within  the  compass  of  about  eighteen  (or  as  some  say  twenty-seven)  miles  ;  and 
that  though  they  travelled  from  morning  to  night,  yet  they  constantly  found  themselves 
the  next  day  at  the  place  from  whence  they  set  out.' 

'  viz.  Cain  and  Abel,  whom  the  Mohammedans  call  Kabil  and  Habil. — "  Cain  is  de- 
nominated Cabel  by  all  the  Arabian  authors.  This  word,  which  means  the  first,  is  pro- 
bably his  proper  name.  The  surname  of  Cain,  which  signifies  traitor,  may  have  been 
subsequently  given  to  him.  It  appears,  in  like  manner,  that  Habel  is  only  a  surname. 
In  fact  it  alludes  to  that  melancholy  event,  which  plunged  the  family  of  Adam  into  grief, 
and  really  signifies  by  his  death  he  has  left  a  mother  in  tears.'' '' — Savary. 

™  The  occasion  of  their  making  this  offering  is  thus  related,  according  to  the  common 
tradition  in  the  east.^  Each  of  them  being  born  with  a  twin-sister,  when  they  were  grown 
up,  Adam,  by  God's  direction,  ordered  Cain  to  marry  Abel's  twin-sister,  and  that  Abel 
should  marry  Cain's  ;  for  it  being  the  common  opinion  that  marriages  ought  not  >o  be  had 
in  the  nearest  degrees  of  consanguinity,  (since  they  must  necessarily  marry  their  sisters, 
it  seemed  reasonable  to  suppose  they  ought  to  take  those  of  the  remoter  degree)  but  this 
Cain  refusing  to  agree  to,  because  his  own  sister  was  the  handsomest,  Adam  ordered 
them  to  make  their  offerings  to  God,  thereby  referring  the  dispute  to  his  determination.^ 
The  commentators  say  Cain's' oflTering  was  a  sheaf  of  the  very  worst  of  his  corn,  but 
Abel's  a  fat  lamb,  of  the  best  of  his  flock. 

°  Namely,  from  Abel ;  whose  sacrifice  God  declared  his  acceptance  of  in  a  visible 
manner,  by  causing  fire  to  descend  from  heaven  and  consume  it,  without  touching  that 
of  Cain.' 

"  To  enhance  Abel's  patience,  Al  Beidawi  tells  us,  that  he  was  the  stronger  of  the  two, 
and  could  easily  have  prevailed  against  his  brother. 

p  The  conversation  between  the  two  brothers  is  related  somewhat  to  the  same  purpose 
in  the  Jerusalem  Targum  and  that  of  Jonathan  ben  Uzziel. 

"^  Some  say  he  knocked  out  his  brains  with  a  stone  ;^  and  pretend  that  as  Cain  was  con- 
sidering which  way  he  should  effect  the  murder,  the  devil  appeared  to  him  in  a  human 
shape,  and  showed  him  how  to  do  it,  by  crushing  the  head  of  a  bird  between  two 
stones.' 

'  i.  €.  His  dead  corpse.  For  Cain  having  committed  this  fratricide,  became  exceedingly 
troubled  in  his  mind,  and  carried  the  dead  body  about  with  him  on  his  shoulders  for  a 
considerable  time,  not  knowing  where  to  conceal  it,  till  it  stank  horribly  ;  and  then  God 
taught  him  to  bury  it  by  the  example  of  a  raven,  who  having  killed  another  raven  in  his 
presence,  dug  a  pit  with  his  claws  and  beak,  and  buried  him  therein."  For  this  cir- 
cumstanco  of  the  raven  Mohammed  was  beholden  to  the  Jews,  who  tell  the  same  story, 
except  only  that  they  make  the  raven  appear  to  Adam,  and  that  he  thereupon  buried 
his  son.' 

''  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  yide  Abu'lfarag.  p.  6,  7.  Eutych.  annal.  p.  15,  16. 

and   D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Cabil.  '  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 

=  Vide  Eutvch.  uhi  aupra.       '  Vide  D'Herbelot,  ubi  supra.       *  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi. 
» Vide  R.  Ehezer,  Pirke,  c.  20. 


86  AL  KOKx\N.  chap.  v. 

I  unable  to  be  like  this  raven,  that  I  may  hide  my  brother's  shame  ?  and 
he  became  one  of  those  who  repent.  Wherefore  we  commanded  the  children 
of  Israel,  that  he  who  slayeth  a  soul,  without  having  slain  a  soul,*  or  com- 
mitted wickedness  in  the  earth,*  shall  be  as  if  he  had  slain  all  mankind :  * 
but  lie  who  saveth  a  soul  alive,  shall  be  as  if  he  had  saved  the  lives  of  all 
mankind.  Our  apostles  formerly  came  unto  them,  with  evident  miracles ; 
then  were  many  of  them  after  this,  transgressors  on  the  earth.  But  the 
recompense  of  those  who  fight  against  God  and  his  apostle,  and  study  to 
act  corruptly  in  the  earth,  shall  be,  that  they  shall  be  slain,  or  crucified,  or 
have  their  hands  and  their  feet  cut  off  on  the  opposite  sides,  or  be  banished 
the  land.^  This  shall  be  their  disgrace  in  this  world,  and  in  the  next  world 
they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment ;  except  those  who  shall  repent, 
before  ye  prevail  against  them ;  for  know  that  God  is  inclined  to  forgive, 
and  merciful.  O  true  believers,  fear  God,  and  earnestly  desire  a  near 
conjunction  with  him,  and  fight  for  his  religion,  that  ye  may  be 
happy.  Moreover  they  who  believe  not,  although  they  had  whatever 
is  in  the  earth,  and  as  much  more  withal,  that  they  might  therewith 
redeem  themselves  from  punishment  on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  it  shall 
not  be  accepted  from  them,  but  they  shall  suffer  a  painful  punishment. 
They  shall  desire  to  go  forth  from  the  fire,  but  they  shall  not  go  forth 
from  it,  and  their  punishment  shall  be  permanent.  If  a  man  or  a  woman 
steal,  cut  off  their  hands,^  in  retribution  for  that  which  they  have  com- 
mitted ;  this  is  an  exemplary  punishment  appointed  by  God  ;  and  God  is 
mighty  and  wise.  But  whoever  shall  repent  after  his  iniquity,  and  amend, 
verily  God  will  be  turned  unto  him,y  for  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and 

*  "  He  who  shall  slay  a  man,  without  having  suffered  violence  from  him,  shall  be  guilty 
of  the  blood  of  all  the  human  race  ;  and  he  wno  shall  save  the  life  of  a  man  shall  be  re- 
warded as  if  he  had  saved  it  to  all  the  human  race." — Savary. 

'  Such  as  idolatry,  or  robbing  on  the  high  way.^ 

'  Having  broken  the  commandment  which  forbids  the  shedding  of  blood. 

''  The  lawyers  are  not  agreed  as  to  the  applying  of  these  punishments.  But  the  com- 
mentators suppose,  that  they  who  commit  murder  only,  are  to  be  put  to  death  in  the  or- 
dinary way  ;  those  who  murder  and  rob  too,  to  be  crucified  ;  those  who  rob  without  com- 
mitting murder,  to  have  their  right  hand  and  left  foot  cut  off;  and  they  who  assault 
persons  and  put  them  in  fear  to  be  banished.'  It  is  also  a  doubt  whether  they  who  are  to 
be  crucified  shall  be  crucified  alive,  or  be  first  put  to  death,  or  whether  they  shall  hang  on 
the  cross  till  they  die.* 

*  But  this  punishment,  according  to  the  Sonna,  is  not  to  be  inflicted,  unless  the  value  of 
the  thing  stolen  amount  to  four  dinars,  or  about  forty  shillings.  For  the  first  offence  the 
criminal  is  to  lose  his  right  hand,  which  is  to  be  cut  oflfat  the  wrist ;  for  the  second  offence, 
his  left  foot,  at  the  ankle  ;  for  the  third,  his  left  hand  ;  for  the  fourth,  his  right  foot ;  and 
if  he  continue  to  offend,  he  shall  be  scourged  at  the  discretion  of  the  judge.^ — "  This  law 
is  no  longer  in  use  among  the  Turks.  The  bastonade  is  the  usual  punishment  for  theft. 
Robbers  are  often  beheaded.  This  crime  is  very  rare  in  Turkish  towns  ;  but  the  defective 
state  of  the  police  renders  it  common  on  the  high  roads,  and  especially  in  the  deserts." — 
Savary. 

^  That  is,  Goo  will  not  punish  him  for  it  hereafter ;  but  his  repentance  does  not  super- 
sede the  execution  of  the  law  here,  nor  excuse  him  from  making  restitution.  Yet,  ac- 
cording to  a!  iShafei,  he  shall  not  be  punished  if  the  party  wronged  forgive  him  before  he 
be  carried  before  a  magistrate.' 

^  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi.  » Jallalo'ddin, 

Al  Beidawi.  '  lidem. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  87 

merciful.  Dost  thou  not  know  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth  is 
God's?  He  punisheth  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  he  pardoneth  whom  he 
pleaseth ;  for  God  is  almighty.  O  apostle,  let  not  them  grieve  thee,  who 
hasten  to  infidelity,''  either  of  those  who  say,  We  believe,  with  their 
mouths,  but  whose  hearts  believe  not ;  =^  or  of  the  Jews,  who  hearken  to  a 
lie,  and  hearken  to  other  people ; "  who  come  unto  thee :  they  pervert  the 
words  of  the  Jaw  from  their  true  places,"  and  say,  If  this  be  brought  unto 
you,  receive  it ;  but  if  it  be  not  brought  unto  you,  beware  of  receiving 
aught  else  ;'^  and  in  behalf  of  him  whom  God  shall  resolve  to  seduce,  thou 
shalt  not  prevail  with  God  at  all.  They  whose  hearts  God  shall  not  please 
to  cleanse  shall  suffer  shame  in  this  world,  and  a  grievous  punishment  in 
the  next :  who  hearken  to  a  lie,  arid  eat  that  which  is  forbidden. «  But  if 
they  come  unto  thee  for  judgment,  either  judge  between  them,  or  leave 
them;f  and  if  thou  leave  them,  they  shall  not  hurt  thee  at  all.  But 
if  thou  undertake  to  judge,  judge  between  them  with  equity  ;  for  God 
loveth  those  who  observe  justice.  And  how  will  they  submit  to  thy 
decision,  since  they  have  the  law,  containing  the  judgment  of  GoD?e 
Then  will  they  turn  their  backs,*  after  this;''  but  those  are  not  true 
believei*s.i     We  have  surely  sent  down  the  law,  containing  direction,  and 

^  i.  e.  Who  take  the  first  opportunity  to  throw  off  the  mask,  and  to  join  the  unbelievers. 

»  viz.  The  hypocritical  Mohammedans. 

^  These  words  are  capable  of  two  senses  ;  and  may  either  mean  that  they  attended  to 
the  lies  and  forgeries  of  their  Rabbins,  neglecting  the  remonstrances  of  Mohammed  ;  or 
else,  that  they  came  to  hear  Mohammed  as  spies  only,  that  they  might  report  what  he 
said  to  their  companions,  and  represent  him  as  a  Uar.^ 

■=  See  chap.  iv.  p.  66,  note  d. 

"*  That  is,  if  what  Mohammed  tells  you  agrees  with  scripture,  as  corrupted  and  dislo- 
cated by  us,  then  you  may  accept  it  as  the  word  of  God,  but  if  not,  reject  it.  These 
words,  it  is  said,  relate  to  the  sentence  pronounced  by  that  prophet,  on  an  adulterer  and 
adulteress,^  both  persons  of  some  figure  among  the  Jews.  For  they,  it  seems,  though 
they  referred  the  matter  to  Mohammed,  yet  directed  the  persons  who  carried  tlie  criminals 
before  him,  that  if  he  ordered  them  to  be  scourged,  and  to  have  their  faces  blackened  (by 
way  of  ignominy)  they  should  acquiesce  in  his  determination,  but  in  case  he  condemned 
them  to  be  stoned,  they  should  not.  And  Mohammed  pronouncing  the  latter  sentence 
against  them,  they  refused  to  execute  it,  till  Ebn  Siiriya  (a  Jew),  who  was  called  upon  to 
decide  the  matter,  acknowledged  the  law  to  be  so.  Whereupon  they  were  stoned  at  the 
door  of  the  mosque." 

'  Some  understand  this  of  unlawful  meats  ;  but  others  of  taking  or  devouring,  as  it  is 
expressed,  of  usury  and  bribes.' 

'  i.  e.  Take  thy  choice,  whether  thou  wilt  determine  their  differences  or  not.  Hence  at 
Shafe'i  was  of  opinion  that  a  judge  was  not  obliged  to  decide  causes  between  Jews  or 
Christians;  though  if  one  or  both  of  them  be  tributaries,  or  under  the  protection  of  the 
Mohammedans,  they  are  obliged  :  this  verse  not  regarding  them.  Abu  Hanifa  however 
thought  that  the  magistrates  were  obliged  to  judge  all  cases  which  were  submitted  to 
them.'' 

« In  the  following  passage  Mohammed  endeavours  to  answer  the  objections  of  the  Jews 
and  Christians,  who  insisted  that  they  ought  to  be  judged,  the  former  by  the  law  of  Moses, 
and  the  latter  by  the  enspel.  He  allows  that  the  law  was  the  proper  rule  of  judging  till 
the  coming  of  Jesus  Christ,  after  which  the  gospel  was  the  rule  ;  but  pretends  that  both 
are  set  aside  by  the  revelation  of  the  Koran,  which  is  so  far  from  being  contradictory  to 
either  of  the  former,  that  it  is  more  full  and  explicit;  declaring  several  points  which  had 
been  stifled,  or  corrupted  therein,  and  requiring  a  vigorous  execution  of  the  precepts  in 
both,  which  had  been  too  remissly  observed,  or  rather  neglected,  by  the  latter  professors 
oi  those  religions. 

*  "  But  they  fluctuate  in  doubt,  and  believe  not." — Savary. 

"  That  is,  notwithstanding  their  outward  submission,  they  will  not  abide  by  thy  sentence, 
though  conformable  to  the  law,  if  it  contradict  their  own  false  and  loose  decisions. 
'  As  gainsaying  the  doctrine  of  the  books  which  they  acknowledge  for  scripture. 

'  Al  Beidawi.        '  See  chap.  iii.  p,  37,  note  q.       ♦  Al  Beidawi.       '  Idem.      *  Idem, 


88  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

jight:  thereby  did  the  prophets,  who  professed  the  true  religion,  judge 
those  who  judaized;  and  the  doctors  and  priests  also  judged  by  the  book  of 
God,  which  had  been  committed  to  their  custody ;  and  they  were  witnesses 
thereof^  Therefore  fear  not  men,  but  fear  me ;  neither  sell  my  signs  for 
a  small  price.  And  whoso  judgeth  not  according  to  what  God  hath 
revealed,  they  are  infidels.  We  have  therein  commanded  them,  that  they 
should  give  life  for  life,^  and  eye  for  eye,  and  nose  for  nose,  and  ear  for  ear, 
and  tooth  for  tooth ;  and  that  wounds  should  also  be  punished  by  re- 
taliation :  ™  but  whoever  should  remit  it  as  alms,  it  should  be  accepted  as  an 
atonement  for  him.  And  whoso  judgeth  not  according  to  what  God  hath 
revealed,  they  are  unjust.  We  also  caused  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  to  follow 
the  footsteps  of  the  prophets,  confirming  the  law  which  was  sent  doicn 
before  him ;  and  we  gave  him  the  gospel,  containing  direction  and  light ; 
confirming  also  the  law  which  was  given  before  it,  and  a  direction  and 
admonition  unto  those  who  fear  God  :  that  they  who  have  received  the 
gospel  might  judge  according  to  what  God  hath  revealed  therein :  and  whoso 
judgeth  not  according  to  what  God  hath  revealed,  they  are  transgressors. 
We  have  also  sent  down  unto  thee  the  book  of  the  Koran  with  truth,  con- 
firming that  scripture  which  t^?as  revealed  before  it;*  and  preserving  the 
same  safe  from  corruption.  Judge  therefore  between  them  according  to 
that  which  God  hath  revealed ;  and  follow  not  their  desires,  by  swerving 
from  the  truth  which  hath  come  unto  thee.  Unto  every  of  you  have 
we  given  a  law,  and  an  open  path ;  and  if  God  had  pleased,  he  had  surely 
made  you  one  people ;»»  but  he  hath  thought  ft  to  give  you  different  laws, 
that  he  might  try  you  in  that  which  he  hath  given  you  respectively.  There- 
fore strive  to  excel  each  other  in  good  works :  unto  God  shall  ye  all  return, 
and  then  will  he  declare  unto  you  that  concerning  which  ye  have  disagreed. 
Wherefore  do  thou,  0  prophet,  judge  between  them  according  to  that  which 
God  hath  revealed,  and  follow  not  their  desires ;  but  beware  of  them,  lest 
they  cause  thee  to  err "  from  part  of  those  precepts  which  God  hath  sent 
down  unto  thee;  and  if  they  turn  back,p  know  that  God  is  pleased  to 
punish  them  for  some  of  their  crimes ;  for  a  great  number  of  men  are 
transgressors.  Do  they  therefore  desire  the  judgment  of  the  time  of 
ignorance  ?  i  but  who  is  better  than  God,  to  judge  between  people  who 

^  That  is,  vigilant,  to  prevent  any  corruptions  therein. 

'  The  original  word  is  soul.  ™  See  Exod.  xxi,  24,  &c. 

*  "  We  have  sent  thee  down  the  book  of  truth,  which  confirmeth  the  scriptures  that 
came  before  it,  and  beareth  witness  to  them." — Savary. 

°  i.  e.  He  had  given  you  the  same  laws,  which  should  have  continued  in  force  through 
all  ages,  without  being  abolished  or  changed  by  new  dispensations  ;  or  he  could  have 
forced  you  all  to  embrace  the  Mohammedan  religion.'' 

"  It  is  related,  that  certain  of  the  Jewish  priests  came  to  Mohammed  with  a  design  to 
entrap  him  ;  and  having  first  represented  to  him,  that  if  they  acknowledged  him  for  a 
prophet,  the  rest  of  the  Jews  would  certainly  follow  their  example,  made  this  proposal ; 
that  if  he  would  give  judgment  for  them  in  a  controversy  of  moment  which  they  pretended 
to  have  with  their  own  people,  and  which  was  agreed  to  be  referred  to  his  decision,  they 
would  believe  in  him  :  but  this  Mohammed  absolutely  refused  to  comply  with.^ 

p  Or  refuse  to  be  judged  by  the  Koran. 

•^  That  is,  to  be  judged  according  to  the  customs  of  paganism,  which  indulge  the  passions 

''  Al  Beidawi.  » Idem. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  89 

reason  aright  ?  O  true  believers,  take  not  the  Jews  or  Christians  for  your 
friends;  they  are  friends  the  one  to  the  other;  but  whoso  among  you 
taketh  them  for  his  friends,  he  is  surely  one  of  them :  verily  God  directeth 
not  unjust  people.  Thou  shalt  see  those  in  whose  hearts  there  is  an 
infirmity,  to  hasten  unto  them,  saying,  We  fear  lest  some  adversity  befall 
us  ;"■  but  it  is  easy  for  God  to  give  victory,  or  a  command  from  him.*  that 
they  may  repent  of  that  which  they  concealed  in  their  minds.  And  they 
who  believe  will  say.  Are  these  the  men  who  have  sworn  by  God,  with  a 
most  firm  oath,  that  they  surely  held  with  you  ?  *  their  works  are  become 
vain,  and  they  are  of  those  who  perish.  O  true  believers,  whoever  of  you 
apostatizeth  from  his  religion,  God  will  certainly  bring  other  people  to 
supply  his  place,""  whom  he  will  love,  and  who  will  love  him ;  who  shall  be 
humble  towards  the  believers,*  but  severe  to  the  unbelievers :  they  shall 
fight  for  the  religion  of  God,  and  shall  not  fear  the  obloquy  of  the 
detractor.  This  is  the  bounty  of  God,  he  bestoweth  it  on  whom  he 
pleaseth :  God  is  extensive  and  wise.  Verily  your  protector  is  God,  and 
his  apostle,  and  those  who  believe,  who  observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer, 
and  give  alms,  and  who  bow  down  to  worship.     And  whoso  taketh  God, 


and  vicious  appetites  of  mankind :  for  this,  it  seems,  was  demanded  by  the  Jewish  tribes 
of  Koreidha  and  al  Nadir.' 

'  These  were  the  words  of  Ebn  Obba,  who,  when  Obadah  Ebn  al  Samat  publicly 
renounced  the  friendship  of  the  infidels,  and  professed  that  he  took  God  and  his  apostle 
for  his  patrons,  said  that  he  was  a  man  apprehensive  of  the  fickleness  of  fortune,  and  there- 
fore would  not  throw  off"  liis  old  friends,  who  might  be  of  service  to  him  hereafter.' 
'  To  extirpate  and  banish  the  Jews ;  to  detect  and  punish  the  hypocrites. 
'  These  words  may  be  spoken  by  the  Mohammedans  either  to  one  another,  or  to  the 
Jews :  since  these  hypocrites  had  given  their  oaths  to  both.^ 

°  This  is  one  of  those  accidents  which,  it  is  pretended,  were  foretold  by  the  Koran  long 
before  they  came  to  pass.  For  in  the  latter  days  of  Mohammed,  and  after  his  death,  con- 
siderable numbers  of  the  Arabs  quitted  his  religion,  and  returned  to  Paganism,  Judaism, 
or  Christianity.  Al  Beidawi  reckons  them  up  in  the  following  order.  1.  Three  com- 
panies of  Banu  Modlaj,  seduced  by  Dhu'lhamar  al  Aswad  al  Ansi,  who  set  up  for  a 
prophet  in  Yaman,  and  grew  very  powerful  there.^  2.  Banu  Honeifa,  who  followed  the 
famous  false  prophet  Moseilama."  3.  Banu  Assad,  who  acknowledged  Toleiha  Ebn 
Khowailed,  another  pretender  to  divine  revelation,'  for  their  prophet.  All  these  fell  off 
in  Mohammed's  lifetime.  The  following,  except  only  the  last,  apostatized  in  the  reiga 
of  Abu  Beer.  4.  Certain  of  the  tribe  of  Fezarah,  headed  by  Oyeyma  Ebn  Hosein.  5. 
Some  of  the  tribe  of  Ghatfan,  whose  leader  was  Korrah  Ebn  Salma.  (5.  Banu  Soleim, 
who  followed  al  Fahjaah  Ebn  Abd  Yalil.  7.  Banu  Yarbu,  whose  captain  was  Malec 
Ebn  Noweirah  Ebn  Kais.  8.  Part  of  the  tribe  of  Tamin,  the  proselytes  of  Sajaj  the 
daughter  of  al  Mondhar.  who  gave  herself  out  for  a  prophetess."  9.  The  tribe  of  Kendah, 
led  by  al  Ashath  Ebn  Kais.  10.  Banu  Beer  Ebn  al  Wayel  in  the  province  of  Bahrein, 
headed  by  al  Hotam  Ebn  Zeid.  And  11.  Some  of  the  tribes  of  Ghassan,  who,  with  their 
prince  Jabalah  Ebn  al  Aysham,  renounced  Mohammedism  in  the  time  of  Omar,  and 
returned  to  their  former  profession  of  Christianity.'' 

But  as  to  the  persons  who  fulfilled  the  other  part  of  this  prophecy,  by  supplying 
the  loss  of  so  many  renegades,  the  commentators  are  not  agreed.  Some  will  have  them 
to  be  the  inhabitants  of  Yaman,  and  others  the  Persians;  the  authority  of  Mohammed 
himself  being  vouched  for  both  opinions.  Others,  however,  suppose  them  to  be  two 
thousand  of  the  tribe  of  al  Nakha  (who  dwelt  in  Yaman),  five  thousand  of  those  of  Kenda 
and  Bajllah,  and  three  thousand  of  unknown  descent,  who  were  present  at  the  famous 
battle  of  Kadesia,'  fought  in  the  Khalifat  of  Omar,  and  which  put  an  end  to  the  Persian 
empire.' 

*  "  If  they  are  inferior  to  the  believers,  they  shall  be  superior  to  the  infidels." — Savary. 

»  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  » Idem.  ="  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  viii.  *  See  ib. 
»Seeib.  «Seeib.  ^  See  ib.  sect.  i.  ^  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  226. 

•  Al  Beidawi. 


90  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

and  his  apostle,  and  the  believers  for  his  friends,  they  are  the  party  of  God, 
and  they  shall  he  victorious.  O  true  believers,  take  not  such  of  those  to 
whom  the  scriptures  were  delivered  before  you,  or  of  the  infidels,  for  your 
friends,  who  make  a  laughing-stock,  and  a  jest  of  your  religion;"  but  fear 
God,  if  ye  be  true  believers ;  nor  those  who  when  ye  call  to  prayer,  make  a 
laughing-stock  and  a  jest  of  it;>  this  they  do,  because  they  are  people  who 
do  not  understand.  Say,  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  do  ye 
reject  us  for  any  other  reason  than  because  we  believe  in  God,  and  that 
revelation  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  us,  and  that  which  was  formerly 
sent  down,  and  for  that  the  greater  part  of  you  are  transgressors  ?  Say, 
Shall  I  denounce  unto  you  a  worse  tldng  than  this,  as  to  the  reward  lohich 
ye  are  to  expect  with  God  ?*  He  whom  God  hath  cursed,  and  with  whom 
he  hath  been  angry,  having  changed  some  of  them  into  apes  and  swine, ^  and 
who  worship  Taghut,*  they  are  in  the  worse  condition,  and  err  more  widely 
from  the  straightness  of  the  path.  When  they  came  unto  you,  they  said. 
We  believe :  yet  they  entered  into  your  company  with  infidelity,  and 
went  forth  from  you  with  the  same ;  but  God  well  knew  w^hat  they  con- 
cealed. Thou  shalt  see  many  of  them  hastening  unto  iniquity  and  malice, 
and  to  eat  things  forbidden ;  •>  and  woe  unto  them  for  wiiat  they  have 
done.  Unless  their  doctors  and  priests  forbid  them  uttering  wickedness, 
and  eating  things  forbidden ;  w'oe  unto  them  for  what  they  shall  have  com- 
mitted. The  Jews  say,  The  hand  of  God  is  tied  up.''  Their  hands  shall 
be  tied  up,*^  and  they  shall  be  cursed  for  that  which  they  have  said.  Nay 
his  hands  are  both  stretched  forth ;  he  bcstoweth  as  he  pleaseth  :  that  which 

*  This  passage  was  primarily  intended  to  forbid  the  Moslems  entering  into  a  friendship 
with  two  hypocrites  named  Refaa  Ebn  Zeid,  and  Soweid  Ebn  al  Hareth,  who,  though  they 
had  embraced  Mohammedism,  yet  ridiculed  it  on  all  occasions,  and  were  notwithstanding 
greatly  beloved  among  the  prophet's  followers. 

5^  These  words  were  added  on  occasion  of  a  certain  Christian,  who  hearing  the  Muadh- 
dhin,  or  crier,  in  calling  to  prayers,  repeat  this  part  of  the  usual  form,  i  profess  that 
Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God,  said  aloud,  3Iay  God  burn  the  liar :  but  a  few  nights 
after  his  own  house  was  accidentally  set  on  fire  by  a  servant,  and  himself  and  his  family 
perished  in  the  flames.' 

*  "  What  can  I  describe  unto  you  more  terrible  than  the  vengeance  which  God  hath 
exercised  against  you  ?  He  hath  cursed  you  in  his  anger.  Some  of  you  hath  he  trans- 
formed into  apes  and  into  swine,  because  that  ye  have  burned  incense  before  idols,  and 
that  ye  have  been  plunged  into  utter  darkness." — Savary. 

■■  The  former  were  the  Jews  of  Ailah,  who  broke  the  sabbath  ;'^  and  the  latter  those  who 
believed  not  in  the  miracle  of  the  Table  which  was  let  down  from  heaven  to  Jesus.^'  Some, 
however,  imagine  that  the  Jews  of  Ailah  only  are  meant  in  this  place,  pretending  that 
the  young  men  among  them  were  metamorphosed  into  apes,  and  the  old  men  into  swine.* 

^  See  chap,  ii,  p.  31. 

"See  before,  p.  81. 

"  That  is,  he  is  become  niggardly  and  closefisted.  These  were  the  words  of  Phineas 
Ebn  Azura  (another  indecent  expression  of  whom,  almost  to  the  same  purpose,  is  men- 
tioned elsewhere'),  when  the  Jews  were  much  impoverished  by  a  deartli,  which  the 
commentators  will  have  to  be  a  judgment  on  them  for  their  rejecting  of  Mohammed  ;  and 
the  other  Jews  who  heard  him,  instead  of  reproving  him,  expressed  their  approbation  of 
what  he  had  said.*^ 

'  i.  e.  They  shall  be  punished  with  want  and  avarice.  The  words  may  also  allude  to 
the  manner  wherein  the  reprobates  shall  appear  at  the  last  day,  having  their  right  hands 
tied  up  to  their  necks  ;  ■"  which  is  the  proper  signification  of  the  Arabic  word. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  chap.  ii.  p,  9.  ^  See  towards  the  end  of  this  chapter.  *  Al 
Beidawi.        >•  Chap.  iii.  p.  56.        *  Al  Beidawi.        ■"  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  91 

hath  been  sent  down  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord*  shall  increase  the  transfrres- 
sion  and  infidelity  of  many  of  them ;  and  we  have  put  enmity  and  hatred 
between  them,  until  the  day  of  resurrection.  So  often  as  they  shall  kindle  a 
fire  for  war,  God  shall  extinguish  it;'  and  they  shall  set  their  minds  to  act 
corruptly  in  the  earth,  but  God  loveth  not  the  corrupt  doers.  Moreover, 
if  they  who  have  received  the  scriptures  believe,  and  fear  God,  we  will 
surely  expiate  their  sins  from  them,  and  we  will  lead  them  into  gardens 
of  pleasure ;  and  if  they  observe  the  law,  and  the  gospel,  and  the  other 
scriptures  which  have  been  sent  down  unto  them  from  their  Lord,  they 
shall  surely  eat  of  good  things  both  from  above  them,  and  from  under  their 
feet.s  Among  them  there  are  people  who  act  uprightly ;  but  how  evil  is 
that  which  many  of  them  do  work !  O  apostle,  publish  the  whole  of  that 
which  halh  been  sent  down  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord  :  for  if  thou  do  not, 
thou  dost  not  in  effect  publish  any  part  thereof;''  and  God  will  defend  thee 
against  icickcd  men;*  for  God  directeth  not  the  imbelievingpeople.  Say, 
O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  ye  are  not  grounded  on  any  thino-, 
until  ye  observe  the  law  and  the  gospel  and  that  which  hath  been  sent 
down  unto  you  from  your  Lord.  That  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto 
thee  from  thy  Lord  will  surely  increase  the  transgression  and  infidelity  of 
many  of  them :  but  be  not  thou  solicitous  for  the  unbelieving  people. 
Verily  they  who  believe,  and  those  who  Judaize,  and  the  Sabians,  and  the 
Christians,  whoever  of  them  believeth  in  God  and  the  last  day,  and  doth 
that  which  is  right,  there  shall  come  no  fear  on  them,  neither  shall  they  be 
grieved.*^  We  formerly  accepted  the  covenant  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  sent  apostles  unto  them.  So  often  as  an  apostle  came  unto  them 
with  that  which  their  souls  desired  not,  they  accused  some  of  them  of  im- 
posture, and  some  of  them  they  killed :  and  they  imagined  that  there 
should  be  no  punishment  for  those  crimes,  and  they  became  blind,  and 
deaf  1  Then  was  God  turned  unto  them  ;™  aAerwards  many  of  them  again 
became  blind  and  deaf;  but  God  saw  what  they  did.  They  are  surely 
infidels,  who  say.  Verily  God  is  Christ  the  son  of  Mary ;  since  Christ  said, 

"  viz.  The  Koran. 

^  Either  by  raising  feuds  and  quarrels  among  themselves,  or  by  granting  the  victory  to 
the  Moslems.  Al  Beidawi  adds,  that  on  the  Jews  neglecting  the  true  observance  of  their 
law,  corrupting  their  relidon,  God  has  successively  delivered  them  into  the  hands,  first 
of  Bakht  Nasr  or  Nebuchadnezzar,  then  of  Titus  the  Roman,  and  afterwards  of  the  Per- 
sians, and  has  now  at  last  subjected  them  to  the  Mohammedans. 

"  That  is,  they  shall  enjoy  the  blessings  both  of  heaven  and  earth. 

"  That  is.  if  they  do  not  complete  the  publication  of  all  thy  revelations  without  excep- 
tion, thou  dost  not  answer  the  end  for  which  they  were  revealed  ;  because  the  conceahng 
of  any  part  renders  the  system  of  religion  which  God  has  thought  fit  to  publish  to  man- 
kind by  thy  ministry  lame  and  imperfect.* 

'  Until  this  verse  was  revealed,  Mohammed  entertained  a  guard  of  armed  men  for  his 
security;  but  on  his  receiving  this  assurance  of  God's  protection,  he  immediately  dis- 
missed them.' 

''  See  chap.  ii.  p.  9. 

'  Shutting  their  eyes  and  ears  against  conviction  and  the  remonstrances  of  the  law;  as 
when  they  worshipped  the  calf. 

™  i.  e.  Upon  their  repentance. 

•  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  » lidem. 


92  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

O  children  of  Israel,  serve  God,  my  Lord  and  your  Lord  ;  whoever  shall 
give  a  companion  unto  God,  God  shall  exclude  him  from  paradise,  and  his 
habitation  shall  be  hell  fire ;  and  the  ungodly  shall  have  none  to  help  them. 
They  are  certainly  infidels,  who  say,  God  is  the  third  of  three : "  for  there 
is  no  God,  besides  one  God  ;  and  if  they  refrain  not  from  what  they  say,  a 
painful  torment  shall  surely  be  inflicted  on  such  of  them  as  are  unbelievers. 
Will  they  not  therefore  be  turned  unto  God,  and  ask  pardon  of  him? 
since  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Christ  the  son  of  Mary  is  no  more 
than  an  apostle;  other  apostles  have  preceded  him;  and  his  mother  was  a 
woman  of  veracity :  °  they  both  ate  food.?  Behold,  how  we  declare  unto 
them  the  signs  of  Go(Ps  unity ;  and  then  behold  how  they  turn  aside  from 
the  truth.  Say  unto  them,  Will  ye  worship,  besides  God,  that  which  can 
cause  you  neither  harm  nor  profit?  God  is  he  who  heareth  and  seeth. 
Say,  O  ye  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  exceed  not  the  just  hounds  in 
your  religion, 1  hy  speaking  beside  the  truth ;  neither  follow  the  desires  of 
people  who  have  heretofore  erred,  and  who  have  seduced  many,  and  have  gone 
astray  from  the  straight  path.""  Those  among  the  children  of  Israel  who 
believed  not  were  cursed  by  the  tongue  of  David,  and  of  Jesus  the  son  of 
Mary.»  This  befell  them  because  they  were  rebellious  and  transgressed  : 
they  forbade  not  one  another  the  wickedness  which  they  committed ;  and 
woe  unto  them  for  what  they  committed.  Thou  shalt  see  many  of  them 
take  for  their  friends  those  who  believe  not.  Woe  unto  them  for  what  their 
souls  have  sent  before  them,*  for  that  God  is  incensed  against  them,  and 
they  shall  remain  in  torment ybr  ever.  But,  if  they  had  believed  in  God, 
and  the  prophet,  and  that  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  him,  they  had 
not  taken  them  for  their  friends ;  but  many  of  them  are  evil  doers.  Thou 
shalt  surely  find  the  most  violent  of  all  men  in  enmity  against  the  true 
believers  to  be  the  Jews,  and  the  idolaters :  and  thou  shalt  surely  find  those 
among  them  to  be  the  most  inclinable  to  entertain  friendship  for  the  true 
believers,  who  say.  We  are  Christians.  This  comeih  to  pass^  because  there 
are  priests  and  monks  among  them ;  and  because  they  are  not  elated  with 
pride :  '^  *[VII.]  and  when  they  hear  that  which  hath  been  sent  down  to 
the  apostle  read  unto  them,  thou  shalt  see  their  eyes  overflow  with  tears, 
because  of  the  truth  which  they  perceive  therein,^  saying,  O  Lord,  we 

"  See  chap.  iv.  p.  80. 

°  Never  pretending  to  partake  of  the  divine  nature,  or  to  be  the  mother  of  God.* 

p  Being  obliged  to  support  their  Hves  by  the  same  means,  and  being  subject  to  the  same 
necessities  an^  infirmities  as  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  therefore  no  gods.^ 

t  See  chap.  iv.  p.  80.     But  here  the  words  are  principally  directed  to  the  Christians. 

'That  is,  of  their  prelates  and  predecessors,  who  erred  in  ascribing  divinity  to  Christ, 
before  the  mission  of  Mohammed.* 
■  '  See  before,  p.  90,  note  z. 

'  See  chap.  ii.  p.  13,  note  r. 

"  Having  not  that  high  conceit  of  themselves,  as  the  Jews  have  ;  but  being  humble  and 
well  disposed  to  receive  the  truth ;  qualities,  says  al  Beidawi,  which  are  to  be  commended 
even  in  infidels. 

*  The  persons  directly  intended  in  this  passage  were,  either  Ashama,  king  of  Ethiopia, 
and  several  bishops  and  priests,  who  being  assembled  for  that  purpose,  heard  Jaafar  Ebn 

'  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  Idem,  Al  Beidawi.  '  lidem. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  93 

believe ;  write  us  down  therefore  with  those  who  bear  witness  to  the  truth  : 
and  what  should  hinder  us  from  believing  in  God,  and  the  truth  which 
hath  come  unto  us,  and  from  earnestly  desiring  that  our  Loud  would  intro- 
duce us  into  paradise  with  the  righteous  people?  Therefore  hath  God 
rewarded  them,  for  what  they  have  said,  with  gardens  through  which 
rivers  flow ;  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever ;  and  this  is  the  reward 
of  the  righteous.  But  they  who  believe  not,  and  accuse  our  signs  of  false- 
hood, they  shall  be  the  companions  of  hell.  O  true  believers,  forbid  not 
the  good  things  which  God  hath  allowed  you  ;y  but  transgress  not,  for  God 
loveth  not  the  transgressors.  And  eat  of  what  God  hath  given  you  for 
food  that  which  is  lawful  and  good :  and  fear  God,  in  whom  ye  believe. 
God  will  not  punish  you  for  an  inconsiderate  word  in  your  oaths ;  *  but  he 
will  punish  you  for  what  ye  solemnly  swear  with  deliberation.  And  the 
expiation  of  such  an  oath  shall  be  the  feeding  of  ten  poor  men  with  such 
modci'-dte  food  as  ye  feed  your  own  families  withal ;  or  to  clothe  them  ;*  or 
to  free  the  neck  of  a  true  believer  from  captivity  :  but  he  who  shall  not  find 
wherewith  to  perform  one  of  these  three  things  shall  fast  thee  days.**  This 
is  the  expiation  of  your  oaths,  when  ye  swear  inadvertently.  Therefore 
keep  your  oaths.  Thus  God  declareth  unto  you  his  signs,  that  ye  may 
give  thanks.  0  true  believers,  surely  wine,  and  lots,''  and  images,*^  and 
divining  arrows,^  are  an  abomination  of  the  work  of  Satan ;  therefore  avoid 
ihem  that  ye  may  prosper.  Satan  seeketh  to  sow  dissension  and  hatred 
among  you,  by  means  of  wine  and  lots,  and  to  divert  you  from  remembering 

Taleb,  who  fled  to  that  country  in  the  first  flight/  read  the  29th  and  30th,  and  afterwards 
the  18th  and  19th  chapters  of  the  Koran  ;  on  hearuig  of  which  the  king  and  the  rest  of  the 
company  burst  into  tears,  and  confessed  what  was  written  therein  to  be  conformable 
to  truth  ;  that  prince  himself,  in  particular,  becoming  a  proselyte  to  Mohammedism  :'  or 
else  thirty,  or  as  others  say,  seventy  persons,  sent  ambassadors  to  Mohammed  by  the 
same  king  of  Ethiopia,  to  whom  the  prophet  himself  read  the  36th  "chapter,  intitled  Y.  S. 
Whereupon  they  began  to  weep,  saying.  How  like  is  this  to  that  which  was  revealed 
unto  Jesus  !  and  immediately  professed  themselves  Moslems.^ 

y  These  words  were  revealed,  when  certain  of  Mohammed's  companions  agreed  to 
oblige  themselves  to  continual  fasting  and  watching,  and  to  abstain  from  women,  eatin^ 
flesh,  sleeping  on  beds,  and  other  lawful  enjoyments  of  life,  in  imitation  of  some  seli- 
denying  Christians;  but  this  the  prophet  disapproved,  declaring,  that  he  would  have  no 
mo7iks  in  his  religion.'' 

^  See  chap.  ii.  p.  26. 

^  The  commentators  give  us  the  diflerent  opinions  of  the  doctors,  as  to  the  quantity  of 
food  and  clothes  to  be  given  in  this  case ;  which  I  think  scarcely  worth  transcribing. 

''  That  is,  three  days  together,  says  Abu  Hanifa.  But  this  is  not  observed  in  practice, 
being  neither  explicitly  commanded  in  the  Koran,  nor  ordered  in  the  Sonna.' 

"=  That  is,  all. inebriating  hquors,  and  games  of  chance.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v. 
and  chap.  ii.  p.  25. 

<"  Al  Beidawi  and  some  other  commentators  expound  this  of  idols ;  but  others,  with 
more  probability,  of  the  carved  pieces,  or  men,  with  which  the  pagan  Arabs  played  at 
chess,  being  little  figures  of  men,  elephants,  horses,  and  dromedaries  ;  and  this  is  sup- 
posed to  be  the  only  thing  which  Mohammed  disliked  in  that  game:  for  which  reason  the 
Sonnitcs  play  with  plain  pieces  of  wood,  or  ivory ;  but  the  Persians  and  Indians,  who  are 
not  so  scrupulous,  still  make  use  of  the  carved  ones." 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  »  Al  Beidawi,  al  Thalabi.  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit. 
Moh.  p.  25,  &c.  Marrac.  Prodr.  ad  Refut.  Alcor.  part  1.  p.  45.  "  Al  Beidawi. 
Jallalo'ddin.  Vide  Marracc.  ubi  suo.  ■"  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  *  Al  Beidawi. 
'  Vide  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v. 


94  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

God,  and  from  prayer :  will  yc  not  therefore  abstain  from  them  ?  Obey  God, 
and  obey  the  apostle,  and  take  heed  to  yo2irselves  :  but  if  ye  turn  back,  know 
that  the  duty  of  our  apostle  is  only  to  preach  publicly/  In  those  who  believe 
and  do  good  works,  it  is  no  sin  that  they  have  tasted  wine  or  gaming  before 
they  tcere  forbidden ;  if  they  fear  God,  and  believe,  and  do  good  works, 
and  shall  for  the  future  fear  God,  and  beheve,  and  shall  persevere  to  fear  him, 
and  to  do  good ;  s  for  God  loveth  those  who  do  good.  O  true  believers, 
God  will  surely  prove  you  in  offering  you  plenty  of  game,  which  ye  may 
take  with  your  hands  or  your  lances,^  that  God  may  know  who  feareth  him 
in  secret;  but  whoever  transgresseth  after  this  shall  suffer  a  grievous 
punishment.  O  true  believers,  kill  no  game  while  ye  are  on  pilgrimage : ' 
whosoever  among  you  shall  kill  any  designedly  shall  restore  the  like  of 
what  he  shall  have  killed,*  in  domestic  animals,^  according  to  the  deter- 
mination of  two  just  persons  among  you,  to  be  brought  as  an  offering  to 
the  Caaba ;  or  in  atonement  thereof  shall  feed  the  poor ;  or  instead  thereof 
shall  fast,  that  he  may  taste  the  heinousness  of  his  deed.  God  hath  for- 
given what  is  past,  but  whoever  returneth  to  transgress,  God  will  take 
vengeance  on  him ;  for  God  is  mighty  and  able  to  avenge.  It  is  lawful 
for  you  to  fish  in  the  sea,^  and  to  eat  ivhat  ye  shall  catch,  as  a  provision  for 
you  and  for  those  who  travel ;  but  it  is  unlawful  for  you  to  hunt  by  land, 
while  ye  are  performing  the  rites  of  pilgrimage ; '"  therefore  fear  God, 
before  whom  ye  shall  be  assembled  at  the  last  day.  God  hath  appointed  the 
Caaba,  the  holy  house,  an  establishment "  for  mankind  ;  and  hath  ordained  the 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii. 

e  The  commentators  endeavour  to  excuse  the  tautology  of  this  passage,  by  supposing  the 
threefold  repetition  o{  fearing  and  helieving  refers  either  to  the  three  parts  of  time,  past, 
present,  and  future,  or  to  the  threefold  duty  of  man,  towards  God,  himself,  and  his  neigh- 
bour, &c.' 

''  This  temptation  or  trial  was  at  al  Hodeibiya,  where  Mohammed's  men,  who  had 
attended  him  thither  with  an  intent  to  perform  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Caaba,  and  had  initiated 
themselves  with  the  usual  rites,  were  surrounded  by  so  great  a  number  of  birds  and 
beasts,  that  they  impeded  their  march ;  from  which  unusual  accident,  some  of  them  con- 
cluded that  God  had  allowed  them  to  be  taken ;  but  this  passage  was  to  convince  them 
of  the  contrary.^ 

'  Literally  xvliile  ye  are  Mohrims,  or  have  actually  initiated  yourselves  as  pilgrims,  by 
putting  on  the  garment  worn  at  that  solemnity.  Hunting  and  fowling  are  hereby  abso- 
lutely forbidden  to  persons  in  this  state ;  though  they  are  allowed  to  kill  certain  kinds  of 
noxious  animals.^ 

*  "  He  who  violateth  this  prohibition  shall  be  punished  as  though  he  had  killed  a 
domestic  animal." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  he  shall  bring  an  offering  to  the  temple  of  Mecca,  to  be  slain  there  and  dis- 
tributed among  the  poor,  of  some  domestic  or  tame  animal,  equal  in  value  to  what  he  shall 
have  killed  ;  as  a  sheep,  for  example,  in  lieu  of  an  antelope,  a  pigeon  for  a  partridge,  &c. 
And  of  this  value  two  prudent  persons  were  to  be  judges.  If  the  offender  was  not  able 
to  do  this,  he  was  to  give  a  certain  quantity  of  food  to  one  or  more  poor  men ;  or  if  he 
could  not  afford  that,  to  fast  a  proportionable  number  of  days.* 

'  This,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  is  to  be  understood  of  fish  that  live  altogether  in  the  sea,  and 
not  of  those  that  live  in  the  sea  and  on  land  both,  as  crabs,  &.c.  The  Turks,  who  are 
Hanilites,  never  eat  this  sort  of  fish ;  but  the  sect  of  Malec  Ebn  Ana,  and  perhaps  some 
others,  make  no  scruple  of  it. 

"  See  above,  note  i. 

"  That  is,  the  place  where  the  practice  of  their  religious  ceremonies  is  chiefly  established ; 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '^  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v.  *  Jalla- 
lo'ddin, Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  V.  AL  KORAN.  95 

sacred  month,"  and  the  offering,  and  the  ornaments  hung  thereon.^  This  luitli 
he  done  that  ye  might  know  that  God  knoweth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and 
on  earth,  and  that  God  is  omniscient.  Know  that  God  is  severe  in 
punishing,  and  that  God  is  also  ready  to  forgive,  and  merciful.  The 
duty  of  our  apostle  is  to  preach  only ;  i  and  God  knoweth  that  which  ye 
discover,  and  that  which  ye  conceal.  Say,  Evil  and  good  shall  not  be 
equally  esteemed  of,  though  the  abundance  of  evil  pleaseth  thee  ;  ■"  therefore 
fear  God,  O  ye  of  understanding,  that  ye  may  be  happy.  O  true  believers, 
inquire  not  concerning  things,  which,  if  they  be  declared  unto  you,  may 
give  you  pain ;  *  but  if  ye  ask  concerning  them  when  the  Koran  is  sent 
down,  they  will  be  declared  unto  you :  God  pardoneth  you  as  to  these 
matters ;  for  God  is  ready  to  forgive,  and  gracious.  People  who  have  been 
before  you  formerly  inquired  concerning  them ;  and  afterwards  disbelieved 
therein.  God  hath  not  ordained  any  thing  concerning  Bahira,  nor  Saiba, 
nor  Wasila,  nor  Hami ;  *  but  the  unbelievers  have  invented  a  lie  against 
God :  and  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  understand.  And  when  it  was 
said  unto  them,  Come  unto  that  which  God  hath  revealed,  and  to  the 
apostle;  they  answered.  That  religion  which  we  found  our  fathers 
to  follow  is  sufficient  for  us.  What,  though  their  fathers  knew  nothing 
and  were  not  rightly  directed?  O  true  believers,  take  care  of  your 
souls !  He  who  erreth  shall  not  hurt  you,  while  ye  are  rightly 
directed :  "^  unto  God  shall  ye  all  return,  and  he  will  tell  you  that  which  ye 
have  done.  O  true  believers,  let  witnesses  be  taken  between  you,  when 
death  approaches  any  of  you,  at  the  time  of  making  the  testament ;  let  there 

where  those  who  are  under  any  apprehension  of  danger  may  find  a  sure  asylum,  and  the 
merchant  certain  gain,  &c,* 

"  Al  Beidawi  understands  this  of  the  month  of  Dhu'lhajja,  wherein  the  ceremonies  of 
the  pilgrimage  are  performed ;  but  Jallalo'ddm  supposes  all  the  four  sacred  months  are 
here  intended.' 

p  See  before,  p.  81,  note  g. 

•>  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect,  ii. 

'  For  judgment  is  to  be  made  of  things  not  from  their  plenty  or  scarcity,  but  from  their 
intrinsic  good  or  bad  qualities.'' 

'  The  Arabs  continually  teasing  their  prophet  with  questions,  which  probably  he  was 
not  always  prepared  to  answer,  they  are  here  ordered  to  wait,  till  God  should  think  fit  to 
declare  his  pleasure,  by  some  farther  revelation :  and,  to  abate  their  curiosity,  they  are 
told,  at  the  same  time,  that  very  likely  the  answers  would  not  be  agreeable  to  their  incli- 
nations. Al  Beidawi  says,  that  when  the  pilgrimage  was  first  commanded,  Soraka  Ebn 
!Mal(?c  asked  Mohammed  whether  they  wereobliged  to  perform  it  every  year  ?  'i'o  this 
question  the  prophet  at  first  turned  a  deaf  ear;  but  being  asked  it  a  second,  and  a  third 
time,  he  at  last  said.  No  :  but  if  I  had  said  yes,  it  would  have  become  a  duty,  and  if  it  were 
a  duty,  ye  would  not  be  able  to  perform  it :  therefore  pive  me  no  trouble  as  to  things  wherein 
I  give  you  none  :  whereupon  this  passage  was  revealed. 

'  These  were  the  names  given  by  the  pagan  Arabs  to  certain  camels  or  sheep  which 
were  turned  loose  to  feed,  and  exempted  from  common  services,  in  some  particular  cases  ; 
having  their  ears  slit,  or  some  other  mark,  that  they  might  be  known  ;  and  this  they 
did  in  honour  of  their  gods.'  Which  superstitions  are  here  declared  to  be  no  ordinances 
ot  God,  but  the  inventions  of  foolish  men. 

"  This  was  revealed  when  the  infidels  reproached  those  who  embraced  Mohammedism 
and  renounced  their  old  idolatry,  that  by  so  doing  they  arraigned  the  wisdom  of  their  fore- 
fathers.' 

>  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  ^  ggg  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  vii.  '  Al  Beidawi. 

•  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v.        »  Al  Beidawi. 


96  AL  KORAN.  chap.  v. 

he,  two  ivitnesses,  just  men,  from  among  you  ;  *  or  two  others  of  a  diflerent 
tribe  or  faith  from  yourselves,'  if  ye  be  journeying  in  the  earth,  and  the 
accident  of  death  befall  you.  Ye  shall  shut  them  both  up,  after  the  after- 
710071  prayer,^  and  they  shall  swear  by  God,  if  ye  doubt  them,  and  they  shall 
say,  We  will  not  sell  our  evidence  for  a  bribe,  although  the  person  concerned 
be  one  who  is  related  to  us,  neither  will  we  conceal  the  testimony  of  God, 
for  then  should  we  certainly  be  of  the  number  of  the  wicked.  But  if  it 
appear  that  both  have  been  guilty  of  iniquity,  two  others  shall  stand  up  in 
their  place,  of  those  who  have  convicted  them  of  falsehood,  the  two  nearest 
in  blood,  and  they  shall  swear  by  God,  saying,  Verily  our  testimony  is  more 
true  than  the  testimony  of  these  two,  neither  have  we  prevaricated ;  for 
then  should  we  become  of  the  number  of  the  unjust.  This  will  be  easier, 
that  men  may  give  testimony  according  to  the  plain  intention  thereof,  or 
fear  lest  a  different  oath  be  given,  after  their  oath.  Therefore  fear  God,  and 
hearken ;  for  God  directeth  not  the  unjust  people. "^  On  a  certain  day " 
shall  God  assemble  the  apostles,  and  shall  say  unto  them,  What  answer 
was  returned  you,  when  ye  preached  unto  the  people  to  whom  ye  were  sent  f 
They  shall  answer,  We  have  no  knowledge,  but  thou  art  the  knower  of 
secrets. *=  When  God  shall  say,  O  Jesus  son  of  Mary,  remember  my  favour 
towards  thee,  and  towards  thy  mother ;  when  I  strengthened  thee  with  the 

^  That  is,  of  your  kindred,  or  religion. 

^  They  who  interpret  these  words  of  persons  of  another  religion  say  they  are  abrogated, 
and  that  the  testimony  of  such  ought  not  to  be  received  against  a  Moslem.' 

^  In  case  there  was  any  doubt,  the  witnesses  were  to  be  kept  apart  from  company,  lest 
they  should  be  corrupted,  till  they  gave  their  evidence,  which  they  generally  did  when 
the  afternoon  prayer  was  over;  because  that  was  the  time  of  people's  assembling  in 
public,  or,  say  some,  because  the  guardian  angels  then  relieve  each  other,  so  that  there 
would  be  four  angels  to  witness  against  them  if  they  gave  false  evidence.  But  others 
suppose  they  might  be  examined  after  the  hour  of  any  other  prayer,  when  there  was  a 
sufficient  assembly.^ 

="  The  occasion  of  the  preceding  passage  is  said  to  have  been  this.  Tamim  al  Dari  and 
Addi  Ebn  Yazid,  both  Christians,  took  a  journey  into  Syria  to  trade,  in  company  with 
Bodeil,  the  freedman  of  Amru  Ebn  al  As,  who  was  a  Moslem.  When  they  came  to 
Damascus,  Bodeil  fell  sick,  and  died;  having  first  wrote  down  a  list  of  his  effects  on^ 
piece  of  paper,  which  he  hid  in  his  baggage,  without  acquainting  his  companions  with  it, 
and  desired  them  only  to  deliver  what  he  had  to  his  friends  of  the  tribe  of  Sahm.  The  sur- 
vivors however  searching  among  his  goods,  found  a  vessel  of  silver  of  considerable  weight, 
and  inlaid  with  gold,  which  they  concealed,  and  on  their  return  delivered  the  rest  to  the 
deceased's  relations  ;  who  finding  the  list  of  Bodeil's  writing,  demanded  the  vessel  of  silver 
of  them,  but  they  denied  it;  and  the  affair  being  brought  before  Mohammed,  these  words, 
viz.  O  true  believers  take  witnesses,  (f-c,  were  revealed,  and  he  ordered  them  to  be  sworn 
at  the  pulpit  in  the  mosque,  just  as  afternoon  prayer  was  over,  and  on  their  making  oath 
that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  plate  demanded,  dismissed  them.  But  afterwards  the  vessel 
being  found  in  their  hands,  the  Sahmites,  suspecting  it  was  Bodeii's,  charged  them  with 
it,  and  they  confessed  it  was  his,  but  insisted  that  they  had  bought  it  of  him,  and  that  they 
had  not  produced  it,  because  they  had  no  proof  of  the  bargain.  Upon  this  they  went 
again  before  Mohammed,  to  whom  these  words.  And  if  it  appear,  ^c,  were  revealed; 
and  thereupon  Amru  Ebn  al  As  and  al  Motalleb  Ebn  Abi  Refaa,  both  of  the  tribe  of 
Sahm,  stood  up,  and  were  sworn  against  them  ;  and  judgment  was  given  accordingly.^* 

"  That  is,  on  the  day  of  judgment. 

"  That  is.  We  are  ignorant  whether  our  proselytes  were  sincere,  or  whether  they 
apostatized  after  our  deaths  ;  but  thou  well  knowest  not  only  what  answer  they  gave  us, 
but  the  secrets  of  their  hearts,  and  whether  they  have  since  continued  firm  in  their  religion 
or  sot. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  V.  .  AL  KORAN.  97 

holy  spirit/  tiiat  thou  shouldest  speak  unto  men  in  the  cradle,  and  wlien 
thou  wast  grown  up ; "  and  when  I  taught  thee  the  scripture,  and  wisdom, 
and  the  law,  and  the  gospel :  and  when  thou  didst  create  of  clay  as  it  were 
the  figure  of  a  bird,  by  my  permission,  and  didst  breathe  thereon,  and  it 
became  a  bird,  by  my  permission,  and  thou  didst  heal  one  blind  from  his 
birth,  and  the  leper,  by  my  permission ;  and  when  thou  didst  bring  forth 
the  dead  from  their  graves  by  my  permission;'  and  when  I  withheld  the 
children  of  Israel  from  killing  thee,s  when  thou  hadst  come  unto  them 
with  evident  miracles,  and  such  of  them  as  believed  not  said,  This  is  nothing 
but  manifest  sorcery.  And  when  I  commanded  the  apostles  of  Jesus 
saying,  Believe  in  me,  and  in  my  messenger;  they  answered.  We  do 
believe ;  and  do  thou  bear  witness  that  we  are  resigned  unto  thee.  Re- 
member  when  the  apostles  said,  O  Jesus  son  of  Mary,  is  thy  Lord  able  to 
cause  a  table  to  descend  unto  us  from  heaven  ?  ^  He  answered.  Fear  God, 
if  ye  be  true  believers.  They  said,  We  desire  to  eat  thereof,  and  that  our 
hearts  may  rest  at  ease,  and  that  we  may  know  that  thou  hast  told  us  the 
truth,  and  that  we  may  be  witnesses  thereof.  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  said, 
O  God  our  Lord,  cause  a  table  to  descend  unto  us  from  heaven,  that  the 
day  of  its  descent  may  become  a  festival  day»  unto  us,  unto  the  first  of  us, 
and  unto  the  last  of  us,  and  a  sign  from  thee ;  and  do  thou  provide  food 
for  us,  for  thou  art  the  best  provider.  God  said,  Verily  I  will  cause  it  to 
descend  unto  you ;    but  whoever  among  you  shall  disbelieve  hereafter,  I 

>*  See  chap.  ii.  p.  12.  "  See  chap.  iii.  p.  41.  '  See  ibid.  ^  gge  ibid.  p.  42. 

^  This  miracle  is  thus  related  by  the  commentators.  Jesus  having,  at  the  request  of  his 
followers,  asked  it  of  God,  a  red  table  immediately  descended,  in  their  sight,  between  two 
clouds,  and  was  set  before  them  ;  whereupon  he  rose  up,  and  having  made  the  ablution, 
prayed,  and  then  took  off  the  cloth  which  covered  the  table,  saying,  In  the  name  of  God, 
the  best  provider  of  food.  What  the  provisions  were,  with  which  this  table  was  furnished, 
is  a  matter  wherein  the  expositors  are  not  agreed.  One  will  have  them  to  be  nine  cakes 
of  bread  and  nine  fishes  ;  another,  bread  and  flesh  ;  another,  all  sorts  of  food  except  flesh ; 
another,  all  sorts  of  food,  except  bread  and  flesh ;  another,  all  except  bread  and  fish ; 
another,  one  fish,  which  had  the  taste  of  all  manner  of  food;  and  another,  fruits  of  para- 
dise :  but  the  most  received  tradition  is,  that  when  the  table  was  uncovered,  there  appeared 
a  fish  ready  dressed,  without  scales  or  prickly  fins,  dropping  with  fat,  havina:  salt  placed 
at  its  head,  and  vinegar  at  its  tail,  and  round  it  all  sorts  of  herbs,  except  leeks,  and  five 
loaves  of  bread,  on  one  of  which  there  were  olives,  on  the  second  honey,  on  the  third 
butter,  on  the  fourth  cheese,  and  on  the  fifth  dried  flesh.  They  add,  that  Jesus,  at  the 
request  of  the  apostles,  showed  them  another  miracle,  by  restoring  the  fish  to  life,  and 
causing  its  scales  and  fins  to  return  to  it;  at  which  the  standers-by  being  aflfriglited,  he 
caused  it  to  become  as  it  was  before :  that  one  thousand  three  hundred  men  and  women, 
all  afflicted  with  bodily  infirmities  or  poverty,  ate  of  these  provisions,  and  were  satisfied; 
the  fish  remaining  whole  as  it  was  at  first :  that  then  the  table  flew  up  to  heaven  in  the 
sight  of  all ;  and  every  one  who  had  partaken  of  this  food  were  delivered  from  their  in- 
firmities and  misfortunes :  and  that  it  continued  to  descend  for  forty  days  together,  at 
dinner-time,  and  stood  on  the  ground  till  the  sun  declined,  and  was  then  taken  up  into 
the  clouds.  Some  of  the  Mohammedan  writers  are  of  opinion  that  this  table  did  not 
really  descend,  but  that  it  was  only  a  parable ;  but  most  think  the  words  of  the  Koran 
are  plain  to  the  contrary.  A  further  tradition  is,  that  several  men  were  changed  into 
swine  for  disbelieving  this  miracle  and  attributing  it  to  magic  art ;  or,  as  others  pretend, 
for  stealing  some  of  the  victuals  from  off"  it.*  Several  other  fabulous  circumstances  are 
also  told,  which  are  scarce  worth  transcribing.' 

'  Some  say  the  table  descended  on  a  Sunday,  which  was  the  reason  of  the  Christians 
observing  that  day  as  sacred.  Others  pretend  that  this  day  is  still  kept  among  them  as  a 
very  great  festival ;  and  it  seems  as  if  the  story  had  its  rise  from  an  imperfect  notion  of 
Christ's  last  supper,  and  the  institution  of  the  Eucharist. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  at  Thalabi.  »  Vide  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  238,  (fcc. 


98  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

will  surely  punish  him  with  a  punishment,  wherewith  I  will  not  punish  any 
other  creature.  *And  when  God  shall  say  unto  Jesus,  at  the  last  day,  O  Jesus 
son  of  Mary,  hast  thou  said  unto  men.  Take  me  and  my  mother  for  two 
gods,  beside  God  ?  He  shall  answer.  Praise  be  unto  thee !  it  is  not  for  me 
to  say  that  which  I  ought  not ;  if  I  had  said  so,  thou  wouldest  surely  have 
known  it :  thou  knowest  what  is  in  me,  but  I  know  not  what  is  in  thee ; 
for  thou  art  the  knower  of  secrets.  I  have  not  spoken  to  them  any  other 
than  what  thou  didst  command  me ;  namely,  Worship  God,  my  Lord  and 
your  Lord  :  and  I  was  a  witness  of  their  actions  while  I  staid  among 
them ;  but  since  thou  hast  taken  me  to  thyself,*'  thou  hast  been  the  watcher 
over  them ;  for  thou  art  witness  of  all  things.  If  thou  punish  them,  they 
are  surely  thy  servants ;  and  if  thou  forgive  them,  thou  art  mighty  and 
wise.  God  will  say,  This  day  shall  their  veracity  be  of  advantage  unto 
those  who  speak  truth ;  they  shall  have  gardens  wherein  rivers  flow,  they 
shall  remain  therein  for  ever:  God  hath  been  well  pleased  in  them,  and 
they  have  been  well  pleased  in  him.  This  shall  he  great  felicity.  Unto 
God  belongeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  of  earth,  and  of  whatever  therein 
is ;  and  he  is  almighty. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

INTITLED,  CATTLE:'   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Praise  be  unto  God,  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and 
hath  ordained  the  darkness  and  the  light ;  nevertheless  they  who  believe 
not  in  the  Lord  equalize  other  gods  with  him.  It  is  he  who  hath  created 
you  of  clay ;  and  then  decreed  the  term  of  your  lives ;  and  the  prefixed 
term  is  with  him :  ^  yet  do  ye  doubt  thereof.  He  is  God  in  heaven  and  in 
earth ;  he  knoweth  what  ye  keep  secret,  and  what  ye  publish,  and  knoweth 
what  ye  deserve.  There  came  not  unto  them  any  sign,  of  the  signs  of  their 
Lord,  but  they  retired  from  the  same ;  and  they  have  gainsaid  the  truth, 
after  that  it  hath  come  unto  them :  but  a  message  shall  come  unto  them, 

^  Or,  si?ice  tlioxi  hast  caused  me  to  die  ;  but  as  it  is  a  dispute  among  Mohammedans 
whether  Christ  actually  died  or  not,  before  his  assumption,*^  and  the  original  may  be  trans- 
lated either  way,  I  have  chosen  the  former  expression,  which  leaves  the  matter  undecided. 

'  This  chapter  is  so  intitled,  because  some  superstitious  customs  of  the  Meccans,  as  to 
certain  cattle,  are  therein  incidentally  mentioned. 

"*  Except  only  six  verses,  or,  say  others,  three  verses,  which  are  taken  notice  of  in  the 
notes. 

"  By  the  last  term  some  understand  the  time  of  the  resurrection.  Others  think  that  by 
the  first  term  is  intended  the  space  between  creation  and  death,  and  by  the  latter,  that 
between  death  and  the  resurrection. 

*  See  chap.  iii.  p.  4. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  99 

concerning  that  which  they  have  mocked  at.°  Do  they  not  consider  how 
many  generations  we  have  destroyed  before  them  ?  We  had  established 
them  in  the  earth  in  a  manner  wherein  we  have  not  cstabHshcd  you;p  we 
sent  the  lieaven  to  rain  abundantly  upon  them,  and  we  gave  them  rivers 
which  flowed  under  their  feet :  yet  we  destroyed  them  in  their  sins, 
and  raised  up  other  generations  after  them.  Although  we  had  caused 
to  descend  unto  thee  a  book  written  on  paper,  and  they  had  handled  it  with 
their  hands,  the  unbelievers  had  surely  said,  This  is  no  other  than  manifest 
sorcery.*  They  said.  Unless  an  angel  be  sent  down  unto  him,  we  will  not 
believe.  But  if  we  had  sent  down  an  angel,  verily  the  matter  had  been 
decreed,''  and  they  should  not  have  been  borne  with,  by  having  time  granted 
them  to  repent.  And  if  we  had  appointed  an  angel  for  our  messenger,  we 
should  have  sent  him  in  the  form  of  a  man,""  and  have  clothed  him  before 
them,  as  they  are  clothed.  Other  apostles  have  been  laughed  to  scorn, 
before  thee,  but  the  judgment  which  they  made  a  jest  of  encompassed  those 
who  laughed  them  to  scorn.  Say,  Go  through  the  earth,  and  behold  what 
hath  been  the  end  of  those,  who  accused  our  prophets  of  imposture.  Say, 
Unto  whom  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  earth  1  Say,  Unto  God, 
He  hath  prescribed  unto  himself  mercy.  He  will  surely  gather  you  together 
on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  there  is  no  doubt  of  it.  They  who  destroy  their 
own  souls  are  tJiose  who  will  not  believe.  Unto  him  is  owing  whatsoever 
happeneth  by  night  or  by  day  ;|  it  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  Say, 
Shall  I  take  any  other  protector  than  God,  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth, 
who  feedeth  all  and  is  not  fed  by  any  ?  Say,  Verily  I  am  commanded  to 
be  the  first  who  professeth  Islam,^  and  it  was  said  unto  me,  Thou  shalt  by 
no  means  be  one  of  the  idolaters.  Say,  Verily  I  fear,  if  I  should  rebel 
against  my  Lord,  the  punishment  of  the  great  day :  from  whomsoever  it 
shall  be  averted  on  that  day,  God  will  have  been  merciful  unto  him ;  this 
will  be  manifest  salvation.  If  God  afflict  thee  with  any  hurt,  there  is  none 
who  can  take  it  off  from  thee,  except  himself;  but  if  he  cause  good  to  befall 
thee,  he  is  almighty ;  he  is  the  supreme  Lord  over  his  servants ;  and  he  is 

°  That  is,  they  shall  be  convinced  of  the  truth  which  they  have  made  a  jest  of,  when 
they  see  the  punishment  which  they  shall  suffer  for  so  doing,  both  in  this  world  and 
the  next ;  or  when  they  shall  see  the  glorious  success  of  Mohammedism. 

p  i.  e.  We  had  blessed  them  with  greater  power  and  length  of  prosperity  than  we  have 
granted  you,  O  men  of  Mecca,'  Mohammed  seems  here  to  mean  the  ancient  and  potent 
tribes  of  Ad  and  Thamud,  &,c.' 

*  "  It  is  an  imposture." — Savary. 

"  That  is  to  say.  As  they  would  not  have  believed,  even  if  an  angel  had  descended  to 
them  from  heaven,  God  has  shown  his  mercy  in  not  complying  with  their  demands;  for 
if  he  had,  they  would  have  sufiered  immediate  condemnation,  and  would  have  been 
allowed  no  lime  for  repentance. 

'  As  Gabriel  generally  appeared  to  Mohammed;  who,  though  a  prophet,  was  not  able 
to  bear  the  sight  of  him  wlien  he  appeared  in  his  proper  form,  much  less  would  others  be 
able  to  support  it. 

t  "  He  posscsseth  all  that  night  veileth,  all  that  day  enlighteneth.     He  knoweth  and 
heareth  all  things." — Savary. 
'  That  is,  the  first  of  my  nation.' 

■"  Al  Beidawi.  «  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


100  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

wise  and  knowing.  Say,  What  thing  is  the  strongest  in  bearing  testimony  1^ 
Say,  God  ;  Ac  is  witness  between  me  and  you.  And  this  Koran  was 
revealed  unto  me,  that  I  should  admonish  you  thereby,  and  also  those  unto 
whom  it  shall  reach.  Do  ye  really  profess  that  there  are  other  gods  together 
with  God  ?  Say,  I  do  not  profess  this.  Say,  Verily  he  is  one  God  ;  and  I 
am  guiltless  of  what  ye  associate  with  him.  They  unto  whom  we  have 
given  the  scripture  know  our  apostle,  even  as  they  know  their  own 
children ; "  but  they  who  destroy  their  own  souls  will  not  believe.  Who  is 
more  unjust  than  he  who  inventeth  a  lie  against  God,''  or  chargeth  his 
signs  with  imposture?  Surely  the  unjust  shall  not  prosper.  And  on  the  day 
of  resurrection  we  will  assemble  them  all ;  then  will  we  say  unto  those  who 
associated  others  with  God,  Where  are  your  companions,^  whom  ye  imagined 
to  he  those  of  God  ?  But  they  shall  have  no  other  excuse,  than  that  they 
shall  say,  by  God  our  Lord,  we  have  not  been  idolaters.  Behold,  how  they 
he  against  themselves,  and  what  they  have  blasphemously  imagined  to  be 
the  companion  of  God  flieth  from  them.^  There  is  of  them  who  hearkeneth 
unto  thee  when  thou  readest  the  Koran ;  *  but  we  have  cast  veils  over  their 
hearts,  that  they  should  not  understand  it,  and  a  deafness  in  their  ears : 
and  though  they  should  see  all  kinds  of  signs,  they  will  not  believe  therein ; 
and  their  infidelity  will  arrive  to  that  height  that  they  will  even  come  unto 
thee,  to  dispute  with  thee.  The  unbelievers  will  say.  This  is  nothing  but 
silly  fables  of  ancient  times.  And  they  will  forbid  others  from  believing 
therein,  and  will  retire  afar  off  from  it ;  but  they  will  destroy  their  own 
souls  only,  and  they  are  not  sensible  thereof  If  thou  didst  see  when  they 
shall  be  set  over  the  fire  of  hell !  and  they  shall  say.  Would  to  God 
we  might  be  sent  back  into  the  world ;  we  would  not  charge  the  signs 
of  our  Lord  with  imposture,  and  we  would  become  true  believers ;  nay, 
but  that  is  become  manifest  unto  them,  which  they  formerly  concealed ;  * 
and  though  they  should  be  sent  back  into  the  world,  they  would  surely 
return  to  that  which  was  forbidden  them ;  and  they  are  surely  liars.  And 
they  said.  There  is  no  other  life  than  our  present  life ;  neither  shall  we  be 
raised  again.  But  if  thou  couldest  see,  when  they  shall  be  set  before  their 
Lord  ! "     He  shall  say  unto  them.  Is  not  this  in  truth  come  to  pass  ?    They 

'  This  passage  was  revealed  when  the  Koreish  told  Mohammed  that  they  had  asked 
the  Jews  and  Christians  concerning  him,  who  assured  them  they  found  no  mention  or 
description  of"  him  in  their  books  of  scripture ;  Therefore,  said  they,  who  bears  witness  to 
thee,  that  thou  art  the  apostle  of  God  1  ^ 

"  See  chap.  ii.  p.  18. 

^  Saying  the  angels  are  the  daughters  of  God,  and  intercessors  for  us  with  him,  &c.^ 

y  i.  e.  Your  idols  and  false  gods. 

^  That  is,  their  imaginary  deities  prove  to  be  nothing,  and  disappear  Uke  vain  phantoms 
and  chimeras. 

'  The  persons  here  meant  were  Abu  Sofian  al  Walid,  al  Nodar,  Otba,  Abu  Jahl,  and 
their  comrades,  who  went  to  hear  Mohammed  repeat  some  of  the  Koran  ;  and  Nodar 
being  asked  what  he  said,  answered,  with  an  oath,  that  he  knew  not,  only  that  he  moved 
his  tongue,  and  told  a  parcel  of  foolish  stories,  as  he  had  done  to  them.^ 

"  viz.  Their  hypocrisy  and  vile  actions :  nor  does  their  promise  proceed  from  any  sin- 
cere intention  of  amendment,  but  from  the  anguish  and  misery  of  their  condition.^ 

"  viz.  In  order  for  judgment. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.        ^  Al  Beidawi.        "  Idem.        *  Idem. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  101 

shall  answer,  Yea,  by  our  Lord.  God  shall  say,  Taste  therefore  the  punish- 
ment diie  unfo  you,  for  that  ye  have  disbelieved.  They  are  lost  who  reject 
as  a  falsehood  the  meeting  of  God  in  the  next  life,  until  the  hour*  cometh 
.suddenly  upon  them.  Then  will  they  say,  Alas !  for  that  \vc  have  behaved 
ourselves  negligently  in  our  lifetime ;  and  they  shall  carry  their  burdens  on 
their  backs ;«  will  it  not  be  evil  which  they  shall  be  loaden  with?  This 
present  life  is  no  other  than  a  play  and  a  vain  amusement ;  but  surely  the 
future  mansion  shall  he  better  for  those  who  fear  God  :  will  they  not  there- 
fore understand  ?  Now  we  know  that  what  they  speak  grieveth  thee :  yet 
they  do  not  accuse  thee  of  falsehood ;  but  the  ungodly  contradict  the  signs 
of  God.'  And  apostles  before  thee  have  been  accounted  liars :  but  they 
patiently  bore  their  being  accounted  liars,  and  their  being  vexed,  until  our 
help  came  unto  them  ;  for  there  is  none  who  can  change  the  words  of  God  : 
and  thou  hast  received  some  information  concerning  those  who  have  been 
formerly  sent  from  liim.^  If  their  aversion  to  thy  admonitions  be  grievous 
unto  thee,  if  thou  canst  seek  out  a  den  whereby  thou  mayest  penetrate 
into  the  imcard  parts  of  the  earth,  or  a  ladder  by  lohich  thou  mayest 
ascend  into  heaven,  that  thou  mayest  show  them  a  sign,  do  so,  hut  thy 
search  will  be  fruitless;  for  if  God  pleased  he  would  bring  them  all 
to  the  true  direction:  be  not  therefore  one  of  the  ignorant.^  He  will 
give  a  favourable  answer  unto  those  only  who  shall  hearken  with  at- 
tention :  and  God  will  raise  the  dead ;  then  unto  him  shall  they  return. 
The  infidels  say.  Unless  some  sign  be  sent  down  unto  him  from  his 
Lord,  we  will  not  believe  :  answer.  Verily  God  is  able  to  send  down  a 
sign  :  but  the  greater  part  of  them  know  it  not.'  There  is  no  kind  of  beast 
on  earth,  nor  fowl  which  flieth  with  its  wings,  but  the  same  is  a  people  like 

■^  The  last  day  is  here  called  the  Hour,  as  it  is  in  scripture  ;*  and  the  preceding  expres- 
sion of  meeting  God  on  that  day  is  also  agreeable  to  the  same.^ 

*  When  an  infidel  comes  forth  from  his  grave,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  his  works  shall  be  re- 
presented to  him  under  the  ughest  form  that  ever  he  beheld,  having  a  most  deformed 
countenance,  a  filthy  smell,  and  a  disagreeable  voice  :  so  that  he  shall  cry  out,  God  defend 
me  from  thee,  tvhat  art  thou  ?  I  never  saw  any  thirig  more  detestable  !  To  which  the  figure 
will  answer,  Why  dost  thou  wonder  at  my  ugliness  ?  I  am  thy  evil  vjorhs  ;''  thou  didst  ride 
upon  me,  while  thou  wast  in  the  world,  hut  now  will  I  ride  upon  thee,  and  thou  shalt  carry 
me.  And  itumediately  it  shall  get  upon  him  ;  and  whatever  he  shall  meet  shall  terrify 
him,  and  say.  Hail,  thou  enemy  of  God,  thou  art  he  who  was  meant  by  (these  words  of  the 
Koran)  and  they  shall  carry  their  burdens,  (f-c* 

'  That  is,  it  is  not  thou  but  God  whom  they  injure  by  their  impious  gainsaying  of  what 
has  been  revealed  to  thee.  It  is  said  that  Abu  Jahl  once  told  Mohammed,  that  they  did 
not  accuse  him  of  falsehood,  because  he  was  known  to  be  a  man  of  veracity,  but  only  they 
did  not  believe  the  revelations  which  he  brought  them  ;  which  occasioned  this  passage.'* 

E  J.  e.  Thou  hast  been  acquainted  with  the  stories  of  several  of  the  preceding  prophets ; 
what  persecutions  they  suffered  from  those  to  whom  they  were  sent,  and  in  what  manner 
God  supported  ihem  and  punished  their  enemies,  according  to  his  unalterable  promise.' 

**  In  this  passage  Mohammed  is  reproved  for  his  impatience,  in  not  bearing  with  the  ob- 
stinacy of  his  countrymen,  and  for  his  indiscreet  desire  of  effecting  what  God  hath  not 
decreed,  namely,  the  conversion  and  salvation  of  all  men. 

*  Being  both  ignorant  of  God's  almighty  pov.-er,  and  of  the  consequence  of  what  ihey 
ask,  which  might  prove  their  utter  destruction. 

»1  John  V.  25,  &CC.  "  1  Thess.  iv.  17.  '  See  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  book  ii. 

ver.  737,  &c.  '  See  also  oh.  iii.  p.  54.  '  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  *  Idem. 


102  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

unto  you  ;^  we  have  not  omitted  any  thing  in  the  book^  of  our  decrees  :* 
then  unto  their  Lord  shall  they  return.™  They  who  accuse  our  signs  of 
falsehood  are  deaf  and  dumb,  walking  in  darkness  :  God  will  lead  into  error 
whom  he  pleaseth,  and  whom  he  pleaseth  he  will  put  in  the  right  way. 
Say,  What  think  ye?  if  the  punishment  of  God  come  upon  you,  or  the 
hour  of  the  resurrection  come  upon  you,  will  ye  call  upon  any  other  than 
GoD;  if  ye  speak  truth  ?  yea,  him  shall  ye  call  upon,  and  he  shall  free  you 
from  that  which  ye  shall  ask  him  to  deliver  you  from,  if  he  pleaseth  ;  and 
ye  shall  forget  that  which  ye  associated  with  him^  We  have  already  sent 
messengers  unto  sundry  nations  before  thee,  and  we  afflicted  them  with 
trouble  and  adversity  that  they  might  humble  themselves :  yet  when  the 
affliction  which  we  sent  came  upon  them,  they  did  not  humble  themselves  ; 
but  their  hearts  became  hardened,|  and  Satan  prepared  for  them  that 
which  they  committed.  And  when  they  had  forgotten  that  concerning 
which  they  had  been  admonished,  we  opened  unto  them  the  gates  of  all 
things;"  until,  while  they  were  rejoicing  for  that  which  had  been  given 
them,  we  suddenly  laid  hold  on  them,  and  behold,  they  were  seized  with 
despair ;  and  the  utmost  part  of  the  people  which  had  acted  wickedly  was 
cut  off:  praise  be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures  !  Say,  what  think 
ye?  if  God  should  take  away  your  hearing  and  your  sight,  and  should  seal 
up  your  hearts ;  what  god  besides  God  will  restore  them  unto  you  ?  See 
how  variously  we  show  forth  the  signs  of  God''s  unity ;  p  yet  do  they  turn 
aside  from  them.  Say  unto  them,  What  think  ye  ?  if  the  punishment  of 
God  come  upon  you  suddenly,  or  in  open  view ;  i  will  any  perish,  except 
the  ungodly  people  ?  We  send  not  our  messengers  otherwise  than  bearing 
good  tidings  and  denouncing  threats.  Whoso  therefore  shall  believe  and 
amend,  on  them  shall  no  fear  come,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved ;    but 

*  Being  created  and  preserved  by  the  same  omnipotence  and  providence  as  ye  are. 

'  That  is,  in  the  preserved  table,  wherein  God's  decrees  are  written,  and  all  things  which 
come  to  pass  in  the  world,  as  v/ell  the  most  minute  as  the  more  momentous,  are  exactly 
registered.' 

*  "  The  beasts  which  cover  the  earth,  the  birds  which  traverse  the  air,  are  creatures 
hke  yourselves.  All  are  written  in  the  book.  They  will  appear  again  before  him." — 
Savary. 

'^  For,  according  to  the  Mohammedan  belief,  the  irrational  animals  will  also  be  restored 
to  life  at  the  resurrection,  that  they  may  be  brought  to  judgment,  and  have  vengeance 
taken  on  them  for  the  injuries  they  did  one  another  while  in  this  world.'' 

°  That  is,  Ye  shall  then  forsake  your  false  gods,  when  ye  shall  be  efTectually  convinced 
that  God  alone  is  able  to  deliver  you  from  eternal  punishment.  But  others  rather 
think  that  this  forgetting  will  be  the  effect  of  the  distress  and  terror  which  they  will  then 
be  in.' 

t"  Their  hearts  grew  hard,  and  Satan  caused  them  to  find  charms  in  rebellion." — 
Savary. 

'  That  is,  we  gave  them  all  manner  of  plenty  ;  that  since  they  took  no  warning  by  their 
afflictions,  their  prosperity  might  become  a  snare  to  them,  and  they  might  bring  down 
upon  themselves  swifter  destruction. 

p  Laying  them  before  you  in  different  views,  and  making  use  of  arguments  and  motives 
drawn  from  various  considerations. 

1  That  is,  says  al  Beidawi,  either  without  any  previous  notice,  or  after  some  warning 
given. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  *  See  ibid.  =  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  103 

whoso  shall  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood,  a  punishment  shall  fall  on  ihem, 
because  they  have  done  wickedly.  Say,  I  say  not  unto  you,  The  treasures 
of  God  are  in  my  power :  neither  do  I  say,  I  know  the  secrets  of  God  : 
neither  do  I  say  unto  you,  Verily  I  am  an  angel :  I  follow  only  that  which 
is  revealed  unto  me.  Say,  Shall  the  blind  and  the  seeing  be  held  equal  ? 
do  ye  not  therefore  consider  ?  Preach  it  unto  those  who  fear  that  they 
shall  be  assembled  before  their  Lord  :  they  shall  have  no  patron  nor  inter- 
cessor, except  him ;  that  peradventure  they  may  take  heed  to  themselves. 
Drive  not  away  those  who  call  upon  their  Lord  morning  and  evening, 
desiring  to  see  his  face,-'"  it  belongeth  not  unto  thee  to  pass  any  judgment 
on  them,''  nor  doth  it  belong  unto  them  to  pass  any  judgment  on  thee: 
therefore  if  thou  drive  them  away,  thou  wilt  become  one  of  the  unjust. 
Thus  have  we  proved  some  part  of  them  by  other  part,  that  they  may 
say,  Are  these  the  people  among  us  unto  whom  God  hath  been  gracious?* 
Doth  not  God  most  truly  know  those  who  are  thankful  1  And  when  they 
who  believe  in  our  signs  shall  come  unto  thee,  say.  Peace  he  upon  you. 
Your  Lord  hath  prescribed  unto  himself  mercy ;  so  whoever  among  you 
worketh  evil  through  ignorance,  and  afterwards  repenteth  and  amendeth ; 
unto  him  ivill  he  surely  be  gracious  and  merciful.  Thus  have  we  distinctly 
propounded  our  signs,  that  the  path  of  the  wicked  might  be  made  known. 
Say,  Verily  I  am  forbidden  to  worship  the  false  deities  which  ye  invoke, 
besides  God.  Say,  I  will  not  follow  your  desires ;  for  then  should  I  err, 
neither  should  I  be  one  of  those  loho  are  rightly  directed.  Say,  I  behave 
according  to  the  plain  declaration,  which  I  have  received  from  my  Lord  ; 
but  ye  have  forged  lies  concerning  him.  That  which  ye  desire  should  be 
hastened,  is  not  in  my  power  i'"  judgment  belongeth  only  unto  God  ;  he  will 
determine  the  truth;  and  he  is  the  best  discerner.  Say,  If  what  ye  desire 
should  be  hastened  were  in  my  power,  the  matter  had  been  determined 
between  me  and  you  :  ^  but  God  well  knoweth  the  unjust.  With  him  are 
the  keys  of  the  secret  things ;  none  knoweth  them  besides  himself:  he 
knoweth  that  which  is  on  the  dry  land  and  in  the  sea ;  there  falleth  no 

■  These  words  were  occasioned  when  the  Koreish  desired  Mohammed  not  to  admit  the 
poor  or  more  inferior  people,  such  as  Ammar,  Soheib,  Khobbab,  and  Sahnan,  into  his 
company,  pretending  that  then  they  would  come  and  discourse  with  him  ;  but  he  refusinor 
to  turn  away  any  beUevers,  they  insisted  at  least  that  he  should  order  them  to  rise  up  and 
withdraw  when  they  came,  which  he  agreed  to  do.  Others  say,  that  the  chief  men  of 
Mecca  expelled  all  the  poor  out  of  their  city,  bidding  them  go  to  Mohammed  ;  which  they 
did,  and  offered  to  embrace  his  religion;  but  he  made  some  difficulty  to  receive  them, 
suspecting  their  motive  to  be  necessity,  and  not  real  conviction;*^  whereupon  this  passage 
was  revealed. 

"  i.  e.  Rashly  to  decide  whether  their  intentions  be  sincere  or  not ;  since  thou  canst  not 
know  their  heart,  and  their  faith  may  possibly  be  more  firm  than  that  of  those  who  would 
persuade  thee  to  discard  them. 

'  That  is  to  say,  the  noble  by  those  of  mean  extraction,  and  the  rich  by  the  poor;  in 
that  God  chose  to  call  the  latter  to  the  faith  by  the  former.'' 

'  This  passage  is  an  answer  to  the  audacious  defiances  of  the  infidels,  who  bid  Mo- 
hammed, if  he  were  a  true  prophet,  to  call  for  a  shower  of  stones  from  heaven,  or  some 
other  sudden  and  miraculous  punishment,  to  destroy  them.^ 

*  For  I  should  ere  now  have  destroyed  you,  out  of  zeal  for  God's  honour,  had  it  been 
in  my  power.' 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  ■•  Idem.  '  Al  Beidawi.  "  Idem. 


104  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

leaf,  but  he  knoweth  it ;  neither  is  there  a  single  grain  in  the  dark  parts  of 
the  earth,  neither  a  green  thing,  nor  a  dry  thing,  but  it  is  written  in  the 
perspicuous  book.^  It  is  he  who  causeth  you  to  sleep  by  night,  and 
knoweth  what  ye  merit  by  day ;  he  also  awaketh  you  therein,  that  the 
prefixed  term  of  your  lives  may  be  fulfilled  :  then  unto  him  shall  ye  return, 
and  he  shall  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  He  is  supreme 
over  his  servants,  and  sendcth  the  guardian  angels  to  watch  over  you,^  until, 
when  death  overtaketh  one  of  you,  our  messengers "^  cause  him  to  die: 
and  they  will  not  neglect  our  commands.  Afterwards  shall  they  return 
unto  God,  their  true  Lord  :  doth  not  judgment  belong  unto  him?  he  is  the 
most  quick  in  taking  an  account.*  Say,  Who  delivereth  you  from  the 
darkness  "=  of  the  land,  and  of  the  sea,  when  ye  call  upon  him  humbly  and 
in  private,  saying,  Verily  if  thou  deliver  us"^  from  these  dangers,  we  will 
surely  be  thankful  ?  Say,  God  delivereth  you  from  them,  and  from  every 
grief  of  mind ;  yet  afterwards  ye  give  hi7n  companions.®  Say,  He  is  able 
to  send  on  you  a  punishment  from  above  you,'  or  from  under  your  feet,^  or 
to  engage  you  in  dissension,  and  to  make  some  of  you  taste  the  violence 
of  others.  Observe  how  variously  we  show  forth  our  signs,  that  peradven- 
ture  they  may  understand.  This  people  hath  accused  the  revelation  which 
thou  hast  brought  of  falsehood,  although  it  be  the  truth.  Say,  I  am  not  a 
guardian  over  you  :  every  prophecy  hath  its  fixed  time  of  accomplishment ; 
and  he  will  hereafter  know  it.  When  thou  seest  those  who  are  engaged  in 
cavilling  at,  or  ridiculing  our  signs,  depart  from  them,  until  they  be 
engaged  in  some  other  discourse  :*  and  if  Satan  cause  thee  to  forget  this 
precept,  do  not  sit  with  the  ungodly  people  after  recollection.  They  who 
fear  God  are  not  at  all  accountable  for  them,  but  their  duty  is  to  remember 
that  they  may  take  heed  to  themselves.**  Abandon  those  who  make  their 
religion  a  sport  and  a  jest ;  and  whom  the  present  life  hath  deceived  :  and 
admonish  them  by  the  Koran,  that  a  soul  becometh  liable  to  destruction  for 
that  which  it  committeth :  it  shall  have  no  patron  nor  intercessor  besides 
God  ;  and  if  it  could  pay  the  utmost  price  of  redemption,  it  would  not  be 
accepted  from  it.     They  who  are  delivered  over  to  perdition  for  that  which 

y  i.  e.  The  preserved  table,  or  register  of  God's  decrees. 
^  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

*  That  is,  the  angel  of  death  and  his  assistants.' 
•^  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

"  That  is,  the  dangers  and  distresses. 

^  The  Cufic  copies  read  it  in  the  third  person,  if  he  deliver  us,  ^c. 

^  Returning  to  your  old  idolatry. 

'  That  is,  by  storms  from  heaven,  as  he  destroyed  the  unbelieving  people  of  Noah,  and 
of  Lot,  and  the  army  of  Abraha,  the  lord  of  the  elephant.^ 

e  Eitlier  by  drowning  you,  as  he  did  Pharaoh  and  his  host,  or  causing  the  earth  to  open 
and  swallow  you  up,  as  happened  to  Korah,  or  (as  the  Mohammedans  name  him)  Karun." 

*  "  Fly  from  those  who  revile  religion,  until  they  change  their  discourse." — Savory. 

^  And  therefore  need  not  be  troubled  at  the  indecent  and  impious  talk  of  the  infidels ; 
provided  they  lake  care  not  be  infected  by  them.  When  the  preceding  passage  was  re- 
vealed, the  Moslems  told  their  prophet,  that  if  they  were  obliged  to  rise  up  whenever  the 
idolaters  spoke  irreverently  of  the  Koran,  they  could  never  sit  quietly  in  the  temple,  nor 
perform  their  devotions  there  ;  whereupon  these  words  were  added.* 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.        '  Al  Beidawi.        '  Idem.        *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  105 

they  have  committed  shall  have  boiling  water  to  drink,  and  shall  suffer  a 
grievous  punishment,  because  they  have  disbelieved.  Say,  Shall  we  call 
upon  that,  besides  God,  which  can  neither  profit  us,  nor  hurt  us  ?  and  shall 
we  turn  back  on  our  heels,  after  that  God  hath  directed  us;  like  him 
whom  the  devils  have  infatuated,  wandering  amazedly  in  the  earth,  and 
yet  having  companions  who  call  him  into  the  true  direction,  saying.  Come 
unto  us  ?  Say,  the  direction  of  God  is  the  true  direction :  we  are  com- 
manded to  resign  ourselves  unto  the  Lord  of  all  creatures ;  and  it  is  also 
commanded  us,  saying,  Observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  fear  him ;  for 
it  is  he  before  whom  ye  shall  be  assembled.  It  is  he  who  hath  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  in  truth ;  and  whenever  he  saith  unto  a  thing,  Be,  it 
is.  His  word  is  the  truth;  and  his  will  be  the  kingdom  on  the  day 
whereon  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded:'  he  knoweth  whatever  is  secret, 
and  whatever  is  public ;  he  is  the  wise,  the  knowing.  Call  to  mind  when 
Abraham  said  unto  his  father  Azer,^  Dost  thou  take  images  for  gods  ?  ^ 
Verily  I  perceive  that  thou  and  thy  people  are  in  a  manifest  error.  And 
thus  did  we  show  unto  Abraham  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth, 
that   he   might   become   one  of  those  who  firmly  believe.""      And  when 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

^  This  is  the  name  which  the  Mohammedans  give  to  Abraham's  father,  named  in 
scripture  Terah.  However,  some  of  their  writers  pretend  that  Azer  was  the  son  of 
Terah,'  and  D'Herbelot  says  that  the  Arabs  always  distinguish  them  in  their  genealo- 
gies as  different  persons ;  but  that  because  Abraham  was  the  son  of  Terah  according 
to  Moses,  it  is  therefore  supposed  (by  European  writers)  that  Terah  is  the  same 
with  the  Azer  of  the  Arabs.*  How  true  this  observation  may  be,  in  relation  to  some 
authors,  I  cannot  say,  but  I  am  sure  it  cannot  be  true  of  all ;  for  several  Arab  and  Turk- 
ish writers  expressly  make  Azer  and  Terah  the  same  person.'  Azer,  in  ancient  times, 
was  the  name  of  the  planet  Mars,  and  the  month  of  March  was  so  called  by  the  most 
ancient  Persians;  for  the  word  originally  signifying^re  (as  it  still  does),  it  was  therefore 
given  by  them  and  the  Chaldeans  to  that  planet,^  which  partaking,  as  was  supposed,  of  a 
fiery  nature,  was  acknowledged  by  the  Chaldeans  and  Assyrians  as  a  god  or  planetary 
deity,  whom  in  old  times  they  worshipped  under  the  form  of  a  pillar;  whence  Azer 
became  a  name  among  the  nobility,  who  esteemed  it  honourable  to  be  denominated  from 
their  gods,®  and  is  found  in  the  composition  of  several  Babylonish  names.  For  these 
reasons  a  learned  author  supposes  Azer  to  have  been  the  heathen  name  of  Terah,  and 
that  the  other  was  given  him  on  his  conversion.'  Al  Beidawi  confirms  this  conjecture, 
saying  that  Azer  was  the  name  of  the  idol  which  he  worshipped.  It  may  be  observed 
that  Abraham's  father  is  also  called  Zarah  in  the  Talmud,  and  Athar  by  Eusebius.  (The 
surname  of  Azer  was  given  to  him  in  consequence  of  his  idolatry.  It  is  derived  from  iazar, 
"  O  thou  who  art  in  error." — Savary.) 

*  That  Azer  or  Terah  was  an  idolater,  is  allowed  on  all  hands  ;  nor  can  it  be  denied, 
since  he  is  expressly  said  in  scripture  to  have  served  strange  gods.^  The  eastern  authors 
unanimously  agree  that  he  was  a  statuary,  or  carver  of  idols ;  and  he  is  represented  as  the 
first  who  made  images  of  clay,  pictures  only  having  been  in  use  before,*  and  taught  that 
they  were  to  be  adored  as  gods."  However,  we  are  told  his  employment  was  a  very  hon- 
ourable one,'  and  that  he  was  a  great  lord,  and  in  high  favour  with  Nimrod,  whose  son- 
in-law  he  was,®  because  he  made  his  idols  for  him,  and  was  excellent  in  his  art.  Some 
of  the  Rabbins  say  Terah  was  a  priest,  and  chief  of  the  order.' 

"  That  is,  we  gave  him  a  right  apprehension  of  the  government  of  the  world  and  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  that  he  might  know  them  all  to  be  ruled  by  God,  by  putting  him  on 
making  the  following  reflections. 

>  Tarikh  Montakhab.  apud  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  12.  •  D'Herbel.  ibid.  '  AI 
Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  Ebn  Shohnah,  Mirat  Kainat,  &c.  Vide  etiam  Pharhang 
Jehanghiri,  apud  Hyde  de  Rel.  Vet.  Persar.  p.  68.  «  Hyde,  ibid.  p.  63.  '  Idem,  ib. 
p.  64.  '  Idem,  ibid.  p.  62.  »  Josh.  xxiv.  2,  14.  ==  Epiphan.  adv.  Hsr.  lib.  1,  p.  7,  8. 
*  Suidas  in  Lexico,  voce  ZtpotJy.  »  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  supra,  p.  63.  *  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup. 
'  Shalshel.  hakkab.  p.  94. 


106  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  VI. 


the  night  overshadowed  him,  he  saw  a  star,  and  he  said.  This  is  my  Lord  ;* 
but  when  it  set,  he  said,  I  like  not  gods  which  set.  And  when  he  saw  the 
moon  rising,  he  said,  This  is  my  Lord ;  but  when  he  saw  it  set,  he  said, 
Verily  if  my  Lord  direct  me  not,  I  shall  become  one  of  the  people  who  go 
astray.  And  when  he  saw  the  sun  rising,  he  said.  This  is  my  Lord,  this  is 
the  greatest ;  but  when  it  set,  he  said,  O  my  people,  verily  I  am  clear  of 
that  which  ye  associate  with  God  :  I  direct  my  face  unto  him  who  hath 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  /  am  orthodox,  and  am  not  one  of  the 
idolaters.  And  his  people  disputed  with  him  ;  and  he  said.  Will  ye  dispute 
with  me  concerning  God  ?  since  he  hath  now  directed  me,  and  I  fear  not 
that  which  ye  associate  with  him,  unless  that  my  Lord  willeth  a  thing ; 
for  my  Lord  comprehendeth  all  things  by  his  knowledge : "  will  ye  not 
therefore  consider?  And  how  should  I  fear  that  which  ye  associate  with 
God,  since  ye  fear  not  to  have  associated  with  God  that  concerning  which 
he  hath  sent  down  unto  you  no  authority?  which  therefore  of  the  two 
parties  is  the  more  safe,  if  ye  understand  aright  f  They  who  believe,  and 
clothe  not  their  faith  with  injustice,^  they  shall  enjoy  security,  and  they  are 
rightly  directed.  And  this  is  our  argument  wherewith  we  furnished  Abra- 
ham that  he  might  make  use  of  it  against  his  people:  we  exalt  unto 
degrees  of  wisdom  and  knowledge  whom  we  please ;  for  thy  Lord  is  wise 
and  knowing.     And  we  gave  unto  them  Isaac   and  Jacob;    we  directed 

°  Since  Abraham's  parents  were  idolaters,  it  seems  to  be  a  necessary  consequence  that 
himself  was  one  also  in  his  younger  years ;  the  scripture  not  obscurely  intimates  as 
much  ;*  and  the  Jews  themselves  acknowledge  it.'  At  what  age  he  came  to  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God  and  left  idolatry,  opinions  are  various.  Some  Jewish  writers  tell 
us,  he  was  then  but  three  years  old,'  and  the  Mohammedans  hkewiae  suppose  him 
very  young,  and  that  he  asked  his  father  and  mother  several  shrewd  questions  when 
a  child.^  Others,  however,  allow  him  to  have  been  a  middle-aged  man  at  that  time.^ 
Maimonides,  in  particular,  and  R.  Abraham  Zacuth  think  him  to  have  been  forty  years 
old,  which  age  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Koran.  But  the  general  opinion  of  the  Moham- 
medans is,  that  he  was  about  fifteen  or  sixteen."  As  the  religion  wherein  Abraham  was 
educated  was  the  Sabian,  which  consisted  chiefly  in  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies,* 
he  is  introduced  examining  their  nature  and  properties,  to  see  whether  they  had  a  right 
to  the  worship  which  was  paid  them  or  not ;  and  the  first  which  he  observed  was  the 
planet  Venus,  or,  as  others  will  have  it,  Jupiter.^  This  method  of  Abraham's  attaining 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  supreme  Creator  of  all  things  is  conformable  to  what  Josephus 
writes,  viz.  That  he  drew  his  notions  from  the  changes  which  he  had  observed  in  the  earth 
and  the  sea,  and  in  the  sun  and  the  moon,  and  the  rest  of  the  celestial  bodies;  concluding 
that  they  were  subject  to  the  command  of  a  superior  power,  to  whom  alone  all  honour 
and  thanks  are  due.'  The  story  itself  is  certainly  taken  from  the  Talmud.*  Some  of  the 
commentators,  however,  suppose  this  reasoning  of  Abraham  with  himself  was  not  the  first 
means  of  his  conversion,  but  that  he  used  it  only  by  way  of  argument  to  convince  the 
idolaters  among  whom  he  then  lived. 

'  That  is,  I  am  not  afraid  of  your  false  gods,  which  cannot  hurt  me,  except  God  per- 
mitteth  it,  or  is  pleased  to  afflict  me  himself. 

"  By  injustice,  in  this  place,  the  commentators  understand  idolatry,  or  open  rebellion 
against  God. 

'  Vide  Josh.  xxiv.  2,  14,  and  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  p.  59.  '  Joseph.  Ant.  lib.  1,  c.  7. 

Maimon.  More  Nev.  part  iii.  c.  29,  et  Yad  Hazzak,  de  Id.  c.  1,  &c.  '  Tanchuma, 
Talmud,  Nedarim,  32,  1,  et  apud  Maimon.  Yad  Hazz.  ubi  sup.  ^  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl. 
Orient.  Art.  Abraham.  '  Maimon.  ubi  sup.  R.  Abr.  Zacuth  in  Sefer  Juchasin,  Shalshel. 
hakkab,  &c.  "  Vide  Hyde,  ubi  sup.  pp.  60,  61.  et  Hotting,  Smegma  Orient,  p.  290,  &.c. 
Genebr.  in  Chron.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  10.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  ■"  Joseph. 
Ant.  lib.  i.  c.  7.  '  R.  Bechai,  in  Midrash.     Vide  Bartolocc.  Bibl.  Rabb.  part  i, 

p.  640. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  107 

them  both:  and  Noah  had  we  before  directed,  and  of  his  posterity i  David 
and  Solomon ;  and  Job/  and  Joseph,  and  Moses,  and  Aaron :  thus  do  we 
reward  the  righteous:  and  Zacharias,  and  John,  and  Jesus,  and  Elias;*  all 
of  them  were  upright  nnen :  and  Ismael,  and  Ehsha,*  and  Jonas,"  and  Lot  ;* 
all  these  have  we  favoured  above  the  rest  of  the  world ;  and  also  divers 
of  their  fathers,  and  their  issue,  and  their  brethren ;  and  we  chose  them, 
and  directed  them  into  the  right  way.  This  is  the  direction  of  God, 
he  directeth  thereby  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth ;  but  if  they  had 
been  guilty  of  idolatry,  that  which  they  wrought  would  have  become  utterly 
fruitless  unto  them.  Those  ivere  the  persons  unto  whom  we  gave  the 
scripture,  and  wisdom,  and  prophecy;  but  if  theses  believe  not  therein,  we 
will  commit  the  care  of  them  to  a  people  who  shall  not  disbelieve  the  same. 
Those  icere  the  persons  whom  God  hath  directed,  therefore  follow  their 
direction.  Say  unto  the  inhabitants  of  Mecca,  I  ask  of  you  no  recompense 
for  preaching  the  Koran ;  it  is  no  other  than  an  admonition  unto  all 
creatures.  They  make  not  a  due  estimation  of  God,^  when  they  say,  God 
hath  not  sent  down  unlo  man  anything  at  all:*  Say,  Who  sent  down  the 
book  which  Moses  brought,  a  light  and  a  direction  unto  men ;  which  ye 
transcribe  on  papers,  whereof  ye  publish  some  part,  and  great  part  whereof 
ye  conceal  ?  and  ye  have  been  taught  hy  Mohammed  what  ye  knew  not, 
neither  your  fathers.  Say,  God  sent  it  down :  then  leave  them  to  amuse 
themselves  with  their  vain  discourse.  This  book  which  we  have  sent  down 
is  blessed  ;  confirming  that  which  was  revealed  before  it ;  and  is  delivered 
unto  thee  that  thou  mayest  preach  it  unto  the  metropolis  of  Mecca  and  to 
those  who  are  round  about  it.  And  they  who  believe  in  the  next  life  will 
believe  therein,  and  they  will  diligently  observe  their  times  of  prayer. 
Who  is  more  wicked  than  he  who  forgeth  a  lie  concerning  God  ?  ^  *  or 

'  Some  refer  the  relative  his  to  Abraham,  the  person  chiefly  spoken  of  in  this  passage  ; 
some  to  Noah,  the  next  antecedent,  because  Jonas  and  Lot  were  not  (say  they)  of  Abra- 
ham's seed :  and  others  suppose  the  persons  named  in  this  and  the  next  verse  are  to  be 
understood  as  the  descendants  of  Abraham,  and  those  in  the  following  verse  as  those  of 
Noah.' 

'  The  Mohammedans  say  he  was  of  the  race  of  Esau.     See  chap.  xxi.  and  xxxviii. 

"  See  chap,  xxxvii. 

'  This  prophet  was  the  successor  of  Elias,  and  as  the  commentators  will  have  it,  the 
son  of  Okhtub ;  though  the  scripture  makes  him  the  son  of  Shaphat. 

"  See  chap,  x.,  xxi.,  and  xxxvii.  *  See  chap,  vii.,  &c. 

^  That  is,  the  Koreish.' 

'  That  is,  they  know  him  not  truly,  nor  have  just  notions  of  his  goodness  and  mercy 
towards  man.  The  persons  here  meant,  according  to  some  commentators,  are  the  Jews, 
and  according  to  others,  the  idolaters.'^ 

This  verse  and  the  two  next,  as  Jallalo'ddin  thinks,  were  revealed  at  Medina. 

■^  By  these  words  the  Jews  (if  they  were  the  persons  meant)  chiefly  intended  to  deny 
the  Koran  to  be  of  divine  revelation  :  though  they  might  in  strictness  insist  that  God  never 
revealed,  or  sent  down,  as  the  Koran  expresses  it,  any  real  composition  or  material  writing 
from  heaven,  in  the  manner  that  Mohammed  pretended  his  revelations  were  delivered,' 
if  we  except  only  the  decalogue  ;  God  having  left  to  the  inspired  penman,  not  only  the 
labour  of  writing,  but  the  liberty,  in  a  great  measure  at  least,  of  putting  the  truths  into 
their  own  words  and  manner  of  expression. 

"  Falsely  pretending  to  have  received  revelations  from  him  ;  as  did  Moseilama,  al  Aswad» 
al  Ansi,  and  others. 

*  "  What  can  be  more  impious  than  to  make  God  the  accomplice  of  a  falsehood  ?" — 
Savary. 

»  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  » Idem.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iij. 


108  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

saith,  This  was  revealed  unto  me ;  when  nothing  hath  been  revealed  unto 
him  ?  *^  and  who  saith,  I  will  produce  a  revelation  like  unto  that  which 
God  hath  sent  down  1  "^  If  thou  didst  see  when  the  ungodly  are  in  the 
pangs  of  death,  and  the  angels  "^  reach  out  their  hands  saying,  Cast  forth 
your  souls ;  this  day  shall  ye  receive  an  ignominious  punishment  for  that 
which  ye  have  falsely  spoken  concerning  God  ;  and  because  ye  have 
proudly  rejected  his  signs.  And  now  are  ye  come  unto  us  alone/  as 
we  created  you  at  first,s  and  ye  have  left  that  which  we  had  bestowed  on 
you,  behind  your  backs ;  neither  do  we  see  with  you  your  intercessors,'' 
whom  ye  thought  to  have  been  partners  with  God  among  you :  now  is  the 
relation  between  you  cut  off,  and  what  ye  imagined  hath  deceived  you.^ 
God  causeth  the  grain  and  the  date-stone  to  put  forth :  he  bringeth  forth 
the  living  from  the  dead,  and  he  bringeth  forth  the  dead  from  the  living.*^ 
This  is  God.  Why  therefore  are  ye  turned  away  yVoTTi  Aim  ^  He  causeth 
the  morning  to  appear ;  and  hath  ordained  the  night  for  rest,  and  the  sun 
and  the  moon  for  the  computing  of  time*  This  is  the  disposition  of  the 
mighty,  the  wise  God.  It  is  he  who  hath  ordained  the  stars  for  you,  that 
ye  may  be  directed  thereby  in  the  darkness  of  the  land  and  of  the  sea.  We 
have  clearly  shown  forth  our  signs,  unto  people  who  understand.  It  is  he 
who  hath  produced  you  from  one  soul ;  and  hath  provided  for  you  a  sure 
receptacle  and  a  repository.'  We  have  clearly  shown  forth  our  signs,  unto 
people  who  are  wise.  It  is  he  who  sendeth  down  water  from  heaven,  and 
we  have  thereby  produced  the  springing  buds  of  all  things,  and  have  there- 
out produced  the  green  thing,  from  which  we  produce  the  grain  growing  in 
rows,  and  palm-trees  from  whose  branches  proceed  clusters  of  dates  hanging 
close  together ;  and  gardens  of  grapes,  and  olives,  and  pomegranates,  both 
like  and  unlike  to  one  another.  Look  on  their  fruits,  when  they  bear  fruit, 
and  their  growing  to  maturity.     Verily  herein  are  signs,  unto  people  who 

■=  As  did  Abda'llah  Ebn  Saad  Ebn  Abi  Sarah,  who  for  some  time  was  the  prophet's 
amanuensis,  and  when  these  words  were  dictated  to  him  as  revealed,  viz.  We  created 
man  of  a  purer  hind  of  clay,  ^c*  cried  out,  by  way  of  admiration,  Blessed  be  God,  Ike 
best  Creator!  and  being  ordered  by  Mohammed  to  write  these  words  down  also,  as  part 
of  the  inspired  passage,  began  to  think  himself  as  great  a  prophet  as  his  master.'  Where- 
upon he  took  upon  himself  to  corrupt  and  alter  the  Koran  according  to  his  own  fancy,  and 
at  length  apostatizing,  was  one  of  the  ten  who  were  proscribed  at  the  taking  of  Mecca,' 
and  narrowly  escaped  with  life  on  his  recantation,  by  the  interposition  of  Othman  Ebn 
AfTan,  whose  foster-brother  he  was.'' 

'^  For  some  Arabs,  it  seems,  had  the  vanity  to  imagine,  and  gave  out,  that  if  they  pleased 
they  could  write  a  book  nothing  inferior  to  the  Koran. 

^  See  before,  p.  104,  note  a. 

'  That  is,  without  your  wealth,  your  children,  or  your  friends,  which  ye  so  much 
depended  on  in  your  lifetime. 

e  i.  e.  Naked  and  helpless. 

•■  Or  false  gods. 

'  Concerning  the  intercession  of  your  idols,  or  the  disbeHef  of  future  rewards  and  pun- 
ishments. 

'  See  chap.  iii.  p.  38. 

*  "  He  is  your  Lord.  How  can  he  deceive  you  ?  He  divideth  the  dawn  from  the  dark- 
ness. He  hath  appointed  the  night  for  rest.  The  sun  and  the  moon  mark  the  course  of 
time." — Savary. 

'  Namely,  in  the  loins  of  your  fathers,  and  the  wombs  of  your  mothers.' 

*  Koran,  c.  23.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  end  of  sect.  ii.  '  Vide 
Abu'lfed.     Vide  Moh.  p.  109.  « Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  109 

believe.  Yet  they  have  set  up  the  genii™  as  partners  with  God,  although 
he  created  them :  and  they  have  falsely  attributed  unto  him  sons  and 
daughters,"  without  knowledge.  Praise  be  unto  him;  and  far  be  that 
from  him  which  they  attribute  unto  him  !  He  is  the  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth :  how  should  he  have  issue  since  he  hath  no  consort  ?  he  hath 
created  all  things,  and  he  is  omniscient.  This  is  God  your  Lord  ;  there  is 
no  God  but  he,  the  creator  of  all  things;  therefore  serve  him:  for  he 
taketh  care  of  all  things.  The  sight  comprehendeth  him  not,  but  he  com- 
prehendeth  the  sight;  he  is  the  gracious,"  the  wise.  Now  have  evident 
demonstrations  come  unto  you  from  your  Lokd  ;  whoso  seeth  them,  the 
advantage  thereof  will  redound  to  his  own  soul :  and  whoso  is  wilfully  blind, 
the  consequence  will  he  to  himself.  I  am  not  a  keeper  over  you.  Thus  do 
we  variously  explain  our  signs;  that  they  may  say.  Thou  hast  studied 
diligently ;  p  and  that  we  may  declare  them  unto  people  of  understanding. 
Follow  that  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord  ;  there  is 
no  God  but  he ;  retire  therefore  from  the  idolaters.  If  God  had  so  pleased, 
they  had  not  been-  guilty,  of  idolatry.  We  have  not  appointed  thee  a 
keeper  over  them ;  neither  art  thou  a  guardian  over  them.  Revile  not  the 
idols  which  they  invoke  besides  God,  lest  they  maliciously  revile  God, 
without  knowledge.  Thus  have  we  prepared  for  every  nation  their  works : 
hereafter  unto  God  shall  they  return,  and  he  shall  declare  unto  them  that 
which  they  have  done.  They  have  sworn  by  God,  by  the  most  solemn 
oath,  that  if  a  sign  came  unto  them,  they  would  certainly  believe  therein : 
Say,  Verily  signs  are  in  the  power  of  God  alone ;  and  he  permitteth  you 
not  to  understand,  that  when  they  come,  they  will  not  believe. i  And  we 
will  turn  aside  their  hearts  and  their  sight  from  the  truth,  as  they  believed 
not  therein "■  the  first  time;  and  we  will  leave  them  to  wander  in  their 
error.  [*VIII.]  And  though  we  had  sent  down  angels  unto  them, 
and  the  dead  had  spoken  unto  them,  and  we  had  gathered  together 
before  them   all   things   in   one  view;^  they  would   not   have   believed, 

^  This  word  signifies  properly  the  genus  of  rational,  invisible  beings,  whether  angels, 
devils,  or  that  intermediate  species  usually  called  genii.  Some  of  the  commentators, 
therefore,  in  this  place,  understand  the  angels,  whom  the  pagan  Arabs  worshipped;  and 
others  the  devils,  either  because  they  became  their  servants  by  adoring  idols  at  their  insti- 
gation, or  else  because,  according  to  the  Magian  system,  they  looked  on  the  devil  as  a  sort 
of  creator,  making  him  the  author  and  principle  of  all  evil,  and  God  the  author  of  good  only.' 

°  See  the  Prelim.  Discourse,  sect.  i.  and  sect  ii. 

"  Or,  as  the  word  may  be  translated,  the  incomprehensible. 

p  That  is,  Thou  hast  been  instructed  by  the  Jews  and  Christians  in  these  matters,  and 
only  retailest  to  us  what  thou  hast  learned  of  them.  For  this  the  infidels  objected  to  Mo- 
hammed, thinking  it  impossible  for  him  to  discourse  on  subjects  of  so  high  a  nature,  and 
in  so  clear  and  pertinent  a  manner,  without  being  well  versed  in  the  doctrines  and  sacred 
writings  of  those  people. 

1 1n  this  passage  Mohammed  endeavours  to  excuse  his  inability  of  working  a  miracle, 
as  had  been  demanded  of  him  ;  declaring  that  God  did  not  think  fit  to  comply  with  their 
desires;  and  that  if  he  had  so  thought  fit,  yet  it  had  been  in  vain,  because  if  they  were 
not  convinced  by  the  Koran,  they  would  not  be  convinced  by  the  greatest  miracle.'^ 

'  i.  e.  In  the  Koran. 

'  For  the  Meccans  required  that  Mohammed  should  either  show  them  an  aiigel  de- 
scending from  heaven  in  their  sight,  or  raise  their  dead  fathers,  that  they  might  discourse 
with  them,  or  prevail  on  God  and  his  angels  to  appear  to  them  in  a  body. 

» Al  Beidawi,  '  Idem.  '  Confer  Luke  xvi.  31. 


110  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

unless  God  had  so  pleased:  but  the  greater  part  of  them  know  it 
not.  Thus  have  we  appointed  unto  every  prophet  an  enemy ;  the  devils 
of  men,  and  of  genii :  who  privately  suggest  the  one  to  the  other 
specious  discourses  to  deceive;  but  if  thy  Lord  pleased,  they  would 
not  have  done  it.  Therefore  leave  them,  and  that  which  they  have 
falsely  imagined ;  and  let  the  hearts  of  those  be  inclined  thereto,  who 
believe  not  in  the  life  to  come:  and  let  them  please  themselves  therein, 
and  let  them  gain  that  which  they  are  gaining.  Shall  I  seek  after  any 
other  judge  besides  God  to  judge  between  us?  It  is  he  who  hath  sent  down 
unto  you  the  book  of  the  Koran  distinguishing  between  good  and  evil ;  and 
they  to  whom  we  gave  the  scripture  know  that  it  is  sent  down  from  thy 
Lord,  with  truth.  Be  not  therefore  one  of  those  who  doubt  thereof.  The 
words  of  thy  Lord  are  perfect,  in  truth  and  justice ;  there  is  none  who 
can  change  his  words  :  *  he  both  heareth  and  knoweth.  But  if  thou  obey 
the  greater  part  of  them  who  are  in  the  earth,  they  will  lead  thee  aside 
from  the  path  of  God  :  they  follow  an  uncertain  opinion  only,™  and 
speak  nothing  but  lies ;  verily  thy  Lord  well  knoweth  those  who  go  astray 
from  his  path,  and  well  knoweth  those  who  are  rightly  directed.  Eat  of 
that  whereon  the  name  of  God  hath  been  commemorated,^  if  ye  believe 
in  his  signs  :  and  why  do  ye  not  eat  of  that  whereon  the  name  of  God  hath 
been  commemorated  ?  since  he  hath  plainly  declared  unto  you  what  he  hath 
forbidden  you ;  except  that  which  ye  be  compelled  to  eat  of  by  necessity ; 
many  lead  others  into  error,*  because  of  their  appetites,  being  void  of  know- 
ledge ;  but  thy  Lord  well  knoweth  who  are  the  transgressors.  Leave  both 
the  outside  of  iniquity  and  the  inside  thereof:  ^  for  they  who  commit 
iniquity  shall  receive  the  reward  of  that  which  they  shall  have  gained. 
Eat  not  therefore  of  that  whereon  the  name  of  God  hath  not  been  commem- 
orated ;  for  this  is  certainly  wickedness :  but  the  devils  will  suggest  unto 
their  friends,  that  they  dispute  with  you  concerning  this  precept ;  but  if  ye 
obey  them,  ye  are  surely  idolaters.  Shall  he  who  hath  been  dead,  and 
whom  we  have  restored  unto  life,  and  unto  whom  we  have  ordained  a 
light,  whereby  he  may  walk  among  men,  be  as  he  whose  similitude  is 
in  darkness,  from  whence  he  shall  not  come  forth  ?  ^  Thus  was  that  which 
the  infidels  are  doing  prepared  for  them.*     And  thus  have  we  placed  in 

'  Some  interpret  this  of  the  immutabiUty  of  God's  decree,  and  the  certainty  of  his  threats 
and  promises  :  others,  of  his  particular  promise  to  preserve  the  Koran  from  any  such  aher- 
ations  or  corruptions  as  they  imagine  to  have  happened  to  the  Pentateuch  and  the  Gos- 
pel ; '  and  others,  of  the  unalterable  duration  of  the  Mohammedan  law,  which  they  hold 
is  to  last  till  the  end  of  the  world,  there  being  no  other  prophet,  law,  or  dispensation,  to 
be  expected  after  it. 

"  Imagining  that  the  true  religion  was  that  which  their  idolatrous  ancestors  professed. 

'  See  chap.  ii.  p.  20,  and  chap.  v.  p.  81. 

*  "  The  greatest  part  of  men  go  astray,  seduced  by  their  passions,  and  bUnded  by  ig- 
norance."— Savary. 

^  That  is.  Both  open  and  secret  sins. 

y  The  persons  primarily  intended  in  this  passage  were  Hamza,  Mohammed's  uncle,  and 
Abu  Jahl ;  others  instead  of  Hamza  name  Omar,  or  Ammar. 

*  "  Crime  grows  beautiful  in  the  sight  of  the  wicked." — Savary. 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  and  Kor.  chap.  xv. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  Ill 

every  city  chief  leaders  of  the  wicked  men  thereof,*  that  they  may  act 
deceitfully  therein ;  but  they  shall  act  deceitfully  against  their  own  souls 
only ;  and  they  know  it  not.  And  when  a  sign*  cometh  unto  them,  they 
say,  We  will  by  no  means  believe  until  a  revelation  be  brought  unto 
us,  like  unto  that  which  hath  been  delivered  unto  the  messengers  of  God." 
God  best  knoweth  whom  he  will  appoint  for  his  messenger."'  Vileness  in 
the  sight  of  God  shall  fall  upon  those  who  deal  wickedly,  and  a  grievous 
punishment,  for  that  they  have  dealt  deceitfully.  And  whomsoever  God 
shall  please  to  direct,  he  will  open  his  breast  to  receive  the  faith  of  Islam : 
but  whomsoever  he  shall  please  to  lead  into  error,  he  will  render  his  breast 
strait  and  narrow,  as  though  he  were  climbing  up  to  heaven.*^  Thus  doth 
God  inflict  a  terrible  punishment  on  those  who  believe  not.  This  is  the  right 
way  of  thy  Lord.  Now  have  we  plainly  declared  our  signs  unto  those  people 
who  will  consider.  They  shall  have  a  dwelling  of  peace  with  their  Lord, 
and  he  shall  be  their  patron,  because  of  that  which  they  have  wrought. 
Thi7ik  on  the  day  whereon  God  shall  gather  them  all  together,  a7id  shall  say^ 
O  company  of  genii,®  ye  have  been  much  concerned  with  mankind ;  *"  *  and 
their  friends  from  among  mankind  shall  say,  O  Lord,  the  one  of  us  hath 
received  advantage  from  the  othcr,^  and  we  are  arrived  at  our  limited 
term'*  which  thou  hast  appointed  us.  God  will  say,  Hell  fire  shall  he 
your  habitation,  therein  shall  ye  remain /or  ever ;  unless  as  God  shall  please 
to  mitigate  your  pains,'  for  thy  Lord  is  wise  and  knowing.  Thus  do  we 
set  some  of  the  unjust  over  others  of  them,  because  of  that  which  they  have 
deserved.  O  company  of  genii  and  men,  did  not  messengers  from  among 
yourselves  come  unto  you,^  rehearsing  my  signs  unto  you,  and  forewarning 

*  In  the  same  manner  as  we  have  done  in  Mecca. 

•  I.  e.  Any  verse  or  passage  of  the  Koran. 

"  These  were  the  words  of  the  Koreish,  who  thought  there  were  persons  among  them- 
selves more  worthy  of  the  honour  of  being  God's  messenger  than  Mohammed. 

'  Literally,  Where  he  will  place  his  commission.  God,  says  al  Beidawi,  bestows  not  the 
gift  of  prophecy  on  any  one  on  account  of  his  nobility  or  riches,  but  for  their  spiritual 
qualifications ;  making  choice  of  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleases,  and  who  he  knows 
will  execute  their  commissions  faithfully. 

"*  Or  had  undertaken  the  most  impossible  thing  in  the  world.  In  Uke  manner  shall  the 
heart  of  such  a  man  be  incapable  of  receiving  the  truth. 

•  That  is,  of  devils.*  '  In  tempting  and  seducing  them  to  sin. 

*  "  At  the  day  of  the  universal  gathering  together,  we  shall  say  to  the  genii,  Too  long 
have  you  deceived  mankind." — Savary. 

«  The  advantage  which  men  received  from  the  evil  spirits  was  their  raising  and  satisfy- 
ing their  lusts  and  appetites;  and  that  which  the  latter  received  in  return,  was  the  obedi- 
ence paid  them  by  the  former,  &,c.* 

"  viz.  The  day  of  resurrection,  which  we  believed  not  in  the  other  world. 

'  The  commentators  tell  us,  that  this  alleviation  of  the  pains  of  the  damned  will  be  when 
they  shall  be  taken  out  of  the  fire  to  drink  the  boiling  water, •*  or  to  sufl'er  the  extreme 
cold,  called  al  Zamharir,  which  is  to  be  one  part  of  their  punishment,  but  others  think  the 
respite  which  God  will  grant  to  some  before  they  are  thrown  into  hell  is  here  intended.'' 
According  to  the  exposition  of  Ebn  Abbas,  these  words  may  be  rendered,  Unless  him 
whom  (iod  shall  please  to  deliver  thence.* 

^  It  is  the  Mohammedan  belief  that  apostles  were  sent  by  God  for  the  conversion  both 
of  genii  and  of  men  ;  being  generally  of  human  race  (as  Mohammed,  in  particular,  who 

*A1  Beidawi.  'Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  Al  Beidawi.         *  See 

the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


112  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

you  of  the  meeting  of  this  your  day  ?  They  shall  answer,  We  bear  witness 
against  ourselves  :  the  present  life  deceived  them :  and  they  shall  bear  wit- 
ness against  themselves  that  they  were  unbelievers.  This  hath  heen  the 
method  of  GocVs  dealing  with  his  creatures,  because  thy  Lord  would  not 
destroy  the  cities  in  their  iniquity,  while  their  inhabitants  were  careless.^ 
Every  one  shall  have  degrees  of  recoinpense  of  that  which  they  shall  do  ;  for 
thy  Lord  is  not  regardless  of  that  which  they  do,  and  thy  Lord  is  self- 
sufficient  and  endued  with  mercy.  If  he  pleaseth  he  can  destroy  you, 
and  cause  such  as  he  pleaseth  to  succeed  you,  in  like  manner  as  he  pro- 
duced you  from  the  posterity  of  other  people.  Verily  that  which  is  threat- 
ened you,  shall  surely  come  to  pass ;  neither  shall  ye  cause  it  to  fail.  Say 
unto  those  of  Mecca,  O  my  people,  act  according  to  your  power ;  verily  I 
will  act  according  to  my  duty  :  ^  and  hereafter  shall  ye  know  whose  will 
be  the  reward  of  paradise.  The  ungodly  shall  not  prosper.  Those  of  Mecca 
set  apart  unto  God  a  portion  of  that  which  he  hath  produced  of  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  and  of  cattle;  and  say.  This  helongeth  unto  God  (according  to 
their  imagination),  and  this  unto  our  companions."  And  that  which  is 
destined  for  their  companions  cometh  not  unto  God  ;  yet  that  which  is  set 
apart  unto  God  cometh  unto  their  companions."  How  ill  do  they  judge  !  In 
like  manner  have  their  companions  induced  many  of  the  idolaters  to  slay 
their  children,^  that  they  might  bring  them  to  perdition,  and  that  they 
might  render  their  religion  obscure  and  confused  unto  them.*!  But  if  God 
had  pleased,  they  had  not  done  this :  therefore  leave  them  and  that  which 
they  falsely  imagine.  They  also  say,  These  cattle  and  fruits  of  the  earth 
are  sacred ;  none  shall  eat  thereof  but  who  we  please ""  (according  to  their 
imagination) ;  and  there  are  cattle  whose  backs  are  forbidden  to  be  rode  on, 

pretended  to  have  a  commission  to  preach  to  both  kinds);  according  to  this  passage,  it 
seems  there  must  have  been  prophets  of  the  race  of  genii  also,  though  their  mission  be 
a  secret  to  us. 

'  Or  considered  not  their  danger ;  but  God  first  sent  some  prophet  to  them  to  warn  them 
of  it,  and  to  invite  them  to  repentance. 

*  "  Say  unto  man,  Labour  according  unto  thy  strength;  I  will  proportion  my  benefits 
unto  my  power." — Savary. 

"^  That  is.  Ye  may  proceed  in  your  rebellion  against  God  and  your  malice  towards  me, 
and  be  confirmed  in  your  infidelity  ;  but  I  will  persevere  to  bear  your  insults  with  patience, 
and  to  publish  those  revelations  which  God  has  commanded  me." 

"  t.  e.  Our  idols.     In  which  sense  this  word  is  to  be  taken  through  the  whole  passage. 

""  As  to  this  custom  of  the  pagan  Arabs,  see  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  To  what  is  there 
said  wc  may  add,  that  the  share  set  apart  for  God  was  employed  chiefly  in  relieving  the 
poor,  and  strangers ;  and  the  share  of  the  idols,  for  paying  their  priests,  and  providing 
sacrifices  for  them.'" 

p  Either  by  that  inhuman  custom,  which  prevailed  among  those  of  Kendah  and  some 
other  tribes,  of  burying  their  daughters  alive,  so  soon  as  they  were  born,  if  they  appre- 
hended they  could  not  maintain  them ;'  or  else  by  offering  them  to  their  idols,  at  the  in- 
stigation of  those  who  had  the  custody  of  their  temples.^ 

^  By  corrupting  with  horrid  superstitions  that  religion  which  Ismael  had  left  to  his 
posterity.^ 

••  That  is.  Those  who  serve  our  idols,  and  are  of  the  male  sex ;  for  the  women  were 
not  allowed  to  eat  of  them." 

*»  Al  Beidawi.  '"  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  chap,  bcxxi.  '  Al  Beidawi. 

'  Idem.  *  Idem. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KOKAN.  113 

or  loaden  with  burdens ;  ^  and  there  are  cattle  on  which  they  commemorate 
not  the  name  of  God  ivhen  they  slay  them ;  *  devising  a  lie  against 
him  :  God  shall  reward  them  for  that  which  they  falsely  devise.  And  they 
say,  That  which  is  in  the  bellies  of  these  cattle"  is  allowed  our  males  to  eat, 
and  is  forbidden  to  our  wives :  but  if  it  prove  abortive,  then  they  are  both 
partakers  thereof^  God  shall  give  them  the  reward  of  their  attributing 
these  things  to  him  :  he  is  knowing  and  wise.  They  are  utterly  lost  who 
have  slain  their  children  foolishly,*'  without  knowledge;'-  and  have  for- 
bidden that  which  God  hath  given  them  for  food,  devising  a  lie  against  God. 
They  have  erred,  and  were  not  rightly  directed.  He  it  is  who  produceth 
gardens  of  vines,  both  those  ivhich  are  supported  on  trails  of  wood,  and  those 
which  are  not  supported,*  and  palm-trees,  and  the  corn  affording  various 
food,  and  olives,  and  pomegranates,  alike  and  unlike  unto  one  another. 
Eat  of  their  fruit,  when  they  bear  fruit,  and  pay  the  due  thereof  on  the  day 
whereon  ye  shall  gather  it ;''  but  be  not  profuse,"  for  God  loveth  not  those 
who  are  too  profuse.  And  God  hath  given  you  some  cattle  fit  for  bearing 
of  burdens,  and  some  fit  for  slaughter  only.  Eat  of  what  God  hath  given 
you  for  food ;  and  follow  not  the  steps  of  Satan,  for  he  is  your  declared 
enemy.  Four  pair*^  of  cattle  hath  God  given  you ;  of  sheep  one  pair,  and 
of  goats  one  pair.  Say  unto  them,  Hath  God  forbidden  the  two  males,  of 
sheep  and  of  goats,  or  the  two  females ;  or  that  which  the  wombs  of  the  two 
females  contain  ?  Tell  me  with  certainty,  if  ye  speak  truth.  And  of  camels 
hath  God  given  you  one  pair,  and  of  oxen  one  pair.  Say,  Hath  he  forbidde* 
the  two  males  of  these,  or  the  two  females;  or  that  which  the  wombs  of  the 
two  females  contain  ?  ^  Were  ye  present  when  God  commanded  you  this  ? 
And  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  deviseth  a  lie  against  God,'  that  he 
may  seduce  men  without  understanding?     Verily  God  directeth  not  unjust 

*  Which  they  superstitiously  exempted  from  such  services,  in  some  particular  cases  ;  as 
they  did  the  Bahira,  the  Saiba,  and  the  Hami.' 

'  See  chap.  5. 

"  That  is,  ihe  foetus  or  embryos  of  the  Bahira  and  the  Sai'ba,  which  shall  be  brought 
forth  alive. 
'  For  if  those  cattle  cast  their  young,  the  women  might  eat  thereof  as  well  as  the  men. 
^  See  p.  112,  note  p. 
^  Not  having  a  due  sense  of  God's  providence. 

*  Or,  as  some  choose  to  interpret  the  words,  trees  or  plants  which  are  planted  by  the 
labour  of  man,  and  those  which  grow  naturally  in  the  deserts  and  on  mountains. 

"  That  is,  give  alms  thereof  to  the  poor.  And  these  alms,  as  al  Beidawi  observes,  were 
what  they  used  to  give  before  the  Zacat,  or  legal  alms,  was  instituted  ;  which  was  done 
after  ]\Iohammed  had  retired  from  Mecca,  where  this  verse  was  revealed.  Yet  some 
are  of  another  opinion,  and  for  this  very  reason  will  have  the  verse  to  have  been  revealed 
at  Medina. 

*=  i.  e.  Give  not  so  much  thereof  in  alms  as  to  leave  your  own  families  in  want ;  for 
charity  begins  atliome. 

'^  Or,  literally,  eight  males  and  females  paired  together ;  that  is,  four  of  each  sex,  and 
two  of  every  distinct  kind. 

*  In  this  passage  Mohammed  endeavours  to  convince  the  Arabs  of  their  superstitious 
folly  in  making  it  unlawful,  one  while,  to  eat  the  males  of  these  four  kinds  of  cattle ; 
another  while,  the  females;  and  at  another  time,  their  young.* 

'  The  person  particularly  intended  here,  some  say,  was  Amru  Ebn  Lohai,  king  of 
Hajaz,  a  great  introducer  of  idolatry  and  superstition  among  the  Arabs.' 

5  See  chap.  5.  p.  95,  and  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  v.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.     See 

PreUm.  Disc.  p.  14,  and  Pocock,  Spec.  p.  80. 


114  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vi. 

people.  Say,  I  find  not  in  that  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  me  any 
thing  forbidden  unto  the  eater,  that  he  eat  it  not,  except  it  be  that  which 
dieth  of  itself,  or  blood  poured  forth, s  or  swine's  flesh :  for  this  is 
an  abomination  :  or  thai  which  is  profane,  having  been  slain  in  the  name 
of  some  other  than  of  God.  But  whoso  shall  be  compelled  by  necessity  to 
eat  of  these  things,  not  lusting,  nor  wilfully  transgressing,  verily  thy  Lord 
will  be  gracious  unto  him  and  merciful.  Unto  the  Jews  did  we  forbid 
every  beast  having  an  undivided  hoof;  and  of  bullocks  and  sheep,  we 
forbade  them  the  fat  of  both  ;  except  that  which  should  be  on  their 
backs,  or  their  inwards,''  or  which  should  be  intermixed  with  the 
bone.>  This  have  we  rewarded  them  with,  because  of  their  iniquity ; 
and  we  are  surely  speakers  of  truth.  If  they  accuse  thee  of  impos- 
ture, say.  Your  Lord  is  endued  with  extensive  mercy ;  but  his  severity 
shall  not  be  averted  from  wicked  people.  The  idolaters  will  say.  If  God 
had  pleased,  we  had  not  been  guilty  of  idolatry,  neither  our  fathers ;  and 
pretend  that  we  have  not  forbidden  them  any  thing.  Thus  did  they  who 
were  before  them  accuse  the  prophets  of  imposture,  until  they  tasted  our 
severe  punishment.  Say,  Is  there  with  you  any  certain  knowledge  of  what 
ye  allege,  that  ye  may  produce  it  unto  us?  Ye  follow  only  a  false  imagin- 
ation; and  ye  utter  only  lies.  Say,  therefore,  Unto  God  belongeth  the  most 
evident  demonstration;  for  if  he  had  pleased,  he  had  directed  you  all. 
Say,  Produce  your  witnesses,  who  can  bear  testimony  that  God  hath  for- 
bidden this.  But  if  they  bear  testimony  of  this,  do  not  thou  bear  testimony 
with  them,  nor  do  thou  follow  the  desires  of  those  who  accuse  our  signs  of 
falsehood,  and  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come,  and  equalize  idols  with 
their  Lord.  Say,  Come;^  I  will  rehearse  that  which  your  Lord  hath 
forbidden  you ;  thai  is  to  say,  that  ye  be  not  guilty  of  idolatry,  and  that  ye 
show  kindness  to  your  parents,  and  that  ye  murder  not  your  children  for 
fear  lest  ye  be  reduced  to  poverty :  we  will  provide  for  you  and  them ;  and 
draw  not  near  unto  heinous  crimes,^  neither  openly  nor  in  secret;  and 
slay  not  the  soul  which  God  hath  forbidden  you  to  slay,  unless  for  a  just 
cause.™  This  hath  he  enjoined  you  that  ye  may  understand.  And 
meddle  not  with  the  substance  of  the  orphan,  otherwise  than  for  the 
improving  thereof,  until  he  attain  his  age  of  strength:  and  use  a  full 
measure,  and  a  just  balance.  We  will  not  impose  a  task  on  any  soul 
beyond  its  ability.  And  when  ye  pronounce  judgment  observe  justice, 
although  it  be /or  or  against  one  who  is  near  of  kin,  and  fulfil  the  covenant 
of  God.    This  hath  God  commanded  you,  that  ye  may  be  admonished  ;  and 

e  That  is,  fluid  blood ;  in  opposition  to  what  the  Arabs  suppose  to  be  also  blood,  but 
not  fliuid ;  as  the  liver  and  the  spleen.^ 

^  See  Levit.  vii.  23,  and  iii.  16. 

'  viz.  The  fat  of  the  rumps  or  tails  of  sheep,  which  are  very  large  in  the  east ;  a  small 
one  weighing  ten  or  twelve  pounds,  and  some  no  less  than  threescore. 

^  This  and  the  two  following  verses  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  to  have  been  revealed  at 
Medina. 

'  The  original  word  signifies  peculiarly  fornication  and  avarice. 

™  As  for  murder,  apostasy,  or  adultery.' 

» Al  Beidawi.    Jallalo'ddin.  »  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VI.  AL  KORAN.  115 

that  ye  may  hwio  that  this  is  my  right  way :  therefore  follow  it,  and 
follow  not  the  path  of  others,  lest  ye  be  scattered  from  the  path  of  God. 
This  hath  he  commanded  you  that  ye  may  take  heed.  We  gave  also  unto 
Moses  the  book  of  the  laio ;  a  perfect  rule  unto  him  who  should  do  right, 
and  a  determination  concerning  all  things  needful,  and  a  direction,  and 
mercy  ;  that  the  children  of  Israel  might  believe  the  meeting  of  their  Lord. 
And  this  book  which  we  have  now  sent  down  is  blessed ;  therefore  follow 
it,  and  fear  God  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy :  lest  ye  should  say,  The  scrip- 
tures were  only  sent  down  unto  two  people  °  before  us ;  and  we  neglected 
to  peruse  them  with  attention  :°  or  lest  ye  should  say,  If  a  book  of  divine 
revelations  had  been  sent  down  unto  us,  we  would  surely  have  been  better 
directed  than  they.p  And  now  hath  a  manifest  declaration  come  unto  you 
from  your  Lord,  and  a  direction  and  mercy  :  and  who  is  more  unjust  than 
he  who  deviseth  lies  against  the  signs  of  God,  and  turneth  aside  from 
them?  We  will  reward  those  who  turn  aside  from  our  signs  with  a 
grievous  punishment,  because  they  have  turned  aside.  Do  they  wait  for 
any  other  than  that  the  angels  should  come  unto  them,  to  part  their  souls 
from  their  bodies ;  or  that  thy  Lord  should  come  to  punish  them ;  or  that 
some  of  the  signs  of  thy  Lord  should  come  to  pass,  shoieing  the  day  of  judg- 
ment to  he  at  hand?'^  On  the  day- whereon  some  of  thy  Lord's  signs  shall 
come  to  pass,  its  faith  shall  not  profit  a  soul  which  believed  not  before,  or 
wrought  not  good  in  its  faith. "•  Say,  Wait  ye  for  this  day  ;  we  surely  do  wait 
for  it.  They  who  make  a  division  in  their  religion,*  and  become  sectaries, 
have  thou  nothing  to  do  with  them ;  their  affair  helongeth  only  unto  God. 
Hereafter  shall  he  declare  unto  them  that  which  they  have  done.  He  who 
shall  appear  with  good  works,  shall  receive  a  tenfold  recompense  for  the 
same ;  but  he  who  shall  appear  with  evil  works,  shall  receive  only  an  equal 
punishment  for  the  same ;  and  they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  Say, 
Verily  my  Lord  hath  directed  me  into  a  right  way,  a  true  religion,  the  sect 
of  Abraham  the  orthodox ;  and  he  was  no  idolater.  Say,  Verily  my 
prayers,  and  my  worship,  and  my  life,  and  my  death  are  dedicated  unto 
God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures:  he  hath  no  companion.    This  have  I  been 

°  That  is,  the  Jews  and  Christians. 

"  Either  because  we  knew  nothing  of  them,  or  did  not  understand  the  language  wherein 
they  were  written. 

p  Because  of  the  acuteness  of  our  wit,  the  clearness  of  our  understanding,  and  out 
facility  of  learning  sciences;  as  appears  from  our  exceUing  in  history,  poetry,  and  oratory, 
notwithstanding  we  are  an  illiterate  people.* 

■>  Al  Beidawi,  from  a  tradition  of  Mohammed,  says  that  ten  signs  will  precede  the  last 
day  ;  viz.  the  smoke,  the  beast  of  the  earth,  an  eclipse  in  the  east,  another  in  the  west, 
and  a  third  in  the  peninsula  of  Arabia,  the  appearance  of  Antichrist,  the  sun's  rising  in  the 
west,  the  irruption  of  Gog  and  Magog,  the  descent  of  Jesus  on  the  earth,  and  fire  which 
shall  break  forth  from  Aden.^ 

'  For  faith  in  the  next  hfe  will  be  of  no  advantage  to  those  who  have  not  believed  in 
this ;  nor  yet  faith  in  this  hfe,  without  good  works. 

■  That  is,  who  believe  in  part  of  it,  and  disbelieve  other  part  of  it ;  or  who  form  schisms 
therein.  Mohammed  is  reported  to  have  declared,  that  the  Jews  were  divided  into  seventy- 
one  sects,  and  the  Christians  into  seventy-two :  and  that  his  own  followers  would  be  split 
into  seventy-three  sects  ;  and  that  all  of  them  would  be  damned,  except  only  one  of  each.' 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


116  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

commanded :  I  am  the  first  Moslem.*  Say,  shall  I  desire  any  other  Lord 
besides  God  ?  since  he  is  the  Lord  of  all  things ;  and  no  soul  shall  acquire 
any  merits  or  demerits  but  for  itself;  and  no  burdened  soul  shall  bear  the 
burden  of  another.**  Moreover  unto  your  Lord  shall  ye  return  ;  and  he 
shall  declare  unto  you  that  concerning  which  ye  now  dispute.  It  is  he 
who  hath  appointed  you  to  succeed  your  predecessors  in  the  earth,  and  hath 
raised  some  of  you  above  others  by  various  degrees  ofivorldly  advantages, 
that  he  might  prove  you  by  that  which  he  hath  bestowed  on  you.  Thy 
Lord  is  swift  in  punishing ;  and  he  is  also  gracious  and  merciful. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
INTITLED,  AL  ARAF;«  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.y 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al.  M.  S.^  a  book  hath  been  sent  down  unto  thee :  and  therefore  let 
there  be  no  doubt  in  thy  breast  concerning  it  ;*  that  thou  mayest  preach 
the  same,  and  that  it  may  he  an  admonition  unto  the  faithful.  Follow  that 
which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  you  from  your  Lord;  and  follow  no 
guides  besides  him  :  how  little  will  ye  be  warned !  How  many  cities  have 
we  destroyed ;  which  our  vengeance  overtook  by  night,**  or  while  they 
were  reposing  themselves  at  noon-day  l^  And  their  supplication,  when  our 
punishment  came  upon  them,  was  no  other  than  that  they  said.  Verily  we 
have  been  unjust.  We  will  surely  call  those  to  an  account,  unto  whom  a 
prophet  hath  been  sent ;  and  we  will  also  call  those  to  account  who  have 
been  sent  unto  them.  And  we  will  declare  their  actions  unto  them  with 
knowledge ;  for  we  are  not  absent  from  them.  The  weighing  of  men'^s 
actions  on  that  day  shall  he  just ;  •=  and  they  whose  balances  laden  with  their 
good  works  shall  be  heavy,  are  those  who  shall  be  happy ;  but  they  whose 
balances  shall  be  light,  are  those  who  have  lost  their  souls,  because  they 
injured  our  signs.     And  now  have  we  placed  you  on  the  earth,  and  have 

'  See  before,  p.  99 

"  This  was  revealed  in  answer  to  the  pressing  instances  of  the  idolaters,  who  offered  to 
take  the  crime  upon  themselves,  if  Mohammed  would  conform  to  their  worship." 

^  Al  Araf  signifies  the  partition  between  paradise  and  hell,  which  is  mentioned  in  this 
chapter.* 

y  Some  however  except  five  or  eight  verses,  beginning  at  these  words,  A7id  ask  them 
concerning  the  city,  <J-c. 

^The  signification  of  those  letters  the  more  sober  Mohammedans  confess  God  alone 
knows.  Some  however  imagine  they  stand  for  Allah,  Gabriel,  Mohammed,  oii  whom  he 
peace. 

*  "  Fear  not  to  use  it  for  the  purpose  of  threatening  the  wicked,  and  exhorting  the  true 
believers." — Savary. 

»  As  it  did  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  to  whom  Lot  was  sent. 
"  As  happened  to  the  Midianites,  to  whom  Shoaib  preached. 

*  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


CHAP.  vn.  AL  KORAN.  117 

provided  you  food  therein :  hut  how  little  are  ye  thankful !  We  created 
you,  and  afterwards  formed  you  ;  and  then  said  unto  the  angels,  Worship 
Adam ;  and  they  all  worshipped  him,  except  Eblis,  who  was  not  one  of 
those  who  worshipped."*  God  said  unlo  him,  What  hindered  thee  from 
worshipping  Adam,  since  I  had  commanded  thee  ?  He  answered,  I  am 
more  excellent  than  he :  thou  hast  created  me  of  fire,  and  hast  created  him 
of  clay.  God  said.  Get  thee  down  therefore  from  paradise  ;  for  it  is  not 
Jit  that  thou  behave  thyself  proudly  therein :  get  thee  hence ;  thou  shalt  he 
one  of  the  contemptible.  He  answered,  Give  me  respite  until  the  day  of 
resurrection.  God  said,  Verily  thou  shalt  be  one  of  those  loho  are  respited." 
The  devil  said,  Because  thou  hast  depraved  me,  I  will  lay  wait  for  men  in 
thy  strait  way ;  then  will  I  come  upon  them  from  before,  and  from  behind, 
and  from  their  right  hands,  and  from  their  left ; '  and  thou  shalt  not  find 
the  greater  part  of  them  thankful.  God  said  unto  him.  Get  thee  hence, 
despised,  and  driven  far  aicay  :  verily  whoever  of  them  shall  follow  thee, 
I  will  surely  fill  hell  with  you  all :  but  as  for  thee,  0  Adam,  dwell  thou 
and  thy  wife  in  paradise ;  and  eat  of  the  fruit  thereof  wherever  ye  will ;  but 
approach  not  this  tree,  lest  ye  become  of  the  numher  of  the  unjust.  And 
Satan  suggested  to  them  both,  that  he  would  discover  unto  them  their 
nakedness,  which  was  hidden  from  them ;  and  he  said.  Your  Lord  hath 
not  forbidden  you  this  tree,  for  any  other  reason  but  lest  ye  should  become 
angels,  or  lest  ye  become  immortal.  And  he  sware  unto  them,  saying, 
Verily  I  am  one  of  those  who  counsel  you  aright.  And  he  caused  them  to 
fall  through  deceit.^  And  when  they  had  tasted  of  the  tree,  their  naked- 
ness appeared  unto  them ;  ^  and  they  began  to  join  together  the  leaves  of 
paradise,'  to  cover  themselves.  And  their  Lord  called  to  them,  saying. 
Did  I  not  forbid  you  this  tree :  and  did  I  not  say  unto  you,  Verily  Satan  is 

^  See  chap.  2,  p.  5,  &c. 

"  As  the  time  till  which  the  devil  is  reprieved  is  not  particularly  expressed,  the  com- 
mentators suppose  his  request  was  not  wholly  granted :  but  agree  that  he  shall  die,  as 
well  as  other  creatures,  at  the  second  sound  of  the  trumpet.* 

'  t.  e.  I  v,'ill  attack  them  on  every  side  that  I  shall  be  able.  The  other  two  ways,  viz. 
from  above,  and  from  under  their  feet,  are  omitted,  say  the  commentators,  to  show  that 
the  devil's  power  is  limited.'' 

8  The  Mohammedan  gospel  of  Barnabas  tells  us,  that  the  sentence  which  God  pro- 
nounced on  the  serpent  for  introducing  the  devil  into  paradise'  was,  that  he  should  not 
only  be  turned  out  of  paradise,  but  that  he  should  have  his  logs  cut  off  by  the  angel  Mi- 
chael, with  the  sword  of  God ;  and  that  the  devil  himself,  since  he  had  rendered  our  first 
parents  unclean,  was  condemned  to  eat  the  excrements  of  them  and  all  their  posterity; 
which  two  last  circumstances  I  do  not  remember  to  have  read  elsewhere.  The  words  of 
the  manuscript  are  these  : — Y  llamS  {Dios)  a  la  serpiente,  y  a  Michael,  aquel  que  tiene  la 
espada  de  Dios,  y  le  dixo  ;  Aquesta  sierpe  es  acelerada,  echala  la  primera  del  parayso,  y 
cortale  las  piernas,  y  si  quisieri  caminar,  arraslrara  la  vida  por  tierra.  YllamS  a  Satanas, 
el  qual  vino  ricndo,  y  dixole  ;  Porque  tu  reproho  has  cnganado  a  aqtiestos,  y  los  has  hecho 
immundos  ?  Yo  quiero  que  toda  immu?idicia  suya,  y  de  lodos  sus  hijos,  en  saliendo  de  sus 
cucrpos  enlre por  lu  boca,  porque  en  verdad  ellos  haran  peiiitencia,  y  tu  quedaras  harto  de 
immundicia. 

*■  Which  they  had  not  perceived  before  ;  being  clothed,  as  some  say,  with  light,  or 
garments  of  paradise,  which  fell  from  them  on  their  disobedience.  Yahya  imagines  their 
nakedness  was  hidden  by  their  hair.' 

'  Which  it  is  said  were  fig-leaves."* 

*  Al  Beidawi.  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  and  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient.  Art. 
Eblis.  '  Al  Beidawi.  »  See  the  notes  to  chap.  2,  p,  5.  '  Idem.  '"  Idem. 


118  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

your  declared  enemy?  They  answered,  O  Loed,  we  have  dealt  unjustly 
with  our  own  souls ;  and  if  thou  forgive  us  not,  and  be  not  merciful  unto 
us,  we  shall  surely  be  of  those  who  perish.  God  said,  Get  ye  down,  the 
one  of  you  an  enemy  unto  the  other ;  and  ye  shall  have  a  dwelling-place 
upon  the  earth,  and  a  provision  for  a  season.  He  said.  Therein  shall  ye 
live,  and  therein  shall  ye  die,  and  from  thence  shall  ye  be  taken  forth  at 
the  resurrection.  O  children  of  Adam,  we  have  sent  down  unto  you 
apparel,^  to  conceal  your  nakedness,  and  fair  garments  ;  but  the  clothing  of 
piety  is  better.  This  is  one  of  the  signs  of  God ;  that  peradventure  ye 
may  consider.  O  children  of  Adam,  let  not  Satan  seduce  you,  as  he 
expelled  your  parents  out  of  paradise,  by  stripping  them  of  their  clothing, 
that  he  might  show  them  their  nakedness :  verily  he  seeth  you,  hoth  he 
and  his  companions,  whereas  ye  see  not  them.^  —  We  have  appointed  the 
devils  to  he  patrons  of  those  who  believe  not :  and  when  they  commit  a 
filthy  action,  they  say,  We  found  our  fathers  practising  the  same ;  and 
God  hath  commanded  us  to  do  it.  Say,  Verily  God  commandeth  not  filthy 
actions.  Do  ye  speak  concerning  God  that  which  ye  know  not  ?  Say, 
My  Lord  hath  commanded  me  to  observe  justice ;  therefore  set  your  faces 
to  pray  at  every  place  of  worship,  and  call  upon  him,  approving  unto  him 
the  sincerity  of  your  religion.  As  he  produced  you  at  first,  so  unto  him 
shall  ye  return.  A  part  of  mankind  hath  he  directed ;  and  a  part  hath 
been  justly  led  into  error,  because  they  have  taken  the  devils  for  their 
patrons  besides  God,  and  imagine  they  are  rightly  directed.  O  children 
of  Adam,  take  your  decent  apparel  at  every  place  of  worship,™  and  eat 
and  drink,"  but  be  not  guilty  of  excess ;  for  he  loveth  not  those  who  are 
guilty  of  excess.  Say,  Who  hath  forbidden  the  decent  apparel  of  God, 
which  he  hath  produced  for  his  servants,  and  the  good  things  which  he  hath 
provided  for  food?  Say,  These  things  are  for  those  who  believe,  in  this 
present  life,  hut  peculiarly  on  the  day  of  resurrection."  Thus  do  we 
distinctly  explain  our  signs  unto  people  who  understand.  Say,  Verily 
my  Lord  hath  forbidden  filthy  actions,  both  that  which  is  discovered 
thereof,  and  that  which  is  concealed,  and  also  iniquity,  and  unjust  violence  ; 

"  Not  only  proper  materials,  but  also  ingenuity  of  mind  and  dexterity  of  hand  to  make 
use  of  them.' 

'  Because  of  the  subtlety  of  their  bodies,  and  their  being  void  of  all  colour.^ 

"  This  passage  was  revealed  to  reprove  an  immodest  custom  of  the  pagan  Arabs,  who 
used  to  encompass  the  Caaba  naked,  because  clothes,  they  said,  were  the  signs  of  their 
disobedience  to  God.^  The  Sonna  orders  that  when  a  man  goes  to  prayers  he  should  put 
on  his  better  apparel,  out  of  respect  to  the  divine  majesty  before  whom  he  is  to  appear. 
But  as  the  Mohammedans  think  it  indecent,  on  the  one  hand,  to  come  into  God's  presence 
in  a  slovenly  manner ;  so  they  imagine,  on  the  other,  that  they  ought  not  to  appear  before 
him  in  habits  too  rich  or  sumptuous,  and  particularly  in  clothes  adorned  with  gold  or 
silver,  lest  they  should  seem  proud. 

°  The  sons  of  Amer,  it  is  said,  when  they  performed  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  used  to 
eat  no  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary,  and  that  not  of  the  more  delicious  sort  of  food 
neither ;  which  abstinence  they  looked  upon  as  a  piece  of  merit,  but  they  are  here  told 
the  contrary.* 

"  Because  then  the  wicked,  who  also  partook  of  the  blessings  of  this  life,  will  have 
no  share  in  the  enjoyments  of  the  next. 

'  See  the  notes  to  chap.  ii.  p.  5.        ^  Jallalo'ddin.         =•  Idem,  al  Beidawi.         "  lidem. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  119 

and  hath  forbidden  you  to  associate  with  God  that  concerning  which  lie 
hath  sent  you  down  no  authority,  or  to  speak  of  God  that  which  ye  know 
not.  Unto  every  nation  there  is  a  prefixed  term  ;*  tlierefore  when  their 
term  is  expired,  they  shall  not  have  respite  for  an  hour,  neither  shall  they 
be  anticipated.  O  children  of  Adam,  verily  apostles  from  among  you  shall 
come  unto  you,  who  shall  expound  my  signs  unto  you :  whosoever  there- 
fore shall  fear  God  and  amend,  there  shall  come  no  fear  on  them,  neither 
shall  they  be  grieved.  But  they  who  shall  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood, 
and  shall  proudly  reject  them,  they  shall  be  the  companions  of  hell  fire ; 
they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever.  And  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who 
deviseth  a  lie  concerning  God,  or  accuseth  his  signs  of  imposture?  Unto 
these  shall  be  given  their  portion  of  worldly  happiness,  according  to  what  is 
written  in  the  book  of  God^s  decrees,  until  our  messengers  p  come  unto  them, 
and  shall  cause  them  to  die;  saying,  Where  are  the  idols  which  ye  called  upon, 
besides  God  ?  They  shall  answer.  They  have  disappeared  from  us.  And  they 
shall  bear  witness  against  themselves  that  they  were  unbelievers.  God  shall 
say  unto  them  at  the  resurrection^  Enter  ye  with  the  nations  which  have  pre- 
ceded you,  of  genii  and  of  men,  into  hell  fire :  so  often  as  one  nation  shall 
enter,  it  shall  curse  its  sister,i  until  they  shall  all  have  successively  entered 
therein.  The  latter  of  them  shall  say  of  the  former  of  them :  O  Lord,  these 
have  seduced  us ;  therefore  inflict  on  them  a  double  punishment  of  the  fire  of 
hell.  God  shall  answer,  It  shall  be  doubled  unto  all  :•■  but  ye  know  it  not : 
and  the  former  of  them  shall  say  unto  the  latter  of  them.  Ye  have  not 
therefore  any  favour  above  us;  taste  the  punishment  for  that  which  ye 
have  gained.  Verily  they  who  shall  charge  our  signs  with  falsehood,  and 
shall  proudly  reject  them,  the  gates  of  heaven  shall  not  be  opened  unto 
them,«  neither  shall  they  enter  into  paradise,  until  a  camel  pass  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle,^  and  thus  will  we  reward  the  wicked  doers.  Their 
couch  shall  be  in  hell,  and  over  them  shall  be  coverings  of  fire ;  and  thus 
will  we  reward  the  unjust.  But  they  who  believe,  and  do  that  which  is 
right  (we  will  not  load  any  soul  but  according  to  its  ability,)  they  shall  be 
the  companions  of  paradise ;  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever.  And  we 
will  remove  all  grudges  from  their  minds ; "  rivers  shall  run  at  their  feet, 

*  "  The  term  of  life  is  fixed.  No  one  can  either  anticipate  or  protract  it  for  a  single 
instant.' ' — Savary. 

p  viz.  The  anp[el  of  death  and  his  assistants. 

■^  That  is,  the  nation  whose  example  betrayed  them  into  their  idolatry  and  other 
•wickedness. 

'  Unto  those  who  set  the  example,  because  they  not  only  transgressed  themselves,  but 
were  also  the  occasion  of  the  others'  transgression ;  and  unto  those  who  followed  them, 
because  of  their  own  infidelity,  and  their  imitating  an  ill  example.' 

•  That  is,  when  their  souls  shall,  after  death,  ascend  to  heaven,  they  shall  not  be 
admitted,  but  shall  be  thrown  down  into  the  dungeon  under  the  seventh  earth.^ 

'  This  expression  was  probably  taken  from  our  Saviour's  words  in  the  gospel ;'  though 
it  be  proverbial  in  the  east. 

"  So  that  whatever  differences  or  animosities  there  had  been  between  them  in  their  life- 
time, they  shall  now  be  forgotten,  and  give  place  to  sincere  love  and  amity.     This  Ali  is 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  «  Jallalo'ddin.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  ubi  sup.  p.  56. 

'  Matt.  xix.  24. 


120  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

and  they  shall  say,  Praised  be  God,  who  hath  directed  us  unto  this  felicity  ! 
for  we  should  not  have  been  rightly  directed,  if  God  had  not  directed  us : 
now  are  we  convinced  hy  demonstration  that  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  came 
unto  us  with  truth.  And  it  shall  be  proclaimed  unto  them,  This  is 
paradise,  whereof  ye  are  made  heirs,  as  a  reward  for  that  which  ye  have 
wrought.  And  the  inhabitants*  of  paradise  shall  call  out  to  the  inhabitants 
of  hell  fire,  saying,  Now  have  we  found  that  which  our  Lord  promised  us 
to  be  true :  have  ye  also  found  that  which  your  Lord  promised  you  to  he 
true  ?  They  shall  answer.  Yea.  And  a  crier  y  shall  proclaim  between  them, 
The  curse  of  God  shall  be  on  the  wicked  ;  who  turn  men  aside  from  the 
way  of  God,  and  seek  to  render  it  crooked,  and  who  deny  the  life  to  come. 
And  between  the  blessed  and  the  damned  there  shall  be  a  veil ;  and  men 
shall  stand  on  Al  Araf '^  who  shall  know  every  one  of  them  by  their  marks ;  * 
and  shall  call  unto  the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  saying,  Peace  be  upon  you  : 
yet  they  shall  not  enter  therein,  although  they  earnestly  desire  it.^  And 
when  they  shall  turn  their  eyes  towards  the  companions  of  hell  fire,  they 
say,  O  Lord,  place  us  not  with  the  ungodly  people !  And  those  who  stand 
on  Al  Araf  shall  call  unto  certain  men,*^  whom  they  shall  know  by  their 
marks,  and  shall  say,  What  hath  your  gathering  of  riches  availed  you,  and 
that  ye  were  puffed  up  with  pride?  Are  these  the  men  on  whom  ye  sware 
that  God  would  not  bestow  mercy  ?  ^  Enter  ye  into  paradise ;  there  shall 
come  no  fear  on  you^  neither  shall  ye  be  grieved.®  And  the  inhabitants  of 
hell  fire  shall  call  unto  the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  saying.  Pour  upon  us 
some  water,  or  of  those  refreshments  which  God  hath  bestowed  on  you.^ 
They  shall  answer,  Verily  God  hath  forbidden  them  unto  the  unbelievers ; 

said  to  have  hoped  would  prove  true  to  himself  and  his  inveterate  enemies,  Othman,  Telha, 
and  al  Zobeir.* 

'  Literally,  the  companions. 

y  This  crier,  some  say,  will  be  the  angel  Israfil. 

^  Al  Araf  is  the  name  of  the  wall  or  partition  which,  as  Mohammed  taught,  will  separate 
paradise  from  hell.'  But  as  to  the  persons  who  are  to  be  placed  thereon,  the  commentators 
differ,  as  has  been  elsewhere  observed.* 

» t.  e.  Who  shall  distinguish  the  blessed  from  the  damned  by  their  proper  characteristics ; 
such  as  the  whiteness  and  splendour  of  the  faces  of  the  former,  and  the  blackness  of  those 
of  the  latter.^ 

"  From  this  circumstance  it  seems  that  their  opinion  is  the  most  probable  who  make 
this  intermediate  partition  a  sort  of  purgatory  for  those  who,  though  they  deserve  not  to 
be  sent  to  hell,  yet  have  not  merits  sufficient  to  gain  them  immediate  admittance  into 
paradise,  and  will  be  tantalized  here  for  a  certain  time  with  a  bare  view  of  the  felicity  of 
that  place. 

'  That  is,  the  chiefs  and  ringleaders  of  the  infidels.' 

^  These  were  the  inferior  and  poorer  among  the  believers,  whom  they  despised  in  their 
lifetimes  as  unworthy  of  God's  favour. 

*  These  words  are  directed,  by  an  apostrophe,  to  the  poor  and  despised  believers  above- 
mentioned.  Some  commentators  however  imagine  these  and  the  next  preceding  words 
are  to  be  understood  of  those  who  will  be  confined  in  Al  Araf;  and  that  the  damned  will, 
in  return  for  their  reproachful  speech,  swear  that  they  shall  never  enter  paradise  them- 
selves ;  whereupon  God  of  his  mercy  shall  order  them  to  be  admitted  by  these  words.* 

'  i.  e.  Of  the  other  liquors  or  fruits  of  paradise.  Compare  this  passage  with  the  parable 
of  Dives  and  Lazarus. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  *  See  ibid.  **  Al  Beidawi. 

'Idem.  *Idem. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  121 

who  made  a  laughing-stock  and  a  sport  of  their  religion,  and  whom  the  life 
of  the  world  hath  deceived:  therefore  this  day  will  we  forget  them,  as  they 
did  forget  the  meeting  of  this  day,  and  for  that  they  denied  our  signs  to  he 
from  God.  And  now  have  we  brought  unto  those  of  Mecca  a  book  of  divine 
revelations  :  we  have  explained  it  with  knowledge ;  a  direction  and  mercy 
unto  people  who  shall  believe.  Do  they  wait  for  any  other  than  the  inter- 
pretation thereof?  s  On  the  day  whereon  the  interpretation  thereof  shall 
come,  they  who  had  forgotten  the  same  before  shall  say,  Now  are  we  con- 
vinced  by  demonstration  that  the  messengers  of  our  Lord  came  unto  us  with 
truth ;  shall  we  therefore  have  any  intercessors,  who  will  intercede  for  us  ? 
or  shall  we  be  sent  back  into  the  world,  that  we  may  do  other  works  than 
what  we  did  in  our  life-time  f  But  now  have  they  lost  their  souls ;  and 
that  which  they  impiously  imagined  hath  fled  from  them.**  Verily  your 
Lord  is  God,  who  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  six  days ;  and  then 
ascended  his  throne :  he  causeth  the  night  to  cover  the  day ;  it  succeedeth 
the  same  swiftly :  he  also  created  the  sun  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars, 
which  are  absolutely  subject  unto  his  command.  Is  not  the  whole  creation, 
and  the  empire  thereof  his?  Blessed  be  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures! 
Call  unto  your  Lord  humbly  and  in  secret  ;*  for  he  loveth  not  those  who 
transgress.'  And  act  not  corruptly  in  the  earth,  after  its  reformation ;  ^  and 
call  upon  him  with  fear  and  desire :  for  the  mercy  of  God  is  near  unto  the 
righteous.  It  is  he  who  sendeth  the  winds,  spread  abroad^  before  his 
mercy,™  until  they  bring  a  cloud  heavy  with  rain,  which  we  drive  into  a 
dead  country  ; "  and  we  cause  water  to  descend  thereon,  by  which  we  cause 
all  sorts  of  fruits  to  spring  forth.  Thus  will  we  bring  forth  the  dead  from 
their  graves  ;•»  that  peradventure  ye  may  consider.  From  a  good  country 
shall  its  fruit  spring  forth  abundantly,  by  the  permission  of  its  Lord  ;  but 
from  the  land  which  is  bad,  it  shall  not  spring  forth  otherwise  than 
scarcely.  Thus  do  we  explain  the  signs  of  divine  providence  unto  people 
who  are  thankful.     We  formerly  sent  NoahP  unto  his  people  :  and  he  said, 

«  That  is,  the  event  of  the  promises  and  menaces  therein. 
''  See  ch.  6,  p.  100,  note  z. 

*  "  Call  upon  the  Lord,  in  public  and  private,  but  avoid  ostentation.  He  hateth  the 
haughty." — Savary. 

'  Behaving  themselves  arrogantly  while  they  pray;  or  praying  with  an  obstreperous 
voice,  or  a  multitude  of  words  and  vain  repetitions.' 

^  i.  e.  After  that  God  hath  sent  his  prophets,  and  revealed  his  laws,  for  the  reformation 
and  amendment  of  mankind. 

'  Or  ranging  over  a  large  extent  of  land.  Some  copies,  instead  ofnoshram,  which  is  the 
reading  I  have  here  followed,  have  hoshran,  which  signifies  good  tidings  ;  the  rising  of  the 
wind  in  such  a  manner  being  the  forerunner  of  rain. 

°  Thnt  is,  rain.  For  the  east  wind,  says  AI  Beidawi,  raises  the  clouds,  the  north  wind 
drives  them  together,  the  south  wind  agitates  them,  so  as  to  make  the  rain  fall,  and  the 
west  wind  disperses  them  again.* 

"  Or  a  dry  and  parched  land. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

p  Noah,  the  son  of  Lamech,  according  to  the  Mohammedan  writers,  ^vas  one  of  the  six 
principal  prophets,'  though  he  had  no  written  revelations  delivered  to  him,'  and  the  first  who 

•  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  ■"  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  »  Vide  Reland.  de 
Relig.  Moh.  p.  34. 

s 


122  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  VII. 


0  my  people,  worship  God  :  ye  have  no  other  God  than  him.*!  Verily  I 
fear  for  you  the  punishment  of  the  great  day.""  The  chiefs  of  his  people 
answered  liim,  We  surely  perceive  thee  to  he  in  a  manifest  error.  He 
replied,  O  my  people,  there  is  no  error  in  mc ;  but  I  am  a  messenger  from 
the  Lord  of  all  creatures.    I  bring  unto  you  the  messages  of  my  Lord  ;  and 

1  counsel  you  aright :  for  I  know  from  God,  that  which  ye  know  not.  Do 
ye  wonder  that  an  admonition  hath  come  unto  you  from  your  Lord  by  a 
man*  from  among  you,  to  warn  you,  that  ye  may  take  heed  to  yourselves, 
and  that  peradventure  ye  may  obtain  mercy?  And  they  accused  him  of 
imposture ;  but  we  delivered  him  and  those  who  were  with  him  in  the  ark,^ 
and  we  drowned  those  who  charged  our  signs  with  falsehood ;  for  they 
were  a  blind  people.  And  unto  the  tribe  q/*  Ad"  we  sent  their  brother  Hud.* 
He  said,  O  my  people,  worship  God  :  ye  have  no  other  God  than  him  ; 
will  ye  not  fear  him  f  The  chiefs  of  those  among  his  people  who  believed 
not,J^  answered.  Verily  we  perceive  that  thou  art  guided  by  folly ;  and  we 

appeared  after  his  great-grandfather  Edris  or  Enoch.  They  also  say  he  was  by  trade  a 
carpenter,  which  they  infer  from  his  building  the  ark,  and  that  the  year  of  his  mission  was 
the  fiftieth,  or,  as  others  say,  the  fortieth  of  his  age.' 

That  Noah  was  a  preacher  of  righteousness  unto  the  wicked  antedihivians  is  testified  by 
scripture.'  The  eastern  Christians  say,  that  when  God  ordered  Noah  to  build  the  ark,  he 
also  directed  him  to  make  an  instrument  of  wood,  such  as  they  make  use  of,  at  this  day,  in 
the  east,  instead  of  bells,  to  call  the  people  to  church,  and  named  in  Arabic  Nakus,  and  in 
modern  Greek,  Semandra;  on  which  he  was  to  strike  three  times  every  day,  not  only  to 
call  together  the  workmen  that  were  building  the  ark,  but  to  give  him  an  opportunity 
of  daily  admonishing  his  people  of  the  impending  danger  of  the  deluge,  which  would 
certainly  destroy  them  if  they  did  not  repent.* 

Some  Mohammedan  authors  pretend  that  Noah  was  sent  to  convert  Zohak,  one  of  the 
Persian  kings  of  the  first  race,  who  refused  to  hearken  to  him ;  and  that  he  afterwards 
preached  God's  unity  publicly.' 

'  From  these  words,  and  other  passages  of  the  Koran  where  Noah's  preaching  is  men- 
tioned, it  appears  that,  according  to  Mohammed's  opinion,  a  principal  crime  of  the  ante- 
diluvians was  idolatry.* 

'  viz.  Either  the  day  of  resurrection,  or  that  whereon  the  flood  was  to  begin. 

*  For,  said  they,  if  God  had  pleased,  he  would  have  sent  an  angel,  and  not  a  man  ; 
since  we  never  heard  of  such  an  instance  in  the  times  of  our  fathers.' 

'  That  is,  those  believed  in  him,  and  entered  into  that  vessel  with  him^  Though  there 
be  a  tradition  among  the  Mohammedans,  said  to  have  been  received  from  the  prophet 
himself,  and  conformable  to  the  scripture,  that  eight  persons  and  no  more  were  saved  in  the 
ark,  yet  some  of  them  report  the  number  variously.  One  says  they  were  but  six,  another 
ten,  another  twelve,  another  seventy-eight,  and  another  fourscore,  half  men  and  half 
v/omen  ;^  and  that  one  of  them  was  the  elder  Jorham,"*  the  preserver,  as  some  pretend, 
of  the  Arabian  language.* 

"  Ad  was  an  ancient  and  potent  tribe  of  Arabs,'  and  zealous  idolaters.'  They  chiefly 
worshipped  four  deities,  Sakia,  Hafedha,  Razeka,  and  Salema ;  the  first,  as  they  imagined, 
supplying  them  with  rain,  the  second  preserving  them  from  all  dangers  abroad,  the  third 
providmg  food  for  their  sustenance,  and  the  fourth  restoring  them  to  health  when  afflicted 
with  sickness;'  according  to  the  signification  of  the  several  names. 

"Generally  supposed  to  be  the  same  person  with  Hebcr;'  but  others  say  he  was  the 
son  of  Abd'allah,  the  son  of  Ribah,  the  son  of  Kholud,  the  son  of  Ad,  the  son  of  Aws  or 
Uz,  the  son  of  Aram,  the  son  of  Sem.* 

^  These  words  were  added  because  some  of  the  principal  men  among  them  believed 
on  Hud,  one  of  whom  was  Morthed  Ebn  Saad.' 

'  Al  Zamakhshari.  '  2  Pet.  ii.  5.  -  Eutych.  Ann.  p.  ?>1.  '  Vide 

D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  675.  *  See  ch.  61,  and  the   Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  Al  Zamakhshari,  Jallalo'ddin,  Ebn  Shohnah.  '  lidem. 

See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  *  Vide   Pocock.   Orat.  pracfix.   Carm.  Tograi. 

'  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  i.  *  Abulfeda.  »  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient. 

Art.  Houd.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  *  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  123 

certainly  estcom  thcc  to  be  one  of  the  liars.  He  replied,  O  my  people,  /  a?n 
not  guided  by  folly ;  but  I  am  a  messenger  unto  you  from  the  Lokd  of  all 
creatures:  I  bring  unto  you  the  messages  of  my  Lord  ;  and  I  am  a  faithful 
counsellor  unto  you.  Do  ye  wonder  that  an  admonition  hath  come  unto 
you  from  your  Lord,  by  a  man  from  among  you,  that  he  may  warn  you? 
Call  to  mind  how  he  hath  appointed  you  successors  unto  the  people 
of  Noah,*  and  hath  added  unto  you  in  stature  largely.**  Remember 
the  benefits  of  God,  that  ye  may  prosper.  They  said.  Art  thou  come 
unto  us,  that  we  should  worship  God  alone,  and  leave  the  deities 
which  our  fathers  worshipped  ?  Now  bring  down  that  judgment  upon  us, 
with  which  thou  threatenest  us,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  Hud  answered, 
Now  shall  there  suddenly  fall  upon  you  from  your  Lord  vengeance  and 
indignation.  Will  ye  dispute  with  me  concerning  the  names  which  ye 
have  named,*"  and  your  fathers ;  as  to  which  God  hath  not  revealed  unto  you 
any  authority  ?  Do  ye  wait  therefore,  and  I  will  be  one  of  those  who  wait 
with  you.l  And  we  delivered  him,  and  then  who  believed  with  him  by  our 
mercy ;  and  we  cut  off  the  uttermost  part  of  those  who  charged  our  signs 
with  falsehood,  and  were  not  believers.*'  And  unto  the  tribe  of  Thamud  * 
we  sent  their  brother  Saleh."  He  said,  O  my  people,  worship  God  :  ye 
have  no  God  besides  him.     Now  hath  a  manifest  proof  come  unto  you 

'  Dwelling  in  the  habitations  of  the  antediluvians,  who  preceded  them  not  many  cen- 
turies;  or  having  the  chief  sway  in  the  earth  after  them.  For  the  kingdom  of  Shedad, 
the  son  of  Ad,  is  said  to  have  extended  from  the  sands  of  Alaj  to  the  trees  of  Omiin.^ 

»  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  5. 

*  "And  that  multiplied  you,  and  increased  your  power." — Savary. 

"  That  is,  concerning  the  idols  and  imaginary  objects  of  your  worship,  to  which  ye 
wickedly  give  the  names,  attributes,  and  honour  due  to  the  only  true  God. 

t  "  Wait !  I  shall  soon  be  spectator  of  your  ruin." — Savary. 

'  The  dreadful  destruction  of  the  Adites  we  have  mentioned  in  another  place,"  and  shall 
only  add  here  some  further  circumstances  of  that  calamity,  and  which  differ  a  little  from 
what  is  there  said  ;  for  the  Arab  writers  acknowledge  many  inconsistencies  in  the  histories 
of  these  ancient  tribes.^ 

The  tribe  of  Ad  having  been  for  their  incredulity  previously  chastised  with  a  three 
years'  drought,  sent  Kail  Ebn  Ithar  and  Morthed  Ebn  Saad,  with  seventy  other  principal 
men,  to  the  temple  of  Mecca  to  obtain  rain.  Mecca  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  tribe 
of  Amalek,  whose  prince  was  Moawiyah  Ebn  Beer;  and  he  being  without  the  city  when 
the  ambassadors  arrived,  entertained  them  there  for  a  month  in  so  hospitable  a  manner,  that 
they  had  forgotten  the  business  they  came  about,  had  not  the  king  reminded  them  of  it, 
not  as  from  himself,  lest  they  should  think  he  wanted  to  be  rid  of  them,  but  by  some 
verses  which  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  a  singing-woman.  At  which  being  roused  from 
their  lethargy,  Morthed  told  them,  the  only  way  they  had  to  obtain  what  they  wanted 
would  be  to  repent  and  obey  their  prophet:  but  this  displeasing  the  rest,  they  desired 
Moawiyah  to  imprison  him,  lest  he  should  go  with  them  ;  which  being  done.  Kail  with 
the  rest  entering  Mecca,  begged  of  God  that  he  would  send  rain  to  the  people  of  Ad. 
Whereupon  three  clouds  appeared,  a  white  one,  a  red  one,  and  a  black  one  ;  and  a  voice 
from  heaven  ordered  Kail  to  choose  which  he  would.  Kail  failed  not  to  make  choice 
of  the  last,  thinking  it  to  be  loaden  with  the  most  rain;  but  when  this  cloud  passed  over 
them,  it  proved  to  be  fraught  with  the  divine  vengeance,  and  a  tempest  broke  forth  from 
it  which  destroyed  them  all.^ 

*  Thamud  was  another  tribe  of  the  ancient  Arabs  who  fell  into  idolatry.  See  the 
Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i. 

'  Al  Beidawi  deduces  his  genealogy  thus.  Saleh,  the  son  of  Obeid,  the  son  of  Asaf, 
the  son  of  Masekh,  the  son  of  Obeid,  the  son  of  Hadher,  the  son  of  Thamud.' 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ■■  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  *  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  D'Herbelot.  Bibl. 
Orient.  Art.  Ifoud.  'See  the  ProUm.  Disc.  sect.  i.  '  Abulfcda,  Al  Zamakhahari. 
Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Saleh. 


124  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

from  your  Lord.  This  she-camel  of  God  is  a  sign  unto  you  :^  therefore 
dismiss  her  freely,  that  she  may  feed  in  God's  earth ;  and  do  her  no  hurt, 
lest  a  painful  punishment  seize  you.  And  call  to  mind  how  he  hath 
appointed  you  successors  unto  the  tribe  of  Ad,  and  hath  given  you  a  habita- 
tion on  earth ;  ye  build  yourselves  castles  on  the  plains  thereof,  and  cut  out 
the  mountains  into  houses.^  Remember  therefore  the  benefits  of  God,  and 
commit  not  violence  in  the  earth,  acting  corruptly.  The  chiefs  among  his 
people  who  were  puffed  up  with  pride,  said  unto  those  who  were  esteemed 
weak,  namely  unto  those  who  believed  among  them.  Do  ye  know  that 
Saleh  hath  been  sent  from  his  Lord?  They  answered,  We  do  surely 
believe  in  that  wherewith  he  hath  been  sent.  Those  who  were  elated 
with  pride  replied.  Verily  we  believe  not  in  that  wherein  ye  believe. 
And  they  cut  off  the  feet  of  the  camel,^  and  insolently  transgressed 
the  command  of  their  Lord,'  and  said,  O  Saleh,  cause  that  to  come  upon 
us  which  thou  hast  threatened  us,  if  thou  art  one  of  those  who  have 
been  sent  by  God.  Whereupon  a  terrible  noise  from  heaven^  assailed 
them ;  *  and  in  the  morning  they  were  found  in  their  dwellings  prostrate 

^  The  Thamudites  insisting  on  a  miracle,  proposed  to  Saleh  that  he  should  go  with  thenn 
to  their  festival,  and  that  they  should  call  on  their  gods,  and  he  on  his,  promising  to  follow 
that  deity  which  should  answer.  But  after  they  had  called  on  their  idols  a  long  time  to  no 
purpose,  Jonda  Ebn  Amru,  their  prince,  pointed  to  a  rock  standing  by  itself,  and  bade 
Saleh  cause  a  she  camel  big  with  young  to  come  forth  from  it,  solemnly  engaging  that  if 
he  did,  he  would  believe  ;  and  his  people  promised  the  same.  Whereupon  Saleh  asked 
it  of  God,  and  presently  the  rock,  after  several  throes,  as  if  in  labour,  was  delivered  of  a 
she  camel  answering  the  description  of  Jonda,  which  immediately  brought  forth  a  young 
one  ready  weaned,  and,  as  some  say,  as  big  as  herself.  Jonda,  seeing  this  miracle,  be- 
heved  on  the  prophet,  and  some  few  with  him  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  Thamudites 
remained,  notwithstanding,  incredulous.  Of  this  camel  the  commentators  tell  several  very 
absurd  stories ;  as  that  when  she  went  to  drink  she  never  raised  her  head  from  the  well 
or  river  till  she  had  drunk  up  all  the  water  in  it,  and  then  she  offered  herself  to  be  milked, 
the  people  drawing  from  her  as  much  milk  as  they  pleased  ;  and  some  say  that  she  went 
about  the  town  crying  aloud.  If  any  wants  milk,  let  him  come  forth? 

s  The  tribe  of  Thamud  dwelt  first  in  the  country  of  the  Adites,  but  their  numbers  in- 
creasing, they  removed  to  the  territory  of  Hejr  for  the  sake  of  the  mountains,  where  they 
cut  themselves  habitations  in  the  rocks,  to  be  seen  at  this  day. 

^  This  extraordinary  camel  frighting  the  other  cattle  from  their  pasture,  a  certain  rich 
woman  named  Oneiza  0mm  Ganem,  having  four  daughters,  dressed  them  out,  and. 
offered  one  Kedar  his  choice  of  them,  if  he  would  kill  the  camel.  Whereupon  he  chose 
one,  and  with  the  assistance  of  eight  other  men,  hamstrung  and  killed  the  dam,  and  pur- 
suing the  young  one,  which  fled  to  the  mountain,  killed  that  also,  and  divided  its  flesh 
among  them.'  Others  tell  the  story  somewhat  differently,  adding  Sadaka  Bint  al  Mokhtar 
as  a  joint  conspiratress  with  Oneiza,  and  pretending  that  the  young  one  was  not  killed  ; 
for  they  say  that  having  fled  to  a  certain  mountain  named  Kara,  he  there  cried  three  times, 
and  Saleh  bade  them  catch  him  if  they  could,  for  then  there  might  be  hopes  of  their 
avoiding  the  divine  vengeance ;  but  this  they  were  not  able  to  do,  the  rock  opening  after 
he  had  cried,  and  receiving  him  within  it.* 

'  Defying  the  vengeance  with  which  they  were  threatened  ;  because  they  trusted  in 
their  strong  dwellings  hewn  in  the  rocks,  saying  that  the  tribe  of  Ad  perished  only  because 
their  houses  were  not  built  with  sufficient  strength.' 

*  Like  violent  and  repeated  claps  of  thunder ;  which  some  say  was  no  other  than  the 
voice  of  the  angel  Gabriel,®  and  which  rent  their  hearts.''  It  is  said  that  after  they  had 
killed  the  camel,  Saleh  told  them  that  on  the  morrow  their  faces  should  become  yellow, 
the  next  day  red,  and  the  third  day  black,  and  that  on  the  fourth  God's  vengeance  should 
light  on  them  ;  and  that  the  first  three  signs  happening  accordingly,  they  sought  to  put 
him  to  death,  but  God  delivered  him,  by  sending  him  into  Palestine.* 

*  "At  that  instant  they  felt  the  earth  tremble  under  their  feet." — Savary. 

'See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  i.  '  Abulfeda.  *  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  D'Herbel,  ubi  supra. 
*  Al  Kessai.       *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  5.       ''  Abulfeda,  Al  Beidawi.       '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  125 

on  their  breasts  and  dead.^  And  Saleh  departed  from  them,  and  said,™ 
O  my  people,  now  have  I  delivered  unto  you  the  message  of  my  Lord  ; 
and  I  advised  you  well,  but  ye  love  not  those  who  advise  you  well. 
And  remember  Lot,"  when  he  said  unto  his  people,  Do  ye  commit  a 
wickedness,  wherein  no  creature  hath  set  you  an  example?  Do  ye 
approach  lustfully  unto  men,  leaving  the  women  1  Certainly  ye  are  people 
who  transgress  all  modesty*  But  the  answer  of  his  people  was  no  other 
than  that  they  said  the  one  to  the  other,  Expel  them"  your  city;  for  they 
are  men  who  preserve  themselves  pure  from  the  crimes  lohich  ye  commit. 
Therefore  we  delivered  him  and  his  family,  except  his  wife ;  she  was  one 
of  those  who  stayed  behind  :  p  and  we  rained  a  shower  of  stones  upon  them.i 
Behold  therefore  what  was  the  end  of  the  wicked.  And  unto  Madian  "■  we 
sent  their  brother  Shoaib.*  He  said  unto  them,  O  my  people,  worship 
God  ;  ye  have  no  God  besides  him.     Now  hath  an  evident  demonstration* 

'  Mohammed,  in  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,  which  he  undertook  against  the  Greeks  in  the 
ninth  year  of  the  Hejra,  passing  by  Hejr,  where  this  ancient  tribe  had  dwelt,  forbad  his 
army,  though  much  distressed  with  heat  and  thirst,  to  draw  any  water  there,  but  ordered 
them  if  ihey  had  drunk  of  that  water  to  bring  it  up  again,  or  if  they  had  kneaded  any  meal 
with  it,  to  give  it  their  camels  ;^  and  wrapping  up  his  face  in  his  garment,  he  set  spurs 
to  his  mule,  crying  out.  Enter  not  the  houses  of  those  wicked  men,  but  rather  weep,  lest  that 
happen  unto  you,  which  befell  them  :  and  having  so  said,  he  continued  galloping  full  speed 
with  his  face  muffled  up,  till  he  had  passed  the  valley.' 

■"  Whether  this  speech  was  made  by  Saleh  to  them  at  parting,  as  seems  most  proba- 
ble, or  after  the  judgment  had  fallen  on  them,  the  commentators  are  not  agreed. 

°  The  commentators  say,  conformably  to  the  scripture,  that  Lot  was  the  son  of  Haran, 
the  son  of  Azer  or  Terah,  and  consequently  Abraham's  nephew,  who  brought  him  with 
him  from  Chaldea  into  Palestine,  where,  they  say,  he  was  sent  by  God  to  reclaim  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  the  other  neighbouring  cities  which  were  overthrown  with  it, 
from  the  unnatural  vice  to  which  they  were  addicted.^    And  this  Mohammedan  tradition 
seems  to  be  countenanced  by  the  words  of  the  apostle,  that  this  righteous  man  dwelling 
am^ng  them,  in  seeing  and  heariiig  vexed  his  righteous  soul  from  day  to  day  with  their  un- 
lawful deeds,^  whence  it  is  probable  that  he  omitted  no  opportunity  of  endeavouring  their 
reformation.    The  story  of  Lot  is  told  with  further  circumstances  in  the  eleventh  chapter. 
*  "  Will  you  violate  the  laws  of  nature  ?" — Savary. 
» viz.  Lot,  and  those  who  believe  on  him. 
p  See  chap.  IL 
'  See  ibid. 

'  Madian,  or  Midian,  was  a  city  of  Hejaz,  and  the  habitation  of  a  tribe  of  the  same 
name,  the  descendants  of  Midian,  the  son  of  Abraham  by  Keturah,^  who  afterwards 
coalesced  wuh  the  Ismaehtes,  as  it  seems;  Moses  naming  the  same  merchants  who  sold 
Joseph  to  Potiphar,  in  one  place  Ismaelites,'  and  in  another  Midianites.* 

This  city  was  situated  on  the  Red  Sea,  south-east  of  Mount  Sinai,  and  is  doubtless  the 
same  with  the  Modiana  of  Ptolemy  ;  what  was  remaining  of  it  in  Mohammed's  time  was 
soon  after  demolished  in  the  succeeding  wars,''  and  it  remains  desolate  to  this  day.  The 
people  of  the  country  pretend  to  show  the  well  whence  Moses  watered  Jethro's  flocks.' 

'Some  Mohammedan  writers  make  him  the  son  of  Mikail,  the  son  of  Yashjar,  the  son 
of  Madian  ;*  and  they  generally  suppose  him  to  be  the  same  person  with  the  father-in-law 
of  Moses,  who  is  named  in  scripture  Reuel  or  Ra^uel,  and  Jethro.'  But  Ahmed  Ebn 
Abd'alhalim  charges  those  who  entertain  this  opinion  with  ignorance.  Al  Kessai  says 
that  his  name  was  Sanun,  and  that  he  was  first  called  Boyun,  and  afterwards  Shoaib ;  and 
adds  that  he  was  a  comely  person,  but  spare  and  lean,  very  thoughtful,  and  of  few  words. 
Doctor  Prideaux  writes  this  name,  after  the  French  translation,  Cliaib.'^ 

'  This  demonstration  the  commentators  suppose  to  have  been  a  power  of  working  mira- 
cles, though  the  Koran  mentions  none  in  particular.    However,  they  say  (after  the  Jews), 

«  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  124.  '  Al  Bokhari.  *  Vide  D'Herbelot.  Bib!. 

Orient.  Art.  Loth.  ^  2  Pet.  ii.  8.  «  Gen.  x.xv.  2.  '  Gen.  x.xxix.  1. 

"  Gen.  xxxvii.  36.  '  Vide  Golii  not.  in  Alfrag.  p.  143.  '  Abulfeda,  Desc.  Arab, 

p.  42.  Geogr.  Nub.  p.  109.  "  Al  Beidawi,  Tarikh  Montakhab.  '  Exod.  u. 

18,  iii.  1.  ^  Life  of  Moham.  p.  24. 


126  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  vii. 

come  unto  you  from  your  Lord.  Therefore  give  full  measure  and  just 
weight,  and  diminish  not  unto  men  aught  of  their  matters :  °  neither  act 
corruptly  in  the  earth,  afler  its  reformation.^  This  will  be  better  for  you, 
if  ye  believe.  And  beset  not  every  way,  threatening  the  passenger  ;y  and 
turning  aside  from  the  path  of  God  him  who  believeth  in  him,  and  seeking 
to  make  it  crooked.  And  remember,  when  ye  were  ^qw,  and  God  multi- 
plied you :  and  behold,  what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  acted 
corruptly.  And  if  part  of  you  believe  in  that  wherewith  I  am  sent,  and 
part  believe  not,  wait  patiently  until  God  judge  between  us ;  for  he  is  the 
best  judge.  *[IX.]  The  chiefs  of  his  people,  who  were  elated  with  pride, 
answered,  We  will  surely  cast  thee,  O  Shoaib,  and  those  who  believe  with 
thee,  out  of  our  city :  or  else  thou  shalt  certainly  return  unto  our  religion. 
He  said,  What,  though  we  be  averse  thereto  ?  We  shall  surely  imagine  a  lie 
against  God,  if  we  return  unto  your  religion,  after  that  God  hath  delivered 
us  from  the  same :  and  we  have  no  reason  to  return  unto  it,  unless  God 
our  Lord  shall  please  to  abandon  us.  Our  Lord  comprehendeth  every 
thing  by  his  knowledge.  In  God  do  we  put  our  trust.  O  Lord,  do  thou 
judge  between  us  and  our  nation  with  truth ;  for  thou  art  the  best  judge. 
And  the  chiefs  of  his  people  who  believed  not  said,  If  ye  follow  Shoaib, 
ye  shall  surely  perish.  Therefore  a  storm  from  heaven  ^  assailed  them,* 
and  in  the  morning  they  were  found  in  their  dwellings  dead  and  prostrate. 
They  who  accused  Shoaib  of  imposture  became  as  though  they  had  never 
dwelt  therein ;  they  who  accused  Shoaib  of  imposture  perished  themselves. 
And  he  departed  from  them,  and  said,  O  my  people,  now  have  I  performed 
unto  you  the  messages  of  my  Lord  ;  and  I  advised  you  aright :  but  why 
should  I  be  grieved  for  an  unbelieving  people.  We  have  never  sent  any 
prophet  unto  a  city,  but  we  afflicted  the  inhabitants  thereof  with  calamity 
and  adversity,  that  they  might  humble  themselves.  Then  we  gave  them  in 
exchange  good  in  lieu  of  evil,  until  they  abounded,  and  said.  Adversity 
and  prosperity  formerly  happened  unto  our  fathers,  as  unto  us.  Therefore 
we  took  vengeance  on  them  suddenly,  and  they  perceived  it  not  beforehand. 
But  if  the  inhabitants  of  those  cities  had  believed  and  feared  God,  we 
would  surely  have  opened  to  them  blessings  both  from  heaven  and  earth. 

that  he  gave  his  son-in-law  that  wonder-working  rod'  with  which  he  performed  all  those 
miracles  in  Egypt  and  the  desert,  and  also  excellent  advice  and  instructions;*  whence 
he  had  the  surname  of  Khatib  al  anbiya,  or  the  preacher  to  the  prophets.^ 

"  For  one  of  the  great  crimes  which  the  Midianites  were  guilty  of  was  the  using  of  di- 
verse measures  and  weights,  a  great  and  a  small,  buying  by  one  and  selling  by  another.* 

*  See  before,  p.  121,  note  k. 

y  Robbing  on  the  highway,  it  seems,  was  another  crying  sin,  frequent  among  these 
people.  But  some  of  the  commentators  interpret  this  passage  figuratively,  of  their  beset- 
ting the  way  of  truth,  and  threatening  those  who  gave  ear  to  the  remonstrances  of  Shoaib.'' 

^  Like  that  which  destroyed  the  Thamudiies.  Some  suppose  it  to  have  been  an  earth- 
quake, for  the  original  word  signifies  either  or  both ;  and  both  these  dreadful  calamities 
may  well  be  supposed  to  have  jointly  executed  the  divine  vengeance. 

*  '*  They  were  overthrown  by  an  earthquake." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Shalshel.  hakkab.  p.  12.  *  Exod.  xviii.  13,  &c.  '  Vide 

D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  Art.  Shoaib.  ^  Vide  ib.  Al  Beidawi.    See  Deut.  xxv. 

13,  14.  ■■  Idem. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  127 

But  they  charged  our  apostles  with  falsehood,  wherefore  we  took  vengeance 
on  them,  for  that  which  they  had  been  guilty  of.  Were  the  inhabitants 
therefore  of  those  cities  secure  that  our  punishment  should  not  fall  on  them 
by  night,  while  they  slept  ?  Or  were  the  inhabitants  of  those  cities  secure 
that  our  punishment  should  not  fall  on  them  by  day,  while  they  sported  ? 
Were  they  therefore  secure  from  the  stratagem  of  God?''*  But  none 
will  think  himself  secure  from  the  stratagem  of  God,  except  the  people 
who  perish.  And  hath  it  not  manifestly  appeared  unto  those  who  have 
inherited  the  earth  after  the  former  inhabitants  thereof,  that  if  we  please, 
we  can  afflict  them  for  their  sins?  But  we  will  seal  up  their  hearts;  and 
they  shall  not  hearken.  We  will  relate  unto  thee  some  stories  of  these 
cities.  Their  apostles  had  come  unto  them  with  evident  miracles,  but  they 
were  not  disposed  to  believe  in  that  which  they  had  before  gainsaid.  Thus 
will  God  seal  up  the  hearts  of  the  unbelievers.  And  we  found  not  in  the 
greater  part  of  them  any  observance  of  their  covenant ;  but  we  found  the 
greater  part  of  them  wicked  doers.  Then  we  sent  after  the  above  named 
apostles,  Moses  with  our  signs  unto  Pharaoh"  and  his  princes ;  who  treated 
them  unjustly  t'^  but  behold  what  was  the  end  of  the  corrupt  doers.  And 
Moses  said,  O  Pharaoh,  verily  I  am  an  apostle  sent  from  the  Lord  of 
all  creatures.  It  is  just  that  I  should  not  speak  of  God  other  than  the 
truth.  Now  am  I  come  unto  you  with  an  evident  sign  from  your  Lord  : 
send  therefore  the  children  of  Israel  away  with  me.  Pharaoh  answered, 
If  thou  comest  with  a  sign,  produce  it,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  Wherefore 
he  cast  down  his  rod ;  and  behold,  it  became  a  visible  serpent."^  And  he 
drew  forth  his  hand  out  of  his  bosom ;  and  behold,  it  appeared  white  unto 

'  Hereby  is  figuratively  expressed  the  manner  of  God's  dealing  with  proud  and  ungrate- 
ful men,  by  suffering  them  to  fill  up  the  measure  of  their  iniquity,  without  vouchsafing  to 
bring  them  to  a  sense  of  their  condition  by  chastisements  and  afflictions  till  they  find  them- 
selves utterly  lost,  when  they  least  expect  it.* 

*  "  Thought  they  that  they  could  escape  the  vigilance  of  God  ?  Shall  the  wicked  alone 
be  able  to  elude  it?" — Savary. 

^  This  was  the  common  title  or  name  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  (signifying  king  in  the 
Coptic  tongue),  as  Ptolemy  was  in  after  times ;  and  as  Caesar  was  that  of  the  Roman 
emperors,  and  Koshru  that  of  the  kin^s  of  Persia.  But  which  of  the  kings  of  Egypt  this 
Pharaoh  of  Moses  was,  is  uncertain.  Not  to  mention  the  opinions  of  the  European  writers, 
those  of  the  east  generally  suppose  him  to  have  been  al  Walid,  who,  according  to  some, 
was  an  Arab  of  the  tribe  of  Ad,  or,  according  to  others,  the  son  of  Masab,  the  son  of 
Riyan,  the  son  of  Walid ^  the  Amalekite.'  There  are  historians,  however,  who  suppose 
Kabus,  the  brother  and  predecessor  of  al  Walid,  was  the  prince  we  are  speaking  of;  and 
pretend  he  lived  620  years,  and  reigned  400 ;  which  is  more  reasonable,  at  least,  than  the 
opinion  of  those  who  imagine  it  was  his  father  Masab,  or  grandfather  Riyan.*^  Abulfeda 
says,  that  Masab  being  one  hundred  and  seventy  years  old,  and  having  no  child,  while  he 
kept  the  lierds,  saw  a  cow  calve,  and  heard  her  say  at  the  same  time,  O  Masab,  he  not 
grieved,  for  thou  shalt  have  a  wicked  son,  who  will  be  at  length  cast  into  hell.  And  he  ac- 
cordingly had  this  Walid,  who  afterwards  coming  to  be  king  of  Egypt,  proved  an  impious 
tyrant. 

'  By  not  believing  therein. 

''  The  Arab  writers  tell  enormous  fables  of  this  serpent  or  dragon.  For  they  say  that 
he  was  hairy,  and  of  so  prodigious  a  size,  that  when  he  opened  his  mouth,  his  jaws  were 
fourscore  cubits  asunder,  and  when  he  laid  his  lower  jaw  on  the  ground,  his  upper  reached 
to  the  top  of  the  palace  ;  that  Pharaoh  seeing  this  monster  make  towards  him,  fled  from 
it,  and  was  so  terribly  frightened,  that  he  befouled  himself;  and  that  the  whole  assembly 

•  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  6.  '  Abulfeda,  &c.  '  Kitab 
afsir  lebab,  and  al  Keshaf. 


128  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

the  spectators.'^  The  chiefs  of  the  people  of  Pharaoh  said,  This  7nan  is 
certainly  an  expert  magician;  he  seeketh  to  dispossess  you  of  your  land; 
what  therefore  do  ye  direct  ?  They  answered,  Put  off  him  and  his  brother 
hy  fair  promises  for  some  time,  and  in  the  meanwhile  send  unto  the  cities 
persons  who  may  assemble  and  bring  unto  thee  every  expert  magician.  So 
the  magicians'  came  unto  Pharaoh  ;  and  they  said.  Shall  we  surely  receive 
a  reward,  if  we  do  overcome  ?  He  answered.  Yea  ;  and  ye  shall  certainly 
be  of  those  who  approach  near  unto  my  throne.  They  said,  O  Moses,  either 
do  thou  cast  down  thy  rod  first,  or  we  will  cast  down  ours.  Moses 
answered,  Do  ye  cast  down  your  rods  first.  And  when  they  had  cast  them 
down,  they  enchanted  the  eyes  of  the  men  who  loere  present,  and  terrified 
them  :  and  they  performed  a  great  enchantment. s  And  we  spake  by  reve- 
lation unto  Moses,  saying.  Throw  down  thy  rod.  And  behold,  it  swallowed 
up  the  rods  which  they  had  caused  falsely  to  appear  changed  into  serpents.^ 
Wherefore  tlie  truth  was  confirmed,  and  that  which  they  had  wrought 
vanished.  And  Pharaoh  and  his  magicians  were  overcome  there,  and  were 
rendered  contemptible.  And  the  magicians  prostrated  themselves,  wor- 
shipping; and  they  said.  We  believe  in  the  Lord  of  all  creatures,  the  Lord 
of  Moses  and  Aaron.^     Pharaoh  said.  Have  ye  believed  on  him,  before  I 

also  betaking  themselves  to  their  heels,  no  less  than  25,000  of  them  lost  their  lives  in  the 
press.  They  add  also  that  Pharaoh  upon  this  adjured  Moses  by  God  who  had  sent  him, 
to  take  away  the  serpent,  and  promised  he  would  believe  on  him,  and  let  the  Israelites 
go  ;  but  when  Moses  had  done  what  he  requested,  he  relapsed,  and  grew  as  hardened  as 
before.^ 

*  There  is  a  tradition  that  Moses  was  a  very  swarthy  man  ;  and  that  when  he  put  his 
hand  into  his  bosom,  and  drew  it  out  again,  it  became  extremely  white  and  splendid,  sur- 
passing the  brightness  of  the  sun.*  Marracci'  says  we  do  not  read  in  scripture  that  Moses 
showed  this  sign  before  Pharaoh.  It  is  true  the  scripture  does  not  expressly  say  so,  but 
it  seems  to  be  no  more  than  a  necessary  inference  from  that  passage,  where  God  tells 
Moses  that  if  they  will  not  hearken  to  the  first  sign,  they  will  believe  the  latter  sign,  and 
if  they  will  not  believe  these  two  signs,  then  directs  him  to  turn  the  water  into  blood.* 

'  The  Arabian  writers  name  several  of  these  magicians,  besides  their  chief  priest  Simeon, 
viz.  Sadur  and  Ghadur,  Jaath,  and  Mosfa,  Waran  and  Zaman,  each  of  whom  came  at- 
tended with  their  disciples,  amounting  in  all  to  several  thousands.'' 

«  They  provided  themselves  with  a  great  number  of  thick  ropes  and  long  pieces  of  wood, 
which  they  contrived  by  some  means  to  move,  and  make  them  twist  themselves  one  over 
the  other ;  and  so  imposed  on  the  beholders,  who  at  a  distance  took  them  to  be  true 
serpents.^ 

^  The  expositors  add,  that  when  this  serpent  had  swallowed  up  all  the  rods  and  cords, 
he  made  directly  towards  the  assembly,  and  put  them  to  so  great  a  terror,  that  they  fled, 
and  a  considerable  number  were  killed  in  the  crowd :  then  Moses  took  it  up,  and  it  be- 
came a  rod  in  his  hand  as  before.  Whereupon  the  magicians  declared  that  it  could  be  no 
enchantment,  because  in  such  case  their  rods  and  cords  would  not  have  disappeared.' 

'  It  seems  probable  that  all  the  magicians  were  not  converted  by  this  miracle,  for  some 
writers  introduce  Sadur  and  Ghadur  only  acknowledging  Moses's  miracle  to  be  wrought 
by  the  power  of  God.  These  two,  they  say,  were  brothers,  and  the  sons  of  a  famous 
magician,  then  dead;  but  on  their  being  sent  for  to  court  on  this  occasion,  their  mother 
persuaded  them  to  go  to  their  father's  tomb,  to  ask  his  advice.  Being  come  to  the  tomb, 
the  father  answered  their  call,  and  when  they  had  acquainted  him  with  the  afiair,  he  told 
them,  that  they  should  inform  themselves  whether  the  rod  of  which  they  spoke  became 
a  serpent  while  its  masters  slept,  or  only  when  they  were  awake;  for,  said  he,  enchant- 
ments have  no  effect  while  the  enchanter  is  asleep,  and  therefore  if  il  be  otherwise  in  this 
case,  you  may  be  assured  that  they  act  by  a  divine  power.     These  two  magicians  then, 

»  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  « In  Alcor.  p.  284.  «  Exod.  iv.  8,  9.  "■  Vide 

D'Herbel.,  Bib).  Orient,  art.  Mousa,  p.  643,  &.c.  Al  Kessai.  *  Al  Beidawi.    Vide 

D'Herbelot,  ubi  sup.  and  Koran,  c.  20.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  129 

have  given  you  permission  1  Verily  this  is  a  plot  which  ye  have  contrived 
in  the  city,  that  ye  might  cast  forth  from  thence  the  inhabitants  thereof^ 
But  ye  shall  surely  know  that  I  am  your  master ;  for  I  will  cause  your 
hands  and  your  feet  to  be  cut  off  on  the  opposite  sides,*  then  will  I  cause 
you  all  to  be  crucified.™  The  magicians  answered,  We  shall  certainly 
return  unto  our  Lord,  in  the  next  life ;  for  thou  takest  vengeance  on  us 
only  because  we  have  believed  in  the  signs  of  our  Lord,  when  they  have 
come  unto  us.  O  Lord,  pour  on  us  patience ;  and  cause  us  to  die 
Moslems."  And  the  chiefs  of  Pharaoh's  people  said.  Wilt  thou  let  Moses 
and  his  people  go,  that  they  may  act  corruptly  in  the  earth,  and  leave  thee 
and  thy  gods?"  Pharaoh  answered,  We  will  cause  their  male  children  to 
be  slain,  and  we  will  suffer  their  females  to  live;p  and  by  that  means  we 
shall  prevail  over  them.  Moses  said  unto  his  people.  Ask  assistance  of 
God,  and  suffer  patiently  :  for  the  earth  is  God's,  he  giveth  it  for  an 
inheritance  unto  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth ;  and  the  prosperous 
end  shall  be  unto  those  who  fear  him.  They  answered,  We  have  been 
afflicted  by  having  our  male  children  slain,  before  thou  camest  unto  us,  and 
also  since  thou  hast  come  unto  us.  Moses  said,  Peradventure  it  may  happen 
that  our  Lord  will  destroy  your  enemy,  and  will  cause  you  to  succeed  him 
in  the  earth,  that  he  may  see  how  ye  will  act  therein.  And  we  formerly 
punished  the  people  of  Pharaoh  with  dearth  and  scarcity  of  fruits,  that  they 
might  be  warned.  Yet  when  good  happened  unto  them,  they  said,*  This 
is  owing  unto  us  :  but  if  evil  befel  them,  they  attributed  the  same  to  the  ill 
luck  of  Moses,  and  those  who  were  with  him.i  Was  not  their  ill  luck  with 
God?""  but  most  of  them  knew  it  not.     And  they  said  unto  Moses,  What- 

arriving  at  the  capital  of  Egypt,  on  inquiry  found,  to  their  great  astonishment,  that  when 
Moses  and  Aaron  went  to  rest,  their  rod  became  a  serpent,  and  guarded  them  while  they 
slept.'     And  this  was  the  first  step  towards  their  conversion. 

^  t.  e.  This  is  a  confederacy  between  you  and  Moses,  entered  into  before  ye  left  the  city 
to  go  to  the  place  of  appointment,  to  turn  out  the  Copts,  or  native  Egyptians,  and  estab- 
lish the  Israelites  in  their  stead.' 

'  That  is,  your  right  hands,  and  your  left  feet. 

"  Some  say  Pharaoh  was  the  first  inventor  of  this  ignominious  and  painful  punishment. 

°  Some  think  these  converted  magicians  were  executed  accordingly:  but  others  deny  it, 
and  say  that  the  king  was  not  able  to  put  them  to  death  ;  insisting  on  these  words  of  the 
Koran, ^  You  two,  and  they  who  follow  you,  shall  overcome. 

"  Which  were  the  stars,  or  other  idols.  But  some  of  the  commentators,  from  certain 
impious  expressions  of  this  prince,  recorded  in  the  Koran,*  whereby  he  sets  up  himself  as 
the  only  god  of  his  subjects,  suppose  that  he  was  the  object  of  their  worship,  and  there- 
fore instead  of  alihataca,  thy  gods,  read  ilahalaca,  thy  vwrship.^ 

p  That  is,  We  will  continue  to  make  use  of  the  same  cruel  policy  to  keep  the  Israelites 
in  subjection  as  we  have  hitherto  done.  The  commentators  say  that  Pharaoh  came  to  this 
resolution  because  he  had  either  been  admonished  in  a  dream,  or  by  the  astrologers  or 
divines,  that  one  of  that  nation  should  subvert  his  kingdom.*^ 

*  "  The  good  which  they  had  enjoyed  they  considered  as  a  debt  to  them." — Savary. 

■^  Looking  on  him  and  his  followers  as  the  occasion  of  those  calamities.  The  original 
word  propf-rly  signifies  to  take  an  ominous  and  sinister  presage  of  any  future  event,  from 
the  flight  of  birds,  or  the  like. 

'  By  whose  will  and  decree  they  were  so  afflicted,  as  a  punishment  for  their 
wickedness. 

'  Vide  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup.  '» Al  Beidawi.  ="  Koran,  chap.  28.  *  Koran, 

chap.  26,  28.  *  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


130  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

ever  sign  thou  show  unto  us,  to  enchant  us  therewith,  we  will  not  believe  on 
ihee.  Wherefore  we  sent  upon  them  a  flood,*  and  locusts,  and  lice,*  and 
frogs,  and  blood ;  distinct  miracles  :  but  they  behaved  proudly,  and  became 
a  wicked  people.  And  when  the  plague «  fell  on  them,  they  said,  O  Moses, 
entreat  thy  Lord  for  us,  according  to  that  which  he  hath  covenanted  with 
thee :  verily  if  thou  take  the  plague  from  off  us,  we  will  surely  believe 
thee,  and  we  will  let  the  children  of  Israel  go  with  thee.  But  when  we 
had  taken  the  plague  from  off  them,  until  the  term  lohich  God  had  granted 
them  was  expired,  behold  they  broke  their  promise.  Wherefore  we  took 
vengeance  on  them,  and  drowned  them  in  the  Rtd  Sea;^  because  they 
charged  our  signs  with  falsehood,  and  neglected  them.  And  we  caused  the 
people  who  had  been  rendered  weak  to  inherit  the  eastern  parts  of  the  earth 
and  the  western  parts  thereof,*  which  we  blessed  with  fertility ;  and  the 
gracious  word  of  thy  Lord  was  fulfilled  on  the  children  of  Israel,  for  that 
they  had  endured  with  patience :  and  we  destroyed  the  structures  which 
Pharaoh  and  his  people  had  made,  and  that  which  they  had  erected. y  And 
we  caused  the  children  of  Israel  to  pass  through  the  sea,  and  they  came 
unto  a  people  who  gave  themselves  up  to  the  worship  of  their  idols/  and 
they  said,  O  Moses,  make  us  a  god,  in  like  manner  as  these  people  have 
gods.  Moses  answered.  Verily  ye  are  an  ignorant  people :  for  the  religion 
which  these  follow  will  he  destroyed,  and  that  which  they  do  is  vain.  He 
said.  Shall  I  seek  for  you  any  other  god  than  God  ;  since  he  hath  preferred 
you  to  the  rest  of  the  world  ?  And  remember  when  we  delivered  you  from 
the  people  of  Pharaoh,  who  grievously  oppressed  you  ;  they  slew  your  male 
children,  and  let  your  females  live :  therein  was  a  great  trial  from  your 
Lord.*    And  we  appointed  unto  Moses  a  fast  q/"  thirty  nights  before  we  gave 

'  This  inundation,  they  say,  was  occasioned  by  unusual  rains  which  continued  eight 
days  together,  and  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile  ;  and  not  only  covered  their  lands,  but 
came  into  their  houses,  and  rose  as  high  as  their  backs  and  necks ;  but  the  children  of 
Israel  had  no  rain  in  their  quarters.''  As  there  is  no  mention  of  any  such  miraculous  in- 
undation in  the  Mosaic  writings,  some  have  imagined  this  plague  to  have  been  either  a 
pestilence,  or  the  small-pox,  or  some  other  epidemical  distemper.^  For  the  word  tufan, 
which  is  used  in  this  place,  and  is  generally  rendered  a  deluge,  may  also  signify  any  other 
universal  destruction  or  mortality. 

*  Some  will  have  these  insects  to  have  been  a  larger  sort  of  tick ;  others,  the  young 
locusts  before  they  have  wings.' 

"  viz.  Any  of  the  calamities  already  mentioned,  or  the  pestilence  which  God  sent  upon 
them  afterwards. 

'  See  this  wonderful  event  more  particularly  described  in  the  tenth  and  twentieth 
chapters. 

*  That  is,  the  land  of  Syria,  of  which  the  eastern  geographers  reckon  Palestine  a  part, 
and  wherein  the  commentators  say  the  children  of  Israel  succeeded  the  kings  of  Egypt 
and  the  Amalekites.' 

»  Particularly  the  lofty  tower  which  Pharaoh  caused  to  be  built,  that  he  might  attack 
the  God  of  Moses.'' 

^  These  people  some  will  have  to  be  of  the  tribe  of  Amalek,  whom  Moses  was  com- 
manded to  destroy,  and  others  of  the  tribe  of  Lakhm.  Their  idols,  it  is  said,  were  images 
of  oxen,  which  gave  the  first  hint  to  the  making  of  the  golden  calf.^* 

*  Savary,  referring  the  final  clause  to  the  dehverance,  translates  it,  "This  was  an 
eminent  favour  from  the  divine  goodness." 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abulfed.  •  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem  'Idem. 

»  Vide  Koran,  chap.  28,  and  40.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  131 

him  the  law,^  and  we  completed  Ihern  by  adding  of  ten  more  ;  and  the  stated 
time  of  his  Lord  was  fulfilled  in  forty  nights.  And  Moses  said  unto  his 
brother  Aaron,  Be  thou  my  deputy  among  my  people  during  my  absence  ; 
and  behave  uprightly,  and  follow  not  the  way  of  the  corrupt  doers.  And 
when  Moses  came  at  our  appointed  time,  and  his  Lord  spake  unto  him,**  he 
said,  O  Lord,  show  me  thy  glory,  that  I  may  behold  thee.  God  answered. 
Thou  shalt  in  no  wise  behold  me ;  but  look  towards  the  mounlain,«=  and  if 
it  stand  firm  in  its  place,  then  thou  shalt  see  me.  But  when  his  Lord  ap- 
peared with  glory  in  the  mount,''  he  reduced  it  to  dust.  And  Moses  fell 
down  in  a  swoon.  And  when  he  came  to  himself,  he  said.  Praise  be  unto 
thee !  I  turn  unto  thee  with  repentance,  and  I  am  the  first  of  true 
beHevers.*=  God  said  unto  him,  O  Moses,  I  have  chosen  thee  above  all  men, 
hy  honouring  thee  with  my  commissions,  and  by  my  speaking  unto  thee  : 
receive  therefore  that  which  I  have  brought  thee,  and  be  one  of  those  who 
give  thanks.^  And  we  wrote  for  him  on  the  tables  s  an  admonition  con- 
cerning every  matter,  and  a  decision  in  every  case,''  and  said,  Receive  this 
with  reverence ;  and  command  thy  people  that  they  live  according  to  the 
most  excellent  precepts  thereof.  I  will  show  you  the  dwelling  of  the 
wicked.'     I  will  turn  aside  from  my  signs  those  who  behave  themselves 

*  The  commentators  say  that  God,  having  promised  Moses  to  give  him  the  law,  directed 
him  to  prepare  himself  for  the  high  favour  of  speaking  with  God  in  person,  by  a  fast 
of  thirty  days;  and  that  Moses  accordingly  fasted  the  whole  month  of  Dhu'lkaada,  but 
not  liking  the  savour  of  his  breath,  he  rubbed  his  teeth  with  a  dentifrice,  upon  which  the 
angels  told  him  that  his  breath  before  had  the  odour  of  musk;*  but  that  his  rubbing  his 
teeth  had  taken  it  away.  Wherefore  God  ordered  him  to  fast  ten  days  more,  which  he  did  ; 
and  these  were  the  first  ten  days  of  the  succeeding  month  Dhu'lhajja.  Others,  however, 
suppose  that  Moses  was  commanded  to  fast  and  pray  thirty  days  only,  and  that  during 
the  other  ten  God  discoursed  with  him.^ 

(The  Arabs  reckon  by  nights  as  we  do  by  days.  This  custom  doubtless  had  its  rise  from 
the  excessive  heat  of  their  climate.  They  dwell  amidst  burning  sands,  and  while  the  sun 
is  above  the  horizon  they  usually  keep  within  their  tents.  When  he  sets  they  quit  them, 
and  enjoy  coolness  and  a  most  delightful  sky.  Night  is,  in  a  great  measure,  to  them, 
that  which  day  is  to  us.  Their  poets,  therefore,  never  celebrate  the  charms  of  a  beau- 
tiful day ;  but  these  words,  Leili !  Leili !  O  night !  0  night !  are  repeated  in  all  their 
songs.) — Savary. 

^  Without  the  mediation  of  any  other,  and  face  to  face,  as  he  speaks  unto  the  angels." 

"  This  mountain  the  Mohammedans  name  al  Zabir. 

^  Or,  as  it  is  literally,  unto  the  mount.  For  some  of  the  expositors  pretend  that  God 
endued  the  mountain  with  life  and  the  sense  of  seeing. 

"  This  is  not  to  be  taken  strictly.     See  the  like  expression  in  chap.  vi.  p.  99. 

'  The  Mohammedans  have  a  tradition,  that  Moses  asked  to  see  God  on  the  day  of 
Arafat,  and  liiat  he  received  the  law  on  the  day  they  slay  the  victims  at  the  pilgrimage 
of  Mecca,  which  days  are  the  ninth  and  tenth  of  Dhu'lhajja. 

5  These  tables,  according  to  some,  were  seven  in  number,  and  according  to  others 
ten.  Nor  are  the  commentators  agreed  whether  they  were  cut  out  of  a  kind  of  lote-tree 
in  Paradise  called  al  Sedra,  or  whether  they  were  chrysolites,  emeralds,  rubies,  or  common 
stone.'  But  they  say  that  they  were  each  ten  or  twelve  cubits  long  ;  for  they  suppose  that 
not  only  the  ten  commandments  but  the  whole  law  was  written  thereon  :  and  some  add 
that  the  liners  were  cut  quite  through  the  tables  so  that  they  might  be  read  on  both 
sides,'  which  is  a  fable  of  the  Jews. 

^  That  is,  a  perfect  law,  comprehending  all  necessary  instructions,  as  well  in  regard 
to  religious  and  moral  duties  as  the  administration  of  justice. 

'  viz.  The  de?olate  habitations  of  the  Egyptians,  or  those  of  the  impious  tribes  of  Ad 
and  Thamud,  or  perhaps  hell,  the  dwelling  of  the  ungodly  in  the  other  world. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  » Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi, 
Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  650.             ■■  Al  Beidawi.            »  Vide  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup. 


132  AL  KORAN.  chap,  vil 

proudly  in  the  earth,  without  justice :  and  although  they  see  every  sign,  yet 
they  shall  not  believe  therein ;  and  although  they  see  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness, yet  they  shall  not  take  that  way ;  but  if  they  see  the  way  of  error, 
they  shall  take  that  way.  This  shall  come  to  pass  because  they  accuse  our 
signs  of  imposture,  and  neglect  the  same.  But  as  for  them  who  deny  the 
truth  of  our  signs  and  the  meeting  of  the  life  to  come,  their  works  shall  be 
vain :  shall  they  be  rewarded  otherwise  than  according  to  what  they  shall 
have  wrou^i-ht?  And  the  people  of  Moses,  after  his  departure,  took  a 
corporeal  calf,''  made  of  their  ornaments,^  which  lowed. "^  Did  they  not 
see  that  it  spake  not  unto  them,  neither  directed  them  in  the  way  ?  yet  they 
took  it  for  their  god^  and  acted  wickedly.  But  when  they  repented  with 
sorrow,**  and  saw  that  they  had  gone  astray,  they  said,  Verily  if  our  LbRD 
have  not  mercy  upon  us,  and  forgive  us  not,  we  shall  certainly  become  of 
the  number  of  those  who  perish.  And  when  Moses  returned  unto  his 
people,  full  of  wrath  and  indignation,  he  said.  An  evil  thing  is  it  that  ye 
have  committed  after  my  departure ;  have  ye  hastened  the  command  of 
your  Lord  ?  °  And  he  threw  down  the  tables,?  and  took  his  brother  by  the 
hair  of  the  head,  and  dragged  him  unto  him.  And  Aaron  said  unto  him, 
Son  of  my  mother,  verily  the  people  prevailed  against  me,i  and  it  wanted 
little  but  they  had  slain  me:  make  not  my  enemies  therefore  to  rejoice 
over  me,  neither  place  me  with  the  wicked  people.  Moses  said,  O  Lord, 
forgive  me  and  my  brother,  and  receive  us  into  thy  mercy ;  for  thou  art  the 
most  merciful  of  those  who  exercise  mercy.  Verily  as  for  them  who  took 
the  calf/or  their  god,  indignation  shall  overtake  them  from  their  Lord,""  and 
ignominy  in  this  life :  thus  will  we  reward  those  who  imagine  falsehood. 
But  unto  them  who  do  evil,  and  afterwards  repent,  and  believe  in  God, 
verily  thy  Lord  will  thereafter  be  clement  and  merciful.  And  when  the 
anger  of  Moses  was  appeased,  he  took  the  tables ; «  and  in  what  was  written 
thereon  was  a  direction  and  mercy,  unto  those  who  feared  their  Lord. 
And  Moses  chose  out  of  his  people  seventy  men,  to  go  up  with  him  to  the 
mountain  at  the  time  appointed  by  us :  and  when  a  storm  of  thunder  and 
lightning  had  taken  them  away,**  he  said,  O  Lord,  if  thou  hadst  pleased, 
thou  hadst  destroyed  them  before,  and  me  also ;  wilt  thou  destroy  us  for 

^  That  is,  as  some  understand  it,  consisting  of  flesh  and  blood ;  or,  as  others,  being  a 
mere  body  or  mass  of  metal,  without  a  soul.* 

'  Such  as  their  rings  and  bracelets  of  gold  and  silver.' 

™  See  chap,  xx.,  and  the  notes  to  chap.  ii.  p.  7. 

°  Father  Marracci  seems  not  to  have  understood  the  meaning  of  this  phrase,  having 
literally  translated  the  Arabic  words,  wa  lamma  sokita  ji  eidthim,  without  any  manner  o? 
sense,  £«  cum  cadere  factus  fuisnet  in  manibus  eorum. 

"  By  neglecting  his  precepts,  and  bringing  down  his  swift  vengeance  on  you. 

p  Which  were  all  broken  and  taken  up  to  heaven,  except  one  only ;  and  this,  they 
say,  contained  the  threats  and  judicial  ordinances,  and  W£is  afterwards  put  into  the  ark.'* 

1  Literally,  rendered  me  weak. 

^  See  chap.  2,  p.  8. 

'  Or  the  fragments  of  that  which  was  left. 

*  "  An  earthquake  swallowed  them  up." — Savary. 

*  See  chap.  2.  p.  8,  and  chap.  4,  p.  78. 

9  Al  Beidawi.     See  chap.  20,  and  the  notes  to  chap.  2,  p.  7.  *  Vide  ibid. 

'  Al  Beidawi.    Vide  D'Herbelot,  ubi.  sup.  p.  649. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  133 

that  which  the  foolish  men  among  us  have  committed  ?  This  is  only  thy 
trial ;  thou  wilt  thereby  lead  into  error  whom  thou  pleasest,  and  thou  wilt 
direct  whom  thou  pleasest.  Thou  art  our  protector,  therefore  forgive  us, 
and  be  merciful  unto  us ;  for  thou  art  the  best  of  those  v/ho  forgive.  And 
write  down  for  us  good  in  this  world,  and  in  the  life  to  come ;  for  unto 
thee  are  we  directed.  God  answered,  I  will  inflict  my  punishment  on 
whom  I  please;  and  my  mercy  extendeth  over  all  things:  and  I  will 
write  down  good  unto  those  who  shall  fear  me,  and  give  alms,  and  who 
shall  believe  in  our  signs;  who  shall  follow  the  apostle,  the  illiterate 
prophet,"  whom  they  shall  find  written  down  ^  with  them  in  the  law  and 
the  gospel :  he  will  command  them  that  which  is  just,  and  will  forbid  them 
thaf  which  is  evil;  and  will  allow  them  as  lawful  the  good  things  which 
were  before  forhidden/  and  will  prohibit  those  which  are  bad  ;^  and  he  will 
ease  them  of  their  heavy  burden,  and  of  the  yokes  which  were  upon  them.* 
And  those  who  believe  in  him,  and  honour  him,  and  assist  him,  and  follow 
the  light,  which  hath  been  sent  down  with  him,  shall  be  happy.  Say, 
O  men,  Verily  I  am  the  messenger  of  God  unto  you  all :  *  unto  him 
belougeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth ;  there  is  no  God  but  he :  he 
giveth  life,  and  he  causeth  to  die.  Believe  therefore  in  God  and  his 
apostle,  the  illiterate  prophet,  who  believeth  in  God  and  his  word ;  and 
follow  him,  that  ye  may  be  rightly  directed.  Of  the  people  of  Moses  there 
is  a  party*'  who  direct  others  with  truth,  and  act  justly  according  to  the 
same.  And  we  divided  them  into  twelve  tribes,  as  into  so  many  nations. 
And  we  spake  by  revelation  unto  Moses,  when  his  people  asked  drink  of 
him,  and  we  said,  Strike  the  rock  with  thy  rod ;  and  there  gushed  thereout 
twelve  fountains,^  and  men  knew  their  respective  drinking-place.  And  we 
caused  clouds  to  overshadow  them,  and  manna  and  quails^  to  descend  upon 
them,  saying,  Eat  of  the  good  things  which  we  have  given  you  for  food : 
and  they  injured  not  us,*  but  they  injured  their  own  souls.     And  call  to 

»  That  is  Mohammed.     See  the  Prelim,  Disc,  sect.  ii. 

^  i.  e.  Both  foretold  by  name  and  certain  description. 

y  See  chap.  3,  p.  42, 

'  As  the  eating  of  blood  and  swine's  flesh,  and  the  taking  of  usury,  &c, 

»  See  chap.  2,  p.  35, 

"  That  is,  to  all  mankind  in  general,  and  not  to  one  particular  nation,  as  the  former 
prophets  were  sent, 

"  viz.  Those  Jews  who  seemed  better  disposed  than  the  rest  of  their  brethren  to  receive 
Mohammed's  law  ;  or  perhaps  such  of  them  as  had  actually  received  it.  Some  imagine 
they  were  a  Jewish  nation  dwelling  somewhere  beyond  China,  which  Mohammed  saw  the 
night  he  made  his  journey  to  heaven,  and  who  believed  on  him,=' 

■^  See  chap.  2,  p.  8. 

To  what  is  said  in  the  notes  there  we  may  add,  that,  according  to  a  certain  tradition, 
the  stone,  on  which  this  miracle  was  wrought,  was  thrown  down  from  paradise  by  Adam, 
and  came  into  the  possession  of  Shoaib,  who  gave  it  with  the  rod  to  Moses;  and  that, 
according  to  another,  the  water  issued  thence  by  three  orifices  on  each  of  the  four  sides 
of  the  stone,  making  twelve  in  all,  and  that  it  ran  in  so  many  rivulets,  to  the  quarter 
of  each  tribe  in  the  camp." 

'  See  chap,  2,  p,  7, 

*  "  Their  murmurs  did  injury  only  to  themselves." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


134  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  vii. 

mind  when  it  was  said  unto  them,  Dwell  in  this  city/  and  eat  of  the 
provisions  thereof  wherever  ye  will,  and  say,  Forgiveness ;  and  enter  the 
gate  worshipping :  we  will  pardon  you  your  sins,  and  will  give  increase 
unto  the  well-doers.  But  they  who  were  ungodly  among  them  changed 
the  expression  into  another,^  which  had  not  been  spoken  unto  them. 
Wherefore  we  sent  down  upon  them  indignation  from  heaven,  because  they 
transgressed.  And  ask  them  concerning  the  city,**  which  was  situate  on 
the  sea,  when  they  transgressed  on  the  sabbath  day  :  when  their  fish  came 
unto  them  on  their  sabbath  day,  appearing  openly  on  the  water ;  but  on  the 
day  whereon  they  celebrated  no  sabbath,  they  came  not  unto  them.  Thus 
did  we  prove  them,  because  they  were  wicked-doers.  And  when  a  party 
of  them '  said  unto  the  others,  Why  do  ye  warn  a  people  whom  God  will 
destroy,  or  will  punish  with  a  grievous  punishment?  They  answered.  This 
is  an  excuse  for  us  unto  your  Lord,*^  and  peradventure  they  will  beware. 
But  when  they  had  forgotten  the  admonitions  which  had  been  given  them, 
we  delivered  those  who  forbade  them  to  do  evil ;  and  we  inflicted  on  those 
who  had  transgressed  a  severe  punishment,  because  they  had  acted  wick- 
edly. And  when  they  proudly  refused  to  desist  from  what  had  been  for- 
bidden them,  we  said  unto  them.  Be  ye  transformed  into  apes,  driven  away 
from  the  society  of  men.  And  remember  when  thy  Lord  declared  that  he 
would  surely  send  against  the  Jews,  until  the  day  of  resurrection,  some 
nation  who  should  afflict  them  with  a  grievous  oppression :  ^  for  thy  Lord 
is  swift  in  punishing,  and  he  is  also  ready  to  forgive,  and  merciful:  and  we 
dispersed  them  among  the  nations  in  the  earth.  Some  of  them  arc  upright 
persons,  and  some  of  them  are  otherwise.  And  we  proved  them  with  pros- 
perity and  with  adversity,  that  they  might  return  from  their  disohedience ; 
and  a  succession  of  their  posterity  hath  succeeded  after  them,  who  have 
inherited  the  book  of  the  law,  who  receive  the  temporal  goods  of  this  world,"" 
and  say.  It  will  surely  be  forgiven  us :  and  if  a  temporal  advantage  like  the 
former  be  offered  them,  they  accept  it  also.  Is  it  not  the  covenant  of  the 
book  of  the  law  established  with  them,  that  they  should  not  speak  of  God 

'  See  this  passage  explained,  chap.  2,  p.  7. 

«  Professor  Sike  says,  that  being  prone  to  leave  spiritual  for  worldly  matters,  instead 
of  Hittaton  they  said  Hintaton,  which  signifies  wheat,^  and  comes  much  nearer  the  true 
word  than  the  expression  I  have,  in  the  place  last  quoted,  set  down  from  Jallalo'ddin. 
Whether  he  took  this  from  the  same  commentator  or  not,  does  not  certainly  appear, 
though  he  mentions  him  just  before ;  but  if  he  did,  his  copy  must  differ  from  that  which 
I  have  followed. 

'■  This  city  was  Ailah.  or  Elath,  on  the  Red  Sea ;  though  some  pretend  it  was  Midian, 
and  others  Tiberias.  The  whole  story  is  already  given  in  the  notes  to  chap.  2,  p.  9. 
Some  suppose  the  following  five  or  eight  verses  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medma. 

'  viz.  The  religious  persons  among  them,  who  strictly  observed  the  sabbath,  and  endea- 
voured to  reclaim  the  others,  till  they  despaired  of  success.  But  some  think  these  words 
were  spoken  by  the  offenders,  in  answer  to  the  admonitions  of  the  others. 

*  That  we  have  done  our  duty  in  dissuading  them  from  their  wickedness. 

'  See  chap.  5,  p.  91,  note  f. 

"  By  accepting  of  bribes  for  wresting  judgment,  and  for  corrupting  the  copies  of  the 
Pentateuch ;  and  by  extorting  of  usury.  &c.* 

»  Sike  in  not.  ad  Evang.  Infant,  p.  71.  *  AI  Reidawi. 


CHAP.  VII.  AL  KORAN.  135 

aught  but  the  truth?"  Yet  they  diligently  read  that  which  is  therein.  But 
the  enjoyment  of  the  next  life  will  be  better  for  those  who  fear  God  than 
the  wicked  gains  of  these  people  ;  (Do  ye  not  therefore  understand  ?)  and  for 
those  who  hold  fast  the  book  of  the  law,  and  are  constant  at  prayer  :  for  we 
will  by  no  means  sufler  the  reward  of  the  righteous  to  perish.  And  when 
we  shook  the  mountain  of  Sinai  over  them,"  as  though  it  had  been  a 
covering,  and  they  imagined  that  it  was  falling  upon  them ;  and  we  said, 
Receive  the  laiv  which  we  have  brought  you  with  reverence ;  and  remember 
that  which  is  contained  therein,  that  ye  may  take  heed.  And  when  thy 
Lord  drew  forth  their  posterity  from  the  loins  of  the  sons  of  Adam,p  and 
took  them  to  witness  against  themselves,  saying,  Am  not  I  your  Lord  1 
They  answered.  Yea :  we  do  bear  witness.  This  was  done.  lest  ye  should 
say,  at  the  day  of  resurrection,  Verily  we  were  negligent  as  to  this  matter, 
because  we  tcere  not  apprised  thereof:  or  lest  ye  should  say.  Verily  our 
fathers  were  formerly  guilty  of  idolatry,  and  we  are  their  posterity  who 
have  succeeded  them ;  wilt  thou  therefore  destroy  us  for  that  which  vain 
men  have  committed  ?  Thus  do  we  explain  our  signs,  that  they  may  return 
from  their  vanities.  And  relate  unto  the  Jews  the  history  of  him  unto  whom 
we  brought  our  signs,i  and  the  departed  from  them;  wherefore  Satan 
followed  him,  and  he  became  one  of  those  who  were  seduced.  And  if  we 
had  pleased,  we  had  surely  raised  him  thereby  unto  wisdom ;  but  he 
inclined  unto  the  earth,  and  followed  his  own  desire.'"  Wherefore  his 
likeness  as  the  likeness  of  a  dog,  which,  if  thou  drive  him  away,  putteth 
forth  his  tongue,  or,  if  thou  let  him  alone,  putteth  forth  his  tongue  also. 
This  is  the  likeness  of  the  people,  who  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood. 
Rehearse  therefore  this  history  unto  them,  that  they  may  consider.     Evil  is 

"  Particularly  by  giving  out  that  God  will  forgive  their  corruption  without  sincere  re- 
pentance and  amendment. 

"  See  chap.  2,  p.  9,  note  z. 

p  This  was  done  in  the  plain  of  Dahia,  in  India,  or,  as  others  imagine,  in  a  valley  near 
Mecca.  The  commentators  tell  us  that  God  stroked  Adam's  back,  and  extracted  from 
his  loins  his  whole  posterity,  which  should  come  into  the  world  until  the  resurrection,  one 
generation  after  another ;  that  these  men  were  actually  assembled  all  together  in  the  shape 
of  small  ants,  which  were  endued  with  understanding;  and  that  after  they  had,  in  the 
presence  of  the  angels,  confessed  their  dependence  on  God,  they  were  again  caused  to  re- 
turn into  the  loins  of  their  great  ancestor.''  From  this  fiction  it  appears  that  the  doctrine 
of  pre-existence  is  not  unknown  to  the  Mohammedans ;  and  there  is  some  little  conformity 
between  it  and  the  modern  theory  of  generation  ex  animalculis  in  semine  maritum. 

''  Some  suppose  the  person  here  intended  to  be  a  Jewish  rabbi,  or  one  Ommeya  Ebn 
Abi'lsalt,  who  read  the  scriptures  and  found  thereby  that  God  would  send  a  prophet  about 
that  time,  and  was  in  hopes  that  he  might  be  the  man ;  but  when  Mohammed  declared 
his  mission,  believed  not  on  him  through  envy.  But  according  to  the  more  general 
opinion,  it  was  Balaam  the  son  of  Beor,  of  the  Canaanitish  race,  well  acquainted  with 
part,  at  least,  of  the  scripture,  having  even  been  favoured  with  some  revelations  from 
God;  who  being  requested  by  his  nation  to  curse  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel,  re- 
fused it  at  first,  saying,  /fowj  can  I  curse  thof^e  who  are  protected  by  the  angels  ?  But  after- 
wards he  was  prevailed  on  by  gifts ;  and  he  had  no  sooner  done  it  than  he  began  to  put 
his  tongue  out  like  a  dog,  and  it  hung  down  upon  his  breast.* 

'  Loving  the  wages  of  unrighteousness,  and  running  greedily  after  error  for  reward.* 

'  Al  Beidavvi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.     Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  51.  •  Al 

Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Zamakhshari.     Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  Art.  Balaam. 
•2Pet.  ii.  5.     Jude  U. 


136  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vii. 

the  similitude  of  those  people  who  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood,  and  injure 
their  own  souls.  Whomsoever  God  shall  direct,  he  will  be  rightly  di- 
rected ;  and  whomsoever  he  shall  lead  astray,  they  shall  perish.  Moreover 
we  have  created  for  hell  many  of  the  genii  and  of  men ;  they  have  hearts 
by  which  they  understand  not,  and  they  have  eyes  by  which  they  see  not  ; 
and  they  have  ears  by  which  they  hear  not.  These  are  like  the  brute 
beasts  ;  yea  they  go  more  astray :  these  are  the  negligent.  God  hath  most 
excellent  names : "  therefore  call  on  him  by  the  same ;  and  withdraw  from 
those  who  use  his  name  perversely  :*  they  shall  be  rewarded  for  that  which 
they  shall  have  wrought.  And  of  those  whom  we  have  created  there  are  a 
people  who  direct  others  with  truth,  and  act  justly  according  thereto."  But 
those  who  devise  lies  against  our  signs,  we  will  suffer  them  to  fall  gradually 
into  ruin,  by  a  method  which  they  knew  not :  ^  and  I  will  grant  them  to 
enjoy  a  long  and  prosperous  life  ;*  for  my  stratagem  is  effectual.  Do  they 
not  consider  that  there  is  no  devil  in  their  companion  ?  ^^  He  is  no  other 
than  a  public  preacher.  Or  do  they  not  contemplate  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  the  things  which  God  hath  created ;  and  consider 
that  peradventure  it  may  be  be  that  their  end  draweth  nigh  ?  And  in  what 
new  declaration  will  they  believe,  afler  this?'*  He  whom  God  shall  cause 
to  err,  shall  have  no  director ;  and  he  shall  leave  them  in  their  impiety, 
wandering  in  confusion.  They  will  ask  thee  concerning  the  last  hour ;  at 
what  time  its  coming  is  fixed  ?  Answer,  Verily  the  knowledge  thereof  is 
with  my  Lord  ;  none  shall  declare  the  fixed  time  thereof,  except  he.  The 
expectation  thereof  is  grievous  in  heaven  and  on  earth  :  *  it  shall  come  upon 
you  no  otherwise  than  suddenly.  They  will  ask  thee,  as  though  thou 
wast  well  acquainted  therewith.  Answer,  Verily  the  knowledge  thereof  is 
with  God  alone  :  but  the  greater  part  of  men  know  it  not.  Say,  I  am  able 
neither  to  procure  advantage  unto  myself,  nor  to  avert  mischiei^  from  me. 
but  as  God  pleaseth.  If  I  knew  the  secrets  of  God,  I  should  surely  enjoy 
abundance  of  good,  neither  should  evil  befall  me.  Verily  I  am  no  other 
than  a  denouncer  of  threats,  and  a  messenger  of  good  tidings  unto  people 

"  Expressing  his  glorious  attributes.  Of  these  the  Mohammedan  Arabs  have  no  less 
than  ninety-nine,  which  are  reckoned  up  by  Marracci/ 

'  As  did  Walid'Ebn  al  Mogheira  ;  who  hearing  Mohammed  give  God  the  title  of  al 
Rahman,  or  the  merciful,  laughed  aloud,  saying  that  he  knew  none  of  that  name,  except 
a  certain  man  who  dwelt  in  Yamama  :"*  or  as  the  idolatrous  Meccans  did,  who  deduced  the 
names  of  their  idols  from  those  of  the  true  God;  deriving,  for  example,  Aliat  from  Allah; 
al  Uzza  from  al  Aziz,  the  mighty  ;  and  Manat  from  al  Mannan,  the  bountiful.^ 

"  As  it  is  said  a  little  above,  that  God  hath  created  many  to  eternal  misery,  so  here  he 
is  said  to  have  created  others  to  eternal  happiness/ 

'  By  flattering  them  with  prosperity  in  this  life,  and  permitting  them  to  sin  in  an  unin- 
terrupted security  ;  till  they  find  themselves  unexpectedly  ruined.^ 

*  "  Though  my  vengeance  be  slow,  it  is  only  the  more  terrible." — Savary. 

'  viz.  In  Mohammed ;  whom  they  gave  out  to  be  possessed  when  he  went  up  to  mount 
Safa,  and  from  thence  called  to  the  several  families  of  each  respective  tribe,  in  order  to 
warn  them  of  God's  vengeance  if  they  continued  in  their  idolatry.'' 

^  t.  e.  After  they  have  rejected  the  Koran.  For  what  more  evident  revelation  can  they 
hereafter  expect  ?  * 

'  Not  only  to  men  and  genii,  but  to  the  angels  also. 

*In  Ale.  p.  414.  =»Marracc.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  19.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.    See 

the  PreUm.  Disc,  sect  i.  '  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem.  ■"  Idem.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  VII.  '       AL  KORAN.  137 

who  believe.  It  is  he  who  hath  created  you  from  one  person,  and  out  of 
him  produced  his  wife,  that  he  miglit  dwell  with  her :  and  when  he  hud 
known  her,  she  carried  a  light  burden  for  a  time,  wherefore  she  walked 
easily  therewith.  But  when  it  became  more  heavy,''  she  called  upon  God 
their  Lord,  saying,  If  thou  give  us  a  child  rightly  shaped,  we  will  surely  be 
thankful.  Yet  when  he  had  given  them  a  child  rightly  shaped,  they  attri- 
buted companions  unto  him,  for  that  which  he  had  given  them.''  But  far 
be  that  from  God,  which  they  associated  with  him !  Will  they  associate 
with  him  false  gods  which  create  nothing,  but  are  themselves  created ;  and 
can  neither  give  them  assistance,  nor  help  themselves  ?  And  if  ye  invite 
them  to  the  true  direction,  they  will  not  follow  you :  it  will  be  equal  unto 
you,  whether  ye  invite  them,  or  whether  ye  hold  your  peace.  Verily  the 
false  deities  whom  ye  invoke  besides  God  are  servants  like  unto  you.*^ 
Call  therefore  upon  them,  and  let  them  give  you  an  answer,  if  ye  speak 
truth.  Have  they  feet,  to  walk  with?  Or  have  they  hands,  to  lay  hold 
with  1  Or  have  they  eyes,  to  see  with ?  Or  have  they  ears,  to  hear  with? 
Say,  Call  upon  your  companions,  and  then  lay  a  snare  for  me,  and  defer  it 
not ;  for  God  is  my  protector,  who  sent  down  the  book  of  the  Koran ;  and 
he  protecteth  the  righteous.  But  they  whom  ye  invoke  besides  him  cannot 
assist  you,  neither  do  they  help  themselves;  and  if  ye  call  on  them  to 
direct  you,  they  will  not  hear.  Thou  seest  them  look  towards  thee,  but 
they  see  not.  Use  indulgence,^  and  command  that  which  is  just,  and 
withdraw  far  from  the  ignorant.  And  if  an  evil  suggestion  from  Satan  be 
suggested  unto  thee,  to  divert  thee  from  thy  duty,  have  recourse  unto  God  : 

''  That  is,  when  the  child  grew  bigger  in  her  womb. 

"  For  the  explaining  of  this  whole  passage,  the  commentators  tell  the  following  story. 
They  say  that  when  Eve  was  big  with  her  first  child,  the  devil  came  to  her  and  asked  her 
whether  she  knew  what  she  carried  within  her,  and  which  way  she  should  be  delivered 
of  it ;  suggesting  that  possibly  it  might  be  a  beast.  She,  being  unable  to  give  an  answer 
to  this  question,  went  in  a  fright  to  Adam,  and  acquainted  him  with  the  matter,  who  not 
knowing  what  to  think  of  it,  grew  sad  and  pensive.  Whereupon  the  devil  appeared  to  her 
again  (or,  as  others  say,  to  Adam),  and  pretended  that  he  by  his  prayers  would  obtain  of 
God  that  she  might  be  safely  delivered  of  a  son  in  Adam's  likeness,  provided  they  would 
promise  to  name  him  Abd'alhareth,  or  the  serva7it  of  Al  Ilareth  (which  was  ihe  devil's 
name  among  the  angels,)  instead  of  Abd'allah,  or  the  servant  of  God,  as  Adam  had 
designed.  This  proposal  was  agreed  to,  and  accordingly,  when  the  child  was  born,  they 
gave  it  that  name  :  upon  which  it  immediately  died.''  And  with  this  Adam  and  Eve  are 
here  taxed,  as  an  act  of  idolatry.  The  story  looks  like  a  rabbinical  fiction,  and  seems  to 
have  no  other  foundation  than  Cain's  being  called  by  Moses  Obed  adamah,  that  is,  a  tiller 
of  the  ground,  which  might  be  translated  into  Arabic  by  Abd'alhareth. 

But  al  Beidawi,  thinking  it  unlikely  that  a  prophet  (as  Adam  is  by  the  Mohammedans 
supposed  to  have  been)  should  be  guilty  of  such  an  action,  imagines  the  Koran  in  this 
place  means  Kosai,  one  of  Mohammed's  ancestors,  and  his  wife;  who  begged  issue  of 
God,  and  having  four  sons  granted  them,  called  their  names  Abd  Menaf,  Abd  Shams, 
Abd'  al  Uzza,  and  Abd'  al  Dar,  after  the  names  of  four  principal  idols  of  the  Koreish. 
And  the  following  words  also  he  supposes  to  relate  to  their  idolatrous  posterity. 

■*  Being  subject  to  the  absolute  command  of  God.  For  the  chief  idols  of  the  Arabs 
were  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars. 

*  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  be  translated,  Take  the  superabundant  overplus  ;  meaning 
that  Mohammed  should  accept  such  voluntary  alms  from  the  people  as  they  could  spare. 
But  the  passage,  if  taken  in  this  sense,  was  abrogated  by  the  precept  of  legal  alms,  which 
was  given  at  Medina. 

»  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  438,  et  Selden.  de  Jure  Nat. 
Sec.  Hebr.  hb.  5,  c.  8.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  11,  &c. 


138  AL  KORAN.  chap.  vni. 

for  he  hearcth  and  knoweth.  Verily  they  who  fear  Gody  when  a  temptation 
from  Satan  assaileth  them,  remember  the  divine  commands,  and  behold,  they 
clearly  see  the  danger  of  sin,  and  the  wiles  of  the  devil.  But  as  for  the 
brethren  of  the  devils,  they  shall  continue  them  in  error ;  and  afterwards 
they  shall  not  preserve  themselves  therefrom.  And  when  thou  bringest  not 
a  verse  of  the  Koran  unto  them  they  say,  Hast  thou  not  put  it  together  ?  ^ 
Answer,  I  follow  that  only  which  is  revealed  unto  me  from  my  Lord. 
This  hook  containeth  evident  proofs  from  your  Lord,  and  is  a  direction  and 
mercy  unto  people  who  believe.  And  when  the  Koran  is  read,  attend 
thereto,  and  keep  silence ;  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy.  And  meditate  on 
thy  Lord  in  thine  own  mind,  with  humility  and  fear,  and  without  loud 
speaking,  evening  and  morning ;  and  be  not  one  of  the  negligent.  More- 
over, the  angels  who  are  with  my  Lord  do  not  proudly  disdain  his  service, 
but  they  celebrate  his  praise  and  worship  him. 


CHAPTER    YIII. 
TITLED,  THE  SPOILS ;«  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA." 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

They  will  ask  thee  concerning  the  spoils :  Answer,  The  division  of  the 
spoils  helongeth  unto  God  and  the  apostle.^  Therefore  fear  God,  and  com- 
pose the  matter  amicably  among  you  :  and  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  if  ye 
are  true  believers.  Verily  the  true  believers  are  those  whose  hearts  fear 
when  God  is  mentioned,  and  whose  faith  increaseth  when  his  signs  are 
rehearsed  unto  them,  and  who  trust  in  their  Lord  ;  who  observe  the  stated 

'  i.  e.  Hast  thou  not  yet  contrived  what  to  say ;  or  canst  thou  obtain  no  revelation 
from  God  ? 

8  This  chapter  was  occasioned  by  the  high  disputes  which  happened  about  the  division 
of  the  spoils  taken  at  the  battle  of  Bedr,^  between  the  young  men,  who  had  fought, 
and  the  old  men,  who  had  stayed  under  the  ensigns;  the  former  insisting  they  ought 
to  have  the  whole,  and  the  latter,  that  they  deserved  a  share.^  To  end  the  contention, 
Mohammed  pretended  to  have  received  orders  from  heaven  to  divide  the  booty  among 
them  equally,  having  first  taken  thereout  a  fifth  part  for  the  purposes  which  will  be  men- 
tioned hereaiier. 

''  Except  seven  verses,  beginning  at  these  words.  And  call  to  mind  when  the  UTibelievers 
plotted  against  thee,  ^c.     Which  some  think  were  revealed  at  Mecca. 

•  It  is  related  that  Saad  Ebn  Abi  Wakkas,  one  of  the  companions,  whose  brother  Omair 
was  slain  in  tliis  battle,  having  killed  Said  Ebn  al  As,  took  his  sword,  and  carrying  it  to 
Mohammed,  desired  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  keep  it  ;  but  the  prophet  told  him  that 
it  was  not  his  to  give  away,  and  ordered  him  to  lay  it  with  the  other  spoils.  At  this 
repulse,  and  the  loss  of  his  brother,  Saad  was  greatly  disturbed ;  but  in  a  very  little  while 
this  chapter  was  revealed,  and  thereupon  Mohammed  gave  him  the  sword,  saying.  You 
asked  this  sword  of  me  when  I  had  no  power  to  dispose  of  it,  but  now  I  have  received 
authority  from  God  to  distribute  the  spoils,  you  may  take  it." 

=»  See  chap.  3,  p.  36.  '  AI  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  VIII.  AL  KORAN.  139 

times  of  prayer,  and  give  alms  out  of  that  which  we  have  bestowed  on 
them.  These  are  really  believers :  they  shall  have  superior  degrees  of 
felicity  with  their  Lord,  and  forgiveness,  and  an  honourable  provision.  As 
thy  Lord  brought  thee  forth  from  thy  house,''  with  truth ;  and  part  of  the 
believers  were  averse  to  thy  directions  :•  they  disputed  with  thee  concerning 
the  truth,  after  it  had  been  made  known  unto  them ;  ">  no  otherwise  than 
as  if  they  had  been  led  forth  to  death,  and  had  seen  it  with  their  eyes.'' 
And  call  to  mind  when  God  promised  you  one  of  the  two  parties,  that  it 
should  be  delivered  unto  you,°  and  ye  desired  that  the  party  which  was  not 
furnished  with  armsP  should  be  delivered  unto  you:  but  God  purposed  to 
make  known  the  truth  in  his  words,  and  to  cut  off  the  uttermost  part  of  the 


^  i.  e.  From  Medina.  The  particle  as  having  nothing  in  the  following  words  to  answer 
it,  al  Beidawi  supposes  the  connection  to  be,  that  the  division  of  the  spoils  belonged  to  the 
prophet,  notwithstanding  his  followers  were  averse  to  it,  as  they  had  been  averse  to  the 
expedition  itself. 

'  For  the  better  understanding  of  this  passage,  it  will  be  necessary  to  mention  some 
farther  particulars  relating  to  the  expedition  of  Bedr. 

Mohammed  having  received  private  information  (for  which  he  pretended  he  was 
obliged  to  the  angel  Gabriel)  of  the  approach  of  a  caravan  belonging  to  the  Koreish, 
which  was  on  its  return  from  Syria  with  a  large  quantity  of  valuable  merchandize,  and 
was  guarded  by  no  more  than  thirty,  or,  as  others  say,  forty  men,  set  out  with  a  party  to 
intercept  it.  Abu  Sofian,  who  conmianded  the  little  convoy,  having  notice  of  Moham- 
med's motions,  sent  to  Mecca  for  succours:  upon  which  Abu  Jahl,  and  ail  the  principal 
men  of  the  city,  except  only  Abu  Laheb,  marched  to  his  assistance  with  a  body  of  nine 
hundred  and  fifty  men.  Mohammed  had  no  sooner  received  advice  of  this,  than  Gabriel 
descended  with  a  promise  that  he  should  either  take  the  caravan,  or  beat  the  succours ; 
whereupon  he  consulted  with  his  companions  which  of  the  two  he  should  attack.  Some 
of  them  were  for  setting  upon  the  caravan,  saying  that  they  were  not  prepared  to  fight 
such  a  body  of  troops  as  were  coming  with  Abu  Jahl :  but  this  proposal  Mohammed 
rejected,  telling  them  that  the  caravan  was  at  a  considerable  distance  by  the  sea-side, 
whereas  Abu  Jahl  was  just  upon  them.  The  others,  however,  insisted  so  obstinately  on 
pursuing  the  first  design  of  falUng  on  the  caravan,  that  the  prophet  grew  angry,  but  by 
the  interposition  of  Abu  Beer,  Omar,  Saad  Ebn  Obadah,  and  Mokdad  Ebn  Amru,  they 
at  length  acquiesced  to  his  opinion.  Mokdad,  in  particular,  assured  him  they  were  all 
ready  to  obey  his  orders,  and  would  not  say  to  him,  as  the  children  of  Israel  did  to  Moses, 
Go  thou  and  thy  Lord  to  fight,  for  we  will  sit  here  ;'  but  Go  thou  and  thy  Lord  to  fight, 
and  we  will  fight  with  you.  At  this  Mohammed  smiled,  and  again  sat  down  to  consult 
with  them,  applying  himself  chiefly  to  the  Ansars,  or  helpers  ;  because  they  were  the 
greater  part  of  his  forces,  and  he  had  some  apprehension  lest  they  should  not  think  them- 
selves obliged  by  the  oath  they  had  taken  to  him  at  al  Akaba,®  to  assist  him  against  any 
other  than  such  as  should  attack  him  in  Medina.  But  Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  in  the  name  of 
the  rest,  told  him  that  they  had  received  him  as  the  apostle  of  God,  and  had  promised  him 
obedience,  and  were  therefore  all  to  a  man  ready  to  follow  him  where  he  pleased,  though 
it  were  into  the  sea.  Upon  which  the  prophet  ordered  them  in  God's  name  to  attack 
the  succours,  assuring  them  of  the  victory.'' 

^  That  is,  concerning  their  success  against  Abu  Jahl  and  the  Koreish ;  notvvithstand- 
ing  they  had  God's  promise  to  encourage  them. 

"  The  reason  of  this  great  backwardness  was  the  smallness  of  their  number,  in  com- 
parison of  the  enemy,  and  their  being  unprepared;  for  they  were  all  foot,  having  but  two 
horses  among  them,  whereas  the  Koreish  had  no  less  than  a  hundred  horse.* 

"  That  is.  either  the  caravan,  or  the  succours  from  Mecca.  Father  Marracci,  mistaking 
al  ir  and  al  nafir,  which  are  appellatives,  and  signify  the  caravan  and^  the  troop  or  body 
of  succours,  for  proper  names,  has  thence  coined  two  families  of  the  Koreish  never  heard 
of  before,  which  he  calls  Airenses  and  Naphirenses.' 

Pvj«.  The  caravan,  which  was  guarded  by  no  more  than  forty  horse;  whereas  the 
other  party  was  strong  and  well  appointed.' 

'  Koran,  chap.  5,  p.  84.  «  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  p.  34.  '  Al 

Beidawi.  «  Idem,  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  56.  '  Marrac.  in 

Ale.  p.  297. 


140  AL  KORAN.  chap.  viii. 

unbelievers ;  °  that  he  might  verify  the  truth,  and  destroy  falsehood,  al- 
though the  wicked  were  averse  thereto.  When  ye  asked  assistance  of  your 
Lord,""  and  he  answered  you,  Verily  I  will  assist  you  with  a  thousand^ 
angels,  following  one  another  in  order.  And  this  God  designed  only  as 
good  tidings  *  for  you,  and  that  your  hearts  might  thereby  rest  secure :  for 
victory  is  from  God  alone ;  and  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  When  a  sleep 
fell  on  you  as  a  security  from  him,  and  he  sent  down  upon  you  water  from 
heaven,  that  he  might  thereby  purify  you,  and  take  from  you  the 
abomination  of  Satan,'^  and  that  he  might  confirm  your  hearts,  and  establish 
your  feet  thereby.  Mso  when  thy  Lord  spake  unto  the  angels,  saying, 
Verily  I  am  with  you ;  wherefore  confirm  those  who  believe.  I  will 
cast  a  dread  into  the  hearts  of  the  unbelievers.  Therefore  strike  off  their 
heads,  and  strike  ofl?*  all  the  ends  of  their  fingers.^  This  shall  they  suffer, 
because  they  have  resisted  God  and  his  apostle  :  and  whosoever  shall 
oppose  God  and  his  apostle,  verily  God  will  he  severe  in  punishing  him. 
This  shall  he  your  punishment ;  taste  it  therefore :  and  the  infidels  shall 
also  suffer  the  torment  of  hell  fire.  O  true  believers,  when  ye  meet  the 
unbelievers  marching  in  great  numbers  against  you,  turn  not  your  backs 
unto  them :  for  whoso  shall  turn  his  back  unto  them  in  that  day,  unless  he 
turneth  aside  to  fight,  or  retreateth  to  another  party  of  the  faithful,"^  shall 
draw  on  himself  the  indignation  of  God,  and  his  abode  shall  be  in  hell ; 
an  ill  journey  shall  it  he  thither  !  And  ye  slew  not  those  who  icere  slain  at 
Bedr  yourselves,  but  God  slew  them.^  Neither  didst  thou,  O  Mohammed, 
cast  the  gravel  into  their  eyes,  when  thou  didst  seem  to  cast  it ;  but  God  cast 

1  As  if  he  had  said,  Your  view  was  only  to  gain  the  spoils  of  the  caravan,  and  to  avoid 
danger;  but  God  designed  to  exalt  his  true  religion  by  extirpating  its  adversaries.^ 

'  When  Mohammed's  men  saw  they  could  not  avoid  fighting,  they  recommended  them- 
selves to  God's  protection  ;  and  their  prophet  prayed  with  great  earnestness,  crying  out, 
O  God,  fulfil  that  which  thou  hast  promised  me  :  O  God,  if  tJiis  party  be  cut  off,  thou  wilt 
he  no  more  worshipped  on  earth.  And  he  continued  to  repeat  these  words  till  his  cloak,  fell 
from  off  his  back.^ 

Which  were   afterwards  reinforced  with  three  thousand  more.*    Wherefore  some 
copies,  instead  of  a  thousand,  read  thousands,  in  the  plural. 

'  See  chap.  3,  p.  52. 

"  It  is  related,  that  the  spot  where  Mohammed's  little  army  lay  was  a  dry  and  deep  sand, 
into  which  their  feet  sank  as  they  walked,  the  enemy  having  the  command  of  the  water; 
and  that  having  fallen  asleep,  the  greater  part  of  them  were  disturbed  with  dreams, 
wherein  the  devil  suggested  to  them  that  they  could  never  expect  God's  assistance  in  the 
battle,  since  they  were  cut  from  the  water,  and  besides  suffering  the  inconveniency  of  thirst, 
must  be  obliged  to  pray  without  washing,  though  they  imagined  themselves  to  be  the  favour- 
ites of  God,  and  that  they  had  his  apostle  among  them.  But  in  the  night  rain  fell  so  plenti- 
fully, that  it  formed  a  Uttle  brook,  and  not  only  supplied  them  with  water  for  all  their  uses, 
but  made  the  sand  between  them  and  the  infidel  army  firm  enough  to  bear  them  ;  where- 
upon the  diabolical  suggestions  ceased.* 

"  This  is  the  punishment  expressly  assigned  the  enemies  of  the  Mohammedan  religion  ; 
though  the  Moslems  did  not  inflict  it  on  the  prisoners  they  took  at  Bedr,  for  which  they 
are  reprehended  in  this  chapter. 

^  That  is,  if  it  be  not  downright  running  away,  but  done  either  with  design  to  rally 
and  attack  the  enemy  again,  or  by  way  of  feint  or  stratagem,  or  to  succour  a  party  which 
is  hard  pressed,  &c.* 

^  See  chap.  3,  p.  36,  note  m. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem.  Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  58.  '  See  chap. 

3,  p.  36,  52.  "  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  viii.  AL  KORAN.  '  141 

it/  that  he  might  prove  the  true  bchevers  by  a  gracious  trial  from  hirnseli"; 
for  God  heareth  and  knoweth.  This  was  done  that  God  might  also  weaken 
the  crafty  devices  of  the  unbeUevers.  If  ye  desire  a  decision  of  the  matter 
between  us.  now  hath  a  decision  come  unto  you  :^  and  if  ye  desist  from 
opposing  the  appostle,  it  ivill  he  better  for  you.  But  if  ye  return  to  attack  him, 
we  will  also  return  to  his  assistance ;  and  your  forces  shall  not  be  of 
advantage  unto  you  at  all,  although  they  be  numerous ;  for  God  is  with  the 
faithful.  O  true  believers,  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  and  turn  not  back 
from  him,  since  ye  hear  the  admonitions  of  the  Koran.  And  be  not  as  those 
who  say.  We  hear,  when  they  do  not  hear.  Verily  the  worst  sort  of  beasts 
in  the  sight  of  God  are  the  deaf  and  the  dumb,*  who  understand  not.  If 
God  had  known  any  good  in  them,  he  would  certainly  have  caused  them 
to  hear : ""  and  if  he  had  caused  them  to  hear,  they  would  surely  have 
turned  back,  and  have  retired  afar  off.  O  true  believers,  answer  God  and 
his  apostle,  when  he  inviteth  you  unto  that  which  giveth  you  life ;  and 
know  that  God  goeth  between  a  man  and  his  heart,''  and  that  before  him 
ye  shall  be  assembled.  Beware  of  sedition  ;•=  it  will  not  affect  those  who 
are  ungodly  among  you  particularly,  hut  all  of  you  in  general ;  and  know 
that  God  is  severe  in  punishing.  And  remember  when  ye  were  few,  and 
reputed  weak  in  the  land ;  ^  ye  feared  lest  men  should  snatch  you  away ; 
but  God  provided  you  a  place  of  refuge,  and  he  strengthened  you  with  his 
assistance,  and  bestowed  on  you  good  things,  that  ye  might  give  thanks. 
O  ti'ue  believers,  deceive  not  God  and  his  apostle ;  ^  neither  violate  your 

y  See  chap.  3,  p.  36,  note  m. 

^  These  words  are  directed  to  the  people  of  Mecca  ;  whom  Mohammed  derides  because 
the  Koreish,  when  they  were  ready  to  set  out  from  Mecca,  took  hold  of  the  curtains  of 
the  Caaba,  saying,  0  God,  grant  the  victory  to  the  superior  army,  the  party  that  is  most 
rightly  directed,  and  the  most  honourable.^ 

*  "  In  the  sight  of  the  Eternal,  a  state  more  vile  than  that  of  the  brute  is  to  be  deaf  and 
dumb,  and  to  understand  not." — Savary. 

*  That  is,  to  hearken  to  the  remonstrances  of  the  Koran.  Some  say  that  the  infidels 
demanded  of  Mohammed  that  he  should  raise  Kosai,  one  of  his  ancestors,  to  life,  to  bear 
witness  to  the  truth  of  his  mission,  saying  he  was  a  man  of  honour  and  veracity,  and  they 
would  believe  his  testimony :  but  they  are  here  told  that  it  would  have  been  in  vain.'' 

"  Not  only  knowing  the  innermost  secrets  of  his  heart,  but  overruling  a  man's  design, 
and  disposing  him  either  to  belief  or  infidelity. 

*=  The  original  word  signifies  any  epidemical  crime,  which  involves  a  number  of 
people  in  its  guilt :  and  the  commentators  are  divided  as  to  its  particular  meaning  in  this 
place. 

■^  viz.  at  Mecca.  The  persons  here  spoken  to  are  the  Mohajerin,  or  refugees  who  fled 
from  thence  to  Medina. 

'  Al  Beidawi  mentions  an  instance  of  such  treacherous  dealing  in  Abu  Lobaba,  who 
wus  sent  by  Mohammed  to  the  tribe  of  the  Koreidha,  then  besieged  by  that  prophet,  for 
having  broken  their  league  with  him,  and  perfidiously  gone  over  to  the  enemies  at  the  war 
of  the  diich,'  to  persuade  them  to  surrender  at  the  discretion  of  Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  prince 
of  the  tribe  ot  Aws,  their  confederates,  which  proposal  they  had  refused.  But  Abu 
Lobaba's  family  and  effects  being  in  the  hands  of  those  of  Koreidha,  he  acted  directly 
contrary  to  his  commission,  and  instead  of  persuading  them  to  accept  Saad  as  their  judge, 
when  they  asked  his  advice  about  it,  drew  his  hand  across  his  throat,  signifying  that  he 
would  put  them  all  to  death.  However  he  had  no  sooner  done  this  than  he  was  sensible 
of  his  crime,  and  going  into  a  mosque  tied  himself  to  a  pillar,  and  remained  there  seven 
days  without  meat  or  drink,  till  Mohammed  forgave  him. 

«  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.     See  chap.  6.  p.  109.  «  See  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  85. 

Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  76,  and  the  notes  to  chap.  33. 


142  AL  KORAN.  chap.  viii. 

faith  against  your  own  knowledge.  And  know  that  your  wealth  and  your 
children  are  a  temptation  unto  you  ;^  and  that  with  God  is  a  great  re- 
ward. O  true  believers,  if  ye  fear  God,  he  will  grant  you  a  distinction,^ 
and  will  expiate  your  sins  from  you,  and  will  forgive  you;  for  God  is 
endued  with  great  liberality.  And  call  to  mind  when  the  unbelievers 
plotted  against  thee,  that  they  might  either  detain  thee  in  bonds,  or  put 
to  death,  or  expel  thee  the  city  ;^  and  they  plotted  against  thee  :  but  God 
laid  a  plot  against  them;'  and  God  is  the  best  layer  of  plots,*  And 
when  our  signs  are  repeated  unto  them,  they  say.  We  have  heard ;  if  we 
pleased  we  could  certainly  pronounce  a  composition  like  unto  this :  this  is 
nothing  but  fables  of  the  ancients.*'  And  when  they  said,  O  God,  if  this 
be  the  truth  from  thee,  rain  down  stones  upon  us  from  heaven,  or  inflict  on 
us  some  other  grievous  punishment.^  But  God  was  not  disposed  to  punish 
them,  while  thou  wast  with  them  :  nor  was  God  disposed  to  punish  them 
when  they  asked  pardon.""  But  they  have  nothing  to  offer  in  excuse  why  God 
should  not  punish  them,  since  they  hindered  the  believers  from  visiting  the 
holy  temple,"  although  they  are  not  the  guardians  thereof."  The  guardians 
thereof  are  those  only  who  fear  God ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  know  it 
not.  And  their  prayer  at  the  house  of  God  is  no  other  than  whistling  and 
clapping  of  the  hands.p  Taste  therefore  the  punishment,  for  that  ye  have 
been  unbelievers.     They  who  believe  not  expend  their  wealth  to  obstruct 

f  As  they  were  to  Abu  Lobaba. 

'  i.  e.  A  direction  that  ye  may  distinguish  between  truth  and  falsehood  ;  or  success  in 
battle  to  distinguish  the  believers  from  the  infidels;  or  the  like. 

^  When  the  Meccans  heard  of  the  league  entered  into  by  Mohammed  with  those  of 
Medina,  being  apprehensive  of  the  consequences,  they  held  a  council,  whereat  they  say 
the  devil  assisted  ni  the  likeness  of  an  old  man  of  Najd.  The  point  under  consideration 
being  what  they  should  do  with  Mohammed,  Abu'lbakhtari  was  of  opinion  that  he  should 
be  imprisoned,  and  the  room  walled  up,  except  a  little  hole,  through  which  he  should 
have  necessaries  given  him,  till  he  died.  This  the  devil  opposed,  saying  that  he  might 
probably  be  released  by  some  of  his  own  party.  Hesham  Abn  Amru  was  for  banishing 
him  :  but  his  advice  also  the  devil  rejected,  insisting  that  Mohammed  might  engage  some 
other  tribes  in  his  interest,  and  make  war  on  them.  At  length  Abu  Jahl  gave  his  opinion 
for  putting  him  to  death,  and  proposed  the  manner,  which  was  unaniniously  approved.^ 

*  Revealing  their  conspiracy  to  Mohammed,  and  miraculously  assisting  him  to  deceive 
them,  and  make  his  escape  ; '  and  afterwards  drawing  them  to  the  battle  of  Bedr. 

*  "  God,  whose  vigilance  surpasses  that  of  the  wicked,  will  frustrate  their  plots  " — 
Savary. 

"See  chap.  6,.p,  100. 

'  This  was  the  speech  of  Al  Nodar  Ebn  al  Hareth. 

"  Saying,  God  forgive  us  !  Some  of  the  commentators,  however,  suppose  the  persons 
who  asked  pardon  were  certain  believers,  who  stayed  among  the  infidels  ;  and  others 
think  the  meaning  to  be,  that  God  would  not  punish  them,  provided  they  asked  pardon. 

°  Obliging  them  to  flee  from  Mecca,  and  not  permitting  them  so  much  as  to  approach 
the  temple,  in  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiya.^ 

"  Because  of  their  idolatry,  and  indecent  deportment  there.  For  otherwise  the  Koreish 
had  a  right  to  the  guardianship  of  the  Caaba,  and  it  was  continued  in  their  tribe  and  in  the 
same  family  even  after  the  taking  of  Mecca." 

p  It  is  said  that  they  used  to  go  round  the  Caaba  naked,*  both  men  and  women  whistling 
at  the  same  time  through  their  fingers,  and  clapping  their  hands.  Or,  as  others  say,  they 
made  this  noise  on  purpose  to  disturb  Mohammed  when  at  his  prayers,  pretending  to  be 
at  prayers  also  themselves.* 

^  Al  Beidawi.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  35.  '  See  ibid.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  ="  See 
the  Prelim.  Disc,  p,  37.  *  See  chap.  4.  p.  67,  note  u.  *  See  chap.  7.  p.  118. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  viii.  AL  KORAN.  143 

the  way  of  God  :  i  they  shall  expend  it,  but  afterwards  it  shall  become 
matter  of  sighing  and  regret  unto  them,  and  at  length  they  shall  be  over- 
come ;  and  the  unbelievers  shall  be  gathered  together  into  hell ;  that  God 
may  distinguish  the  wicked  from  the  good,  and  may  throw  the  wicked  one 
upon  the  other,  and  may  gather  them  all  in  a  heap,  and  cast  them  into  hell. 
These  are  they  who  shall  perish.  Say  unto  the  unbelievers,  that  if  they 
desist  from  opposing  thee,  what  is  already  past  shall  be  forgiven  them ;  but 
if  they  return  to  attack  thee,  the  exemplary  punishment  of  the  former 
opposers  of  the  prophets  is  already  past,  and  the  like  shall  be  injlicted  on  them. 
Therefore  fight  against  them  until  there  be  no  opposition  in  favour  of 
idolatry,  and  the  religion  be  wholly  God's.  If  they  desist,  verily  God 
seeth  that  which  they  do :  but  if  they  turn  back,  know  that  God  is  your 
patron ;  he  is  the  best  patron,  and  the  best  helper.  *  [X.]  And  know 
that  whenever  ye  gain  any  spoils,  a  fifth  part  thereof  belongeth  unto  God, 
and  to  the  apostle,  and  his  kindred,  and  the  orphans,  and  the  poor,  and  the 
traveller  ;■■  if  ye  believe  in  God,  and  that  which  we  have  sent  down  unto 
our  servant  on  the  day  of  distinction,^  on  the  day  whereon  the  two  armies 
met :  and  God  is  almighty.  When  ye  were  encamped  on  the  hithermost 
side  of  the  valley,*  and  they  were  encamped  on  the  further  side,  and  the 
caravan  was  below  you ;  "  *  and  if  ye  had  mutually  appointed  to  come  to  a 
battle,  ye  would  certainly  have  declined  the  appointment ;  ^  but  ye  were 
brought  to  an  engagement  without  any  previous  appointment,  that  God  might 
accomplish  the  thing  which  was  decreed  to  he  done ;  ^  that  he  who  perisheth 
hereafter  may  perish  after  demonstrative  evidence,  and  that  he  who  liveth 
may  live  by  the  same  evidence ;  God  both  heareth  and  knoweth.  When 
thy  Lord  caused  the  enemy  to  appear  unto  thee  in  thy  sleep  few  in  num- 

■^  The  persons  particularly  meant  in  this  passage  were  twelve  of  the  Koreish,  who 
gave  each  of  them  ten  camels  every  day  to  be  killed  for  provisions  for  their  army  in  the 
expedition  of  Bedr ;  or,  according  to  others,  the  owners  of  the  effects  brought  by  the 
caravan,  who  gave  great  part  of  them  to  the  support  of  the  succours  from  Mecca.  It  is 
also  said  that  Abu  Sofian,  in  the  expedition  of  Ohod,  hired  two  thousand  Arabs,  who  cost 
him  a  considerable  sum,  besides  the  auxiliaries  which  he  had  obtained  gratis.'' 

^  According  to  this  law,  a  fifth  part  of  the  spoils  is  appropriated  to  the  particular  uses 
here  mentioned,  and  the  other  four-fifths  are  to  be  equally  divided  among  those  who  were 
present  at  the  action :  but  in  what  manner,  or  to  whom  the  first  fifth  is  to  be  distributed, 
the  Mohammedan  doctors  differ,  as  we  have  elsewhere  observed.''  Though  it  be  the 
general  opinion  that  this  verse  was  revealed  at  Bedr,  yet  there  are  some  who  suppose  it 
was  revealed  in  the  expedition  against  the  Jewish  tribe  of  Kainoka,  which  happened  a  httle 
above  a  month  after.' 

*  i.  e.  Of  the  battle  of  Bedr ;  which  is  so  called  because  it  distinguished  the  true  be- 
lievers from  the  infidels. 

'  Which  was  much  more  inconvenient  than  the  other,  because  of  the  deep  sand  and 
want  of  water. 

"  viz.  By  the  sea-side,  making  the  best  of  their  way  to  Mecca. 

*  "You  were  encamped  near  the  rivulet,'  the  enemies  were  on  the  opposite  bank. 
Your  cavalry  was  inferior." — Savary. 

^  Because  of  the  great  superiority  of  the  enemy,  and  the  disadvantages  ye  lay  under. 
^  By  granting  a  miraculous  victory  to  the  faithful,  and  overthrowing  their  enemies  for 
the  conviction  of  the  latter,  and  the  confirmation  of  the  former.'* 

'  Al  Beidawi.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vi.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 

'  "  Mahomet  was  encamped  near  Bedr.  This  is  the  name  of  a  well.  This  post  was  a 
very  advantageous  one,  because  it  enabled  him  to  procure  water,  which  is  exceedingly 
scarce  in  Arabia." — Savary.  »  Al  Beidawi. 


144  AL  KORAN.  chap.  viii. 

her ;  *  and  if  he  had  caused  them  to  appear  numerous  unto  thee,  ye  would 
have  been  disheartened,  and  would  have  disputed  concerning  the  matter : "" 
but  God  preserved  you  from  this  ;  for  he  knowcth  the  innermost  parts  of 
the  breasts  of  men.  And  when  he  caused  them  to  appear  unto  you,  when 
ye  met,  to  he  few  in  your  eyes ; ''  and  diminished  your  numhers  in  their 
eyes ;  -^  that  God  might  accomplish  the  thing  which  was  decreed  to  he  done ; 
and  unto  God  shall  all  things  return.  O  true  believers,  when  ye  meet  a 
party  of  tlie  infidels,  stand  firm,  and  remember  God  frequently,  that  ye  may 
prosper :  and  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  and  be  not  refractory,  lest  ye  be 
discouraged,  and  your  success  depart  from  you  ;  but  persevere  with  patience, 
for  God  is  with  those  who  persevere.  And  be  not  as  those  who  went  out 
of  their  houses  in  an  insolent  manner,  and  to  appear  with  ostentation  unto 
men,'^  and  turned  aside  from  the  way  of  God  ;  for  God  comprehendeth  that 
which  they  do.  And  rememher  when  Satan  prepared  their  works  for  them,*' 
and  said.  No  man  shall  prevail  against  you  to-day ;  and  I  will  surely  be 
near  to  assist  you.  But  when  the  two  armies  appeared  in  sight  of  each 
other,  he  turned  back  on  his  heels,  and  said,  Verily  I  am  clear  of  you : 
I  certainly  see  that  which  ye  see  not ;  I  fear  God,  for  God  is  severe  in 
punishing.^     When  the  hypocrites,  and  those  in  whose  hearts  there  was  an 

»  With  which  vision  Mohammed  acquainted  his  companions  for  their  encouragement. 

*  Whether  ye  should  attack,  the  enemy  or  flee. 

^  It  is  said  that  Ebn  Masud  asked  the  man  who  was  next  him,  whether  he  did  not  see 
them  to  be  about  seventy ;  to  which  he  rephed  that  he  took  them  to  be  a  hundred.' 

"  This  seeming  contradictory  to  a  passage  in  the  third  chapter/  where  it  is  said  that 
the  Moslems  appeared  to  the  infidels  to  be  twice  their  own  number,  the  commentators 
reconcile  the  matter,  by  telling  us  that  just  before  the  battle  began,  the  prophet's  party 
seemed  fewer  than  they  really  were,  to  draw  the  enemy  to  an  engagement ;  but  that  so 
soon  as  the  armies  were  fully  engaged,  they  appeared  superior,  to  terrify  and  dismay  their 
adversaries.  It  is  related  that  Abu  Jahl  at  first  thought  them  so  inconsiderable  a  handful, 
that  he  said  one  camel  would  be  as  much  as  they  could  all  eat.* 

''  These  were  the  Meccans,  who,  marching  to  the  assistance  of  the  caravan,  and  being 
come  as  far  as  Johfa,  were  there  met  by  a  messenger  from  Abu  Sofian,  to  acquaint  them 
that  he  thought  himself  out  of  danger,  and  therefore  they  might  return  home  ;  upon  which 
Abu  Jahl,  to  give  the  greater  opinion  of  the  courage  of  himself  and  his  comrades,  and  of 
their  readiness  to  assist  their  friends,  swore  that  they  would  not  return  till  they  had  been 
at  Bedr,  and  had  there  drunk  wine,  and  entertained  those  who  should  be  present,  and 
diverted  themselves  with  singing-women.®  The  event  of  which  bravado  was  very  fatal, 
several  of  the  principal  Koreish,  and  Abu  Jahl  in  particular,  losing  their  lives  in  the  ex- 
pedition. 

*  By  inciting  them  to  oppose  the  prophet. 

'  Some  understand  this  passage  figuratively,  of  the  private  instigation  of  the  devil,  and 
of  the  defeating  of  his  designs  and  the  hopes  with  which  he  had  inspired  the  idolaters. 
But  others  take  the  whole  literally,  and  tell  us  that  when  the  Koreish,  on  their  march, 
bethought  themselves  of  the  enmity  between  them  and  the  tribe  of  Kenana,  who  were 
masters  of  the  country  about  Bedr,  that  consideration  would  have  prevailed  on  them  to 
return,  had  not  the  devil  appeared  in  the  likeness  of  Soraka  Ebn  Malec,  a  principal  per- 
son of  that  tribe,  and  promised  them  that  they  should  not  be  molested,  and  that  himself 
would  go  with  them.  But  when  they  came  to  join  battle,  and  the  devil  saw  the  angels 
descending  to  the  assistance  of  the  Moslems,  he  retired;  and  al  Hareth  Ebn  Hesham,  who 
had  him  then  by  the  hand,  asking  him  whither  he  was  going,  and  if  he  intended  to  betray 
them  at  such  a  juncture,  he  answered  in  the  words  of  this  passage,  I  am  clear  of  you,  for 
I  see  that  which  ye  see  not  ;  meaning  the  celestial  succours.  They  say  further,  that  when 
the  Koreish,  on  their  return,  laid  the  blame  of  their  overthrow  on  Soraka,  he  swore  that 
he  did  not  so  much  as  know  of  their  march  till  he  heard  they  were  routed :  and  after- 
wards, when  they  embraced  Mohammedism,  they  were  satisfied  it  was  the  devil.' 

'  Al  Beidawi.  ♦  Page  36.  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ■"  Idem.  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  vm.  AL  KORAN.  145 

infirmity,  said,  Tlieir  religion  hath  deceived  these  men : «  but  whosoever 
confideth  in  God  cannot  be  deceived ;  for  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  And  if 
thou  didst  behold  when  the  angels  caused  the  unbelievers  to  die :  they  strike 
their  laces  and  their  backs,**  and  say  unto  them,  Taste  ye  the  pain  of  burn- 
ing :  this  shall  ye  suffer  for  that  which  your  hands  have  sent  before  you ;  • 
and  because  God  is  not  unjust  towards  his  servants.  These  have  acted 
according  to  the  wont  of  the  people  of  Pharaoh,  and  of  those  before  them, 
who  disbelieved  in  the  signs  of  God  :  therefore  God  took  them  away  in 
their  iniquity ;  for  God  is  mighty  and  severe  in  punishing.  This  hath  come 
to  pass  because  God  changeth  not  his  grace,  w-hcrewith  he  hath  fivoured 
any  people,  until  they  change  that  which  is  in  their  souls ;  and  for  that 
God  both  heareth  and  seeth.  According  to  the  wont  of  the  people  of 
Pharaoh,  and  of  those  before  them,  who  charged  the  signs  of  their  Lord 
with  imposture,  have  they  acted  :  wherefore  we  destroyed  them  in  their 
sins,  and  we  drowned  the  people  of  Pharaoh ;  for  they  were  all  unjust 
persons.  Verily  the  worst  cattle  in  the  sight  of  God  are  those  who  are 
obstinate  infidels,  and  will  not  believe.  As  to  those  who  enter  into  a  league 
with  thee,  and  afterwards  violate  their  league  at  every  convenient  oppor- 
tunity,^ and  fear  not  God ;  if  thou  take  them  in  war,  disperse,  by  making 
them  an  example,  those  who  shall  come  after  them,  that  they  may  be 
warned ;  or  if  thou  apprehend  treachery  from  any  people,  throw  back 
their  league  unto  them  with  like  treatment;  for  God  loveth  not  the 
treacherous.  And  think  not^  that  the  unbelievers  have  escaped  God''s 
vengeance,^  for  they  shall  not  weaken  the  power  of  God.  Therefore  pre- 
pare against  them  what  force  ye  are  able,  and  troops  of  horse,  whereby  ye 
may  strike  a  terror  into  the  enemy  of  God,  and  your  enemy,  and  into  other 
infidels  besides  them,  whom  ye  know  not,  but  God  knoweth  them.  And 
whatsoever  ye  shall  expend  in  the  defence  of  the  religion  of  God,  it  shall  be 
repaid  unto  you,  and  ye  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  And  if  they  incline 
unto  peace,  do  thou  also  incline  thereto ;  and  put  thy  confidence  in  God, 
for  it  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  But  if  they  seek  to  deceive  thee, 
verily  God  will  he  thy  support.  It  is  he  who  hath  strengthened  thee  with 
his  help,  and  with  that  of  the  faithful ;  and  hath  united  their  hearts.  If 
thou  hadst  expended  whatever  riches  are  in  the  earth,  thou  couldst  not 
have  united  their  hearts,"  but  God  united  them ;  for  he  is  mighty  and  wise. 

8  In  tempting  them  to  so  great  a  piece  of  folly,  as  to  attack  so  large  a  body  of  men  with 
such  a  handful. 

^  This  passage  is  generally  understood  of  the  angels  who  slew  the  infidels  at  Bedr,  and 
who  fought  (as  the  commentators  pretend)  with  iron  maces,  which  shot  forth  flames  of 
fire  at  every  stroke.'  Some,  however,  imagine  that  the  words  hint,  at  least,  at  the  ex- 
amination of  the  sepulchre,  which  the  Mohammedans  believe  every  man  must  undergo 
after  death,  and  will  be  very  terrible  to  the  unbehevers.^ 

'  See  chap.  2.  p.  13,  note  r. 

*  As  did  the  tribe  of  Koreidha.' 

'  Some  copies  read  it  in  the  third  person,  Let  not  the  uiibelievers  think,  &c. 

""  viz.  Those  who  made  their  escape  from  Bedr. 

"  Because  of  the  inveterate  enmity  which  reigned  among  many  of  the  Arab  tribes ;  and 

*'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  54,  &c.  '  See 

before,  p.  141,  and  chap.  33. 


146  AL  KORAN.  chap.  viii. 

O  prophet,  God  is  thy  support,  and  such  of  the  true  believers  who  followeth 
thee."  O  prophet,  stir  up  the  faithful  to  war :  if  twenty  of  you  persevere 
until  constancy,  they  shall  overcome  two  hundred,  and  if  there  be  one  hun- 
dred of  you,  they  shall  overcome  a  thousand  of  those  who  believe  not ; 
because  they  are  a  people  which  do  not  understand.  Now  hath  God  eased 
you,  for  he  knew  that  ye  were  weak.  If  there  be  an  hundred  of  you  who 
persevere  with  constancy,  they  shall  overcome  two  hundred ;  and  if  there 
be  a  thousand  of  you,  they  shall  overcome  two  thousand,p  by  the  permission 
of  God  ;  for  God  is  with  those  who  persevere.  It  hath  not  been  granted 
unto  any  prophet,  that  he  should  possess  captives,  until  he  hath  made  a 
great  slaughter  of  ike  infidels  in  the  earth.*!  Ye  seek  the  accidental  goods 
of  this  world,  but  God  regardeth  the  life  to  come ;  and  God  is  mighty  and 
wise.  Unless  a  revelation  had  been  previously  delivered  from  God,  verily 
a  severe  punishment  had  been  inflicted  on  you,  for  the  ransom  which  ye 
took  frojn  the  captives  at  BedrJ  Eat  therefore  of  what  ye  have  acquired,* 
that  which  is  lawful  and  good  ;  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  O  pro- 
phet, say  unto  the  captives  who  are  in  your  hands.  If  God  shall  know  any 
good  to  he  in  your  hearts,  he  will  give  you  better  than  what  hath  been 

therefore  this  reconciUation  is  reckoned  by  the  commentators  as  no  inconsiderable  miracle , 
and  a  strong  proof  of  their  prophet's  mission. 

°  This  passage,  as  some  say,  was  revealed  in  a  plain  called  al  Beida,  between  Mecca 
and  Medina,  during  the  expedition  of  Bedr ;  and,  as  others,  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  pro- 
phet's mission,  on  the  occasion  of  Omar's  embracing  Mohammedism. 

p  See  Lev.  xxvi.  8  ;  Josh,  x.xiii.  10. 

■i  Because  severity  ought  to  be  used  where  circumstances  require  it,  though  clemency 
be  more  preferable  where  it  may  be  exercised  with  safety.  While  the  Mohammedans 
therefore  were  weak,  and  their  religion  in  its  infancy,  God's  pleasure  was  that  the  opposers 
of  it  should  be  cut  off,  as  is  particularly  directed  in  this  chapter.  For  which  reason  they 
are  here  upbraided  with  their  preferring  the  lucre  of  their  ransom  to  their  duly. 

"■  That  is,  had  not  the  ransom  been,  in  strictness,  lawful  for  you  to  accept,  by  God's 
having  in  general  terms  allowed  you  the  spoil  and  the  captives,  ye  had  been  severely 
punished.  ,  al,  - 

Among  the  seventy  prisoners  whom  the  Moslems  took  in  this  battle  were  al  Apbas, 
one  of  Mohammed's  uncles,  and  Okail  the  son  of  Abu  Taleb  and  brother  of  Ali:  when 
they  were  brought  before  Mohammed,  he  asking  the  advice  of  his  companions  what  should 
be  done  with  them,  Abu  Beer  was  for  releasing  them  on  their  paying  ransom,  saying, 
that  they  were  near  relations  to  the  prophet,  and  God  might  possibly  forgive  theni  on  their 
repentance  ;  but  Omar  was  for  striking  off  their  heads,  as  professed  patrons  of  infidelity. 
Mohammed  did  not  approve  of  the  latter  advice,  but  observed  that  Abu  Beer  resembled 
Abraham,  who  interceded  for  offenders,  and  that  Omar  was  like  Noah,  who  prayed  for 
the  utter  extirpation  of  the  wicked  antediluvians  ;  and  thereupon  it  was  agreed  to  accept 
a  ransom  from  them  and  their  fellow-captives.  Soon  after  which,  Omar,  going  into  the 
prophet's  tent,  found  him  and  Abu  Beer  weeping,  and  asking  them  the  reason  of  their 
tears,  Mohammed  acquainted  him  that  this  verse  had  been  revealed  condemning  their  ill- 
timed  lenity  towards  their  prisoners,  and  that  they  had  narrowly  escaped  the  divine  ven- 
geance for  it,  adding,  that  if  God  had  not  passed  the  matter  over,  they  had  certainly  been 
destroyed  to  a  man,  excepting  only  Omar,  and  Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  a  person  of  as  great 
severity,  and  who  was  also  for  putting  the  prisoners  to  death.^  Yet  did  not  this  crime  go 
absolutely  unpunished  neither:  for  in  the  battle  of  Ohod  the  Moslems  lost  seventy  men, 
equal  to  the  number  of  prisoners  taken  at  Bedr;^  which  was  so  ordered  by  God,  as  a 
retaliation  or  atonement  for  the  same. 

'  i.  e.  Of  the  ransom  which  ye  have  received  of  your  prisoners.  For,  it  seems,  on  this 
rebuke,  they  had  some  scruple  of  conscience  whether  they  might  convert  it  to  their  own 
use  or  not," 

^See  before,  p.  141,  and  chap.  33.  =>  See  chap.  3,  p.  51,  *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  viiT.  AL  KORAN.  147 

taken  from  you  ;*  and  he  will  forgive  you,  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful. 
But  if  they  seek  to  deceive  thee,"  verily  they  have  deceived  God  ;  where- 
fore he  hath  given  thee  power  over  them :  and  God  is  knowing  and  wise. 
Moreover,  they  wlio  have  believed,  and  have  fled  their  country,  and  em- 
ployed their  substance  and  their  persons  in  fighting  for  the  religion  of  God, 
and  they  who  have  given  the  j^rophet  a  refuge  among  them,  and  have  assisted 
him,  these  shall  he  deemed  the  one  nearest  of  kin  to  the  other.*  y  But  thev 
who  have  believed,  but  have  not  fled  their  country,  shall  have  no  right  of 
kindred  at  all  with  you,  until  they  also  fly.  Yet  if  they  ask  assistance  of 
you  on  account  of  religion,  it  belongeih  unto  you  to  give  them  assistance ; 
except  against  a  people  between  whom  and  yourselves  there  shall  he  a 
league  subsisting  :  and  God  seeth  that  which  ye  do.  And  as  to  the  infidels, 
let  them  be  deemed  of  kin  the  one  to  the  other.  Unless  ye  do  this,  there 
will  be  a  sedition  in  the  earth,  and  grievous  corruption.  But  as  for  them 
who  have  believed,  and  lefl  their  countr}^,  and  have  fought  for  God's  true 
religion,  and  who  have  allowed  the  prophet  a  retreat  among  them,  and  have 
assisted  him,  these  are  really  believers ;  they  shall  receive  mercy,  and  an 
honourable  provision.  And  they  who  have  believed  since,  and  have  fled 
their  country,  and  have  fought  with  you,  these  also  are  of  you.  And  those 
who  are  related  by  consanguinity  shall  be  deemed  the  nearest  of  kin  to  each 
other,  preferably  to  strangers  according  to  the  book  of  God  ;  God  knoweth 
all  things. 

'  That  is,  If  ye  repent  and  believe,  God  will  make  you  abundant  retribution  for  the 
ransom  ye  have  now  paid.  It  is  said  that  this  passage  was  revealed  on  the  particular 
account  of  al  Abbas,  who  being  obHged  by  Mohammed,  through  his  uncle,  to  ransom  both 
himself  and  his  two  nephews,  Okail,  and  Nawfal  Ebn  al  Hareth,  complained  that  he  should 
be  reduced  to  beg  alms  of  the  Koreish  as  long  as  he  lived.  Whereupon  Mohammed  asked 
him  what  was  become  of  the  gold  which  he  delivered  to  0mm  al  Fndl  when  he  left 
Mecca,  telling  her  that  he  knew  not  what  might  befall  him  in  the  expedition,  and  tliere- 
iore  if  he  lost  his  life,  she  might  keep  it  herself  for  the  use  of  her  and  her  children  ?  Al 
Abbas  demanded  who  told  him  this  ;  to  which  Mohammed  replied,  that  God  had  revealed 
it  to  him.  And  upon  this  al  Abbas  immediately  professed  Islamism,  declaring  that  none 
could  know  of  that  affair  except  God,  because  he  gave  her  the  money  at  midnight.  Some 
years  after,  al  Ahbas  reflecting  on  this  passage,  confessed  it  to  be  fulfilled  ;  for  he  was  then 
not  only  possessed  of  a  large  substance,  but  had  the  custody  of  the  well  Zemzem,  which, 
he  said,  he  preferred  to  all  the  riches  of  Mecca.' 

"  By  not  paying  the  ransom  agreed  on. 

*  "  The  behevers,  who  have  abandoned  their  families  to  defend  the  cause  of  God  with 
their  substance  and  their  lives,  shall  share  the  spoil  with  those  who  have  given  assistance 
and  an  asylum  to  the  prophet." — Savary. 

^  And  shall  con.=equently  inherit  one  another's  substance,  preferably  to  their  relations 
by  blood.  And  this,  they  say,  was  practised  for  some  time,  the  Mohajerun  and  Ansars 
being  judged  heirs  to  one  another,  exclusive  of  the  deceased's  other  kindred,  till  this  pas- 
sage was  abrogated  by  the  following:  Those  who  are  related  by  blood  shall  be  deemed 
the  nearest  of  hin  to  each  other. 

'  Al  Beidawi.    Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Abbas. 


148  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  IX. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

INTITLED,  THE  DECLARATION  OF  IMMUNITY;"  REVEALED  AT 

MEDINA. 

A  DECLARATION  of  immunity  from  God  and  his  apostle,  unto  the 
idolaters,  with  whom  ye  have  entered  into  league.''  Go  to  and  fro  in  the 
earth  securely  four  months  ;«=  and  know  that  ye  shall  not  weaken  God,  and 
that  God  will  disgrace  the  unbelievers.  And  a  declaration  from  God  and 
his  apostle  unto  the  people,  on  the  day  of  the  greater  pilgrimage,*^  that  God 
is  clear  of  the  idolaters,  and  his  apostle  also.     Wherefore  if  ye  repent,  this 

'  The  reason  why  the  chapter  had  this  title  appears  from  the  last  verse.  Some,  how- 
ever, give  it  other  titles,  and  particularly  that  of  Eepenta7ice,  which  is  mentioned  imme- 
diately after. 

It  is  observable  that  this  chapter  alone  has  not  the  auspicatory  form,  hi,  the  name  of  the 
most  merciful  God,  prefixed  to  it ;  the  reason  of  which  omission,  as  some  think,  was, 
because  these  words  imply  a  concession  of  security,  which  is  utterly  taken  away  by  this 
chapter,  after  a  fixed  time ;  wherefore  some  have  called  it  the  chapter  of  Fu?iishment : 
oili^rs  say  that  Mohammed  (who  died  soon  after  he  had  received  this  chapter)  having 
given  no  direction  where  it  should  be  placed,  nor  for  the  prefixing  the  Bismillah  to  it,  as 
had  been  done  to  the  other  chapters ;  and  the  argument  of  this  chapter  bearing  a  near 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  preceding ;  his  companions  differed  about  it :  some  saying 
that  both  chapters  were  but  one,  and  together  made  the  seventh  of  the  seven  long  ones, 
and  others  that  they  were  two  distinct  chapters;  whereupon,  to  accommodate  the 
dispute,  they  left  a  space  between  them,  but  did  not  interpose  the  distinction  of  the 
Bismillah.' 

It  is  agreed  that  this  chapter  was  the  last  which  was  revealed ;  and  the  only  one,  as 
Mohammed  declared,  which  was  revealed  entire  and  at  once,  except  the  hundred  and 
tenth. 

Some  will  have  the  last  two  verses  to  have  been  revealed  at  Mecca. 

''  Some  understand  this  sentence  of  the  immutiity  or  security  therein  granted  to  the  infi- 
dels, for  the  space  of  four  months ;  but  others  think  that  the  words  properly  signify,  that 
Mohammed  is  here  declared  by  God  to  be  absolutely /ree  and  discharged  from  all  truce  or 
league  with  them,  after  the  expiration  of  that  time:'*  and  this  last  seems  to  be  the  truest 
interpretation. 

Mohammed's  thus  renouncing  all  league  with  those  who  would  not  receive  him  as  the 
apostle  of  God,  or  submit  to  become  tributary,  was  the  consequence  of  the  great  power  to 
which  he  was  now  arrived.  But  the  pretext  he  made  use  of  was  the  treachery  he  had  met 
with  among  the  Jewish  and  idolatrous  Arabs ;  scarce  any  keeping  faith  with  him,  except 
Banu  Damra,  Banu  Kenana,  and  a  few  others.^ 

•^  These  months  were  Shawal,  Dhu'lkaada,  Dhu'lhajja,  and  Moharram  ;  the  chapter 
being  revealed  in  Shawal,  Yet  others  compute  them  from  the  tenth  of  Dhu'lhajja,  when 
the  chapter  was  published  at  Mecca,  and  consequently  make  them  expire  on  the  tenth 
of  the  former  Rabi.'' 

■^  Viz.  The  tenth  of  Dhu'lhajja,  when  they  slay  the  victims  at  Mina;  which  day  is 
tlieir  great  feast,  and  completes  the  ceremonies  of  the  pilgrimage.  Some  suppose  the 
adjective  greater  is  added  here  to  distinguish  the  pilgrimage  made  at  the  appointed  time, 
from  lesser  pilgrimages,  as  they  may  be  called,  or  visitations  of  the  Caaba,  which  may  be 
performed  at  any  time  of  the  year;  or  else  because  the  concourse  at  the  pilgrimage  this 
year  was  greater  than  ordinary,  both  Moslems  and  idolaters  being  present  at  it. 

The  promulgation  of  this  chapter  was  committed  by  Mohammed  to  Ali,  who  rode  for  that 
purpose  on  the  prophet's  slit-eared  camel  from  Medina  to  Mecca;  and  on  the  day  above- 
mentioned,  standing  up  before  the  whole  assembly  at  al  Akaba,  told  them,  that  he  was  the 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya,  &.c.  '  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 

*  Idem,  Al  Zamaksh.  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  vm.  AL  KORAN.  149 

will  be  bettex  for  you ;  but  if  ye  turn  back,  know  that  ye  shall  not  weaken 
God  :  and  denounce  unto  those  who  believe  not,  a  painful  punishment.* 
Except  such  of  the  idolaters  with  whom  ye  shall  have  entered  into  a  league, 
and  who  afterwards  shall  not  fail  you  in  any  instance,  nor  assist  any  other 
against  you.^  Wherefore  perform  the  covenant  which  ye  shall  have  made 
with  them,  until  their  time  shall  be  elapsed ;  for  God  loveth  those  who  fear 
him.  And  when  the  months  wherein  ye  are  not  allowed  to  attack  them 
shall  be  past,  kill  the  idolaters  wheresoever  ye  shall  find  them,*'  and  take  i-'^ 
them  prisoners^  and  besiege  them,  and  lay  wait  for  them  in  every  con- 
venient place.  But  if  they  shall  repent,  and  observe  the  appointed  times  of 
prayer,  and  pay  the  legal  alms,  dismiss  them  freely  :  for  God  is  gracious 
ajid  merciful.  And  if  any  of  the  idolaters  shall  demand  protection  of  thee, 
grant  him  protection,  that  he  may  hear  the  word  of  God  :  and  afterwards 
let  him  reach  the  place  of  his  security.^  This  shalt  thou  do,  because  they 
are  people  which  know  not  the  excellency  of  the  religion  thou  preachest. 
How  shall  the  idolaters  be  admitted  into  a  league  with  God  and  with  his 
apostle ;  except  those  with  whom  ye  entered  into  a  league  at  the  holy 
temple.''  So  long  as  they  behave  with  fidelity  towards  you,  do  ye  also  *- 
behave  with  fidelity  towards  them ;  for  God  loveth  those  who  fear  him. 
How  can  they  he  admitted  into  a  league  with  you,  since,  if  they  prevail 
against  you,  they  will  not  regard  in  you  either  consanguinity  or  faith? 
They  will  please  you  wiih  their  mouths,  but  their  hearts  will  be  awerse  fro7n 
you  ;  for  the  greater  part  of  them  are  wicked  doers.  They  sell  the  signs  of 
God  for  a  small  price,  and  obstruct  his  way ;  it  is  certainly  evil  which  they 
do.  They  regard  not  in  a  believer  either  consanguinity  or  faith ;  and  these 
are  the  transgressors.  Yet  if  they  repent,  and  observe  the  appointed  times 
of  prayer,  and  give  alms,  they  shall  he  deemed  your  brethren  in  religion.  We 
distinctly  propound  our  signs  unto  people  who  understand.  But  if  they 
violate  their  oaths,  after  their  league,  and  revile  your  religion,  oppose  the 
leaders  of  infidehty  (for  there  is  no  trust  in  them),  that  they  may  desist 
from  their  treachery.  Will  ye  not  fight  against  people  who  have  violated 
their  oaths,  and  conspired  to  expel  the  apostle  of  God ;  and  who  of  their 

messenger  of  the  apostle  of  God  unto  them ;  whereupon  they  asking  him  what  was  his 
errand,  he  read  twenty  or  thirty  verses  of  the  chapter  unto  them,  and  then  said,  /  am 
commanded  to  acquaint  you  with  four  things,  1.  T^hat  no  idolater  is  to  come  near  the  temple 
of  Mecca  after  this  year  ;  2.  That  no  man  presume  to  compass  the  Caaba  7iaked  for  the 
future  ;  '  3.  That  none  but  true  believers  shall  ejiter  paradise  ;  and  4.  T hat  public  faith  is 
to  he  kept.^ 

*  "  God  and  his  apostle  declare  that,  after  the  days  of  pilgrimage,  there  shall  be  no 
pardon  for  the  idolaters.  It  highly  concerns  ye  that  ye  be  converted.  Remember  that  ye 
cannot  suspend  the  vengeance  of  Heaven." — Savary. 

•  So  that  notwithstanding  Mohammed  renounces  all  league  with  those  who  had  deceived 
him,  he  declares  himself  ready  to  perform  his  engagements  to  such  as  had  been  true 
to  him. 

'  Either  within  or  without  the  sacred  territory. 

B  That  i«,  you  shall  give  him  a  safe  conduct,  that  he  may  return  home  again  securely,  in 
case  he  shall  not  think  fit  to  embrace  Mohammedism. 
*"  These  are  the  persons  before  excepted. 
» See  before,  chap.  7,  p.  118.         «  Al  Beidawi.   Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  127,  &c. 


150  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

own  accord  assaulted  you  the  first  time?^  Will  ye  fear  them?  But  it  is 
more  just  that  ye  should  fear  God,  if  ye  are  true  believers.  Attack  them 
therefore ;  God  shall  punish  them  by  your  hands,  and  will  cover  them  with 
shame,  and  will  give  you  the  victory  over  them ;  and  he  will  heal  the 
breasts  of  the  people  who  believe,'^  and  will  take  away  the  indignation  of 
their  hearts :  for  God  will  be  turned  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  ;  and  God  is 
knowing  and  wise.  Did  ye  imagine  that  ye  should  be  abandoned,  whereas 
God  did  not  yet  know  those  among  you  who  fought  for  his  religion,  and 
took  not  any  besides  God,  and  his  apostle,  and  the  faithful /or  their  friends? 
God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  It  is  not  fitting  that  the 
idolaters  should  visit  the  temples  of  God,  being  witnesses  against  their  own 
souls  of  their  infidelity.  The  works  of  these  men  are  vain  :  and  they  shall 
remain  in  hell  fire  for  ever.  But  he  only  shall  visit  the  temples  of  God, 
who  believeth  in  God  and  the  last  day,  and  is  constant  at  prayer,  and 
payeth  the  legal  alms,  and  feareth  God  alone.  These  perhaps  may  become 
o^ihe  number  of  those  who  are  rightly  directed.*^  Do  ye  reckon  the  giving 
drink  to  the  pilgrims,  and  the  visiting  of  the  holy  temple,  to  be  actions  as 
meritorious  as  those  performed  by  him  who  believeth  in  God  and  the  last 
day,  and  fighteth  for  the  religion  of  God  ?  ™  They  shall  not  be  held  equal 
with  God  :  for  God  directeth  not  the  unrighteous  people.  They  who  have 
believed,  and  fled  their  country,  and  employed  their  substance  and  their 
persons  in  the  defence  of  God's  true  religion,  shall  be  in  the  highest  degree 
of  honour  with  God  ;  and  these  are  they  who  shall  be  happy.  Their 
Lord  sendeth  them  good  tidings  of  mercy  from  him,  and  good  will,  and  of 
gardens  wherein  they  shall  enjoy  lasting  pleasure :  they  shall  continue 
therein  for  ever  :  for  with  God  is  a  great  reward.  O  true  believers,  take 
not  your  fathers  or  your  brethren  for  friends,  if  they  love  infidelity  above 
faith ;  and  whosoever  among  you  shall  take  them  for  his  friends,  they  will 
be  unjust  doers.  Say,  if  your  fathers,  and  your  sons,  and  your  brethren, 
and  your  wives,  and  your  relations,  and  your  substance  which  ye  have 
acquired,  and  your  merchandise  which  ye  apprehend  may  not  be  sold  off, 

'  As  did  the  Koreish  in  assisting  the  tribe  of  Beer,  against  those  of  Khozaah,''  and  laying 
a  design  to  ruin  Mohammed,  without  any  just  provocation  ;  and  as  several  of  the  Jewish 
tribes  did,  by  aiding  the  enemy,  and  endeavouring  to  obhge  the  prophet  to  leave  Medina, 
as  he  had  been  obhged  to  leave  Mecca.^ 

^  viz.  Those  of  Khozaah ;  or,  as  others  say,  certain  families  of  Yaman  and  Saba,  who 
went  to  Mecca,  and  there  professed  Mohammedism,  but  were  very  injuriously  treated  by 
the  inhabitants ;  whereupon  they  complained  to  Mohammed,  who  bid  them  take  comfort, 
for  that  joy  was  approaching.' 

*  "  For  them  the  path  of  salvation  is  easy." — Savary. 

'  These  words  are  to  warn  the  believers  from  having  too  great  a  confidence  in  their  own 
merits,  and  likewise  to  deter  the  unbeUevers;  for  if  the  faithful  will  hut  perhaps  be  saved, 
what  can  the  others  hope  for  ? ' 

^  This  passage  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  some  words  of  al  Abbas,  Mohammed's 
uncle ;  who,  when  he  was  taken  prisoner,  being  bitterly  reproached  by  the  Moslems,  and 
particularly  by  his  nephew  Ali,  answered.  You  rip  up  our  ill  actions,  but  take  no  notice 
of  our  good  ones  ;  we  visit  the  temple  of  Mecca,  and  adorn  the  Caaba  with  hangings,  and 
give  drink  to  the  pilgrims  (of  Zemzem  water,  I  suppose)  and  free  captives."^ 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  39.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  *  Idem. 

'  Idem. 


ciiAr.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  151 

and  your  dwellings  wherein  ye  delight,  be  more  dear  unto  5'ou  than  God, 
and  his  apostle,  and  the  advancement  of  his  religion ;  wait  until  God  shall 
send  his  command,"  for  God  directeth  not  the  ungodly  people.  Now  hath 
God  assisted  you  in  many  engagements,  and  particularly  at  the  battle 
of  llonein,"  when  ye  pleased  yourselves  in  your  multitude,  but  it  was 
no  manner  of  advantage  unto  you,  and  the  earth  became  too  strait  for  you,'' 
notwithstanding  it  was  spacious ;  *  then  did  ye  retreat,  and  turn  your  backs. 
Afterwards  God  sent  down  his  security  '^  upon  his  apostle  and  upon  the 
faithful,  and  sent  down  troops  of  angels^''  which  ye  saw  not;  and  ho 
punished  those  who  disbelieved  :  and  this  was  the  reward  of  the  unbelievers. 
Nevertheless  God  will  hereafter  be  turned  unto  whom  he  pleaseth;*  for 
God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  O  true  believers,  verily  the  idolaters  are 
unclean ;  let  them  not  therefore  come  near  unto  the  holy  temple  after  this 
year.*  And  if  ye  fear  want,  by  the  cutting  off  trade  and  communication  with 
them,  God  will  enrich  you  of  his  abundance,**  if  he  pleaseth :  for  God 
is   knowinof   and   wise.     Fight  asainst  them  who    believe    not    in    God, 

"  Or  shall  punish  you.     Some  suppose  the  taking  of  Mecca  to  be  here  intended.' 

°  The  battle  was  fought  in  the  eighth  year  of  the  Hejra,  in  the  valley  of  Honein,  which 
lies  about  three  miles  from  Mecca  towards  Tayef,  between  Mohammed,  who  had  an  army 
of  twelve  thousand  men,  and  the  tribes  of  Hawazen  and  Thakif,  whose  forces  did  not 
exceed  four  thousand.  Tlie  Mohammedans  seeing  themselves  so  greatly  superior  to  their 
enemies,  made  sure  of  the  victory;  a  certain  person,  whom  some  suppose  to  have  been 
the  prophet  himself,  crying  out,  These  can  never  he  overcome  by  so  few.  But  God  was  so 
highly  displeased  with  this  confidence,  that  in  the  first  encounter  the  Moslems  were  put 
to  flight,"  some  of  them  running  away  quite  to  Mecca,  so  that  none  stood  their  ground 
except  Mohammed  himself  and  some  few  of  his  family ;  and  they  say  the  prophet's 
courage  was  so  great,  that  his  uncle  al  Abbas,  and  his  cousin  Abu  Sofian  Ebn  al  Hareth, 
had  much  ado  to  prevent  his  spurring  his  mule  into  the  midst  of  the  enemy,  by  laying  hold 
of  the  bridle  and  stirrup.  Then  he  ordered  al  Abbas,  who  had  the  voice  of  a  stentor,  to 
recall  his  flying  troops  ;  upon  which  they  raUied,  and  the  prophet  throwing  a  handful  of 
dust  against  the  enemy,  they  attacked  them  a  second  time,  and  by  the  divine  assistance 
gained  the  victory.* 

p  For  the  valley  being  very  deep,  and  encompassed  by  craggy  mountains,  the  enemy 
placed  themselves  in  ambush  on  every  side,  attacking  them  in  the  straits  and  narrow 
passages,  and  from  behind  the  rocks,  with  great  advantage." 

*  "  How  often  has  the  Omnipotent  caused  you  to  feel  the  effects  of  his  protection? 
Remember  ye  the  battle  of  Honein,  when  the  number  of  your  troops  puffed  up  your 
hearts  with  pride  ?  Of  what  avail  to  you  was  that  formidable  army?  The  earth  seemed 
to  you  to  be  too  narrow  in  your  precipitate  flight." — Savary. 

■J  The  original  word  is  Sakinat,  which  the  commentators  interpret  in  this  sense ; 
but  it  seems  rather  to  signify  the  divine  presence,  or  Shechinah,  appearing  to  aid  the 
Moslems.'' 

'As  to  the  number  of  these  celestial  auxiliaries,  the  commentators  differ :  some  say 
they  were  five  thousand;  some,  eight  thousand  ;  and  others,  sixteen  thousand.^ 

"  Besides  a  great  number  of  proselytes,  who  were  gained  by  this  battle,  Mohammed,  on 
their  request  was  so  generous  as  to  restore  the  captives  (which  were  no  less  than  six  thou- 
sand) to  their  friends,  and  offered  to  make  amends  himself  to  any  of  his  men  who  should 
not  be  willing  to  part  with  his  prisoners  ;  but  they  all  consented  to  it.* 

'  Which  was  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra.  In  consequence  of  this  prohibition,  neither 
Jews,  nor  Christians,  nor  those  of  any  other  religion,  are  suffered  to  come  near  Mecca 
to  this  day. 

"  This  promise,  says  al  Beidawi,  was  fulfilled  by  God's  sending  plenty  of  rain,  and  dis- 
posing the  inhabitants  of  Tebala  and  Jorash,  two  towns  in  Yaman,  to  embrace  Islam, 
who  thereupon  brought  sufficient  provisions  to  Mohammed's  men  ;  and  also  by  the  sub- 
sequent coming  in  of  the  Arabs,  from  all  quarters,  to  him. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  -  See  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  96,  &c.  Hotting.  Hist.  Orient,  p.  271,  &c. 
D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  601.  '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abulfeda,  Vit.  Moh. 

p.  112,  &c.  '  Ebn  Ishak.  '  See  chap.  2,  p.  30,  note  i.  "  Al  Beidawi. 

*  Idem. 


152  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

nor  the  last  day.^.and  forbid  not  that  which  God  and  his  apostle  have 
forbidden,  and  profess  not  the  true  religion,  of  those  unto  whom  the 
scriptures  have  been  delivered,  until  they  pay  tribute  by  right  of 
subjection, y  and  they  be  reduced  low.  The  Jews  say,  Ezra  is  the  son 
of  God  :  ^  and  the  Christians  say,  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God.     This  is  their 

^,That  is,  who  have  not  a  just  and  true  faith  in  these  matters;  but  either  beHeve  a  plu- 
rality of  gods,  or  deny  the  eternity  of  hell  torments ; '"  or  the  delights  of  paradise  as  de- 
scribed in  the  Koran.  For  as  it  appears  by  the  Ibllowing  words,  the  Jews  and  Christians 
are  the  persons  here  chiefly  meant. 

>'  This  I  think  the  true  meaning  of  the  words  an  yadin,  which  literally  signify  hij  or  oxit 
of  hand,  and  are  variously  interpreted ;  some  supposing  they  mean  that  the  tribute  is  to 
be  paid  readily,  or  by  their  own  hands  and  not  by  another  ;  or  that  tribute  is  to  be  exacted 
of  the  rich  only,  or  those  who  are  able  to  pay  it,  and  not  of  the  poor ;  or  else  that  it 
is  to  be  taken  as  di  favour  that  the  Mohammedans  are  satisfied  with  so  small  an  im- 
position, &c.* 

That  the  Jews  and  Christians  are,  according  to  this  law,  to  be  admitted  to  protection,  on 
payment  of  tribute,  there  is  no  doubt ;  though  the  Mohammedan  doctors  difler  as  to 
those  of  other  religions.  It  is  said  that  Omar  at  first  refused  to  accept  tribute  from  a 
Magian,  till  Abd'alrahmad  Ebn  Awf  assured  him  that  Mohammed  himself  had  granted 
protection  to  a  Magian,  and  ordered  that  the  professors  of  that  religion  should  be  included 
among  the  people  of  the  hook,  or  those  who  found  their  religion  on  some  book  which  they 
suppose  to  be  of  divine  original.  And  it  is  the  more  received  opinion  that  these  three 
rehgions  only  ought  to  be  tolerated  on  the  condition  of  paying  tribute  ;  others,  how- 
ever, admit  the  iSabians  also.  Abu  Hanifa  supposed  people  of  any  religion  might  be 
suffered,  except  the  idolatrous  Arabs;  and  Malec  excepted  only  apostates  from  Mo- 
hammedism. 

The  least  tribute  that  can  be  taken  from  every  such  person,  is  generally  agreed  to  be  a 
dinar,  or  about  ten  shillings,  a  year ;  nor  can  he  be  obliged  to  pay  more,  unless  he  con- 
sent to  it :  and  this,  they  say,  ought  to  be  laid  as  well  on  the  poor  as  on  the  rich.^  But 
Abu  Hanifa  decided  that  the  rich  should  pay  forty-eight  dirhems  (twenty,  and  sometimes 
twenty-five,  of  which  made  a  dinar)  a  year ;  one  in  middling  circumstances  half  that  sum  ; 
and  a  poor  man,  who  was  able  to  get  his  living,  a  quarter  of  it :  but  that  he  who  was  not 
able  to  support  himself  should  pay  nothing.^ 

^  This  grievous  charge  against  the  Jews,  the  commentators  endeavour  to  support  by 
telling  us,  that  it  is  meant  of  some  ancient  heterodox  Jews,  or  else  of  some  Jews  of 
Medina;  who  said  so  for  no  other  reason,  than  for  that  the  law  being  utterly  lost  and  for- 
gotten during  the  Babylonish  captivity,  Ezra  having  been  raised  to  fife  after  he  had  been 
dead  one  hundred  years, ^  dictated  the  whole  anew  unto  the  scribes,  out  of  his  own 
memory  ;  at  which  they  greatly  marvelled,  and  declared  that  he  could  not  have  done  it, 
unless  he  were  the  son  of  God.'  Al  Beidawi  adds,  that  the  imputation  must  be  true, 
because  this  verse  was  read  to  the  Jews  and  they  did  not  contradict  it ;  which  they  were 
ready  enough  to  do  in  other  instances. 

That  Ezra  did  thus  restore  not  only  the  Pentateuch,  but  also  the  other  books  of  the 
Old  Testament,  by  divine  revelation,  was  the  opinion  of  several  of  the  Christian  fathers, 
who  are  quoted  by  Dr.  Prideaux,*  and  of  some  other  writers;''  which  they  seem  to  have 
first  borrowed  from  a  passage  in  that  very  ancient  apocryphal  book,  called  in  our  English 
Bible,  the  second  book  of  Esdras.^  Dr.  Prideaux''  tells  us,  that  herein  the  fathers  at- 
tributed more  to  Ezra,  than  the  Jews  themselves,  who  suppose  that  he  only  collected  and 
set  forth  a  correct  edition  of  the  scriptures,  which  he  laboured  much  in,  and  went  a  great 
way  in  the  perfecting  of  it.  It  is  not  improbable  however,  that  the  fiction  came  originally 
from  the  Jews,  though  they  be  now  of  another  opinion,  and  I  cannot  fix  it  upon  them  by 
any  direct  proof  For,  not  to  insist  upon  the  testimony  of  the  Mohammedans  (which  yet 
I  cannot  but  think  of  some  little  weight  in  a  point  of  this  nature),  it  is  allowed  by  the  most 
sagacious  critics,  that  the  second  book  of  Ezra  was  written  by  a  Christian  indeed,'" 
but  yet  one  who  had  been  bred  a  Jew,  and  was  intimately  acquainted  with  the  fables 
of  the  Rabbins;*  and  the  story  itself  is  perfectly  in  the  taste  and  way  of  thinking  of 
those  men. 

'*  See  chap.  2,  p.  11,  and  chap.  3,  p.  37.  '  Vide  al  Beidawi.        ^  Vide  Reland,  de 

Jure  Militari  Mohammedanor,  p.  17,  et  50.  =*  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  chap.  2,  p.  31. 

"  Al  Beidawi,  al  Zamakhshari,  &c.  ^  Connect,  part  1,  hb.  5.  p.  329.         ■"  Athanasius 

junior,  in  Synopsi  S.  Script,  torn.  2,  p.  86.  Leontius  Byzantin.  de  Sectis.  p.  428. 
»  Chap.  xiv.  20.  &c.  '  Loco  Citat.  '"  See  2  Esdras  ii.  43—47,  and  vii.  28,  &c. 

'  Vide  Dodwelli.  Dissert.  Cyprian.  Dissert.  4,  sect.  ii.  Whiston's  Essay  on  the  Apostolical 
Constit.  pp.  34,  76,  and  304,  &c.  and  Fabricii  Codic.  Apocryph.  Novi  Test,  part  2, 
p.  936.  &c. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  153 

saying  in  their  mouths  ;  they  imitate  the  saying  of  those  who  were  un- 
behevers  in  former  times.  May  God  resist  them.  How  are  they  infatuated ! 
They  take  their  priests  and  their  monks  for  their  lords,  besides  God,*  and 
Christ  the  son  of  Mary;  although  they  are  commanded  to  worship  one 
God  only :  there  is  no  God  but  he ;  far  be  that  from  him  which  they  associate 
with  him  !*  They  seek  to  extinguish  the  light  of  God  with  their  mouths  ; 
but  God  willeth  no  other  than  to  perfect  his  light,  although  the  infidels  be 
averse  thereto.  It  is  he  who  hath  sent  his  apostle  with  the  direction,  and 
true  religion ;  that  he  may  cause  it  to  appear  superior  to  every  ofher  reli- 
gion; although  the  idolaters  be  averse  thereto.  O  true  believers,  verily 
many  of  the  priests  and  monks  devour  the  substance  of  men  in  vanity,"* 
and  obstruct  the  way  of  God.  But  unto  those  who  treasure  up  gold  and 
silver,  and  employ  it  not  for  the  advancement  of  God's  true  religion,  de- 
nounce a  grievous  punishment.  On  the  dsiy  of  judgment  their  treasures 
shall  be  intensely  heated  in  the  fire  of  hell,  and  their  foreheads,  and  their 
sides,  and  their  backs  shall  be  stigmatized  therewith ;  and  their  tormentors 
shall  say^  This  is  what  ye  have  treasured  up  for  your  souls ;  taste  therefore 
that  which  ye  have  treasured  up.  Moreover,  the  complete  number  of 
months  with  God,  is  twelve  months, •=  which  were  ordained  in  the  book  of 
God,*  on  the  day  whereon  he  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth :  of  these, 
four  are  sacred.^  This  is  the  right  religion :  therefore  deal  not  unjustly 
with  yourselves  therein.  But  attack  the  idolaters  in  all  the  months^  as  they 
attack  you  in  all ;  ^  and  know  that  God  is  with  those  who  fear  him. 
Verily  the  transferring  of  a  sacred  month  to  another  month,  is  an  additional 
infidelity. s  The  unbelievers  are  led  into  an  error  thereby :  they  allow  a 
month  to  be  violated  one  year,  and  declare  it  sacred  another  year,**  that  they 
may  agree  in  the  number  of  months  which  God  hath  commanded  to  be 

»  See  chap.  3,  p.  44,  note  d. 

*  "  The  curse  be  on  those  whom  they  associate  with  him  in  his  worship." — Savary. 

"By  taking  of  bribes,  says  al  Beidawi;  meaning,  probably,  the  money  they  took  for 
dispensing  with  the  commands  of  God,  and  by  way  of  commutation. 

'  According  to  this  passage,  the  intercalation  of  a  month  every  third  or  second  year, 
which  the  Arabs  had  learned  of  the  Jews,  in  order  to  reduce  their  lunar  years  to  solar 
years,  is  absolutely  unlawful.  For  by  this  means  they  fixed  the  time  of  the  pilgrimage 
and  of  the  feast  of  Ramadan  to  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  which  ought  to  be 
ambulatory.^ 

■1  viz.  The  preserved  table. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vii. 

'  For  it  is  not  reasonable  that  you  should  observe  the  sacred  months  with  regard  to  those 
who  do  not  acknowledge  them  to  be  sacred,  but  make  war  against  you  therein.^ 

«  This  was  an  invention  or  innovation  of  the  idolatrous  Arabs,  whereby  they  avoided 
keeping  a  sacred  month,  when  it  suited  not  their  conveniency,  by  keeping  a  profane  month 
in  its  stead;  transferring,  for  example,  the  observance  of  Moharram  to  the  succeeding 
month  Safar.  The  first  man  who  put  this  in  practice,  they  say,  was  Jonada  Ebn  Aw^ 
of  the  tribe  of  Kenana.* 

These  ordinances  relating  to  the  months  were  promulgated  by  Mohammed  himself  at 
the  pilgrimage  of  valediction.^ 

"  As  did  Jonada,  who  made  public  proclamation  at  the  assembly  of  pilgrims,  that  their 
gods  had  allowed  Moharram  to  be  profane,  whereupon  they  observed  it  not ;  but  the  next 
year  he  told  them,  that  the  gods  had  ordered  it  to  be  kept  sacred.* 

^  See  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  65,  &,c.  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  and  vii.  '  See 

chap.  2,  p.  23.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  323,  and  the  Prelim. 

Disc.  sect.  vii.  '  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  132.  *  Al  Beidawi. 

U 


154  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

kept  sacred ;  and  they  allow  that  which  God  hath  forbidden.  The  evil  of 
their  actions  hath  been  prepared  for  them :  for  God  directeth  not  the  un- 
believing people.  O  true  believers,  what  ailed  you,  that  when  it  was  said 
unto  you.  Go  forth  to  fight  for  the  religion  of  God,  ye  inclined  heavily 
towards  the  earth?'  Do  ye  prefer  the  present  life  to  that  which  is  to 
come?  But  the  provision  of  this  life,  in  respect  of  that  which  is  to  come, 
is  but  slender.  Unless  ye  go  forth  when  ye  are  summoried  to  war,  God  will 
punish  you  with  a  grievous  punishment ;  and  he  will  place  another  people 
in  your  stead,^  and  ye  shall  not  hurt  him  at  all ;  for  God  is  almighty.  If 
ye  assist  not  the  prophet,  verily  God  will  assist  him,  as  he  assisted  him  for- 
merly, when  the  unbelievers  drove  him  out  of  Mecca,  the  second  of  two  :  ^ 
when  they  were  both  in  the  cave ;  when  he  said  unto  his  companion.  Be 
not  grieved,  for  God  is  with  us.°>  And  God  sent  down  his  security  "^  upon 
him,  and  strengthened  him  with  armies  of  angels,  whom  ye  saw  not.*>  And 
he  made  the  word  of  those  who  believed  not  to  be  abased,  and  the  word 
of  God  was  exalted  ;  for  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  Go  forth  to  battle,  both 
Hght  and  heavy  ,p*  and  employ  your  substance  and  your  persons  for  the 
advancement  of  God's  religion.  This  will  be  better  for  you,  if  ye  know  it. 
If  it  had  been  a  near  advantage,  and  a  moderate  journey,  they  had  surely 
followed  thee;"!  but  the  way  seemed  tedious  unto  them  :  and  yet  they  will 
swear  by  God,  saying,  If  we  had  been  able,  we  had  surely  gone  forth  with 
you.  They  destroy  their  own  souls ;  for  God  knoweth  that  they  are  liars. 
God  forgive  thee !  why  didst  thou  give  them  leave  to  stay  at  home,''  until 
they  who  speak  the  truth,  when  they  excuse  themselves,  had  become  mani- 
fested unto  thee,  and  thou  hadst  known  the  liars  ?  They  who  believe  in 
God  and  the  last  day,  will  not  ask  leave  of  thee  to  be  excused  from  em- 
ploying their  substance  and  their  persons  for  the  advancement  of  God's 
true  religion ;  and  God  knoweth  those  who  fear  him.     Verily  they  only 

*  viz.  In  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,  a  town  situate  about  half  way  between  Medina  and 
Damascus,  which  Mohammed  undertook  against  the  Greeks,  with  an  army  of  thirty  thou- 
sand men,  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra.  On  this  expedition  the  Moslems  set  out  with 
great  unwilhngness,  because  it  was  undertaken  in  the  midst  of  the  summer  heats,  and  at 
a  time  of  great  drought  and  scarcity ;  whereby  the  soldiers  suffered  so  much,  that  this 
army  was  called  the  distressed  army  ;  besides,  their  fruits  were  just  ripe,  and  they  had 
much  rather  have  stayed  to  have  gathered  them."' 

"  See  chap.  5,  p.  89. 

>  That  is,  having  only  Abu  Beer  with  him. 

°  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  36. 

"  See  before,  p.  6,  note  q, 

"  Who,  as  some  imagine,  guarded  him  in  the  cave.  Or  the  words  may  relate  to  the 
succours  from  heaven  which  Mohammed  pretended  to  have  received  in  several  encounters ; 
as  at  Bedr,  the  war  of  the  ditch,  and  the  battle  of  Honein. 

p  i.  e.  Whether  the  expedition  be  agreeable  or  not ;  or  whether  ye  have  sufficient  arms 
and  provisions  or  not ;  or  whether  ye  be  on  horseback  or  on  foot,  &>c. 

*  "  Young  and  old,  go  forth  to  combat." — Savary. 

'^  That  is,  had  there  been  no  difficulties  to  surmount  in  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,  and  the 
march  thither  had  been  short  and  easy,  so  that  the  plunder  might  have  cost  them  little  or 
no  trouble,  they  would  not  have  been  so  backward. 

'  For  Mohammed  excused  several  of  his  men,  on  their  request,  from  going  on  this  ex- 
pedition ;  as  Abda'llah  Ebn  Obba,  and  his  hypocritical  adherents,  and  also  three  of  the 
Ansars  ;  for  which  he  is  here  reprehended. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.    Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  123. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  155 

will  ask  leave  of  thee  to  stay  behind,  who  believe  not  in  God  and  the  last  day, 
and  whose  hearts  doubt  concerning  the  faith  :  wherefore  they  are  tossed  to 
and  fro  in  their  doubting.  If  they  had  been  willing  to  go  forth  with  thee,  they 
had  certainly  prepared  for  that  purpose  a  provision  of  arms  and  necessaries  : 
but  God  was  averse  to  their  going  forth  ;  wherefore  he  rendered  them  sloth- 
ful, and  it  was  said  unto  them,  Sit  ye  still  with  those  who  sit  still.*'  If  they 
had  gone  forth  with  you,  they  had  only  been  a  burden  unto  you,  and  had 
run  to  and  fro  between  you,  stirring  you  up  to  sedition ;  and  there  would 
have  been  some  among  you,  who  would  have  given  ear  unto  them  :  and  God 
knoweih  the  wicked.  They  formerly  sought  to  raise  a  sedition,*  and  they 
disturbed  th}^  affairs,  until  the  truth  came,  and  the  decree  of  God  was  made 
manifest ;  although  they  were  averse  thereto.  There  is  of  them  who  saith 
unto  thee.  Give  me  leave  to  stay  behind,  and  expose  me  not  to  temptation." 
Have  they  not  fallen  into  temptation  at  home?*  But  hell  will  surely  en- 
compass the  unbelievers.  If  good  happen  unto  thee,  it  grieveth  them  :  but 
if  a  misfortune  befall  thee,  they  say.  We  ordered  our  business  before  ;y  and 
they  turn  their  backs,  and  rejoice  at  thy  mishap.  Say,  Nothing  shall  befall 
us,  but  what  God  hath  decreed  for  us :  he  is  our  patron ;  and  on  God  let 
the  faithful  trust.  Say,  Do  ye  expect  any  other  should  befall  us,  than  one  of 
the  two  most  excellent  things ;  either  victory  or  martyrdom  f  But  we  ex- 
pect concerning  you,  that  God  inflict  a  punishment  on  you,  either  from 
himself,  or  by  our  hands. ^  Wait,  therefore,  to  see  what  will  be  the  end  of 
both ;  for  we  will  wait  for  you.  Say,  Expend  your  money  in  pious  uses, 
either  voluntarily,  or  by  constraint,  it  shall  not  be  accepted  of  you;  because 
ye  are  wicked  people.  And  nothing  hindereth  their  contributions  from 
being  accepted  of  them,  but  that  they  believe  not  in  God  and  his  apostle, 
and  perform  not  the  duty  of  prayer,  otherwise  than  sluggishly  ;  and  expend 
not  their  money  for  Godh  service,  otherwise  than  unwillingly.  Let  not 
therefore  their  riches,  or  their  children  cause  thee  to  marvel.  Verily  God 
intendeth  only  to  punish  them  by  these  things  in  this  world ;  and  that  their 
souls  may  depart  while  they  are  unbelievers.  They  swear  by  God  that 
they  are  of  you ;  *  yet  they  are  not  of  you,  but  are  people  who  stand  in 
fear."*     If  they  find  a  place  of  refuge,  or  caves,  or  a  retreating  hole,  they 

•  i.  e.  With  the  women  and  children,  and  other  impotent  people. 
«  As  they  did  at  the  battle  of  Ohod.* 

"  By  obliging  me  to  go,  against  my  will,  on  an  expedition,  the  hardships  of  which  may 
tempt  me  to  rebel  or  to  desert.  It  is  related  that  one  Jadd  Ebn  Kais  said  that  the  Ansars 
well  knew  he  was  much  given  to  women,  and  he  dared  not  trust  himself  with  the  Greek 
girls ;  wherefore  he  desired  he  might  be  left  behind,  and  he  would  assist  them  with  his 
purse.' 

^  Discovering  their  hypocrisy  by  their  backwardness  to  go  to  war  for  the  promotion 
of  the  true  religion. 

*  "  iVI;iiiy  of  them  have  said.  Exempt  us  from  war;  involve  us  not  in  dissension. 
Were  they  not  already  fallen  into  it?" — Savary. 

y  That  is,  we  took  care  to  keep  out  of  harm's  way  by  staying  at  home. 
'  t.  e.  Either  by  some  signal  judgment  from  heaven,  or  by  remitting  their  punishment 
to  the  true  believers. 
»  viz.  Stanch  Moslems. 
^  Hypocritically  concealing  their  infideUty,  lest  ye  should  chastise  them,  as  ye  have  done 

8  See  chap.  3,  p.  53.  »  Al  Beidawi. 


156  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

surely  turn  towards  the  same,  and  in  a  headstrong  manner,  haste  thereto. 
There  is  of  them  also  who  spreadeth  ill  reports  of  thee,  in  relation  to  thy 
distribution  of  the  alms :  yet  if  they  receive  part  thereof,  they  are  well 
pleased ;  but  if  they  receive  not  a  part  thereof,  behold,  they  are  angry.' 
But  if  they  had  been  pleased  with  that  which  God  and  his  apostle  had 
given  them,  and  had  said,  God  is  our  support;  God  will  give  unto  us  of 
his  abundance,  and  his  prophet  also ;  verily  unto  God  do  we  make  our 
supplications :  it  ivould  have  been  more  decent.  Alms  are  to  be  distributed"^ 
only  unto  the  poor,  and  the  needy,''  and  those  who  are  employed  in  collect- 
ing and  distributing  the  same,  and  unto  those  whose  hearts  are  reconciled,*" 
and  for  the  redemption  of  captives,  and  unto  those  who  are  in  debt  and  in- 
solvent,  and  for  the  advancement  of  God's  religion,  and  unto  the  traveller. 
This  is  an  ordinance  from  God  :  and  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  There  are 
some  of  them  who  injure  the  prophet,  and  say.  He  is  an  ear.s  Answer, 
He  is  an  ear  of  good  unto  you,**  he  believeth  in  God,  and  giveth  credit  to 
the  faithful,  and  is  a  mercy  unto  such  of  you  who  believe.  But  they  who 
injure  the  apostle  of  God,  shall  suffer  a  painful  punishment.  They  swear 
unto  you  by  God,  that  they  may  please  you ;  but  it  is  more  just  that  they 
should  please  God  and  his  apostle,  if  they  are  true  believers.  Do  they  not 
know  that  he  who  opposeth  God  and  his  apostle,  shall  without  doubt  be 
punished  with  the  fire  of  hell ;  and  shall  remain  therein  for  ever  ?  This 
will  be  great  ignominy.  The  hypocrites  are  apprehensive  lest  a  Sura* 
should  be  revealed  concerning  them,  to  declare  unto  them  that  which  is  in 
their  hearts.  Say  unto  them,  Scoff  ye ;  but  God  will  surely  bring  to  light 
that  which  ye  fear  should  be  discovered.  And  if  thou  ask  them  the  reason 
of  this  scoffing,  they  say,  Verily  we  were  only  engaged  in  discourse ;  and 
jesting  among  ourselves.^     Say,  Do  ye  scoff  at  God  and  his  signs,  and  at 

the  professed  infidels  and  apostates ;  and  yet  ready  to  avow  their  infidehty,  when  they 
think  they  may  do  it  with  safety. 

"■  This  person  was  Abu'l  Jowadh  the  hypocrite,  who  said  Mohammed  gave  them  away 
among  the  keepers  of  sheep  only  ;  or,  as  others  suppose,  Ebn  Dhi'lkhowaisara,  who  found 
fault  with  the  prophet's  distribution  of  the  spoils  taken  at  Honein,  because  he  gave  them 
all  among  the  Meccans,  to  reconcile  and  gain  them  over  to  his  religion  and  interest.' 

"*  See  what  is  said  as  to  this  point  in  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 

"  The  commentators  make  a  distinction  between  these  two  words  in  the  original, /a/rzr 
and  meskin  :  one,  they  say.  signifies  him  who  is  utterly  destitute  both  of  money  and  means 
of  livehhood  ;  the  other,  one  who  is  in  want  indeed,  but  is  able  to  get  something  towards 
his  own  support.  But  to  which  of  the  two  words  either  of  these  different  significations 
properly  belongs,  the  critics  differ. 

^  That  is,  who  were  lately  enemies  to  the  faithful,  but  have  now  embraced  Mohammed- 
ism,  and  entered  into  amity  with  them.  For  Mohammed,  to  gain  their  hearts  and  con- 
firm them  in  his  religion,  made  large  presents  to  the  chief  of  the  Koreish  out  of  the  spoils 
at  Honein,  as  has  been  just  now  mentioned.'*  But  this  law,  they  say,  became  of  no  obli- 
gation when  the  Mohammedan  faith  was  established,  and  stood  not  in  need  of  such 
methods  for  its  support. 

*  J.  €.  He  hears  every  thing  that  we  say ;  and  gives  credit  to  all  the  stories  that  are 
carried  to  him. 

"  Giving  credit  to  nothing  that  may  do  you  hurt. 

'  So  the  Mohammedans  call  a  chapter  of  the  Koran.' 

*  It  is  related  that  in  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,  a  company  of  hypocrites,  passing  near 

'  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  pp.  118,  119.  ^  Abulfed.  ibid. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  41. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  157 

his  apostle?  ofTer  not  an  excuse:  now  are  ye  become  infidels,  aRer  your 
faith.  If  we  forgive  a  part  of  you,  we  will  punish  a  part,  for  that  they 
have  been  wicked  doers.  Hypocritical  men  and  women  are  the  one  of 
them  of  the  other:  they  command  that  which  is  evil,  and  forbid  that  which 
is  just,  and  shut  their  hands yrom  giving  alms.  They  have  forgotten  God; 
wherefore  he  hath  forgotten  them :  verily  the  hypocrites  are  those  who  act 
wickedly.  God  denounceth  unto  the  hypocrites,  both  men  and  women, 
and  to  the  unbelievers,  the  fire  of  hell;  they  shall  remain  therein /or  ever  : 
this  will  be  their  sufficient  reward ;  God  hath  cursed  them,  and  they  shall 
endure  a  lasting  torment.  As  they  who  have  been  before  you,  so  are  ye. 
They  were  superior  to  you  in  strength,  and  had  more  abundance  of  wealth 
and  of  children ;  and  they  enjoyed  their  portion  in  this  world ;  and  ye  also 
enjoy  your  portion  /lere,  as  they  who  have  preceded  you  enjoyed  their  por- 
tion. And  ye  engage  yourselves  in  vain  discourses,  like  unto  those  wherein 
they  engaged  themselves.  The  works  of  these  are  vain  both  in  this  world 
and  in  that  which  is  to  come ;  and  these  are  they  who  perish.  Have  they 
not  been  acquainted  with  the  history  of  those  who  have  been  before  them  ? 
of  the  people  of  Noah,  and  of  Ad,  and  of  Thamud,  and  of  the  people  of 
Abraham,  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Madian,  and  of  the  cities  which  were 
overthrown  ? '^  Their  apostles  came  unto  them  with  evident  demonstra- 
tions :  and  God  was  not  disposed  to  treat  them  unjustly ;  but  they  dealt 
unjustly  with  their  own  souls.  And  the  faithful  men,  and  the  faithful 
women,  are  friends  one  to  another:  they  command  that  which  is  just,  and 
they  forbid  that  which  is  evil ;  and  they  are  constant  at  prayer,  and  pay 
their  appointed  alms  ;  and  they  obey  God  and  his  apostle  :  unto  these  will 
God  be  merciful;  for  he  is  mighty  and  wise.  God  promiseth  unto  the 
true  believers,  both  men  and  women,  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow, 
wherein  they  shall  remain  for  ever ;  and  delicious  dwellings  in  the  gardens 
of  perpetual  abode :  ™  but  good-will  from  God  shall  he  their  most  excellent 
reward.  This  will  he  great  felicity.  O  prophet,  wage  war  against  the  un- 
believers and  the  hypocrites,  and  be  severe  unto  them :  for  their  dwelling 
shall  be  hell ;  an  unhappy  journey  shall  if.  he  thither  !  They  swear  by  God 
that  they  said  not  what  they  are  charged  with  ;  yet  they  spake  the  word  of 
infidelity,  and  became  unbelievers  after  they  had  embraced  Islam."     And 

Mohammed,  said  to  one  another,  Behold  that  man  ;  he  would  take  the  strong  holds  of  Syria : 
away  !  away  !  which  being  told  the  prophet,  he  called  them  to  him,  and  asked  them  why 
they  had  said  so?  whereto  they  rephed  with  an  oath,  that  they  were  not  talking  of  what 
related  to  him  or  his  companions,  but  were  only  diverting  themselves  with  indifferent  dis- 
course, to  beguile  the  tediousness  of  the  way.* 

'  Namely,  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  the  other  cities  which  shared  their  fate,  and  are 
thence  called  al  Motakifat.  or  the  subverted.^ 

™  Literally,  gardens  of  Eden;  but  the  commentators  do  not  take  the  word  Eden  in  the 
sense  which  it  bears  in  Hebrew  ;  as  has  been  elsewhere  observed.® 

(In  Hebrew  it  signifies  a  place  of  delight.  In  the  Arabic  it  means  a  place  fit  for  the 
pasturing  of  flocks. — Savary.) 

°  It  is  related  that  al  Jallas  Ebn  Soweid,  hearing  some  passages  of  this  chapter,  whi^ch 
sharply  reprehended  those  who  refused  to  go  on  the  abovementioned  expedition  of  Tabuc, 
declared,  that  if  what  Mohammed  saidof  his  brethren  was  true,  they  were  worse  than  asses. 

*AlBeidawi.  'Seechap.  11.  « See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  133. 


158  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

they  designed  that  which  they  could  not  effect ; "  and  they  did  not  dis- 
approve the  design  for  any  other  reason  than  because  God  and  his  apostle 
had  enriched  them  of  his  bounty. p  If  they  repent  it  will  be  better  for 
them ;  but  if  they  relapse,  God  will  punish  them  with  a  grievous  torment, 
in  this  world  and  in  the  next ;  and  they  shall  have  no  portion  on  earth,  nor 
any  protector.  There  are  some  of  them  who  made  a  covenant  with  God, 
sayijig,  Verily  if  he  give  us  of  his  abundance,  we  will  give  alms,  and  become 
righteous  people. i  Yet  when  they  had  given  unto  him  of  his  abundance, 
they  became  covetous  thereof,  and  turned  back,  and  retired  afar  off. 
Wherefore  he  hath  caused  hypocrisy  to  succeed  in  their  hearts,  until  the 
day  whereon  they  shall  meet  him;  for  that  they  failed  to  perform  unto 
God  that  which  they  had  promised  him,  and  for  that  they  prevaricated. 
Do  they  not  know  that  God  knoweth  whatever  they  conceal,  and  their 
private  discourses ;  and  that  God  is  the  knower  of  secrets  ?  They  who 
traduce  such  of  the  believers  as  are  liberal  in  giving  alms  beyond  what  they 
are  ohliged,  and  those  who  find  nothing  to  give,  but  what  they  gain  by  their 
industry  ;•■  and  therefore  scoff  at  them :  God  shall  scoff  at  them,  and  they 

Which  coming  to  the  prophet's  ear,  he  sent  for  him  ;  and  he  denied  the  words  upon  oath. 
But  on  the  immediate  revelation  of  this  passage,  he  confessed  his  fault,  and  his  repentance 
was  accepted.'' 

°  The  commentators  tell  us,  that  fifteen  men  conspired  to  kill  Mohammed  in  his  return 
from  Tabuc,  by  pushing  him  from  his  camel  into  a  precipice,  as  he  rode  by  night  over 
the  highest  part  of  al  Akaba.  But  when  they  were  going  to  execute  their  design, 
Hodheifa,  who  followed  and  drove  the  prophet's  camel,  which  was  led  by  Ammar 
Ebn  Yaser,  hearing  the  tread  of  camels  and  the  clashing  of  arms,  gave  the  alarm,  upon 
which  they  fled.  Some,  however,  suppose  the  design  here  meant  was  a  plot  to  expel 
Mohammed  from  Medina.* 

p  For  Mohammed's  residing  at  Medina  was  of  great  advantage  to  the  place,  the  in- 
habitants being  generally  poor,  and  in  want  of  most  conveniences  of  life ;  but  on  the 
prophet's  coming  among  them,  they  became  possessed  of  large  herds  of  cattle,  and  money 
also.  Al  Beidawi  says  that  the  abovenamed  al  Jallas,  in  particular,  having  a  servant 
killed,  received,  by  Mohammed's  order,  no  less  than  ten  thousand  dirhems,  or  about  three 
hundred  pounds,  as  a  fine  for  the  redemption  of  his  blood. 

1  An  instance  of  this  is  given  in  Thalaba  Ebn  Hateb,  who  came  to  Mohammed,  and 
desired  him  to  beg  of  God,  that  he  would  bestow  riches  on  him.  The  prophet  at  first 
advised  him  rather  to  be  thankful  for  the  little  he  had  than  to  covet  more,  which  might 
become  a  temptation  to  him  ;  but  on  Thalaba's  repeated  request  and  solemn  promise  that 
he  would  make  a  good  use  of  his  riches,  he  was  at  length  prevailed  on,  and  preferred  the 
petition  to  God.  Thalaba  in  a  short  time  grew  vastly  rich,  which  Mohammed  being 
acquainted  with,  sent  two  collectors  to  gather  the  alms  ;  other  people  readily  paid  them, 
but  when  they  came  to  Thalaba,  and  read  the  injunction  to  him  out  of  the  Koran,  he  told 
them  that  it  was  not  alms,  but  tribute,  or  next  kin  to  tribute,  and  bid  them  go  back  till  he 
had  better  considered  of  it.  Upon  which  this  passage  was  revealed  ;  and  when  Thalaba 
came  afterwards  and  brought  his  alms,  Mohammed  told  him  that  God  had  commanded 
him  not  to  accept  it,  and  threw  dust  upon  his  head,  saying.  This  is  what  thou  hast  deserved. 
He  then  offered  his  alms  to  Abu  Beer,  who  refused  to  accept  them;  as  did  Omar  some 
years  after,  when  he  was  Khalif.' 

^  Al  Beidawi  relates,  that  Mohammed  exhorting  his  followers  to  voluntary  alms,  among 
others  Abda'lrahman  Ebn  Awf  gave  four  thousand  dirhems,  which  was  one  half  of  what 
he  had  ;  Asem  Ebn  Adda  gave  an  hundred  beasts'  loads  of  dates ;  and  Abu  Okail  a  Saa, 
which  is  no  more  than  the  sixtieth  part  of  a  load,  of  the  same  fruit,  but  was  the  half  of 
what  he  had  earned  by  a  night's  hard  work.  This  Mohammed  accepted  ;  whereupon  the 
hypocrites  said  that  Abda'lrahman  and  Asem  gave  what  they  did  out  of  ostentation,  and 
that  God  and  his  apostle  might  well  have  excused  Abu  Okail's  mite  ;  which  occasioned 
this  passage. 

I  suppose  this  collection  was  made  to  defray  the  charge  of  the  expedition  of  Tabuc  ; 
towards  which,  as  another  writer  tells  us,  that  Abu  Beer  contributed  all  that  he  had,  and 

'Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  ^Idem. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  159 

shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment.  Ask  forgiveness  for  them,  or  do  not  ask 
forgiveness  for  them ;  it  will  be  equal.  If  thou  ask  forgiveness  for  them 
seventy  times,  God  will  by  no  means  forgive  them."  This  is  the  divine 
pleasure,  for  that  they  believe  not  in  God,  and  his  apostle ;  and  God 
directeth  not  the  ungodly  people.  They  who  were  left  at  home  in  the 
expedition  of  Tahuc,  were  glad  of  their  staying  behind  the  apostle  of  God, 
and  were  unwilling  to  employ  their  substance  and  their  persons  for  the 
advancement  of  God's  true  religion ;  and  they  said.  Go  not  forth  in  the 
heat.*  Say,  the  fire  of  hell  will  be  hotter;  if  they  understood  this. 
Wherefore  let  them  laugh  little,  and  weep  much,  as  a  reward  for  that 
which  they  have  done.*  If  God  bring  thee  back  unto  some  of  them,"  and 
they  ask  thee  leave  to  go  forth  to  war  with  thee,  say.  Ye  shall  not  go  forth 
with  me  for  the  future,  neither  shall  ye  fight  an  enemy  with  me ;  ye  were 
pleased  with  sitting  at  home  the  first  time ;  sit  ye  at  home  therefore  with 
those  who  stay  behind.  Neither  do  thou  ever  pray  over  any  of  them  who 
shall  die,^  neither  stand  at  his  grave  ^  for  that  they  believed  not  in  God 
and  his  apostle,  and  die  in  their  wickedness.  Let  not  their  riches  or  their 
children  cause  thee  to  marvel :  for  God  intendeth  only  to  punish  them 
therewith  in  this  world  ,  and  that  their  souls  may  depart,  while  they  are 
infidels.  When  a  Sura*  is  sent  down,  wherein  it  is  said,  Believe  in 
God,  and  go  forth  to  war  with  his  apostle;  those  who  are  in  plentiful 
circumstances  among  them  ask  leave  of  thee  to  stay  behind,  and  say. 
Suffer  us  to  be  of  the  number  of  those  who  sit  at  home.  They  are 
well  pleased  to  be  with  those  who  stay  behind,  and  their  hearts  are  sealed 

Othman  very  largely ;  viz.  as  it  is  said,  three  hundred  camels  for  slaughter,  and  a  thousand 
dinars  of  gold.' 

^  In  the  last  sickness  of  Abda'llah  Ebn  Obba  the  hypocrite,  (who  died  in  the  ninth  year 
of  the  Hejra)  his  son,  named  also  Abdallah,  came  and  asked  Mohammed  to  beg  pardon 
of  God  for  him  ;  which  he  did,  and  thereupon  the  former  part  of  this  verse  was  revealed. 
But  the  prophet,  not  taking  that  for  a  repulse,  said  he  would  pray  seventy  times  for  him  ; 
upon  which  the  latter  part  of  this  verse  was  revealed,  declaring  it  would  be  absolutely  in 
vain.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  numbers  seven,  and  seventy,  and  seve?i  hundred,  are 
frequently  used  by  the  eastern  writers  to  signify,  not  so  many  precisely,  but  only  an 
indefinite  number,  greater  or  lesser;'*  several  examples  of  which  are  to  be  met  with  in 
the  scripture.^ 

'  This  they  spoke  in  a  scoffing  manner  to  one  another  ;  because,  as  has  been  observed, 
the  expedition  to  Tabiic  was  undertaken  in  a  very  hot  and  dry  season. 

*  "  Let  them  laugh  for  a  few  moments !  Long-continued  tears  will  be  the  consequence 
of  their  conduct."— ^avary. 

'^  That  is,  if  thou  return  in  safety  to  Medina  to  the  hypocrites ;  who  are  here  called 
some  of  them  who  stayed  behind,  because  they  were  not  all  hypocrites.  The  whole  number 
is  said  to  have  been  twelve.* 

'  This  passage  was  also  revealed  on  account  of  Abda'llah  Ebn  Obba.  In  his  last 
illness  he  desired  to  see  Mohammed,  and  when  he  was  come,  asked  him  to  beg  forgive- 
ness of  God  for  him,  and  requested  that  his  corpse  might  be  wrapped  up  in  the  garment 
that  was  next  his  body,  (which  might  have  the  same  efficacy  with  the  habit  of  a  Franciscan) 
and  that  he  would  pray  over  him  when  dead.  Accordingly  when  he  was  dead,  the  pro- 
phet sent  his  shirt,  or  inner  vestment,  to  shroud  the  corpse,  and  was  going  to  pray  over 
it,  but  was  forbidden  by  these  words.  Some  say  they  were  not  revealed  till  he  had  actually 
prayed  for  him.' 

y  Either  by  assisting  at  his  funeral,  or  visiting  his  sepulchre. 

*  See  before,  p.  156,  note  i,  and  Prehm.  Disc.  p.  4L 

•  »  Abulfed.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  123.  «AI  Beidawi.  »Matt.  xviii.  22. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


160  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

up  ;  wherefore  they  do  not  understand.  But  the  apostle,  and  those  who  have 
believed  with  him,  expose  their  fortunes  and  their  lives  for  God''s  service  ; 
they  shall  enjoy  the  good  things  of  either  life,  and  they  shall  be  happy.  God 
hath  prepared  for  them  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow  ;  they  shall  remain 
therein /or  ever.  This  will  be  great  felicity.  And  certain  Arabs  of  the  desert 
came  to  excuse  themselves,''  praying  that  they  might  be  permitted  to  stay 
behind ;  and  they  sat  at  home  who  had  renounced  God  and  his  apostle. 
But  a  painful  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  on  such  of  them  as  believe  not. 
In  those  who  are  weak,  or  are  afflicted  with  sickness,  or  in  those  who  find 
not  wherewith  to  contribute  to  the  ivar,^  it  shall  be  no  crime  if  they  stay  at 
home ;  provided  they  behave  themselves  faithfully  towards  God  and  his 
apostle.  There  is  no  room  to  lay  blame  on  the  righteous;  for  God  is 
gracious  and  merciful :  nor  on  those,  unto  whom,  when  they  came  unto 
thee,  requesting  that  thou  wouldest  supply  them  with  necessaries  for 
travelling,  thou  didst  answer,  I  find  not  wherewith  to  supply  you,  returned, 
their  eyes  shedding  tears  for  grief,  that  they  found  not  wherewith  to  con- 
tribute to  the  expedition.''  But  there  is  reason  to  blame  those  who  ask  leave 
of  thee  to  sit  at  home,  when  they  are  rich.  They  are  pleased  to  be  with 
those  who  stay  behind,  and  God  hath  sealed  up  their  hearts ;  wherefore 
they  do  not  understand.  *[XI.]  They  will  excuse  themselves  unto  you, 
when  ye  are  returned  unto  them.  Say,  Excuse  not  yourselves ;  we  will  by 
no  means  believe  you :  God  hath  acquainted  us  with  your  behaviour ;  and 
God  will  observe  his  actions,  and  his  apostle  also  :  and  hereafter  shall  ye  be 
brought  before  him  who  knoweth  that  which  is  hidden,  and  that  which  is 
manifest ;  and  he  will  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  done.  They 
will  swear  unto  you  by  God,  when  ye  are  returned  unto  them,  that  ye  may 
let  them  alone.*  Let  them  alone,  therefore,  for  they  are  an  abomination, 
and  their  dwelling  shall  be  hell,  a  reward  for  that  which  they  have  deserved. 
They  will  swear  unto  you,  that  ye  may  be  well  pleased  wilh  them ;  but  if 
ye  be  well  pleased  with  them,  verily  God  will  not  be  well  pleased  with 
people  who  prevaricate.  The  Arabs  of  the  desert  are  more  obstinate  in 
their  unbelief  and  hypocrisy;  and  it  is  easier  for  them  to  be  ignorant  of  the 
ordinances  of  that  which  God  hath  sent  down  unto  his  apostle ;  ®  and  God 
is  knowing  and  wise.     Of  the  Arabs  of  the  desert  there  is  who  reckoneth 

'  These  were  the  tribes  of  Asad  and  Ghatfan,  who  excused  themselves  on  account  of 
the  necessities  of  their  famiHes,  which  their  industry  only  maintained.  But  some  write 
they  were  the  family  of  Amer  Ebn  al  Tofail,  who  said  that  if  they  went  with  the  army, 
the  tribe  of  Tay  would  take  advantage  of  their  absence,  and  fall  upon  their  wives  and 
children,  and  their  cattle.* 

"By  reason  of  their  extreme  poverty;  as  those  of  Joheina,  Mozeina,  and  Banu  Odhra.' 

"  The  persons  here  intended  were  seven  men  of  the  Ansars,  who  came  to  Mohammed 
and  begged  he  would  give  them  some  patched  boots  and  soled  shoes,  it  being  impossible 
for  them  to  march  so  barefoot,  in  such  a  season,  but  he  told  them  he  could  not  supply 
them  ;  whereupon  they  went  away  weeping.  Some,  however,  say  these  were  the  Banu 
Mokren,  and  others,  Abu  Masa  and  his  companions.* 

•*  And  not  chastise  them. 

*  Because  of  their  wild  way  of  life,  the  hardness  of  their  hearts,  their  not  frequenting 
people  of  knowledge,  and  the  few  opportunities  they  have  of  being  instructed.* 

^  Al  Beidawi.         ■>  Idem.         ^  Idem.         *Idera.    See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  18  and  22. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  161 

that  which  he  cxpcndoth /or  the  service  of  God,  to  be  as  tribute,''  and  waitelh 
that  some  change  of  fortune'  may  befall  you.  A  change  for  evil  shall  happen 
unto  them  ;  for  God  hoth  heareth  and  knoweth.  And  of  the  Arabs  of  the 
desert  there  is  who  beheveth  in  Gon,  and  in  the  last  day ;  and  esteemeth 
that  which  he  layeth  out /or  the  service  of  God  to  be  the  means  q/"  bringing 
him  near  unto  God,  and  the  prayers  of  the  apostle.  Is  it  not  unto  them 
the  means  of  a  near  approach?  God  shall  lead  them  into  his  mercy;  for 
God  is  gracious  and  merciful.''  As  for  the  leaders  and  the  first  of  the 
Mohajerin,  and  the  Ansars,'  and  those  who  have  followed  them  in  well 
doing ;  God  is  well  pleased  with  them,  and  they  are  well  pleased  in  him  : 
and  he  hath  prepared  for  them  gardens  watered  by  rivers;  they  shall 
remain  therein  for  ever.  This  shall  be  great  felicity.  And  of  the  Arabs 
of  the  desert  who  dwell  round  about  you,  there  are  hypocritical  persons:™ 
and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Medina  there  are  some  who  are  obstinate  in 
hypocrisy.  Thou  knowest  them  not,  O  prophet,  but  we  know  them :  we 
will  surely  punish  them  twice ; "  afterwards  shall  they  be  sent  to  a  grievous 
torment.  And  others  have  acknowledged  their  crimes."  They  have  mixed 
a  good  action  with  another  which  is  bad  :»  peradventure  God  will  be  turned 
unto  them ;  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Take  alms  of  their  sub- 
stance, that  thou  mayest  cleanse  them,  and  purify  them  thereby ; «  and 
pray  for  them  :  for  thy  prayers  shall  be  a  security  of  mind  unto  them  ;  and 

•»  Or  a  contribution  exacted  by  force,  the  payment  of  which  he  can  in  no  wise  avoid. 

'  Hoping  that  some  reverse  may  afford  a  convenient  opportunity  of  throwing  off  the 
burden. 

*  The  Arabs  meant  in  the  former  of  these  two  passages,  are  said  to  have  been  the  tribes 
of  Asad,  Ghatfan,  and  Banu  Tamim  ;  and  those  intended  in  the  latter,  Abdallah,  surnamed 
Dhii'lbajadin,  and  his  people/ 

'  The  Mohajerin,  or  refugees,  were  those  of  Mecca,  who  fled  thence  on  account  of  their 
religion  ;  and  the  Ansars,  or  helpers,  were  those  of  Medina,  who  received  Mohammed  and 
his  followers  into  their  protection,  and  assisted  them  against  their  enemies.  By  the  leaders 
of  the  Mohajerin  are  meant  those  who  believed  on  Mohammed  before  the  Hejra,  or  early 
enough  to  pray  towards  Jerusalem,  from  which  the  Kebla  was  changed  to  the  temple  of 
Mecca,  in  the  second  year  of  the  Hejra,  or  else  such  as  were  present  at  the  battle  of  Bedr. 
The  leaders  of  the  Ansars  were  those  who  took  the  oath  of  fideUty  to  him  at  al  Akaba, 
either  the  first  or  the  second  time.'* 

""  I.  e.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Medina.  These  were  the  tribes  of  Joheina,  Mozeina, 
Aslam,  Ashja,  and  Ghifar.' 

"  Either  by  exposing  them  to  public  shame,  and  putting  them  to  death;  or  by  either 
of  those  punishments  and  the  torment  of  the  sepulchre ;  or  else  by  exacting  alms  of 
them  by  way  of  fine,  and  giving  them  corporeal  punishment.* 

°  Making  no  hypocritical  excuses  for  them.  These  were  certain  men,  who  having  stayed 
at  home  instead  of  accompanying  Mohammed  to  Tabuc,  as  soon  as  they  heard  the  severe 
reprehensions  and  threats  of  this  chapter  against  those  who  had  stayed  behind,  bound  them- 
selves to  the  pillars  of  the  mosque,  and  swore  that  they  would  not  loose  themselves,  till  they 
were  loosed  lay  the  prophet.  But  when  he  entered  the  mosque  to  pray,  and  was  informed 
of  the  matter,  he  also  swore  that  he  would  not  loose  them  without  a  particular  command 
from  God ;  whereupon  this  passage  was  revealed,  and  they  were  accordingly  dismissed.' 

p  Though  they  were  backward  in  going  to  war,  and  held  with  the  hypocrites,  yet  they 
confessed  their  crime  and  repented. 

^  When  these  persons  were  loosed,  they  prayed  Mohammed  to  take  their  substance, 
for  the  sake  of  which  they  had  stayed  at  home,  as  alms,  to  cleanse  them  from  their 
transgression  ;  but  he  told  them  he  had  no  orders  to  accept  any  thing  from  them :  upon 
which  this  verse  was  sent  down,  allowing  him  to  take  their  alms.* 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  '  Idem.  *  Idem.  *  Idem.  '  Idem. 


162  AL  KORAN.  ohap.  ix. 

God  hoth  hearcth  and  knoweth.  Do  they  not  know  that  God  accepteth 
repeiitance  from  his  servants,  and  accepteth  alms ;  and  that  God  is  easy  to 
be  reconciled,  and  merciful  1  Say  unto  them,  Work  as  ye  loill ;  but  God 
will  behold  your  work,  and  his  apostle  also,  and  the  true  believers :  and  ye 
shall  be  brought  before  him  who  knoweth  that  which  is  kept  secret,  and 
that  which  is  made  public ;  and  he  will  declare  unto  you  whatever  ye  have 
done.  And  there  are  others  who  wait  with  suspense  the  decree  of  God  : 
whether  he  will  punish  them,  or  whether  he  will  be  turned  unto  them  : ' 
but  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  There  are  some  who  have  built  a  temple  to 
hurt  the  faithful,  and  to  propagate  infidelity,  and  to  foment  division  among 
the  true  believers,^  and  for  a  lurking  place  for  him  who  hath  fought  against 
God  and  his  apostle  in  time  past ;  *  and  they  swear,  saying,  Verily  we 
intended  no  other  than  to  do  for  the  best :  but  God  is  witness  that  they  do 
certainly  lie.  Stand  not  up  to  pray  therein  for  ever.  There  is  a  temple 
founded  on  piety,"  from  the  first  day  of  its  building*  It  is  more  just  that 
thou  stand  up  to  pray  therein :  therein  are  men  who  love  to  be  purified ;  ^ 

'  The  persons  here  intended  were  the  three  Ansars  whose  pardon  is  granted  a  little 
below. 

"  When  Banu  Amru  Ebn  Awf  had  built  the  temple  or  mosque  of  Koba,  which  will  be 
mentioned  by  and  by,  they  asked  Mohammed  to  come  and  pray  in  it,  and  he  comphed 
with  their  request.  This  exciting  the  envy  pf  their  brethren,  Banu  Ganetn  Ebn  Awf, 
they  also  built  a  mosque,  intending  that  the  Imam  or  priest,  who  should  officiate  there, 
should  be  Abu  Amer,  a  Christian  monk  ;  but  he  dying  in  Syria,  they  came  to  Mohammed 
and  desired  he  would  consecrate,  as  it  were,  their  mosque  by  praying  in  it.  The  prophet 
accordingly  prepared  himself  to  go  with  them,  but  was  forbidden  by  the  immediate  reve- 
lation of  this  passage,  discovering  their  hypocrisy  and  ill  design  :  whereupon  he  sent  Malec 
Ebn  al  Dokhshom,  Maan  Ebn  Addi,  Amer  Ebn  al  Sacan,  and  al  Wahsha  the  Ethiopian, 
to  demolish  and  burn  it ;  which  they  performed,  and  made  it  a  dunghill.  According  to 
another  account  this  mosque  was  built  a  little  before  the  expedition  of  Tabiic,  with  a 
design  to  hinder  Mohammed's  men  from  engaging  therein ;  and  when  he  was  asked  to 
pray  there,  he  answered  that  he  was  just  setting  out  on  a  journey,  but  that  when  he  came 
back,  with  God's  leave,  he  would  do  what  they  desired;  but  when  they  apphed  to  him 
again,  on  his  return,  this  passage  was  revealed.'' 

*  That  is  Abu  Amer  the  monk,  who  was  a  declared  enemy  to  Mohammed,  having 
threatened  him  at  Ohod,  that  no  party  should  appear  in  the  field  against  him,  but  he 
would  make  one  of  them  ;  and,  to  be  as  good  as  his  word,  he  continued  to  oppose  him 
till  the  battle  of  Honein,  at  which  he  was  present,  and  being  put  to  flight  with  those 
of  Hawazen,  he  retreated  into  Syria,  designing  to  obtain  a  supply  of  troops  from  the  Gre- 
cian emperor  to  renew  the  war;  but  he  died  at  Kinnisrin.  Others  say  that  this  monk 
was  a  confederate  at  the  war  of  the  ditch,  and  that  he  fled  thence  into  Syria.^ 

"  viz.  That  of  Koba,  a  place  about  two  miles  from  Medina,  where  Mohammed  rested 
four  days  before  he  entered  that  city,  in  his  flight  from  Mecca,  and  where  he  laid  the 
foundation  of  a  mosque,®  which  was  afterwards  built  by  Banu  Amru  Ebn  Awf.  But  ac- 
cording to  a  diflferent  tradition,  the  mosque  here  meant  was  that  which  Mohammed  built 
at  Medina. 

*  "Beware  of  entering  therein.  The  foundation  of  the  true  temple  is  established 
upon  piety." — Savary. 

^  Al  Beidawi  says,  that  Mohammed  walking  once  with  the  Mohajerin  to  Koba,  found 
the  Ansars  sitting  at  the  mosque  door,  and  asked  ihem  whether  they  were  believers  ;  and, 
on  their  being  silent,  repeated  the  question  :  whereupon  Omar  answered,  that  they  were 
believers ;  and  Mohammed  demanding  whether  they  acquiesced  in  the  judgment  Omar  had 
rhade  of  them,  they  said,  yes.  He  then  asked  them  whether  they  would  be  patient  in  ad- 
versity, and  thankful  in  prosperity  ;  to  which  they  answering  in  the  affirmative,  he  swore 
by  the  Lord  of  the  Caaba,  that  they  were  true  believers.   Afterwards  he  examined  them  as 

■"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.  *  lidem,  Ebn  Shohnah.     Vide 

Abulfed.  Vit.  Mob.  p.  52.     Where  the  translator  taking  this  passage  of  the  Koran,  which 
is  there  cited,  for  the  words  of  his  author,  has  missed  the  true  sense. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  163 

for  God  loveth  the  clean.  Whether  therefore  is  he  better,  who  hath 
founded  his  building  on  the  fear  of  God  and  his  good  will ;  or  he  who 
hath  founded  his  building  on  the  brink  of  a  bank  of  earth  which  is  washed 
away  by  waters,  so  that  it  fallcth  with  him  into  the  fire  of  hell  ?  God 
directeth  not  the  ungodly  people.  Their  building  which  tliey  have  built 
will  not  cease  to  be  an  occasion  o/*  doubting  in  their  hearts,  until  their  hearts 
be  cut  in  pieces  ;y  and  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  Verily  God  hath  pur- 
chased of  the  true  believers  their  souls,  and  their  substance,  promising  them 
the  enjoyment  of  paradise ;  on  condition  that  they  fight  for  the  cause  of  God  : 
whether  they  slay  or  be  slain,  the  promise  for  the  same  is  assuredly  due  by 
the  law,  and  the  gospel,  and  the  Koran.  And  who  performcth  his  con- 
tract more  faithfully  than  God  ?  Rejoice  therefore  in  the  contract  which 
ye  have-  made.  This  shall  be  great  happiness.  The  penitent,  and  those 
who  serve  God,  and  praise  /jt/w,  and  who  fast,  and  bow  down,  and  worship; 
and  who  command  that  which  is  just,  and  forbid  that  which  is  evil,  and 
keep  the  ordinances  of  God,  shall  likewise  he  rewarded  with  paradise  :  where- 
fore bear  good  tidings  unto  the  faithful.  It  is  not  alloioed  unto  the  prophet, 
nor  those  who  are  true  believers,  that  they  pray  for  idolaters,^  although  they 
be  of  kin,  after  it  is  become  known  unto  them,  that  they  are  inhabitants 
of  hell.*  Neither  did  Abraham  ask  forgiveness  for  his  father,  otherwise 
than  in  pursuance  of  a  promise  which  he  had  promised  unto  him : ''  but 
when  it  became  known  unto  him,  that  he  was  an  enemy  unto  God,  he  de- 
clared himself  clear  of  him.'^  Verily  Abraham  was  pitiful  and  compas- 
sionate. Nor  is  God  disposed  to  lead  people  into  error,*  after  that  he  hath 
directed  them,  until  that  which  they  ought  to  avoid  is  become  known  unto 

to  their  manner  of  performing  the  legal  washings^and  particularly  what  they  did  after 
easing  themselves ;  they  told  him  that  in  such  a  case  they  used  three  stones,  and  after 
that  washed  with  water :  upon  which  he  repeated  these  words  of  the  Koran  to  them. 

*■  Some  interpret  these  words  of  their  being  deprived  of  their  judgment  and  understand- 
ing; and  others  of  the  punishment  they  are  to  expect,  either  of  death  in  this  world,  or 
of  the  rack  of  the  sepulchre,  or  the  pains  of  hell. 

'  This  passage  was  revealed,  as  some  think,  on  account  of  Abu  Taleb,  IMohammed's 
uncle  and  great  benefactor  ;  who  on  his  death-bed,  being  pressed  by  his  nephew  to  speak 
a  word  which  might  enable  him  to  plead  his  cause  before  God,  that  is,  to  profess  Islam, 
absolutely  refused.  Mohammed,  however,  told  him  that  he  would  not  cease  to  pray  for 
him  till  he  should  be  forbidden  by  God  ;  which  he  was  by  these  words.  Others  suppose 
the  occasion  to  have  been  Mohammed's  visiting  his  mother  Amena's  sepulchre  at  al 
Abwa,  soon  after  the  taking  at  Mecca;  for  they  say  that  while  he  stood  at  the  tomb  he 
burst  into  tears,  and  said,  1  ashed  leave  of  God  to  visit  my  mother'' s  tomb,  and  he  granted 
it  me  ;  but  when  I  asked  leave  to  pray  for  her,  it  was  denied  me^ 

•  By  their  dying  infidels.  For  otherwise  it  is  not  only  lawful,  but  commendable,  to  pray 
for  unbelievers,  while  there  are  hopes  of  their  conversion. 

''  viz.  To  pray  that  God  would  dispose  his  heart  to  repentance.  Some  suppose  this 
was  a  promise  made  to  Abraham  by  his  father,  that  he  would  believe  in  God.  For  the 
words  may  be  taken  either  way. 

"  Desisting  to  pray  for  him,  when  he  was  assured  by  inspiration  that  he  was  not  to  be 
converted ;  or  after  he  actually  died  an  infidel.     See  chap.  6,  p.  106. 

■^  i.  e.  To  consider  or  punish  them  as  transgressors.  This  passage  was  revealed  to  ex- 
cuse those  who  had  prayed  for  such  of  their  friends  as  had  died  idolaters,  before  it  was 
forbidden  ;  or  else  to  excuse  certain  people  who  had  ignorantly  prayed  towards  the  first 
Kebla,  and  drank  wine,  &.c. 

*  AI  Beidawi. 


164  AL  KORAN.  chap.  ix. 

them  ;  for  God  knovvcth  all  things.  Verily  unto  God  belongeth  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  and  of  earth :  he  giveth  life,  and  he  causeth  to  die ;  and 
ye  have  no  patron  or  helper  besides  God.  God  is  reconciled  unto  the 
prophet,  and  unto  the  Mohajerin  and  the  Ansars,*  who  followed  him  in  the 
hour  of  distress,^  after  that  it  had  wanted  little  but  that  the  hearts  of  a  part 
of  them  had  swerved  fro?n  their  duty  :  afterwards  was  he  turned  unto  them : 
for  he  tvas  compassionate  and  merciful  towards  them.  And  he  is  also  re- 
concUed  unto  the  three  who  were  left  behind,^  so  that  the  earth  became  too 
straight  for  them,  notwithstanding  its  spaciousness,  and  their  souls  became 
straightened  within  them,  and  they  considered  that  there  was  no  refuge 
from  God,  otherwise  than  by  having  recourse  unto  him.  Then  was  he 
turned  unto  them,  that  they  might  repent ;  for  God  is  easy  to  be  reconciled 
and  merciful.  O  true  believers,  fear  God  and  be  with  the  sincere.  There 
was  no  reason  why  the  inhabitants  of  Medina,  and  the  Arabs  of  the  desert 
who  dwell  around  them,  should  stay  behind  the  apostle  of  God,  or  should 
prefer  themselves  before  him.''  This  is  unreasonable  :  because  they  are  not 
distressed  either  by  thirst,  or  labour,  or  hunger,  for  the  defence  of  God's 
true  religion;  neither  do  they  stir  a  step,  which  may  irritate  the  un- 
believers ;  neither  do  they  receive  from  the  enemy  any  damage,  but  a  good 
work  is  written  down  unto  them  for  the  same;  for  God  suffereth  not  the 
reward  of  the  righteous  to  perish.  And  they  contribute  not  any  sum  either 
small  or  great,  nor  do  they  pass  a  valley ;  *  but  it  is  written  down  unto 
them,  that  God  may  reward  them  with  a  recompense  exceeding  that  which 
they  have  wrought.  The  believers  are  not  obliged  to  go  forth  to  war  all 
together :  if  a  part  of  every  band  of  them  go  not  forth,  it  is  that  they  may 
diligently  instruct  themselves  in  their  religion  ; '  and  may  admonish  their 

*  Having  forgiven  the  crime  they  committed,  in  giving  the  hypocrites  leave  to  be  absent 
from  the  expedition  to  Tabuc ;  or  for  the  other  sins  which  they  might,  through  inadver- 
tence, have  been  guilty  of.     For  the  best  men  have  need  of  repentance.'^ 

'  viz.  In  the  expedition  of  Tabuc ;  wherein  Mohammed's  men  were  driven  to  such  ex- 
tremities, that,  besides  what  they  endured  by  reason  of  the  excessive  heat,  ten  men  were 
obliged  to  ride  by  turns  on  one  camel,  and  provisions  and  water  were  so  scarce,  that  two 
men  divided  a  date  between  them,  and  they  were  obliged  to  drink  the  water  out  of  the 
camels'  stomachs.^ 

8  Or,  as  it  may  be  translated,  who  were  left  in  S2ispense,  whether  they  should  be  par- 
doned or  not."  These  were  three  Ansars,  named  Caab  Ebn  Malec,  Helal  Ebn  Omeyya 
and  Merara  Ebn  Rabi,  who  went  not  with  Mohammed  to  Tabuc,  and  were  therefore,  on 
his  return,  secluded  from  the  fellowship  of  the  other  Moslems ;  the  prophet  forbidding 
any  to  salute  them,  or  to  hold  discourse  with  them.  Under  wliich  interdiction  they  con- 
tinued fifty  days,  till,  on  their  sincere  repentance,  they  were  at  length  discharged  from  it, 
by  the  revelation  of  this  passage.* 

•>  By  not  caring  to  share  with  him  the  dangers  and  fatigues  of  war.  Al  Beidawi  tells 
us,  that  after  Mohammed  had  set  out  for  Tabiic,  one  Abu  Khaithama  sitting  in  his  garden, 
where  his  wife,  a  very  beautiful  woman,  had  spread  a  mat  for  him  in  the  shade,  and  had 
set  new  dates  and  fresh  water  before  him,  after  a  little  reflection,  cried  out.  This  is  not 
well,  that  I  should  thus  take  my  ease  and  pleasure,  while  the  apostle  of  God  is  exposed  to 
the  scorching  of  the  sunbeams,  and  the  incleme?icies  of  the  air  ;  and  immediately  mounting 
his  camel,  took  his  sword  and  lance,  and  went  to  join  the  army. 

*  "  That  which  they  expend,  the  passing  of  a  torrent,  all  that  they  do,  written  in  the 
book  of  God,  are  so  many  claims  to  his  glorious  recompenses." — Savary. 

*  "That  is,  if  some  of  every  tribe  or  town  be  left  behind,  the  end  of  their  being  so  left  is 

'Al  Beidawi.  ^Tdem.  *  See  before,  p.  162,  note  r.  »A1  Beidawi, 

Jallalo'ddin,  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  pp.  133,  126. 


CHAP.  IX.  AL  KORAN.  165 

people,  when  they  return  unto  them,  that  they  may  take  heed  to  tliem- 
selves.  O  true  behevers,  wage  war  against  such  of  the  infidels  as  are  near 
you ;  '^  and  let  them  find  severity '  in  you :  and  know  that  God  is  with 
those  who  fear  him.  Whenever  a  Sura  is  sent  down,  there  are  some  of 
them  who  say.  Which  of  you  hath  this  caused  to  increase  in  faith  1  It 
will  increase  the  faith  of  those  who  believe,  and  they  shall  rejoice :  but 
unto  those  in  whose  hearts  there  is  an  infirmity,  it  will  add  farther  doubt 
imto  their  present  doubt;  and  they  shall  die  in  their  infidelity.  Do  they 
not  see  that  they  are  tried  every  year  once  or  twice  1 '°  yet  they  repent  not, 
neither  are  they  warned.  And  whenever  a  Sura  is  sent  down,  they  look  at 
one  another,  saying,  Doth  any  one  see  you  ? "  then  do  they  turn  aside.* 
God  shall  turn  aside  their  hearts /rom  the  truth;  because  they  are  a  people 
who  do  not  understand.  Now  hath  an  apostle  come  unto  you  of  our  own 
nation,"  an  excellent  person  :  it  is  grievous  unto  him  that  ye  commit  wick- 
edness ;  he  is  careful  over  you,  and  compassionate  and  merciful  towards  the 
believers.  If  they  turn  back,  say,  God  is  my  support :  there  is  no  God 
but  he.  On  him  do  I  trust;  and  he  is  the  Lord  of  the  magnificent 
throne. 

that  they  may  apply  themselves  to  study,  and  attain  a  more  exact  knowledge  of  the  several 
points  of  their  religion,  so  as  to  be  able  to  instruct  such  as  by  reason  of  their  continual 
employment  in  the  wars,  have  no  other  means  of  information.  They  say,  that  after  the 
preceding  passages  were  revealed,  reprehending  those  who  had  stayed  at  home  during  the 
expedition  of  Tabuc,  every  man  went  to  war ;  so  that  the  study  of  religion,  which  is 
rather  more  necessary  for  the  defence  and  propagation  of  the  faith,  than  even  arms  them- 
selves, became  wholly  laid  aside  and  neglected  ;  to  prevent  which,  for  the  future,  a  con- 
venient number  are  hereby  directed  to  be  left  behind,  that  they  may  have  leisure  to  prose- 
cute their  studies. 

"  Either  of  your  kindred  or  neighbours ;  for  these  claim  your  pity  and  care  in  the  first 
place,  and  their  conversion  ought  first  to  be  endeavoured.  The  persons  particularly  meant 
in  this  passage  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  Jews  of  the  tribes  of  Khoreidha  and  Nad- 
hir,  and  those  of  Khaibar  ;  or  else  the  Greeks  of  Syria." 

'  Or  fierceness  in  war. 

°  i.  e.  By  various  kinds  of  trials  ;  or  by  being  called  forth  to  war,  and  by  being  made 
witnesses  of  God's  miraculous  protection  to  the  faithful, 

°  They  wink  at  one  another  to  rise  and  leave  the  prophet's  presence,  if  they  think 
they  can  do  it  without  being  observed  ;  to  avoid  hearing  the  severe  and  deserved  reproofs 
which  they  apprehend  in  every  new  revelation.  The  persons  intended  are  the  hypocriti- 
cal Moslems. 

'  "  See  they  not  that,  once  or  twice  a  year,  the  anger  of  heaven  weighs  heavy  upon 
them  ?  These  warnings  open  not  their  eyes,  nor  excite  them  to  repentance.  Should 
another  chapter  be  sent  to  them,  they  would  look  on  each  other,  and  if  no  one  saw  them 
would  take  to  flight.  God  has  led  their  hearts  astray,  because  they  hearken  not  to  wis- 
dom."— Savary, 

•'  See  chap.  3,  p.  54,  note  m. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


166  AL  KORAN.  chap.  x. 

CHAPTER    X  = 

INTITLED,  JONAS  ;p  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al.  R.1  These  are  the  signs  of  the  wise  book.  Is  it  a  strange  thing 
unto  the  men  of  Mecca,  that  we  have  revealed  our  will  unto  a  man  from 
among  them/  saying,  Denounce  threats  unto  men  if  they  believe  not ;  and 
bear  good  tidings  unto  those  who  believe,  that  on  the  merit  of  their  sin- 
cerity they  have  an  interest  with  their  Lord  ?  The  unbelievers  say,  This 
is  manifest  sorcery.'  Verily  your  Lord  is  God,  who  hath  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  in  six  days;  and  then  ascended  his  throne,  to 
take  on  himself  th(3  government  of  all  things.  There  is  no  intercessor, 
but  by  his  permission.*  This  is  God,  your  Lord  ;  therefore  serve  him. 
Will  ye  not  consider  ?  Unto  him  shall  ye  all  return,  according  to  the  cer- 
tain promise  of  God  ;  for  he  produceth  a  creature,  and  then  causeth  it  to 
return  again ;  that  he  may  reward  those  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is 
right,  with  equity.  But  as  for  the  unbelievers,  they  shall  drink  boiling 
water,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment,  for  that  they  have  dis- 
believed. It  is  he  who  hath  ordained  the  sun  to  shine  by  day,  and  the 
moon  for  a  light  by  night ;  and  hath  appointed  her  stations,  that  ye  might 
know  the  number  of  years,  and  the  computation  of  time.  God  hath  not 
created  this,  but  with  truth.  He  explaineth  his  signs  unto  people  who 
understand.  Moreover  in  the  vicissitude  of  night  and  day,  and  whatever 
God  hath  created  in  heaven  and  earth,  are  surely  signs  unto  men  who  fear 
him.  Verily  they  who  hope  not  to  meet  us  at  the  last  day,  and  delight  in 
this  present  life,  and  rest  securely  in  the  same,  and  who  are  negligent  of 
our  signs ;  their  dwelling  shall  be  hell  fire,  for  that  which  they  have  de- 
served. But  as  to  those  who  believe,  and  work  righteousness,  their  Lord 
will  direct  them  because  of  their  faith;  they  shall  have  rivers  flowing 
through  gardens  of  pleasure.  Their  prayer  therein  shall  be.  Praise  be  unto 
thee,  O  God  !  and  their  salutation  «  therein  shall  be  Peace !  and  the  end  of 

p  This  prophet  is  mentioned  towards  the  end  of  the  chapter.  (After  the  name,  Savary 
adds,  "  Peace  be  with  him.") 

"  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  pp.  42,  43. 

'  And  not  one  of  the  most  powerful  among  them  neither ;  so  that  the  Koreish  said  it 
was  a  wonder  God  could  find  out  no  other  messenger  than  the  orphan  pupil  of  Abu 
Taleb.^ 

»  Meaning  the  Koran.  According  to  the  reading  of  some  copies,  the  words  may  be 
rendered,  This  man  {i.  e.  Mohammed)  is  no  other  than  a  manifest  sorcerer. 

'  These  words  were  revealed  to  refute  the  foolish  opinion  of  the  idolatrous  Meccans, 
who  imagined  their  idols  were  intercessors  with  God  for  them. 

"  Either  the  mutual  salutation  of  the  blessed  to  one  another,  or  that  of  the  angels  to 
the  blessed. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  X.  AL  KORAN.  167 

their  prayer  shall  he,  Praise  be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures !  If 
God  should  cause  evil  to  hasten  unto  men,  according  to  their  desire  of 
hastening  good,  verily  their  end  had  been  decreed.  Wherefore  we  suffer 
those  who  hope  not  to  meet  us  at  the  resurrection,  to  wander  amazcdly  in 
their  error.  When  evil  befalleth  a  man,  he  prayeth  unto  us  hj'mg  on  his 
side,  or  sitting,  or  standing :  ^  but  when  we  deliver  him  from  his  affliction, 
he  continueth  his  former  course  of  life,  as  though  he  had  not  called  upon 
us  to  defend  him  against  the  evil  which  had  befallen  him.  Thus  was  that 
which  the  transgressors  committed  prepared  for  them.*  We  have  formerly 
destroyed  the  generations  who  were  before  you,  O  men  of  Mecca,  when 
they  had  acted  unjustly,  and  our  apostles  had  come  unto  them  with  evident 
miracles  and  they  would  not  believe.  Thus  do  we  reward  the  wicked 
people.  Afterwards  did  we  cause  you  to  succeed  them  in  the  earth ;  that 
we  might  see  how  ye  would  act.  When  our  evident  signs  are  recited  unto 
them,  they  who  hope  not  to  meet  us  at  the  resurrection,  say.  Bring  a  dif- 
ferent Koran  from  this ;  or  make  some  change  therein.  Answer,  It  is  not 
fit  for  me,  that  I  should  change  it  at  my  pleasure :  I  follow  that  only  which 
is  revealed  unto  me.  Verily  I  fear,  if  I  should  be  disobedient  unto  my 
Lord,  the  punishment  of  the  great  day.  Say,  If  God  had  so  pleased,  I 
had  not  read  it  unto  you,  neither  had  I  taught  you  the  same.  I  have 
already  dwelt  among  you  to  the  age  of  forty  years,^  before  I  received  it. 
Do  ye  not  therefore  understand  ?  And  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who 
deviseth  a  lie  against  God,  or  accuseth  his  signs  of  falsehood  ?  Surely  the 
wicked  shall  not  prosper.  They  worship  besides  God,  that  which  can 
neither  hurt  them  nor  profit  them,  and  they  say.  These  are  our  intercessors 
with  GoD.y  Answer,  Will  ye  tell  God  that  which  he  knoweth  not,  neither 
in  heaven  nor  in  earth  1^  Praise  be  unto  him  !  and  far  be  that  from  him,! 
which  they  associate  with  him  !  Men  were  professors  of  one  religion  only,* 
but  they  dissented  therefrom ;  and  if  a  decree  had  not  previously  issued 
from  thy  Lord,  deferring  their  punishment,  verily  the  matter  had  been  de- 
cided between  them,  concerning  which  they  disagreed.  They  say,  Unless 
a  sign  be  sent  down  unto  him  from  his  Lord,  we  will  not  believe.  Answer, 
Verily  that  which  is  hidden  is  known  only  unto  God  :  wait,  therefore,  the 

'  I.  e.  In  all  postures,  and  at  all  times. 

*  "  Thus  the  ungodly  man  delighteth  in  his  ingratitude." — Savary. 

'■  For  so  old  was  Mohammed  before  he  took  upon  him  to  be  a  prophet  ;*  during  which 
time  his  fellow-citizens  well  knew  that  he  had  not  applied  himself  to  learning  of  any  sort, 
nor  frequented  learned  men,  nor  had  ever  exercised  himself  in  composing  verses  or  orations, 
whereby  he  might  acquire  the  art  of  rhetoric,  or  elegance  of  speech.*  A  flagrant  proof, 
says  al  Beidawi,  that  this  book  could  be  taught  him  by  none  but  God, 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  11,  &cc. 

'  viz.  That  he  hath  equals  or  companions  either  in  heaven,  or  on  earth ;  since  he  ac- 
knowledgeth  none  ? 

t  "  Accursed  he  their  chimerical  deities." 

»  That  is  to  say,  the  true  religion,  or  Islam,  which  was  generally  professed,  as  some  say 
till  Abel  was  murdered,  or,  as  others,  till  the  days  of  Noah.  Some  suppose  the  first  ages 
after  the  flood  are  here  intended ;  others,  the  state  of  religion  in  Arabia,  from  the  time  of 
Abraham  to  that  of  Amru  Ebn  Lohai,  the  great  introducer  of  idolatry  into  that  country. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  30.    Abulfed.  Vit.  Mob.  c.  7.  »  See  the  Prelim. 

Disc.  p.  19,  &,c. 


168  AL  KORAN.  chap.  x. 

pleasure  of  God ;  and  I  also  will  wait  with  you.  And  when  we  caused 
the  men  of  Mecca  to  taste  mercy,  after  an  affliction  which  had  befallen 
them,  behold,  ihey  devised  a  stratagem  against  our  signs. ••  Say  unto  them, 
God  is  more  swift  in  executing  a  stratagem,  than  ye.  Verily  our  mes- 
sengers'' write  down  that  which  ye  deceitfully  devise.  It  is  he  who  hath 
i^iven  you  conveniences  for  travelling  by  land  and  by  sea ;  so  that  ye  be  in 
ships,  which  sail  with  them,  with  a  favourable  wind,  and  they  rejoice 
therein.  JLnd  when  a  tempestuous  wind  overtaketh  them,  and  waves  come 
upon  them  from  every  side,  and  they  think  themselves  to  be  encompassed 
with  inevitable  dangers ;  they  call  upon  God,  exhibiting  the  pure  religion 
unto  him,^  and  saying,  Verily,  if  thou  deliver  us  from  this  ^er?7,  we  will  be 
of  those  who  give  thanks.  But  when  he  hath  delivered  them,  behold, 
they  behave  themselves  insolently  in  the  earth,  without  justice.  O  men, 
verily  the  violence  which  ye  commit  against  your  own  souls,  is  for  the  en- 
joyment of  this  present  life  only ;  afterwards  unto  us  shall  ye  return,  and 
we  will  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  done.  Verily  the  likeness  of 
this  present  life  is  no  other  than  as  water,  which  we  send  down  from 
heaven,  and  wherewith  the  productions  of  the  earth  are  mixed,  of  which 
men  eat,  and  cattle  also,  until  the  earth  receive  its  vesture,  and  be  adorned 
with  various  plants  :  the  inhabitants  thereof  imagine  that  they  have  power 
over  the  same ;  but  our  command  cometh  unto  it  by  night,  or  by  day,  and 
we  render  it  as  though  it  had  been  mo  wen,  as  though  it  had  not  yesterday- 
abounded  ivith  fruits.  Thus  do  we  explain  our  signs  unto  people  who 
consider.  God  inviteth  unto  the  dwelling  of  peace,^  and  directeth  whom 
he  pleaseth  into  the  right  way.  They  who  do  right  shall  receive  a  most 
excellent  reward,  and  a  superabundant  addition ; '  neither  blackness  s  nor 
shame  shall  cover  their  faces.  These  shall  be  the  inhabitants  of  paradise : 
they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever.  But  they  who  commit  evil  shall  re- 
ceive the  reward  of  evil,  equal  thereunto,^  and  they  shall  be  covered  with 
shame,  {for  they  shall  have  no  protector  against  God)  ;  as  though  their 
faces  were  covered  with  the  profound  darkness  of  the  night.  These  shall 
be  the  inhabitants  of  hell  fire;  they  shall  remain  therein /or  ever.  On  the 
day  of  the  resurrection  we  will  gather  them  altogether;  then  will  we 
say  unto  the  idolaters.  Get  ye  to  your  place,  ye  and  your  companions : ' 
and  we  will  separate  them  from  one  another ;  and  their  companions  will 

"  For  it  is  said  that  they  were  afflicted  with  a  dearth  for  seven  years,  so  that  they  were 
very  near  perishing;  but  no  sooner  relieved  by  God's  sending  them  plenty,  than  they 
began  again  to  charge  Mohammed  with  imposture,  and  to  ridicule  his  revelations.' 
i.  e.  The  guardian  angels. 

<•  That  is,  applying  themselves  to  God  only,  and  neglecting  their  idols ;   their  fears 
directing  them  in  such  an  extremity  to  ask  help  of  him  only  who  could  give  it. 

'  Viz.  Paradise. 

'  For  their  reward  will  vastly  exceed  the  merit  of  their  good  works.     Al  Ghazali  sup- 
poses this  additional  recompense  will  be  the  beatific  vision.*^ 

«  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  62,  &c. 

"^  i.  e.  Though  the  blessed  will  be  rewarded  beyond  their  deserts,  yet  God  will  not  pun- 
ish any  beyond  their  demerits,  but  treat  them  with  the  exactest  justice. 

'  That  is,  your  idols,  or  the  companions  which  ye  attributed  unto  God. 

^  Al  Beidawi.  =  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  71. 


CHAP.  X.  AL  KORAN.  169 

say  unto  them,  Ye  do  not  worship  us;^  and  God  is  a  sufficient  witness 
between  us  and  you;  neither  did  we  mind  your  worshipping  of  us. 
There  shall  every  soul  experience  ^  that  which  it  shall  have  sent  before 
it ; "  and  they  shall  be  brought  before  God  their  true  Lord  ;  and  the  false 
deities  which  they  vainly  imagined,  shall  disappear  from  before  them.  Say, 
Who  provideth  you  food  from  heaven  and  earth?  or  who  hath  the  absolute 
power  over  the  hearing  and  the  sight  ?  and  who  bringcth  forth  the  living 
from  the  dead,  and  bringeth  forth  the  dead  from  the  living?  and  who 
governeth  all  things?  They  will  surely  answer,  God.  Say,  Will  ye  not 
therefore  fear  him  f  This  is  therefore  God,  your  true  Lord  :  and  what 
remaineth  there  after  truth,  except  error  ?  How  therefore  are  ye  turned 
aside  from  the  truth?  Thus  is  the  word  of  thy  Lord  verified  upon' them 
who  do  wickedly ;  that  they  believe  not.  Say,  Is  there  any  of  your  com- 
panions who  produceth  a  creature,  and  then  causeth  it  to  return  unto 
himself?  Say,  God  produceth  a  creature,  and  then  causeth  it  to  return 
unto  himself  How  therefore  are  ye  turned  aside /rom  his  worship  ?  Say, 
Is  there  any  of  your  companions  who  direcleth  unto  the  truth?  Say,  God 
directeth  unto  the  truth.  Whether  is  he,  therefore,  who  directeth  unto  the 
truth,  more  worthy  to  be  followed ;  or  he  who  directeth  not,  unless  he  be 
directed  ?  What  aileth  you  therefore,  that  ye  judge  as  ye  do  ?.  And  the 
greater  part  of  them  follow  an  uncertain  opinion  only  ;  but  a  mere  opinion 
attaineth  not  unto  any  truth.*  Verily  God  knoweth  that  which  they  do. 
This  Koran  could  not  have  been  composed  by  any  except  God  ;  but  it  is  a 
confirmation  of  that  which  was  revealed  before  it,  and  an  explanation  of  the 
scripture;  there  is  no  doubt  thereof;  sent  down  from  the  Lord  of  all 
creatures.  Will  they  say,  Mohammed  hath  forged  it?  Answer,  Bring 
therefore  a  chapter  like  unto  it;  and  call  whom  you  may  to  your  assistance, 
besides  God,  if  ye  speak  truth.  But  they  have  charged  that  with  falsehood, 
the  knowledge  whereof  they  do  not  comprehend,  neither  hath  the  interpre- 
tation thereof  come  unto  them.  In  the  same  manner  did  those  who  were 
before  them  accuse  their  prophets  of  imposture ;  but  behold,  vvhat  was  the 
end  of  the  unjust !  There  are  some  of  them  who  believe  therein ;  and 
there  are  some  of  them  who  believe  not  therein:"  and  thy  Lord  well 
knoweth  the  corrupt  doers.  If  they  accuse  thee  of  imposture,  say,  I  have 
my  work,  and  ye  have  your  work ;  ye  shall  be  clear  of  that  which  I  do, 

*  But  ye  really  worshipped  your  own  lusts,  and  were  seduced  to  idolatry,  not  by  us,  but 
by  your  own  superstitious  fancies.  It  is  pretended  that  God  will,  at  the  last  day,  enable 
the  idols  to  speak,  and  that  they  will  thus  reproach  their  worshippers,  instead  of  interced- 
ing for  them,  as  they  hoped.  Some  suppose  the  angels,  who  were  also  objects  of  the  wor- 
ship of  the  pagan  Arabs,  are  particularly  intended  in  this  place. 

'  Some  copies,  instead  of  lahlu,  read  lallu,  i.  c.  shall  follow,  or  meditate  upo7i. 
°  See  chap.  2,  p.  13,  note  r. 

*  "Their  only  rule  is  their  opinion,  and  it  has  no  conformity  with  truth." — Savary. 

■  i.  e.  There  are  some  of  them  who  are  inwardly  well  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  thy  doctrine, 
though  they  are  so  wicked  as  to  oppose  it ;  and  there  are  others  of  them  who  lielieve  it 
not,  through  prejudice  and  want  of  consideration.  Or  the  passage  may  be  understood  in 
the  future  tense,  of  some  who  should  afterwards  believe,  and  repent,  and  of  others  who 
should  die  infidels.^ 

^  Al  Beidawi. 


170  AL  KORAN.  chap.  x. 

and  I  will  be  clear  of  that  which  ye  do.  There  are  some  of  them  who 
hearken  unto  thee ;  but  w^lt  thou  make  the  deaf  to  hear,  although  they  do 
not  understand  1  And  there  are  some  of  them  who  look  at  thee ;  but  wilt 
thou  direct  the  blind,  although  they  see  not  ?  °  Verily  God  will  not  deal 
unjustly  with  men  in  any  respect :  but  men  deal  unjustly  with  their  own 
souls.p  On  a  certain  day  he  will  gather  them  together,  as  though  they  had 
not  tarried  i  above  an  hour  of  a  day  :  they  shall  know  one  another.*"  Then 
shall  they  perish  who  have  denied  the  meeting  of  God  ;  and  were  not 
rightly  directed.  Whether  we  cause  thee  to  see  a  part  of  the  punishment 
wiierewith  we  have  threatened  them,  or  whether  we  cause  thee  to  die 
before  thou  see  it ;  unto  us  shall  they  return :  then  shall  God  be  witness  of 
that  which  they  do.  Unto  every  nation  hath  an  apostle  been  sent ;  and 
when  their  apostle  came,  the  matter  was  decided  between  them  with  equity  ;  * 
and  they  were  not  treated  unjustly.  The  unbelievers  say.  When  will  this 
threatening  be  made  good,  if  ye  speak  truth  1  Answer,  I  am  able  neither  to 
procure  advantage  unto  myself,  nor  to  avert  mischief  yrom  me,  but  as  God 
pleaseth.  Unto  every  nation  is  a  fixed  term  decreed ;  when  their  term 
therefore  is  expired,  they  shall  not  have  respite  for  an  hour,  neither  shall 
their  punishment  be  anticipated.  Say,  Tell  me,  if  the  punishment  of  God 
overtake  you  by  night,  or  by  day,  what  part  thereof  will  the  ungodly  wish 
to  be  hastened?*  When  it  falleth  on  you,  do  ye  then  believe  it?  Now 
do  ye  believe,  and  wish  it  far  from  you,  when  as  ye  formerly  desired  it 
should  be  hastened?  Then  shall  it  be  said  unto  the  wicked.  Taste  the 
punishment  of  eternity ;  would  ye  receive  other  than  the  reward  of  that 
w^hich  ye  have  wrought?  They  will  desire  to  know  of  thee,  whether  this 
be  true.  Answer,  Yea,  by  my  Lord,  it  is  certainly  true ;  neither  shall  ye 
weaken  Godh  power  so  as  to  escape  it.  Verily,  if  every  soul  which  hath 
acted  wickedly  had  whatever  is  on  the  earth,  it  would  willingly  redeem 
itself  therewith  at  the  last  day.  Yet  they  will  conceal  their  repentance,* 
after  they  shall  have  seen  the  punishment ;  and  the  matter  shall  be  decided 
between  them  with  equity,  and  they  shall  not  be  unjustly  treated.  Doth 
not  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  belong  unto  God?  Is  not 
the  promise  of  God  true  ?     But  the  greater  part  of  them  know  it  not.     He 

"  These  words  were  revealed  on  account  of  certain  Meccans,  who  seemed  to  attend 
while  Mohammed  read  the  Koran  to  them,  or  instructed  them  in  any  point  of  religion, 
but  yet  were  as  far  from  being  convinced  or  edified,  as  if  they  had  not  heard  him  at  all.* 

p  For  God  deprives  them  not  of  their  senses,  or  understanding ;  but  they  corrupt  and 
make  an  ill  use  of  them. 

1  Either  in  the  world,  or  in  the  grave. 

■  As  if  it  were  but  a  little  while  since  they  parted.  But  this  will  happen  during  the  first 
moments  only  of  the  resurrection ;  for  afterwards  the  terror  of  the  day  will  disturb  and 
take  from  them  all  knowledge  of  one  another.' 

"  By  delivering  the  prophet  and  those  who  believed  on  him,  and  destroying  the  obstinate 
infidels. 

*  "  Should  the  divine  vengeance  fall  on  you  unawares,  either  by  day  or  by  night,  think 
you  that  it  can  have  been  hastened  by  the  wicked?" — Savary. 

■  To  hide  their  shame  and  regret;''  or  because  their  surprise  and  astonishment  will 
deprive  them  of  the  use  of  speech.''  Some,  however  understand  the  verb  which  is  here 
rendered  will  conceal,  in  the  contrary  signification,  which  it  sometimes  bears;  and  then  it 
must  be  transtlated,  They  will  openly  declare  their  repentance,  &.C. 


Al  Beidawi.    See  chap.  6,  p.  100.          *  Idem.         "  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Al  Beidaw 


CHAP.  X.  AL  KORAN.  171 

giveth  life,  and  he  causeth  to  die  :  and  unto  him  shall  ye  all  return.  O 
men,  now  hath  an  admonition  come  unto  you  from  your  Lord,  and  a 
remedy  for  the  doubts  which  are  in  your  breasts;  and  a  direction,  and 
mercy  unto  the  true  believers.  Say,  Through  the  grace  of  God,  and 
his  mercy :  therein  therefore  let  them  rejoice ;  this  will  be  better  than  what 
they  heap  together  of  ivorldly  riches.  Say,  Tell  me  ;  of  that  which  God 
hath  sent  down  unto  you  for  food,  have  ye  declared  part  to  he  lawful,  and 
other  part  to  be  unlawful  ?  ^  Say,  Hath  God  permitted  you  to  make  this 
distinction?  or  do  ye  devise  a  lie  concerning  God?  But  what  will  be 
the  opinion  of  those  who  devise  a  lie  concerning  God,*  on  the  day  of  the 
resurrection?  Verily  God  is  indued  with  beneficence  towards  mankind; 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  give  thanks.  Thou  shalt  be  engaged 
in  no  business,  neither  shalt  thou  be  employed  in  meditating  on  any  passage 
of  the  Koran ;  nor  shall  ye  do  any  action,  but  we  will  be  witnesses  over 
you,  when  ye  are  employed  therein.  Nor  is  so  much  as  the  weight  of  an 
ant  ^  hidden  from  thy  Lord,  in  earth  or  in  heaven :  neither  is  there  any 
thing  lesser  than  that,  or  greater,  but  it  is  written  in  the  perspicuous  book.y 
Are  not  the  friends  of  God  the  persons  on  whom  no  fear  shall  come,  and 
who  shall  not  be  grieved  ?  They  who  believe  and  fear  God  shall  receive 
good  tidings  in  this  life,  and  in  that  which  is  to  come.  There  is  no  change 
in  the  words  of  God.  This  shall  be  great  felicity.  Let  not  their  discourse  ''• 
grieve  thee ;  for  all  might  belongeth  unto  God  :  he  both  heareth  and 
knoweth.  Is  not  whoever  dwelleth  in  heaven  and  on  earth  subject  unto 
God?  What  tlierefore  do  they  follow,  who  invoke  idols,  besides  God? 
They  follow  nothing  but  a  vain  opinion ;  and  they  only  utter  lies.  It  is  he 
who  hath  ordained  the  night  for  you,  that  ye  may  take  your  rest  therein, 
and  the  clear  day  for  labour :  verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who 
hearken.  They  say,  God  hath  begotten  children  :  God  forbid !  He  is 
self-sufficient.  Unto  him  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  : 
ye  have  no  demonstrative  proof  of  this.  Do  ye  speak  of  God  that  which  ye 
know  not  ?  Say,  Verily  they  who  imagine  a  lie  concerning  God  shall  not 
prosper.  They  may  enjoy  a  provision  in  this  world  ;  but  afterwards  unto  us 
shall  they  return,  and  we  will  then  cause  them  to  taste  a  grievous  punish- 
ment, for  that  they  were  unbelievers.  Rehearse  unto  them  the  history  of 
Noah:*  when  he  said  unto  his  people,  0  my  people,  if  my  standing  forth 
among  you,  and  my  warning  you  of  the  signs  of  God,  be  grievous  unto  you ; 
in  God  do  I  put  my  trust.  Therefore  lay  your  design  against  me,  and 
assemble  your  false  gods ;  but  let  not  your  design  be  carried  on  by  you  in 
the  dark :  then  come  forth  against  me,  and  delay  not.  And  if  ye  turn 
aside  from  my  admonitions,  I  ask  not  any  reward  of  you  for  the  saine  ;  ^ 

'  See  chap.  6,  p.  113,  &c. 

*  "  Of  what  does  the  blasphemer  think  who  denies  the  resurrection  ?" — Savanj. 
"'  See  chap.  4,  p.  65,  note  x. 

>  The  preserved  table  ;  wherein  God's  decrees  are  recorded. 
^  viz.  The  impious  and  rebeUious  talk  of  the  infidels. 

*  See  chap.  7,  p.  121,  &c. 

"  Therefore  yc  cannot  excuse  yourselves  by  saying  that  I  am  burdensome  to  you. 


172  AL  KORAN.  chap.  x. 

I  expect  my  reward  from  God  alone,  and  I  am  commanded  to  be  one 
of  those  who  are  resigned  unto  him.  But  they  accused  hun  of  imposture ; 
wherefore  we  delivered  him,  and  those  who  were  with  him  in  the  ark,  and 
we  caused  them  to  survive  the  flood,  but  we  drowned  those  who  charged  our 
signs  with  falsehood.  Behold  therefore,  what  was  the  end  of  those 
who  were  warned  hy  JVoah.  Then  did  we  send,  after  him,  apostles  unto 
their  respective  people,"'  and  they  came  unto  them  with  evident  demonstra- 
tions :  yet  they  were  not  disposed  to  believe  in  that  which  they  had  before 
rejected  as  false.  Thus  do  we  seal  up  the  hearts  of  the  transgressors. 
Then  did  we  send,  after  them,  Moses  and  Aaron  unto  Pharaoh  and  his 
princes  with  our  signs :  ^  but  they  behaved  proudly,  and  were  a  wicked 
people.  And  when  the  truth  from  us  had  come  unto  them,*  they  said, 
Verily  this  is  manifest  sorcery.  Moses  said  unto  them,  Do  ye  speak  this  of 
the  truth,  after  it  hath  come  unto  you  ?  Is  this  sorcery  ?  but  sorcerers  shall 
not  prosper.  They  said,  Art  thou  come  unto  us  to  turn  us  aside  from  that 
religion,  which  we  found  our  fathers  practise ;  and  that  ye  two  may  have 
the  command  in  the  land?  But  we  do  not  believe  you.  And  Pharaoh 
said.  Bring  unto  me  every  expert  magician.  And  when  the  magicians  were 
come,  Moses  said  unto  them,  Cast  down  that  which  ye  are  about  to  cast 
down.  And  when  they  had  cast  down  their  rods  and  cords,  Moses  said  unto 
them.  The  enchantment  which  ye  have  performed  shall  God  surely  render 
vain ;  for  God  prospereth  not  the  work  of  the  wicked  doers,  and  God  will 
verify  the  truth  of  his  words,  although  the  wicked  be  averse  thereto.  And 
there  believed  not  any  on  Moses,  except  a  generation  of  his  people,®  for  fear 
of  Pharaoh  and  of  his  princes,  lest  he  should  afflict  them.  And  Pharaoh 
was  lifted  up  with  pride  in  the  earth,  and  was  surely  one  of  the  transgressors. 
And  Moses  said,  O  my  people,  if  ye  believe  in  God,  put  your  trust  in  him, 
if  ye  be  resigned  to  his  will.  They  answered.  We  put  our  trust  in  God  :  O 
Lord,  suffer  us  not  to  be  afflicted  by  unjust  people ;  but  deliver  us,  through 
thy  mercy,  from  the  unbelieving  people.  And  we  spake  by  inspiration 
unto  Moses  and  his  brother,  saying,  Provide  habitations  for  your  people  in 
Egypt,  and  make  your  houses  a  place  of  worship,'  and  be  constant  at  prayer: 
and  bear  good  news  unto  the  true  believers.  And  Moses  said,  O  Lord, 
verily  thou  hast  given  unto  Pharaoh  and  his  people  pompous  ornaments,* 

"  As  Hud,  Saleh,  Abraham,  Lot,  and  Shoaib,  to  those  of  Ad,  Thamud,  Babel,  Sodom, 
and  Midian. 

■>  See  chap.  7,  p.  127,  &c. 

*  "  They  saw  the  truth,  and  they  accused  it  of  falsehood." — Savary. 

*  For  when  he  tirst  began  to  preach,  a  few  of  the  younger  IsraeHtes  only  believed  in 
him  ;  the  others  not  giving  ear  to  him,  for  fear  of  the  king.  But  some  suppose  the  pro- 
noun fiis  refers  to  Pharaoh,  and  that  these  were  certain  Egyptians,  who,  together  with  his 
wife  Asia,  believed  in  Moses. 

f  So  Jallalo'ddin  expounds  the  original  word  Kebla,  which  properly  signifies  that  place 
or  quarter  towards  which  one  prays.  Wherefore  al  Zamakshari  supposes,  that  the  Is- 
raelites are  here  ordered  to  dispose  their  oratories  in  such  a  manner,  that,  when  they 
prayed,  their  faces  might  be  turned  towards  Mecca  ;  which  he  imagines  was  the  Kebla 
of  Moses,  as  it  is  that  of  the  Mohammedans.  The  former  commentator  adds,  that 
Pharaoh  had  forbidden  the  IsraeHtes  to  pray  to  God  ;  for  which  reason  they  were  obliged 
to  perform  that  duty  privately  in  their  houses. 

«  As  magnificent  apparel,  chariots,  and  the  like. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  X.  AL  KORAN.  173 

and  riches  in  this  present  Ufe,  O  Lord,  that  they  may  be  seduced  from  thy 
way :  O  Lord,  bring  their  riches  to  nought,  and  harden  their  hearts ;  that 
they  may  not  bcHeve,  until  they  see  their  grievous  punishment.  God  said, 
Your  petition  is  heard  :^  be  ye  upright  therefore,'  and  follow  not  the  way 
of  those  who  are  ignorant.  And  we  caused  the  children  of  Israel  to  pass 
through  the  sea ;  and  Pharaoh  and  his  army  followed  them  in  a  violent  and 
hostile  manner;  until,  when  he  was  drowning,  he  said,  I  believe  that  there 
is  no  God  but  he,  on  whom  the  children  of  Israel  believe ;  and  I  am  one  of 
the  resigned."'  Now  dost  thou  believe ;  when  thou  hast  been  hitherto  rebel- 
lious, and  one  of  the  wicked  doers  ?  This  day  will  we  raise  thy  body  ^ 
fro7n  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  that  thou  mayest  be  a  sign  unto  those  who  shall 
be  after  thee;  and  verily  a  great  number  of  men  are  negligent  of 
our  signs.  And  we  prepared  for  the  children  of  Israel  an  established 
dwelling  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  we  provided  good  ihings  for  their 
sustenance;  and  they  differed  not  in  point  of  religion,  until  knowledge  had 
come  unto  them;™  verily  thy  Lord  will  judge  between  them  on  the  day 
of  resurrection,  concerning  that  wherein  they  disagreed.  If  thou  art  in 
a  doubt  concerning  any  part  of  that  which  we  have  sent  down  unto  thee," 
ask  them  who  have  read  the  book  of  the  law  before  thee.  Now  hath 
the  truth  come  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord  ;  be  not  therefore  one  of  those 
who  doubt ;  neither  be  thou  one  of  those  who  charge  the  signs  of  God 
with  falsehood,  lest  thou  become  one  of  those  who  perish.  Verily  those 
against  whom  the  word  of  thy  Lord  is  decreed,  shall  not  believe,  although 
there  come  unto  them  every  kind  of  miracle,  until  they  see  the  grievous 
punishment  prepared  for  them.  And  if  ii  were  not  so,  some  city,  among  the 
many  which  have  heen  destroyed,  would  have  believed ;  and  the  faith  of  its 
inhabitants  would  have  been  of  advantage  unto  them ;  hut  none  of  them  be- 
lieved, before  the  execution  of  their  sentence,  except  the  people  of  Jonas." 

''  The  pronoun  is  in  the  dual  number;  the  antecedent  being  Moses  and  Aaron,  The 
commentators  say  that,  in  consequence  of  this  prayer,  all  the  treasures  of  Egypt  were 
turned  into  stones.' 

'  Or,  as  al  Beidawi  interprets  it,  Be  ye  constant  and  steady  in  preaching  to  the  people. 
The  Mohammedans  pretend  that  Moses  continued  in  Egypt  no  less  than  forty  years,  after 
he  had  first  published  his  mission :  which  cannot  be  reconciled  to  scripture. 

''  These  words,  it  is  said,  Pharaoh  repeated  often  in  his  extremity,  that  he  might  be 
heard.  But  his  repentance  came  too  late  ;  for  Gabriel  soon  stopped  his  mouth  with  mud, 
lest  he  should  obtain  mercy ;  reproaching  him  at  the  same  time  in  the  words  which  follow. 

'  Some  of  the  children  of  Israel  doubting  whether  Pharaoh  was  really  drowned,  Gabriel, 
by  God's  command,  caused  his  naked  corpse  to  swim  to  shore,  that  they  mirrht  see  it.*  The 
word  here  translated  body,  signifying  also  a  coat  of  mail,  some  imagine  the  meaning  to  be, 
that  his  corpse  floated  armed  with  his  coat  of  mail,  which  they  tell  us  was  of  gold,  by 
which  they  knew  that  it  was  he. 

"  i.  e.  After  the  law  had  been  revealed,  and  published  by  Moses. 

°  That  is,  concerning  the  truth  of  the  histories  which  are  here  related.  The  commen- 
tators doubt  whether  the  person  here  spoken  to  be  Mohammed  himself,  or  his  auditor. 

^  viz.  The  inhabitants  of  Nineveh,  which  stood  on  or  near  the  place  where  al  Mawsel 
now  stands.  This  people  having  corrupted  themselves  with  idolatry,  Jonas  the  son  of 
Mattai  (or  Amittai,  which  the  Mohammedans  suppose  to  be  the  name  of  his  mother),  an 
Israelite  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  was  sent  by  God  to  preach  to,  and  reclaim  them.  When 
he  first  began  to  exhort  them  to  repentance,  instead  of  hearkening  to  him,  thoy  used  him 
very  ill,  so  that  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  city  ;  threatening  them,  at  his  departure,  that 

»  Jallalo'ddin.  «  See  Exod.  xiv.  30. 


174  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  x. 

When  they  believed,  we  dehvered  them  from  the  punishment  of  shame  in 
this  world,  and  suffered  them  to  enjoy  their  lives  and  possessions  for  a  time.^* 
But  if  thy  Lord  had  pleased,  verily  all  who  are  in  the  earth  would  have 
believed  in  general.  Wilt  thou  therefore  forcibly  compel  men  to  be  true 
believers  ?  No  soul  can  believe,  but  by  the  permission  of  God  :  and 
he  shall  pour  out  his  indignation  on  those  who  will  not  understand.  Say, 
Consider  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth :  but  signs  are  of  no  avail, 
neither  preachers,  unto  people  who  will  not  believe.  Do  they  therefore 
expect  any  other  than  so7ne  terrible  judgment,  like  unto  the  judgments  which 
have  fallen  on  those  who  have  gone  before  them?  Say,  Wait  ye  the  issue ; 
and  I  also  will  wait  with  you ;  then  will  we  deliver  our  apostles  and  those 
who  believe.  Thus  is  it  a  justice  due  from  us,  that  we  should  deliver  the 
true  believers.  Say,  O  men  of  Mecca,  if  ye  be  in  doubt  concerning  my 
religion,  verily  I  worship  not  the  idols  which  ye  worship,  besides  God  ;  but 
I  worship  God,  who  will  cause  you  to  die :  and  I  am  commanded  to  be  one 
of  the  true  believers.  And  it  was  said  unto  me,  Set  thy  face  towards  the 
true  religion,  and  be  orthodox ;  and  by  no  means  be  one  of  those  who 
attribute  companions  unto  God ;  neither  invoke,  besides  God,  that  which 
can  neither  profit  thee  nor  hurt  thee:  for  if  thou  do,  thou  wilt  then 
certainly  become  one  of  the  unjust.  If  God  afflict  thee  with  hurt,  there  is 
none  who  can  relieve  thee  from  it,  except  he ;  and  if  he  willeth  thee  any 
good,  there  is  none  who  can  keep  back  his  bounty:  he  will  confer  it 
on  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  is  gracious  and  merciful. 
Say,  O  men,  now  hath  the  truth  come  unto  you  from  your  Lord.  He 
therefore  who  shall  be  directed,  will  be  directed  to  the  advantage  of  his 
own  soul :  but  he  who  shall  err,  will  err  only  against  the  same.  I  am 
no  guardian  over  you.  Do  thou,  0  prophet,  follow  that  which  is  revealed 
unto  thee :  and  persevere  with  patience,  until  God  shall  judge ;  for  he  is 
the  best  judge. 

they  should  be  destroyed  within  three  days,  or,  as  others  say,  within  forty.*  But  when 
the  time  drew  near,  and  they  saw  the  heavens  overcast  with  a  black  cloud,  which  shot 
forth  fire,  and  filled  the  air  with  smoke,  and  hung  directly  over  their  city,  they  were  in  a 
terrible  consternation,  and  getting  into  the  fields,  with  their  families  and  cattle,  they  put 
on  sackcloth,  and  humbled  themselves  before  God,  calling  aloud  for  pardon,  and  sincerely 
repenting  of  their  past  wickedness.  Whereupon  God  was  pleased  to  forgive  them,  and 
the  storm  blew  over.' 
p  i.  e.  Until  they  died  according  to  the  ordinary  course  of  nature. 

»  See  Jonah  iii.  4.  ^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abulfed.     See  chap.  21,  and  37. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KORAN.  175 

CHAPTER    XI. 
INTITLED,  HUD;'>  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

AL.  R.''  This  book,  the  verses  whereof  are  guarded  against  corruption,^ 
and  are  also  distinctly  explained,*  is  a  revelation  from  the  wise,  the  know- 
ing God  :  that  ye  serve  not  any  other  God  ;  *  (verily  I  am  a  denouncer  of 
threats,  and  a  bearer  of  good  tidings  unto  you  from  him ;)  and  that  ye  ask 
pardon  of  your  Lord,  and  then  be  turned  unto  him.  He  will  cause  you  to 
enjoy  a  plentiful  provision,  until  a  prefixed  time :  and  unto  every  one  that 
hath  merit  hy  good  works  will  he  give  his  abundant  reward.  But  if  ye 
turn  back,  verily  I  fear  for  you  the  punishment  of  the  great  day  :  unto  God 
shall  ye  return  ;  and  he  is  almighty.  Do  they  not  double  the  folds  q/"  their 
breasts,"  "f  that  they  may  conceal  their  designs  from  him  1  When  they  cover 
themselves  with  their  garments,  doth  not  he  know  that  which  they  conceal, 
and  that  which  they  discover?  For  he  knoweth  the  innermost  parts  of  the 
breasts  of  men."^  *[Xn.]  There  is  no  creature  which  creepeth  on  the 
earth,  but  God  provideth  its  food ;  and  he  knoweth  the  place  of  its  retreat, 
and  where  it  is  laid  up.y     The  whole  is  written  in  the  perspicuous  book  of 

1  The  story  of  which  prophet  is  repeated  in  this  chapter.    (Savary's  translation  adds, 
"  Peace  be  with  him.") 
'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  42,  &c. 

*  According  to  the  various  senses  which  the  verb  ohkimat,  in  the  original,  may  bear,  the 
commentators  suggest  as  many  different  interpretations.  Some  suppose  the  meaning  to 
be,  according  to  our  version,  that  the  Koran  is  not  hable  to  be  corrupted,''  as  the  law  and 
the  gospel  have  been,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Mohammedans:  others,  that  every  verse  in 
this  particular  chapter  is  in  full  force,  and  not  one  of  them  abrogated:  others,  that  the 
verses  of  the  Koran  are  disposed  in  a  clear  and  perspicuous  method,  or  contain  evident 
and  demonstrative  arguments :  and  others,  that  they  comprise  judicial  declarations,  to 
regulate  both  faith  and  practice. = 

'  The  signification  of  the  \erhfos$Uat,  which  is  here  used,  being  also  ambiguous,  the 
meaning  of  this  passage  is  supposed  to  be,  either  that  the  verses  are  distinctly  [proposed  or 
expressed  in  a  clear  manner  ;  or  that  the  subject  matter  of  the  whole  may  be  distinguished 
or  divided  into  laws,  monitions,  and  examples  ;  or  else  that  the  verses  were  revealed  by 
parcels. 

*  "A  judicious  method  is  observed  in  this  book.  It  is  the  work  of  one  who  possesseth 
wisdom  and  knowledge.     The  unity  of  God  is  enjoined  to  you  therein." — Savary. 

"  Or,  as  it  may  be  translated.  Do  they  not  turn  away  their  breasts,  &-c. 

t  "  Do  they  not  wrap  their  hearts  in  a  two-fold  veil,  that  they  may  escape  the  glance 
of  the  Most  High?" — Savary. 

^  This  passage  was  occasioned  by  the  words  of  the  idolaters,  who  said  to  one  another, 
JVhen  we  hi  down  our  curtains,  (such  as  the  women  use  in  the  East  to  screen  themselves 
from  the  sight  of  the  men,  when  they  happen  to  be  in  the  room,)  and  wrap  ourselves  up  in 
our  garments,  and  fold  up  our  breasts,  to  conceal  our  malice  against  Mohammed,  how  should 
he  come  to  the  knowledge  of  it  ?  Some  suppose  this  passage  relates  to  certain  hypocritical 
Moslems  ;  Imt  this  opinion  is  generally  rejected,  because  tjiis  verse  was  revealed  at  Mecca, 
and  the  hirih  of  hypocrisy  among  the  Mohammedans  happened  not  till  after  the  Hejra. 

y  i.  e.  Both  during  its  life,  and  after  its  death  ;  or  the  repository  of  every  animal,  before 
its  birth,  in  the  loins  and  wombs  of  the  parents. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  53.  »  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Zamakshari,  &c. 


176  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xi. 

his  decrees.  It  is  he  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  six  days, 
(but  his  throne  was  above  the  waters  before  the  creation  thereof,)'^  that  he 
might  prove  you,  and  see  which  of  you  would  excel  in  works.  Jf  thou  say, 
ye  shall  surely  be  raised  again,  after  death ;  the  unbelievers  will  say,  This 
is  nothing  but  manifest  sorcery.  And  verily  if  we  defer  their  punishment 
unto  a  determined  season,  they  will  say,  What  hindereth  it  from  falling  on 
us?  Will  it  not  come  upon  them  on  a  day,  wherein  there  shall  be  none 
to  avert  it  from  them  ;  and  that  which  they  scoffed  at  shall  encompass 
them?  Verily,  if  we  cause  man  to  taste  mercy  from  us,  and  afterwards 
take  it  away  from  him ;  he  will  surely  become  desperate,*  and  ungrateful. 
And  if  we  cause  him  to  taste  favour,  after  an  affliction  hath  befallen 
him,  he  will  surely  say.  The  evils  which  I  suffered  are  passed  from  me ;  and 
he  will  become  joyful  and  insolent :  except  those  who  persevere  with 
patience,  and  do  that  which  is  right ;  they  shall  receive  pardon,  and  a  great 
reward.  Peradventure  thou  wilt  omit  to  publish  part  of  that  which  hath 
been  revealed  unto  thee,*  and  thy  breast  will  become  straitened,  lest  they 
say,  Unless  a  treasure  be  sent  down  unto  him,  or  an  angel  come  with  him, 
to  bear  witness  unto  him,  we  will  not  believe.  Verily  thou  art  a  preacher 
only ;  and  God  is  the  governor  of  all  things.  Will  they  say.  He  hath 
forged  the  Koran?  Answer,  Bring  therefore  ten  chapters'"  like  unto  it, 
forged  by  yourselves  :  and  call  on  whomsoever  ye  may  to  assist  you,  except 
God,  if  ye  speak  truth.  But  if  they  whom  ye  call  to  your  assistance  hear  you 
not ;  know  that  this  book  hath  been  revealed  by  the  knowledge  of  God  only,'= 
and  that  there  is  no  God  but  he.  Will  ye  therefore  become  Moslems? 
Whoso  chooseth  the  present  life,  and  the  pomp  thereof,  unto  them  will  we 
give  the  recompense  of  their  works  therein,  and  the  same  shall  not  be  dimi- 
nished unto  them.  These  are  they  for  whom  no  other  reward  is  prepared 
in  the  next  life,  except  the  fire  of  hell :  that  which  they  have  done  in  this 
life  shall  perish  ;  and  that  which  they  have  wrought  shall  be  vain.  Shall  he 
therefore  be  compared  with  them,  who  followeth  the  evident  declaration 
of  his  Lord,  and  whom  a  witness  from  him  ^  attendeth,  preceded  by  the 
book  of  Moses, ^  which  was  revealed  for  a  guide,  and  out  of  mercy  to  man- 

*  For  the  Mohammedans  suppose  this  throne,  and  the  waters  wherein  it  stands,  which 
waters  they  imagine  are  supported  by  a  spirit  or  wind,  were  with  some  other  things 
created  before  the  heavens  and  earth.  This  fancy  they  borrowed  from  the  Jews,  who 
also  say,  that  the  throne  of  glory  then  stood  in  the  air,  and  was  borne  on  the  face  of  the 
waters,  by  the  breath  of  God's  mouth.^ 

*  Casting  aside  all  hopes  of  the  divine  favour,  for  want  of  patience,  and  trust  in  God. 

*  "  Should  some  of  my  precepts  slide  from  thy  memory ;  or  should  it  be  required  from 
thee  that  thou  shouldest  cause  a  treasure  to  appear ;  or  that  an  angel  should  accompany 
thee;  be  not  afflicted." — Savary. 

^  This  was  the  number  which  he  first  challenged  them  to  compose ;  but  they  not  being 
able  to  do  it,  he  made  the  matter  still  easier,  challenging  them  to  produce  a  single  chapter 
only,''  comparable  to  the  Koran  in  doctrine  and  eloquence. 

■=  Or  containing  several  passages  wrapped  up  in  dark  and  mysterious  expressions,  which 
can  proceed  from,  and  are  perfectly  comprehended  by,  none  but  God.^ 

^  viz.  The  Koran  ;  or,  as  others  suppose,  the  angel  Gabriel. 

^  Which  bears  testimony  thereto. 

«  Rashi,  ad  Gen.  i.  2.  Vide  Reland.  de  Relig.  Moh.  p.  50,  &c.  ■"  See  chap.  2,  p.  3. 
chap.  10,  p.  169,  &c.  ®  See  chap.  3,  p.  35. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KOKAN.  177 

kind  f  These  believe  in  the  Koran  :  but  whosoever  of  the  confederate 
infidels  believeth  not  therein,  is  threatened  the  fire  of  hell,  which  threat  shall 
^.certainly  be  executed  :  be  not  therefore  in  a  doubt  concerning  it ;  for  it 
is  the  truth  from  thy  Lord  :  but  the  greater  part  of  men  will  not  believe. 
Who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  imagineth  a  lie  concerning  Gou  1*  They 
shall  be  set  before  the  Lord,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  and  the  witnesses^  shall 
say,  These  are  they  who  devised  lies  against  their  Lord.  Shall  not 
the  curse  of  God  fall  on  the  unjust ;  who  turn  men  aside  from  the  way  of 
God,  and  seek  to  render  it  crooked,  and  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come? 
These  were  not  able  to  prevail  against  God  on  earth,  so  as  to  escape  punish- 
ment ;  neither  had  they  any  protectors  besides  God  :  their  punishment 
shall  bo  doubled  unto  them.s  They  could  not  hear,  neither  did  they  see. 
These  are  they  who  have  lost  their  souls ;  and  the  idols  which  they  falsely 
imagined  have  abandoned  them.  There  is  no  doubt  but  they  shall  be  most 
miserable  in  the  world  to  come.  But  as  for  those  who  believe  and  do  good 
works,  and  humble  themselves  before  their  Lord,  they  shall  be  the  inhabi- 
tants of  paradise ;  they  shall  remain  therein /or  ever.  The  similitude  of  the 
two  parties^  is  as  the  blind  and  the  deaf,  and  as  he  who  seeth  and  heareth: 
shall  they  be  compared  as  equal?  Will  ye  not  therefore  consider?  We 
formerly  sent  Noah'  unto  his  people;  and  he  said,  Verily  I  am  a  public 
preacher  unto  you ;  that  ye  worship  God  alone ;  verily  I  fear  for  you  the 
punishment  of  the  terrible  day.  But  the  chiefs  of  the  people,  who  believed 
not,  answered,  We  see  thee  to  be  no  other  than  a  man,  like  unto  us ;  and 
we  do  not  see  that  any  follow  thee,  except  those  who  are  the  most  abject 
among  us,  who  have  believed  on  thee  by  a  rash  judgment;''  neither  do  we 
perceive  any  excellence  in  you  above  us :  but  we  esteem  you  to  be  liars. 
JVoah  said,  O  my  people,  tell  me;  if  I  have  received  an  evident  declaration 
from  my  Lord,  and  he  hath  bestowed  on  me  mercy  from  himself,  which  is 
hidden  from  you,  do  we  compel  you  to  receive  the  same,  in  case  ye  be  averse 
thereto  ?  O  my  people,  I  ask  not  of  you  riches,  for  my  preaching  unto  you  : 
my  reward  is  with  God  alone.  I  will  not  drive  away  those  who  have 
believed :  *  verily  they  shall  meet  their  Lord,  at  the  resurrection  ;  but  I 
perceive  that  ye  are  ignorant  men.  O  my  people,  who  shall  assist  me 
against  God,  if  I  drive  them  away  ?  Will  ye  not  therefore  consider  ?  I  say 
not  unto  you,  The  treasures  of  God  are  in  my  power;  neither  do  I  say,  I 
know  the  secrets  of  God  :  neither  do  I  say,  Verily  I  am  an  angel ; "»  neither 
do  I  say  of  those  whom  your  eyes  do  contemn,  God  will  by  no  means 

*  "  What  crime  can  be  more  horrible,  than  to  accuse  God  of  falsehood?" — Savory. 
'  That  is,  The  angels,  and  prophets,  and  their  own  members. 
8  For  they  shall  be  punished  both  in  this  life,  and  in  the  next. 
*•  I.  e.  The  believers  and  the  infidels. 
'  See  chap.  7,  p.  121,  &c. 

^  For  want  of  mature  consideration,  and  moved  by  the  first  impulse  of  their  fancy. 
■  For  this  they  asked  him  to  do,  because  they  were  poor  mean  people.    The  same  thing 
the  Koreish  demanded  of  Mohammed,  but  he  was  forbidden  to  comply  with  their  request.* 
'^  See  chap.  6,  p.  103. 

'  See  chap.  6,  p.  103. 


178  AL  KOEAN. 


CHAP.  XI. 


bestow  good  on  them :  (God  best  knoweth  that  which  is  in  their  souls ;) 
for  then  should  I  certainly  be  one  of  the  unjust.  They  answered,  O  Noah, 
thou  hast  already  disputed  with  us,  and  hast  multiplied  disputes  with  us ; 
now  therefore  do  thou  bring  that  punishment  upon  us  wherewith  thou  hast 
threatened  us,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  JVoah  said,  Verily  God  alone  shall 
bring  it  upon  you,  if  he  pleaseth ;  and  ye  shall  not  prevail  against  him,  so 
as  to  escape  the  same.  Neither  shall  my  counsel  profit  you,  although  I  en- 
deavour to  counsel  you  aright,  if  God  shall  please  to  lead  you  into  error. 
He  is  your  Lord,*  and  unto  him  shall  ye  return.  Will  the  Meccans  say, 
Mohammed  hath  forged  the  Koran  ?  Answer,  If  I  have  forged  it,  on  me  he 
my  guilt :  and  let  me  be  clear  of  that  which  ye  are  guilty  of.  And  it  was 
revealed  unto  Noah,  saying.  Verily  none  of  thy  people  shall  believe,  except 
he  who  hath  already  believed  :  be  not  therefore  grieved,  for  that  which  they 
are  doing.  But  make  an  ark  in  our  presence,  according  to  the  form 
and  dimensions  which  we  have  revealed  unto  thee  :  and  speak  not  unto  me 
in  behalf  of  those  who  have  acted  unjustly  ;  for  they  are  doomed  to  be 
drowned.  And  he  built  the  ark ;  and  so  often  as  a  company  of  his  jDeople 
passed  by  him,  they  derided  him  :^  hut  he  said.  Though  ye  scoff  at  us  now, 
we  will  scoff  at  you  hereafter,  as  ye  scoff  at  us ;  and  ye  shall  surely  know 
on  whom  a  punishment  shall  be  inflicted,  which  shall  cover  him  with 
shame,  and  on  whom  a  lasting  punishment  shall  fall.  Thus  were  they  em- 
ployed until  our  sentence  was  put  in  execution,  and  the  oven  poured  forth 
ivater.°  And  we  said  unto  JVoah,  Carry  into  the  ark  of  every  species  of  ani- 
mals one  pair ;  p  and  thy  family,i  (except  him  on  whom  a  previous  sentence 

*  "  He  is  your  Lord,  and  wise :  unto  him  shall  we  all  return." — Savary. 

°  For  building  a  vessel  in  an  inland  country,  and  so  far  from  the  sea;  and  for  that  he 
was  turned  carpenter,  after  he  had  set  up  for  a  prophet.* 

"  Or,  as  the  original  literally  signifies,  hoiled  over  :  which  is  consonant  to  what  the 
Rabbins  say,  that  the  waters  of  the  deluge  were  boiling  hot. 

This  oven  was,  as  some  say,  at  Cufa,  in  a  spot  whereon  a  mosque  now  stands ;  or  as 
others  rather  think,  in  a  certain  place  in  India,  or  else  at  Ain  warda  in  Mesopotamia  ;**  and 
its  exundaiion  was  the  sign  by  which  Noah  knew  the  flood  was  coming.'  Some  pretend 
that  it  was  the  same  oven  which  Eve  made  use  of  to  bake  her  bread  in,  being  of  a  form 
different  from  those  we  use,  having  the  mouth  in  the  upper  part  and  that  it  descended 
from  patriarch  to  patriarch,  till  it  came  to  Noah.*  It  is  remarkable  that  Mohammed,  in 
all  probability,  borrowed  this  circumstance  from  the  Persian  Magi,  who  also  fancied  that 
the  first  waters  of  the  deluge  gushed  out  of  the  oven  of  a  certain  old  woman  named 
Zala  Cufa.' 

But  the  word  tannur  which  is  here  translated  oven,  also  signifying  the  superficies  of  the 
earth,  or  a  place  whence  waters  spring  forth,  or  v)here  they  are  collected,  some  suppose  it 
means  no  more  in  this  passage,  than  the  spot  or  fissure  whence  the  first  eruption  of  waters 
brake  forth. 

p  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  be  rendered,  and  some  commentators  think  they  ought, 
two  pair,  that  is,  two  males  and  two  females  of  each  species  ;  wherein  they  partly  agree 
with  divers  Jewish  and  Christian  writers,"^  who  from  the  Hebrew  expression  seven  and 
seven,  and  two  arid  two,  the  male  and  his  female,  suppose  there  went  into  the  ark  fourteen 
pair  of  every  clean,,  and  two  pair  of  every  unclean  species.  There  is  a  tradition  that  God 
gathered  together  unto  Noah  all  sorts  of  beasts,  birds,  and  other  animals,  (it  being  indeed 
difficult  to  conceive  how  he  should  come  by  them  all,  without  some  supernatural  assist- 
ance,)-and  that  as  he  laid  hold  on  them,  his  right  hand  constantly  fell  on  the  male,  and 
his  left  on  the  female.* 

■J  Namely,  thy  wife  ;  and  thy  sons,  and  their  wives.' 

•  Al  Beidawi.  =  Idem.  =>  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  "  Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl. 
Orient,  art.  Noah.  '  Vide  Hyde  de  Rel.  Vet.  Persar. ;  and  Lord's  account  of  the 
Relig.  of  the  Persees,  p.  9.  '  Aben  Ezra,  Justin  Martyr,  Origen,  &c.  '  Gen.  vii.  2. 
'Jallalo'ddin.                  ^Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KORAN.  179 

of  destruction  liath  passed/)  and  those  who  bcHeve.*  But  there  believed  not 
with  him  except  a  few.*  And  JVoah  said,  Embark  thereon,  in  the  name  of 
God  ;  while  it  moveth  forward,  and  while  it  standeth  still ;''  for  my  Lord 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  And  the  ark  swam  with  them  between  waves 
like  mountains  :  y  and  Noah  called  unto  his  son,'^  who  was  separated  fro7n 
hi?u,  sayings  Embark  with  us,  my  son,  and  stay  not  with  the  unbelievers. 
He  answered,  I  will  get  on  a  mountain,  which  will  secure  me  from  the 
water.  JVoah  replied,  There  is  no  security  this  day  from  the  decree  of  God, 
except  for  him  on  whom  he  shall  have  mercy.  And  a  wave  passed  be- 
tween them,  and  he  became  one  of  those  who  were  drowned.*  And  it  was 
said,  O  earth,  swallow  up  thy  waters,  and  thou,  O  heaven,  withhold  thy 
rain.  And  immediately  the  water  abated,  and  the  decree  was  fulfilled,  and 
tlie  ark  rested  on  the  mountain  Al  Judi ;  *  and  it  was  said,  Away  with  the 

'  This  was  an  unbelieving  son  of  Noah,'  named  Canaan.^  or  Yam  ;=*  though  others  say 
he  was  not  the  son  of  Noah,  but  his  grandson  by  his  son  Ham,  or  his  wife's  son  by  an- 
other husband ;  nay,  some  pretend  he  was  related  to  him  no  farther  than  by  having  been 
educated  and  brought  up  in  his  house.*  The  best  commentators  add,  that  Noah's 
wife,  named  Waila,  who  was  an  infidel,  was  also  comprehended  in  this  exception,  and 
perished  with  her  son.' 

*  Noah's  family  being  mentioned  before,  it  is  supposed  that  by  these  words  are  intended 
the  other  believers,  who  were  his  proselytes,  but  not  of  his  family:  whence  the  common 
opinion  among  Mohammedans,  of  a  greater  number  than  eight  being  saved  in  the  ark, 
seems  to  have  taken  its  rise.^ 

'  viz.  His  other  wife,  who  was  a  true  believer,  his  three  sons,  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japhet, 
and  their  wives,  and  seventy-two  persons  more,'' 

^  That  is,  omit  no  opportunity  of  getting  on  board.  According  to  a  different  reading, 
the  latter  words  may  be  rendered,  who  shall  cause  it  to  movre  forward,  and  to  stop,  as  there 
shall  be  occasion.  The  commentators  tell  us  that  the  ark  moved  forwards,  or  stood  still, 
as  Noah  would  have  it,  on  his  pronouncing  only  the  words.  In  the  name  of  God.^ 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  the  more  judicious  commentators  make  the  dimensions  of  the 
ark  to  be  the  same  with  those  assigned  by  Moses  ;  *  notwithstanding  others  have  enlarged 
them  extravagantly.'"  as  some  Christian  writers"  have  also  done.  They  likewise  tell  us 
that  Noah  was  two  years  in  building  the  ark,  which  was  framed  of  Indian  plane  tree,'^ 
that  it  was  divided  into  three  stories,  of  which  the  lower  was  designed  for  the  beasts, 
the  middle  one  for  the  men  and  women,  and  the  upper  for  the  birds  ;  '^  and  that  the  men 
were  separated  from  the  women  by  the  body  of  Adam,  which  Noah  had  taken  into  the 
the  ark."  This  last  is  a  tradition  of  the  eastern  Christians,'*  some  of  whom  pretended 
that  the  matrimonial  duty  was  superseded  and  suspended  during  the  time  Noah  and  his 
family  were  in  the  ark  ;  '^  though  Ham  has  been  accused  of  not  observing  coniinency  on 
that  occasion,  his  wife,  it  seems,  bringing  forth  Canaan  in  the  very  ark." 

y  The  waters  prevailing  fifteen  cubits  above  the  mountains."  *  See  note  r. 

*  "  The  waters  arose,  and  all  men  were  swallowed  up." — Savary. 

"  This  mountain  is  one  of  those  which  divide  Armenia,  on  the  south,  from  Mesopotamia, 
and  that  part  of  Assyria,  which  is  inhabited  by  the  Curds,  from  whom  the  mountains 
took  the  name  of  Cardu,  or  Gardu ;  by  the  Greeks  turned  into  Gordyaei,  and  other 
names. '^  Mount  al  Jflddi  (which  name  seems  to  be  a  corruption,  though  it  be  constantly 
60  written  by  the  Arabs,  for  Jordi  or  Giordi)  is  also  called  Thamanin,^°  probably  from  a 
town  at  the  foot  of  it,^'  so  named  from  the  number  of  persons  saved  in  the  ark,  the  word 
thamanin  signifying  eighty,  and  overlooks  the  country  of  Diyar  Rabiah,  near  the  cities  of 

'Yahya.  ' Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  'EbnShohnah.  "Al  Zumakhshari. 

Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  676.  » Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Kamakhshari,  Al  Beidawi. 

«  See  chap.  7,  p.  122.  ''  See  ibid,  note  b.  *  Al  Beidawi,  &c.  '  Idem,  &c. 

'°  Yahya.     Vide  Marracc.  in  Alcor,  p.  350.  "  Origen  contr.  Cels.  lib.  4.     Vide 

Kircher.  de  Area  Noc,  c.  8.  ^^  ^1  Beidawi.     Vide  D'Herbel.  p.  67.5,   and 

Eutych.  p.  34.  '^  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  Eutych.  Annal.  p.  34.  "  Yahya. 

"Jacob,  Edessenus,  apud  Barcepham  de  Parad.  part  1,  chap.  14.  Eutych.  ubi.  sup. 
Vide  etfom  Eliezer.  pirke  chap.  23.         '« Ambros.  de  Noa  et  Area,  chap.  21.  "  Vide 

Heidegger.  Hist.  Patriarchar.  v.  1,  p.  409.  "  Al  Beidawi.  "See  Bochart. 

Phaleg.  lib.  1,  c.  3.  *>  Geogr.  Num.  p.  202.  ^  Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl. 

Orient,  p.  404,  and  676,  et  Agathiam,  lib.  14,  p.  135. 


180  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xr. 

ungodly  people !  And  JS^oah  called  upon  his  Lord,  and  said,  O  Lord,  verily 
my  son  is  of  my  family,  and  thy  promise  is  true ; ''  for  thou  art  the  most 
just  of  those  who  exercise  judgment.  God  answered,  O  Noah,  verily  he  is 
not  of  thy  family ;  *=  this  intercession  of  thine  for  him  is  not  a  righteous 
work.**  Ask  not  of  me  therefore  that  wherein  thou  hast  no  knowledge :  I 
admonish  thee  that  thou  become  not  one  of  the  ignorant.  JYoah  said,  O 
Lord,  I  have  recourse  unto  thee  for  the  assistance  of  thy  grace,  that  I  ask 
not  of  thee  that  wherein  I  have  no  knowledge ;  and  unless  thou  forgive 
me,  and  be  merciful  unto  me,  I  shall  be  one  of  those  who  perish.  It  was 
said  unto  him,  O  Noah,  come  down  from  the  ark,^  with  peace  from  us, 
and  blessings  upon  thee,  and  upon  a  part  of  those  who  are  with  thee ;  ^  but 
as  for  a  part  of  them,^  we  will  suffer  them  to  enjoy  the  provision  of  this 
toorld ;  and  afterwards  shall  a  grievous  punishment  from  us  be  inflicted  on 
them,  in  the  life  to  come.  This  is  a  secret  history,  which  we  reveal  unto 
thee :  thou  didst  not  know  it,  neither  did  thy  people,  before  this.  Where- 
fore persevere  with  patience :  for  the  prosperous  issue  shall  attend  the  pious. 
And  unto  the  tribe  of  Ad  we  sent  their  brother  Hud.^  He  said,  O  my  people, 
worship  God  ;  ye  have  no  God  besides  him ;  ye  only  imagine  false- 
hood, in  setting  up  idols  and  intercessors  of  your  own  making.    O  my  people, 

Mawsel,  Forda,  and  Jazirat  Ebn  Omar  ;  which  last  place  one  affirms  to  be  but  four 
miles  from  the  place  of  the  ark,  and  says  that  a  Mohammedan  temple  was  built  there 
■with  the  remains  of  that  vessel,  by  the  Khalif  Omar  Ebn  Abd'alaziz,  whom  he  by  mis- 
take calls  Omar  Ebn  al  Khattab." 

The  tradition  which  affirms  the  ark  to  have  rested  on  these  mountains  must  have  been 
very  ancient,  since  it  is  the  tradition  of  the  Chaldeans  themselves:  *  the  Chaldee  para- 
phrasts  consent  to  their  opinion,*  which  obtained  very  much  formerly,  especially  among 
the  eastern  Christians.''  To  confirm  it,  we  are  told,  that  the  remainders  of  the  ark  were 
to  be  seen  on  the  Gordyaean  mountains  :  Berosus  and  Abydenus  both  declare  there  was 
such  a  report  in  their  time  ;'  the  first  observing  that  several  of  the  inhabitants  thereabouts 
scraped  the  pitch  off"  the  planks  as  a  rarity,  and  carried  it  about  them  for  an  amulet: 
and  the  latter  saying,  that  they  used  the  wood  of  the  vessel  against  many  diseases  with 
wonderful  success.  The  relics  of  the  ark  were  also  to  be  seen  here  in  the  time  of 
Epiphanius,  if  we  may  believe  him  ;'  and  we  are  told  the  emperor  Heraclius  went  from 
the  town  of  Thamanin  up  to  the  mountain  al  Jiidi,  and  saw  the  place  of  the  ark.'°  There 
was  also  formerly  a  famous  monastery,  called  the  monastery  of  the  ark,  upon  some  of 
these  mountains,  where  the  Nestorians  used  to  celebrate  a  feast-day  on  the  spot  where 
they  supposed  the  ark  rested ;  but  in  the  year  of  Christ  776,  that  monastery  was  de- 
stroyed by  lightning,  with  the  church,  and  a  numerous  congregation  in  it."  Since  which 
time  it  seems  the  credit  of  this  tradition  hath  declined,  and  given  place  to  another,  which 
obtains  at  present,  and  according  to  which  the  ark  rested  on  Mount  Masis  in  Armenia, 
called  by  the  Turks,  Aghir  dagh,  or  the  heavy  or  great  mountain,  and  situate  about  twelve 
leagues  south-east  of  Erivan.*'* 

"  Noah  here  challenges  God's  promise,  that  he  would  save  his  family. 

*-"  Being  cut  off"  from  it  on  account  of  his  infidelity. 

**  According  to  a  different  reading  this  passage  may  be  rendered,  For  he  hath  acted  un- 
righteously. 

*  The  Mohammedans  say  that  Noah  went  into  the  ark  on  the  tenth  of  Rajeb,  and  came 
out  of  it  the  tenth  of  al  Moharram  ;  which  therefore  became  a  fast.  So  that  the  whole 
time  of  Noah's  being  in  the  ark,  according  to  them,  was  six  months." 

^  viz.  Such  of  them  as  continued  in  their  belief 

« That  is,  such  of  his  posterity  as  should  depart  from  the  true  faith,  and  fall  into 
idolatry. 

^  See  chap.  7,  p.  122. 

*  Benjamin,  Itiner.  p.  61.  'Berosus,  apud  Joseph.  Antiq.  lib.  1,  c.  4.  *  Onkelos 
et  Jonathan,  in  Gen.  viii.  4.  ''  Vide  Eutych.  Annal.  p.  41.  ^Berosuz,  apud  Joseph, 
ubi  sup.  Abydenus,  apud  Euseb.  Praep.  Ev.  lib.  9,  c.  4.  ^  Epiph.  Haeres.  18.  "  El- 
macin.  lib.  1,  c.  1.  "  Vide  Chronic.  Dionysii  Patriarch,  Jacobitar,  apud  Asseman. 
Bibl.  Orient,  torn.  2,  p.  113.  '^  Al  Beidawi.  "  Idem.    See  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KORAN.  181 

I  ask  not  of  you  for  this  my  preaching,  any  recompense :  my  recompense 
do  I  expect  from  him  only  who  hath  created  me.  Will  ye  not  therefore 
understand?  O  my  people,  ask  pardon  of  your  Lord  ;  and  be  turned  unto 
him :  he  will  send  the  heaven  to  pour  forth  rain  plentifully  upon  you/  and 
he  will  increase  your  strength  hy  giving  unto  yon  farther  strength  c'^  there- 
fore turn  not  aside,  to  commit  evil.  They  answered,  O  Hud,  thou  hast 
brought  us  no  proof  of  what  thou  sayest ;  therefore  we  will  not  leave  our 
gods  for  thy  saying,  neither  do  we  believe  thee.  We  say  no  other  than  that 
some  of  our  gods  have  afflicted  thee  with  evil.^  He  replied.  Verily  I  call 
God  to  witness,  and  do  ye  also  bear  witness,  that  I  am  clear  of  that  which 
ye  associate  with  God,  besides  him.  Do  ye  all  therefore  join  to  devise  a  plot 
against  me,  and  tarry  not ;  for  I  put  my  confidence  in  God,  my  Lord  and 
your  Lord.  There  is  no  beast,  but  he  holdeth  it  by  its  forelock  :  ™  verily 
my  Lord  proceedeth  in  the  right  way.  But  if  ye  turn  back,  I  have  already 
declared  unto  you  that  with  which  I  was  sent  unto  you ;  and  my  Lord 
shall  substitute  another  nation  in  your  stead ;  and  ye  shall  not  hurt  him  at 
all :  for  my  Lord  is  guardian  over  all  things.  And  when  our  sentence  came 
to  be  put  in  execution,  we  delivered  Hud,  and  those  who  had  believed  with 
him,*^  through  our  mercy ;  and  we  delivered  them  from  a  grievous  punish- 
ment. And  this  tribe  of  Ad  wittingly  rejected  the  signs  of  their  Lord,  and 
were  disobedient  unto  his  messengers,  and  they  followed  the  command  of 
every  rebellious  perverse  person.  Wherefore  they  were  followed  in  this 
world  by  a  curse,  and  they  shall  be  followed  by  the  same  on  the  day  of  resur- 
rection. Did  not  Ad  disbelieve  in  their  Lord  ]  Was  it  not  said,  Away  with 
Ad,  the  people  of  Hud  ?  And  unto  the  tribe  of  Thamud  we  sent  their  bro- 
ther Saleh."  He  said  unto  them,  O  my  people,  worship  God  ;  ye  have  no 
God  besides  him.  It  is  he  who  hath  produced  you  out  of  the  earth,  and 
hath  given  you  an  habitation  therein.  Ask  pardon  of  him  therefore,  and  be 
turned  unto  him ;  for  my  Lord  is  near,*  and  ready  to  answer.  They  an- 
swered, O  Saleh,  thou  wast  a  person  on  whom  we  placed  our  hopes  before 
this.p  Dost  thou  forbid  us  to  worship  that  which  our  fathers  worshipped  ? 
But  we  are  certainly  in  doubt  concerning  the  religion  to  which  thou 
dost  invite  us,  as  justly  to  be  suspected.  Saleh  said,  O  my  people,  tell  me ; 
if  I  have   received  an  evident  declaration  from  my  Lord,  and  he  hath 

'  For  the  Adites  were  grievously  distressed  by  a  drought  for  more  than  three  years.* 

*  By  giving  you  children  ;  the  wombs  of  their  wives  being  also  rendered  barren,  during 
the  time  of  the  drought,  as  well  as  their  lands.' 

'  Or  madness :  having  deprived  thee  of  thy  reason  for  the  indignities  thou  hast  offered 
them. 

"  That  is,  he  exerciseth  an  absolute  power  over  it.  A  creature  held  in  this  manner 
being  supposed  to  be  reduced  to  the  lowest  subjection. 

"  Who  were  in  number  four  thousand.*^ 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  123. 

*  "  Repent !     Turn  unto  him  !     He  is  near  unto  you,  and  hears  you." — Savory. 

p  Designing  to  have  made  thee  our  prince,  because  of  the  singular  prudence  and  other 
good  qualiiies  which  we  observed  in  thee  ;  but  thy  dissenting  from  us  in  point  of  religious 
worship  has  frustrated  those  hopes.'' 

'ujz.  Wednesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday.*    See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  note  k. 

*  See  the  notes  to  chap.  7,  p.  123.  *  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 
'  Idem.                      *  Idem. 


182  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xi. 

bestowed  on  me  mercy  from  himself;  who  will  protect  me  from  the 
vengeance  of  God,  if  I  be  disobedient  unto  him  ?  For  ye  shall  not  add  unto 
me,  other  than  loss.  And  he  said,  O  my  people,  this  she-camel  of  God  is 
a  sign  unto  you ;  therefore  dismiss  her  freely,  that  she  may  feed  in  God's 
earth,  and  do  her  no  harm,  lest  a  swift  punishment  seize  you.  Yet 
they  killed  her;  and  Saleh  said,  Enjoy  yourselves  in  your  dwellings  for 
three  days  ;  *  after  which  ye  shall  be  destroyed.  This  is  an  infallible  pre- 
diction. And  when  our  decree  came  to  he  executed,  we  delivered  Saleh  and 
those  who  believed  with  him,  through  our  mercy,  from  the  disgrace  of  that 
day ;  for  thy  Lord  is  the  strong,  the  mighty  God.  But  a  terrible  noise 
from  heaven  assailed  those  who  had  acted  unjustly ;  and  in  the  morning 
they  were  found  in  their  houses,  lying  dead  and  prostrate ;  as  though  they 
had  never  dwelt  therein.  Did  not  Thamud  disbelieve  in  their  Lord  ]  Was 
not  Thamud  cast  far  away  1  Our  messengers  "■  also  came  formerly  unto 
Abraham,  with  good  tidings:  they  said.  Peace  be  upon  thee.  And  he 
answered,  and  on  you  be  Peace !  And  he  tarried  not,  but  brought  a  roasted 
calf.  And  when  he  saw  that  their  hands  did  not  touch  the  meat*  he  mis- 
liked  them,  and  entertained  a  fear  of  them.*  But  they  said.  Fear  not :  for 
we  are  sent  unto  the  people  of  Lot.*  And  his  wife  Sarah  was  standing  by," 
and  she  laughed ;  "^  and  we  promised  her  Isaac,  and  after  Isaac,  Jacob. 
She  said,  Alas !  shall  I  bear  a  son,  who  am  old ;  this  my  husband  also 
being  advanced  in  years  ?  *  Verily  this  would  be  a  wonderful  thing.  The 
angels  answered,  Dost  thou  wonder  at  the  effect  of  the  command  of  God? 
The  mercy  of  God  and  his  blessings  be  upon  you,  the  family  of  the  house :  y 

'  These  were  the  angels  who  were  sent  to  acquaint  Abraham  with  the  promise  of  Isaac, 
and  to  destroy  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Some  of  the  commentators  pretend  they  were 
twelve,  or  nine,  or  ten  in  number ;  but  others,  agreeable  to  scripture,  say  they  were  but 
three,  viz.  Gabriel,  Michael,  and  Israfil.' 

*  "  When  he  saw  that  they  did  not  touch  his  hand."t — Savary. 

'  Apprehending  that  they  had  some  ill  design  against  him,  because  they  would  not  eat 
with  him. 

*  Being  angels,  whose  nature  needs  not  the  support  of  food.^ 

"  Either  behind  the  curtain,  or  door  of  the  tent ;  or  else  waiting  upon  them. 

"^  The  commentators  are  so  little  acquainted  with  scripture,  that,  not  knowing  the  true 
occasion  of  Sarah's  laughter,  they  strain  their  inventions  to  give  some  reason  for  it.  One 
says,  that  she  laughed  at  the  angels  discovering  themselves,  and  ridding  Abraham  and 
herself  of  their  apprehensions ;  and  another,  that  it  was  at  the  approaching  destruction 
of  the  Sodomites  (a  very  probable  motive  in  one  of  her  sex).  Some,  however,  interpret 
the  original  word  differently,  and  will  have  it  that  she  did  not  laugh,  but  that  her  courses, 
which  had  stopped  for  several  years,  came  upon  her  at  this  time,  as  a  previous  sign  of  her 
future  conception.*^ 

^  Al  Beidawi  writes  that  Sarah  was  then  ninety,  or  ninety-nine  years  old,  and  Abraham 
a  hundred  and  twenty. 

y  Or  the  stock  whence  all  the  prophets  were  to  proceed  for  the  future.     Or  the  ex- 

®  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.     See  Gen.  xviii. 

t  When  the  Orientals  meet,  after  having  made  the  ordinary  salutation,  Peace  be  with 
you,  they  move  the  hand  to  the  left  side,  and  mutually  shake  hands.  When  they  are  very 
intimate,  they  repeat  this  ceremony,  and  wish  good  wishes  to  each  other.  If  they  do  not 
know  the  person  wliom  they  meet,  they  merely  give  him  the  salutation,  and  if  it  be  an 
unbeliever,  they  content  themselves  by  saying  Good  day.  Abraham,  seeing  that  the  two 
celestial  messengers  did  not  touch  his  hand,  concluded  them  to  be  strangers  to  whom  he 
was  not  known. — Savary. 

'■  Al  Beidawi.  -  Idem.  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Zamakhshari. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KORAN.  183 

for  he  is  praiseworthy,  and  to  be  glorified.  x\nd  when  his  apprehension 
had  departed  from  Abraham,  and  the  good  tidings  of  Isaac's  birth  had  come 
unto  him,  he  disputed  with  us  concerning  the  people  of  Lot ;  ^  for  Abraham 
was  a  pitiful,  compassionate,  and  devout  person.  The  angels  said  unto  him^ 
O  Abraham,  abstain  from  this  ;  for  now  is  the  command  of  thy  Lord  come, 
to  put  their  sentence  in  execution,  and  an  inevitable  punishment  is  ready  to 
fall  upon  them.  And  when  our  messengers  came  unto  Lot,  he  was 
troubled  for  them,*  and  his  arm  was  straightened  concerning  them ;''  and 
he  said,  This  is  a  grievous  day.  And  his  people  came  unto  him,  rushing 
upon  him,  and  they  had  formerly  been  guilty  of  wickedness.  Lot  said  unto 
them,  O  my  people,  these  my  daughters  are  more  lawful  for  you :  therefore 
fear  God,  and  put  me  not  to  shame  by  wronging  my  guests.  Is  there  not 
a  man  of  prudence  among  you  1  *  They  answered.  Thou  knowest  that  we 
have  no  need  of  thy  daughters ;  and  thou  well  knowest  what  we  would 
have.  He  said,  If  I  had  strength  sufficient  to  oppose  you,  or  I  could  have 
recourse  unto  a  powerful  support,  I  would  certainly  do  it.  The  angels 
said,  O  Lot,  verily  we  are  the  messengers  of  thy  Lord  ;  they  shall  by  no 
means  come  in  unto  thee."'  Go  forth,  therefore,  with  thy  family,  in  some 
part  of  the  night,  and  let  not  any  of  you  turn  back :  but  as  for  thy  wife,*^ 
that  shall  happen  unto  her,  which  shall  happen  unto  them.  Verily  the 
prediction  of  their  punishment  shall  be  fulfilled  in  the  morning :  is  not  the 
morning  near?  And  when  our  command  came,  we  turned  those  cities 
upside  down,^  and  we  rained  upon  them  stones  of  baked  clay,^  one  follow- 

pression  may  perhaps  refer  to  Abraham  and  Ishmael's  building  the  Caaba,  which  is  often 
called,  by  way  of  excellence,  the  house. 

^  That  is,  he  interceded  with  us  for  them.'  Jallalo'ddin,  instead  of  the  numbers  men- 
tioned by  Moses,  says,  that  Abraham  first  asked  whether  God  would  destroy  those  cities 
if  three  hundred  righteous  persons  were  found  therein,  and  so  fell  successively  to  two 
hundred,  forty,  fourteen,  and  at  last  came  to  one :  but  there  was  not  one  righteous  person 
to  be  found  among  them,  except  only  Lot  and  his  family. 

^  Because  they  appeared  in  the  shape  of  beautiful  young  men,  which  must  needs  tempt 
those  of  Sodom  to  abuse  them. 

^  i.  e.  He  knew  himself  unable  to  protect  them  against  the  insults  of  his  townsmen. 

*  "  Is  all  shame  extinct  among  you  ?" — Savary. 

<=  Al  J3eidawi  says,  that  Lot  shut  his  door,  and  argued  the  matter  with  the  riotous  as- 
sembly from  behind  it ;  but  at  length  they  endeavoured  to  get  over  the  wall:  whereupon 
Gabriel  seeing  his  distress,  struck  them  on  the  face  with  one  of  his  wings,  and  blinded 
them ;  so  that  they  moved  off,  crying  out  for  help,  and  saying  that  Lot  had  magicians  in 
his  house. 

■^  This  seems  to  be  the  true  sense  of  the  passage ;  but  according  to  a  different  reading 
of  the  vowel,  some  interpret  it.  Except  thy  lo if e ;  the  meaning  being,  that  Lot  is  here 
commanded  to  take  his  family  with  him  except  his  wife.  Wherefore  the  commentators 
cannot  agree  whether  Lot's  wife  went  forth  with  him  or  not;  some  denying  it,  and  pre- 
tending that  she  was  left  behind  and  perished  in  the  common  destruction  ;  and  others 
affirming  it,  and  saying,  that  when  she  heard  the  noise  of  the  storm,  and  overthrow  of  the 
cities,  she  turned  back,  lamenting  their  fate,  and  was  immediately  struck  down  and  killed 
by  one  of  the  stones  mentioned  a  little  lower.'  A  punishment  she  justly  merited  for  her 
infidelity  and  disobedience  to  her  husband.* 

^  For  they  tell  us,  that  Gabriel  thrust  his  wing  under  them,  and  lifted  them  up  so  high, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  lower  heaven  heard  the  barking  of  the  dogs,  and  the  crowing 
of  the  cocks  ;  and  then  inverting  them,  threw  them  down  to  the  earth.' 

'  The  kiln  wherein  they  were  burned  some  imagine  to  have  been  hell. 

'Vide  Gen.  xviii.  23,  &c.  ■•  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  Joseph.  Anfiq.  lib.  1, 

c.  IL  *Iidem  interpretes.  ^  ggg  (,  gjj  i  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi. 


184  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xi. 

ing  another,  and  being  marked  s  from  thy  Lord  ;  and  they  are  not  far 
distant  from  those  who  act  unjustly. '^  And  unto  Madian  we  sent  their 
brother  Shoaib : '  he  said,  O  my  people,  worship  God  :  ye  have  no  God  but 
him  :  and  diminish  not  measure  and  weight.  Verily  I  see  you  to  he  in  a 
happy  condition  :  ^  but  I  fear  for  you  the  punishment  of  the  day  which  will 
encompass  the  ungodly.  O  my  people,  give  full  measure  and  just  weight ; 
and  diminish  not  unto  men  aught  of  their  matters ;  neither  commit  in- 
justice in  the  earth,  acting  corruptly.  The  residue  which  shall  remain  unto 
you  as  the  gift  of  God,  after  ye  shall  have  done  justice  to  others,  will  be 
better  for  you,  than  wealth  gotten  hy  fraud,  if  ye  be  true  believers.  I  am 
no  guardian  over  you.  They  answered,  O  Shoaib,  do  thy  prayers  enjoin 
thee,  that  we  should  leave  the  gods  which  our  fathers  worshipped ;  or  that 
we  should  not  do  what  we  please  with  our  substance.^  Thou  only, 
it  seems,  art  the  wise  person,  and  fit  to  direct.  He  said,  O  my 
people,  tell  me :  if  I  have  received  an  evident  declaration  from  my 
Lord,  and  he  hath  bestowed  on  me  an  excellent  provision,  and  I  will  not 
consent  unto  you  in  that  which  I  forbid  you ;  do  I  seek  any  other  than 
your  reformation,  to  the  utmost  of  my  power  ?  My  support  is  from  God 
alone:  on  him  do  I  trust,  and  unto  him  do  I  turn  me.  O  my  people, 
let  not  your  opposing  of  me  draw  on  you  a  vengeance  like  unto  that  which 
fell  on  the  people  of  Noah,  or  the  people  of  Hud,  or  the  people  of  Saleh  : 
neither  teas  the  people  of  Lot  far  distant  from  you.™  *  Ask  pardon,  there- 
fore, of  your  Lord  ;  and  be  turned  unto  him :  for  my  Lord  is  merciful 
and  loving.  They  answered,  O  Shoaib,  we  understand  not  much  of  what 
thou  say  est ;  and  we  see  thee  to  be  a  man  of  no  power  "  among  us  :  if  it 
had  not  been  ybr  the  sake  of  thy  family,"  we  had  surely  stoned  thee,  neither 
couldst  thou  have  prevailed  against  us.  Shoaih  said,  O  my  people,  is  my 
family  more  worthy  in  your  opinion  than  God  ?  and  do  ye  cast  him  behind 

e  That  is,  as  some  suppose,  streaked  with  white  and  red,  or  having  some  other  peculiar 
mark  to  distinguish  them  from  ordinary  stones.  But  the  common  opinion  is,  that  each 
stone  had  the  name  of  the  person  who  was  to  be  killed  by  it,  written  thereon."  The  army 
of  Araha  al  Ashram  was  also  destroyed  by  the  same  kind  of  stones. 

"  This  is  a  kind  of  threat  to  other  wicked  persons,  and  particularly  to  the  infidels  of 
Mecca,  who  deserved  and  might  justly  apprehend  the  same  punishment. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  125,  &c. 

''  That  is.,  enjoying  plenty  of  all  things ;  and  therefore  having  the  less  occasion  to  de- 
fraud one  another,  and  being  the  more  strongly  bound  to  be  thankful  and  obedient  unto 
God. 

'  For  this  liberty,  they  imagined,  was  taken  from  them,  by  his  prohibition  of  false 
weights  and  measures,  or  to  diminish  or  adulterate  their  coin.^ 

™  For  Sodom  and  Gomorraii  were  situate  not  a  great  way  from  you,  and  their  destruc- 
tion happened  not  many  ages  ago  ;  neither  did  they  deserve  it  on  account  o^  their  obstinacy 
and  wickedness,  much  more  than  yourselves. 

*  "  O  my  people,  let  not  your  falling  off  from  the  faith  bring  down  upon  you  the 
scourges  which  have  caused  to  perish  the  people  of  Noah,  of  Hud,  and  of  Saleh,  and  the 
inhabitants  of  Sodom,  whose  chastisement  was  so  recently  inflicted." — Savary. 

"  The  Arabic  word  daif,  weak,  signifying  also,  in  the  Hamyaritic  dialect,  blind,  some 
suppose  that  Shoaib  was  so,  and  that  the  Midianites  objected  that  to  him,  as  a  defect 
which  disqualified  him  for  the  prophetic  office. 

"  i.  e.  For  the  respect  we  bear  to  thy  family  and  relations:  whom  we  honour  as  being 
of  our  religion,  and  not  for  any  apprehension  we  have  of  their  power  to  assist  you  against 
us.  The  original  word  here  translated  family,  signifies  any  number  from  three  to  seven 
or  ten,  but  not  more.' 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


CHAP.  XI.  AL  KORAN.  185 

you  with  neglect  ?  Verily  my  Lord  comprehendeth  that  which  ye  do.  O 
my  people,  do  ye  work  according  to  your  condition ;  I  will  surely  work 
according  to  my  duty.^  And  ye  shall  certainly  know  on  whom  will  be  in- 
flicted a  punishment  which  shall  cover  him  with  shame,  and  who  is  a  liar. 
Wait,  therefore,  the  event ;  for  I  also  will  wait  it  with  you.  Wherefore, 
when  our  decree  came  to  be  executed,  we  delivered  Shoaib  and  those 
who  believed  with  him,  through  our  mercy :  and  a  terrible  noise  from 
Heaven  assailed  those  who  had  acted  unjustly ;  and  in  the  morning 
they  were  found  in  their  houses  lying  dead  and  prostrate,  as  though 
they  had  never  dwelt  therein.  Was  not  Madian  removed  from  off 
the  earth,  as  Thamud  had  been  removed  ?  And  we  formerly  sent  Moses 
with  our  signs,  and  manifest  power  unto  Pharaoh  and  his  princes ;  ^ 
but  they  followed  the  command  of  Pharaoh ;  although  the  command 
of  Pharaoh  did  not  direct  thein  aright.  Pharaoh  shall  precede  his  on 
the  day  of  resurrection,  and  he  shall  lead  them  into  hell  fire;  an  un- 
happy way  shall  it  he  which  they  shall  be  led.  They  were  followed  in  this 
life  by  a  curse,  and  on  the  day  of  resurrection  miserable  shall  he  the  gift 
which  shall  be  given  them.  This  is  a  part  of  the  histories  of  the  cities, 
which  we  rehearse  unto  thee.  Of  them  there  are  so?ne  standing;  and 
others  which  are  utterly  demolished.""  And  we  treated  them  not  unjustly, 
but  they  dealt  unjustly  with  their  own  souls :  and  their  gods  which  they 
invoked,  besides  God,  were  of  no  advantage  unto  them  at  all,  when  the 
decree  of  thy  Lord  came  to  he  executed  on  them,  neither  were  they  any 
other  than  a  detriment  unto  them.  And  thus  was  the  punishment  of  thy 
Lord  inflicted.,  when  he  punished  the  cities  which  were  unjust;  for  his 
punishment  is  grievous  and  severe.  Verily  herein  is  a  sign  unto  him  who 
feareth  the  punishment  of  the  last  day:  that  shall  he  a  day,  whereon  all 
men  shall  be  assembled,  and  that  shall  he  a  day  whereon  witness  shall  be 
borne ;  we  defer  it  not,  but  to  a  determined  time.  When  that  day  shall 
come,  no  soul  shall  speak  to  excuse  itself,  or  to  intercede  for  another,  but  by 
the  permission  of  God.  Of  them,  one  shall  he  miserable,  and  another  shall 
be  happy.  And  they  who  shall  be  miserable,  shall  be  thrown  into  hell  fire ; 
there  shall  they  wail  and  bemoan  themselves  .•*  they  shall  remain  therein  so 
long  as  the  heavens  and  the  earth  shall  endure ;  *  except  what  thy  Lord 
shall  please  to  remit  of  their  sentence  ;  "  for  thy  Lord  effecteth  that  which 

p  See  chap.  6,  p.  112,  note  m. 

1  See  chap.  7,  p.  127,  &c. 

'  Literally,  mown  down ;  the  sentence  presenting  the  different  images  of  corn  standing, 
and  cut  down,  which  is  also  often  used  by  the  sacred  writers. 

*  The  two  words  in  the  original  signify,  properly,  the  vehement  drawing  in  and  expira- 
tion of  one's  l)reaih,  which  is  usual  to  persons  in  groat  pain  and  anguish  ;  and  particularly 
the  reciprocation  of  the  voice  of  an  ass,  when  he  brays. 

'  This  is  not  to  be  strictly  understood,  as  if  either  the  punishment  of  the  damned  should 
have  an  end,  or  the  heavens  and  the  earth  should  endure  for  ever;  the  expression  being 
only  used  by  way  of  image  or  comparison,  which  needs  not  agree  in  every  point  with  the 
thing  siiinified.  Some,  however,  tjiink  the  future  heavens  and  earth,  into  which  the  pre- 
sent shall  be  changed,  are  here  meant.^ 

"  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  pp.  66,  67. 

\v  *  Al  Beidawi. 


186  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xi. 

he  pleaseth.  But  they  who  shall  be  happy,  shall  he  admitted  into  paradise  ; 
they  shall  remain  therein  so  long  as  the  heavens  and  the  earth  endure ; 
besides  what  thy  Lord  shall  please  to  add  unto  their  bliss ;  a  bounty  which 
shall  not  be  interrupted.  Be  not  therefore  in  doubt  concerning  that  which 
these  men  worship :  they  worship  no  other  than  what  their  fathers  wor- 
shipped before  the7n ;  and  we  will  surely  give  them  their  full  portion,  not 
in  the  least  diminished.  We  formerly  gave  unto  Moses  the  book  of  the  law  ; 
and  disputes  arose  among  his  people  concerning  it :  and  unless  a  previous 
decree  had  proceeded  from  thy  Lord,  to  bear  with  them  during  this  life,  the 
matter  had  been  surely  decided  between  them.  And  thy  people  are  also  jealous 
and  in  doubt  concerning  the  Koran.  But  unto  every  one  of  them  will  thy 
Lord  render  the  reioard  of  their  works ;  for  he  well  knoweth  that  which 
they  do.  Be  thou  stedfast,  therefore,  as  thou  hast  been  commanded  ;  and 
let  him  also  be  stedfast  who  shall  be  converted  with  thee ;  and  transgress 
not ;  for  he  seeth  that  which  ye  do.  And  incline  not  unto  those  who  act  un- 
justly, lest  the  fire  of  hell  touch  you  :  for  ye  have  no  protectors,  except  God  ; 
neither  shall  ye  be  assisted  against  him.  Pray  regularly  morning  and  even- 
ing ;  ^  and  in  the  former  part  of  the  night,^  for  good  works  drive  away 
evils.  This  is  an  admonition  unto  those  who  consider :  wherefore  per- 
severe with  patience ;  for  God  sufFereth  not  the  reward  of  the  righteous  to 
perish.  Were  such  of  the  generations  before  you,  endued  with  understand- 
ing and  virtue,  who  forbad  the  acting  corruptly  in  the  earth,  any  more  than 
a  few  only  of  those  whom  we  delivered?  But  they  who  were  unjust  fol- 
lowed the  delights  which  they  enjoyed  in  this  world,"^  and  were  wicked 
doers :  ^  and  thy  Lord  was  not  of  such  a  disposition  as  to  destroy  the  cities 
unjustly,^  while  their  inhabitants  behaved  themselves  uprightly.  And  if 
thy  Lord  pleased,  he  would  have  made  all  men  of  one  religion :  but  they 
shall  not  cease  to  differ  among  themselves,  unless  those  on  whom  thy  Lord 
shall  have  mercy :  and  unto  this  hath  he  created  them ;  for  the  word  of 
thy  Lord  shall  be  fulfilled,  when  he  said,  Verily  I  will  fill  hell  altogether 
with  genii  and  men.  The  whole  which  we  have  related  of  the  histories  of 
our  apostles  do  we  relate  unto  thee,  that  we  may  confirm  thy  heart  there- 
by; and  herein  is  the  truth  come  unto  thee,  and  an  admonition,  and  a 
warning  unto  the  true  believers.  Say  unto  those  who  believe  not,  Act  ye 
according  to  your  condition  ;  we  surely  will  act  according  to  our  duty  :*  and 

"  Literally,  i?i  the  two  extremities  of  the  day. 

""  That  is,  after  sunset,  and  before  supper ;  when  the  Mohammedans  say  their  fourth 
prayer,  called  by  them  Salal  al  moghreb,  or  the  evening  prayer.^ 

'  Making  it  their  sole  business  to  please  their  luxurious  desires  and  appetites,  and 
placing  their  whole  felicity  therein. 

^  Al  Beidawi  says,  that  this  passage  gives  the  reason  why  the  nations  were  destroyed 
of  old ;  viz.  for  their  violence  and  injustice,  their  following  their  own  lusts,  and  for  their 
idolatry  and  unbelief. 

'  Or,  as  the  commentator  just  named  explmns  it,  for  their  idolatry  only,  when  they 
observed  justice  in  other  respects. 

•  See  chap.  6,  p.  112,  note  m. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  xn.  AL  KORAN.  187 

wait  the  issue ;  for  we  certainly  wait  it  also.  Unto  God  is  known  that 
which  is  secret  in  heaven  and  earth ;  and  unto  him  shall  the  whole  matter 
be  referred.  Therefore  worship  him,  and  put  thy  trust  in  him ;  for  thy 
Lord  is  not  regardless  of  that  which  ye  do. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
INTITLED,  JOSEPH;"  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.* 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al.  R."  These  are  the  signs  of  the  perspicuous  book ;  which  we  have 
sent  down  in  the  Arabic  tongue,  that,  peradventure,  ye  might  understand. 
We  relate  unto  thee  a  most  excellent  history,  by  revealing  unto  thee  this 
Koran,''  whereas  thou  wast  before  one  of  the  negligent.^  When  Joseph 
said  unto  his  father/  O  my  father,  verily  I  saw  in  my  dream  eleven  stars,^ 
and  the  sun  and  the  moon ;  I  saw  them  make  obeisance  unto  me :  Jacob 
said,  O  my  child,  tell  not  thy  vision  to  thy  brethren,  lest  they  devise  some 
plot  against  thee;^  for  the  devil  is  a  professed  enemy  unto  man:  and  thus, 
according  to  thy  dream,  shall  thy  Lord  choose  thee,  and  teach  thee  the 
interpretation  of  rfar^  sayings,'  and  he  shall  accomplish  his  favour  upon  thee 
and  upon  the  family  of  Jacob,  as  he  hath  formerly  accomplished  it  upon  thy 


"  The  Koreish,  thinking  to  puzzle  Mohammed,  at  the  instigation,  and  by  the  diredion 
of  certain  Jewish  Rabbins,  demanded  of  him  how  Jacob's  tamily  happened  to  go  down 
into  Egypt ;  and  that  he  would  relate  to  them  the  history  of  Joseph,  with  all  its  circum- 
stances :  whereupon  he  pretended  to  have  received  this  chapter  f'rom  heaven,  containing 
the  story  of  that  patriarch."  It  is  said,  however,  to  have  been  rejected  by  two  Moham- 
medan sects,  branches  of  the  Kharejites,  called  the  Ajaredites  and  Maimunians,  as  apoc- 
ryphal and  spurious. 

*  "  The  Mohammedan,  says  al  Beidawi,  who  shall  read  this  chapter,  or  teach  it  to  his 
friends  or  servants,  shall  have  an  easy  death,  and  strength  of  mind  sufficient  to  envy  no 
one." — Savory. 

•'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  42,  &c, 

"  Or  this  particular  chapter.  For  the  word  Koran,  as  has  been  elsewhere  observed,* 
properly  signifying  no  more  than  a  reading,  or  lecture,  is  often  used  to  denote,  not  only 
the  whole  volume,  but  any  distinct  chapter  or  section  of  it. 

*  I.  e.  So  far  from  being  acquainted  with  the  story,  that  it  never  so  much  as  entered 
into  thy  thoughts :  a  certain  argument,  says  al  Beidawi,  that  it  must  have  been  revealed 
to  him  from  heaven. 

'  Who  was  Jacob,  the  son  of  Isaac,  and  the  son  of  Abraham.* 

'  The  commentators  give  us  the  names  of  these  stars  (which  I  think  it  needless  to 
trouble  the  reader  with),  as  Mohammed  repeated  them,  at  the  request  of  a  Jew,  who 
thought  to  entrap  him  by  the  question.'' 

"  For  they  say,  Jacob,  judging  that  Joseph's  dream  portended  his  advancement  above 
the  rest  of  the  family,  justly  apprehended  his  brethren's  envy  might  tempt  them  to  do 
him  some  mischief. 

'  That  is,  of  dreams ;  or,  as  others  suppose,  of  the  profound  passages  of  scripture,  and 
all  difficulties  respecting  either  religion  or  justice. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  40.  "  Al  Beidawi,  &c. 
'  Idem,  Al  Zamakhshari. 


188  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xii. 

fathers  Abraham  and  Isaac ;  for  thy  Lord  is  knowing  and  wise.  Surely  in 
the  history  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren  there  are  signs  of  Gocfs  providence 
to  the  inquisitive ;  when  they  said  to  one  another,  Joseph  and  his  brother  ^ 
are  dearer  to  our  father  than  we,  who  are  the  greater  number :  our  father 
certainly  maketh  a  wrong  judgment.*  Wherefore  slay  Joseph,  or  drive  him 
into  some  distant  or  desert  part  of  the  earth,  and  the  face  of  your  father  shall 
be  cleared  towards  you ;  ^  and  ye  shall  afterwards  be  people  of  integrity. 
One  of  them  ™  spoke  and  said ;  Slay  not  Joseph,  but  throw  him  to  the 
bottom  of  the  well ;  and  some  travellers  will  take  him  up,  if  ye  do  this. 
They  said  unto  Jacob,  O  father,  why  dost  thou  not  intrust  Joseph  with 
us,  since  we  are  sincere  wellwishers  unto  him?  Send  him  with  us  to- 
morrow, into  the  field,  that  he  may  divert  himself,  and  sport,"  and  we  will 
be  his  guardians.  Jacoh  answered.  It  grieveth  me  that  ye  take  him  away ; 
and  I  fear  lest  the  wolf  devour  him,"  while  ye  are  negligent  of  him.  They 
said,  Surely  if  the  wolf  devour  him,  when  there  are  so  many  of  us,*  we 
shall  be  weak  indeed. p  And  when  they  had  carried  him  with  them,  and 
agreed  to  set  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  well,i  they  executed  their  design  :  and 
we  sent  a  revelation  unto  him,""  saying.  Thou  shalt  hereafter  declare  this 

'  viz.  Benjamin ;  his  brother  by  the  same  mother. 

*  "  Joseph  and  Benjamin  enjoy  all  the  tenderness  of  Jacob  ;  yet  we  are  more  deserving 
than  they.     He  commits  a  flagrant  injustice  against  us." — Savary. 

'  Or,  he  will  settle  his  love  wholly  upon  you,  and  ye  will  have  no  rival  in  his  favour. 

"•  This  person,  as  some  say,  was  Judah,  the  most  prudent  and  noble-minded  of  them 
all ;  or,  according  to  others,  Reuben,  whom  the  Mohammedan  writers  call  Rubil.^  And 
both  these  opinions  are  supported  by  the  account  of  Moses,  who  tells  us,  that  Reuben  ad- 
vised them  not  to  kill  Joseph,  but  to  throw  him  into  a  pit  privately,  intending  to  release 
him;'  and  that  afterwards  Judah,  in  Reuben's  absence,  persuaded  them  not  to  let  him 
die  in  a  pit,  but  to  sell  him  to  the  Ishmaelites.'" 

"  Some  copies  read,  in  the  first  person  plural,  that  we  may  divert  ourselves,  &c. 

"  The  reason  why  Jacob  feared  tliis  beast  in  particular,  as  the  commentators  say,  was 
either  because  the  land  was  full  of  wolves ;  or  else  because  Jacob  had  dreamed  he  saw 
Joseph  devoured  by  one  of  those  creatures.' 

*  "  Should  he  be  attacked  by  a  wild  beast,  we  are  mimerous,  and  we  will  die  in  his 
defence." — Savary. 

p  t.  e.  It  will  be  an  instance  of  extreme  weakness  and  folly  in  us,  and  we  shall  be  justly 
blamed  for  his  loss. 

">  This  well,  say  some,  was  a  certain  well  near  Jerusalem,  or  not  far  from  the  river 
Jordan  ;  but  others  call  it  the  well  of  Egypt,  or  Midian.  The  commentators  tell  us,  that 
when  the  sons  of  Jacob  had  gotten  Joseph  with  them  in  the  field,  they  began  to  abuse  and 
to  beat  him  so  unmercifully,  that  they  had  killed  him,  had  not  Judah,  on  his  crying  out 
for  help,  insisted  on  the  promise  they  had  made  not  to  kill  him,  but  to  cast  him  into  the 
well.  Whereupon  they  let  him  down  a  httle  way  ;  but  as  he  held  by  the  sides  of  the  well, 
they  bound  him,  and  took  off  his  inner  garment,  designing  to  stain  it  with  blood,  to 
deceive  their  father.  Joseph  begged  hard  to  have  his  garment  returned  him,  but  to  no 
purpose  ;  his  brothers  telling  him,  with  a  sneer,  that  the  eleven  stars,  and  the  sun  and  the 
moon,  might  clothe  him  and  keep  him  company.  When  they  had  let  him  fall  thence  to 
the  bottom,  and  there  being  water  in  the  well  (though  the  scripture  says  the  contrary),  he 
was  obliged  to  get  upon  a  stone,  on  which  he  stood  weeping,  the  angel  Gabriel  came  to  him 
with  the'revelation  mentioned  immediately.'* 

'  Joseph  being  then  but  seventeen  years  old.  Al  Beidawi  observes  that  herein  he  resem- 
bled John  the  Baptist  and  Jesus,  who  were  also  favoured  with  the  divine  communication 
very  early.  The  commentators  pretend  that  Gabriel  also  clothed  him  in  the  well  with  a 
garment  of  silk  of  paradise.     For  they  say  that  when  Abraham  was  thrown  into  the  fire, 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakhshari.  »  Gen.  xxxvii.  21,  22.  '°  Ibid.  v.  26,  27. 
•  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Zamakhshari.                  *  lidem. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.  189 

their  action  unto  them ;  and  they  shall  not  perceive  thcc  to  he  Joseph.  And 
they  came  to  tlicir  flither  at  even,  weeping,  and  said,  Fatlier,  we  went  and 
ran  races  with  one  another,'  and  we  lell  Joseph  with  our  baggage,  and  the 
wolf  hath  devoured  him ;  but  thou  wilt  not  believe  us,  although  we  speak 
the  truth.  And  they  produced  his  inner  garment  stained  with  flilse  blood. 
Jacoh  answered.  Nay,  but  ye  yourselves  have  contrived  the  thing  for  your 
own  sakes  :^  however  patience  is  most  becoming,  and  God's  assistance  is  to 
be  implored  to  enable  me  to  support  the  misfortune  which  ye  relate.  And 
certain  travellers'^  came,  and  sent  one^  to  draw  water  for  them  ;  and  he  let 
down  his  bucket,^  and  said,  Good  news  !  ^  this  is  a  youth.  And  they  con- 
cealed him,'^  that  they  might  sell  him  as  a  piece  of  merchandize :  but  God 
knew  that  which  they  did.  And  they  sold  him  for  a  mean  price,  for  a  few 
pence,*"  and  valued  him  lightly.  And  the  Egyptian  who  bought  him '  said 
to  his  wife,"*  use  him  honourably  ;  perad venture  he  may  be  serviceable  to  us, 
or  we  may  adopt  him  for  our  son.®     Thus  did  we  prepare  an  establishment 

by  Nimrod,'  he  was  stripped  ;  and  that  Gabriel  brought  this  garment  and  put  it  on  him  ; 
and  that  trom  Abraham  it  descended  to  Jacob,  who  folded  it  up,  and  put  it  into  an  amulet, 
which  he  hung  about  Joseph's  neck,  whence  Gabriel  drew  it  out.* 

"  These  races  they  used  by  way  of  exercise  ;  and  the  commentators  generally  under- 
stand here  that  kind  of  race  wherein  they  also  showed  their  dexterity  in  throwing  darts, 
which  is  still  used  in  the  East. 

'  This  Jacob  had  reason  to  suspect,  because  when  the  garment  was  brought  to  him,  he 
observed  that  though  it  was  bloody,  yet  it  was  not  torn.* 

"  viz.  A  caravan  or  company  travelling  from  Midian  to  Egypt,  who  rested  near  the 
well,  three  days  after  Joseph  had  been  thrown  into  it. 

^  The  commentators  are  so  exact  as  to  give  us  the  name  of  this  man,  who,  as  they 
pretend,  was  Malec  Ebn  Dhor,  of  the  tribe  of  Khozaab.* 

y  And  Joseph,  making  use  of  the  opportunity,  took  hold  of  the  cord,  and  was  drawn 
up  by  the  man. 

*  The  original  words  are  Ya  hoshra  :  the  latter  of  which  some  take  for  the  proper  name 
of  the  water-drawer's  companion,  whom  he  called  to  his  assistance;  and  then  they  must 
be  translated,  O  Boshra.     (Savary's  translation  agrees  with  Sale's.) 

*  The  expositors  are  not  agreed  whether  the  pronoun  they  relates  to  Malec  and  his 
companions,  or  to  Joseph's  brethren.  They  who  espouse  the  former  opinion  say,  that 
those  who  came  to  draw  water  concealed  the  manner  of  their  coming  by  him  from  the 
rest  of  the  caravan,  that  they  might  keep  him  to  themselves;  pretending  that  some  peo- 
ple of  the  place  had  given  him  to  them  to  sell  for  them  in  Egypt.  And  Uiey  who  prefer 
the  latter  opinion  tell  us,  that  Judah  carried  victuals  to  Joseph  every  day  while  he  was 
in  the  well,  but  not  finding  him  there  on  the  fourth  day,  he  acquainted  his  brothers  with 
it :  whereupon  they  all  went  to  the  caravan  and  claimed  Joseph  as  their  slave,  he  not 
daring  to  discover  that  he  was  their  brother,  lest  something  worse  should  befall  him  ; 
and  at  length  they  agreed  to  sell  him  to  them.'' 

"  Namely,  twenty,  or  twenty-two  dirhems,  and  those  not  full  weight  neither;  for 
having  weighed  one  ounce  of  silver  only,  the  remainder  was  paid  by  tale,  which  is  the 
most  unfair  way  of  payment.' 

■=  His  name  was  Kitf ir,  or  Itfir,  (a  corruption  of  Potiphar ;)  and  he  was  a  man  of 
great  consideration,  being  superintendent  of  the  royal  treasury.* 

The  commentators  say,  that  Joseph  came  into  his  service  at  seventeen,  and  lived  with 
him  thirteen  years ;  and  that  he  was  made  prime  minister  in  the  thirty-third  year  of 
his  age.  and  died  at  a  hundred  and  twenty. 

They  who  suppose  Joseph  was  twice  sold,  differ  as  to  the  price  the  Egyptian  paid  for 
him  :  some  saying  it  was  twenty  dinars  of  gold,  a  pair  of  shoes,  and  two  white  gar- 
ments ;  and  others,  that  it  was  a  large  quantity  of  silver,  or  of  gold. 

■*  Some  call  her  Rail :  but  the  name  she  is  best  known  by,  is  that  of  Zoleikha. 

*  Kiifir  having  no  children.     It  is  said  that  Joseph  gamed  his  master's  good  opinion 

»  See  chap.  21.  *  Al  Beidawi.     Al  Zamakhshari.  *  Al  Beidawi. 

« Idem.  '  Idem.  '  Idem.  » Idem. 


190  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xii. 

for  Joseph  in  the  earth,  and  we  taught  him  the  interpretation  of  dark  say- 
ings: for  God  is  well  able  to  effect  his  purpose;  but  the  greater  part 
of  men  do  not  understand.  And  when  he  had  attained  his  age  of  strength, 
we  bestowed  on  him  wisdom,  and  knowledge ;  for  thus  do  we  recompense 
the  righteous.  And  she,  in  whose  house  he  was,  desired  him  to  lie 
with  her ;  and  she  shut  the  doors  and  said.  Come  hither.  He  answered, 
God  forbid !  verily  my  lord '  hath  made  my  dwelling  with  him  easy ;  and 
the  ungrateful  shall  not  prosper.  But  she  resolved  within  herself  to  enjoy 
him,  and  he  would  have  resolved  to  enjoy  her,  had  he  not  seen  the  evident 
demonstration  of  his  Lord.s  So  we  turned  away  evil  and  filthiness  from 
him,  because  he  was  one  of  our  sincere  servants.  And  they  ran  to  get  one 
before  the  other  to  the  door ;  '^  and  she  rent  his  inner  garment  behind.  And 
they  met  her  lord  at  the  door.  She  said,  What  shall  be  the  reward  of  him 
who  seeketh  to  commit  evil  in  thy  family,  but  imprisonment,  and  a  painful 
punishment?  And  Joseph  said.  She  asked  me  to  lie  with  her.  And  a 
witness  of  her  family '  bore  witness,  saying,  If  his  garment  be  rent  before, 
she  speaketh  truth,  and  he  is  a  liar :  but  if  his  garment  be  rent  behind,  she 
lieth,  and  he  is  a  speaker  of  truth.  And  when  her  husband  saw  that 
his  garment  was  torn  behind,  he  said,  This  is  a  cunning  contrivance  of  your 
sex  ;  for  surely  your  cunning  is  great.  O  Joseph,  take  no  farther  notice  of 
this  affair  :  and  thou,  0  woman,  ask  pardon  for  thy  crime ;  for  thou  art  a 
guilty  person.  And  certain  women  said  publicly  ^  in  the  city,  The  noble- 
man's wife  asked  her  servant  to  lie  with  her ;  he  hath  inflamed  her  breast 
with  his  love  ;  and  we  perceive  her  to  be  in  manifest  error.  And  when  she 
heard  of  their  subtle  behaviour,  she  sent  unto  them,^  and  prepared  a  banquet 
for  them,*  and  she  gave  to  each  of  them  a  knife;   and   she   said  unto 

so  suddenly  by  his  countenance,  which  Kitfir,  who,  they  pretend,  had  great  skill  in 
physiognomy,  judged  to  indicate  his  prudence  and  other  good  qualities. 

^  viz.  Kitfir.     But  others  understand  it  to  be  spoken  of  God. 

e  That  is,  had  he  not  seriously  considered  the  fihhiness  of  whoredom,  and  the  great  guilt 
thereof.  Some,  however,  suppose  that  the  words  mean  some  miraculous  voice  or  appa- 
rition, sent  by  God  to  divert  Joseph  from  executing  the  criminal  thoughts  which  began  to 
possess  him.  For  they  say,  that  he  was  so  far  tempted  with  his  mistress's  beauty  and 
enticing  behaviour,  that  he  sat  in  her  lap,  and  even  began  to  undress  himself,  when  a  voice 
called  to  him,  and  bid  him  beware  of  her;  but  he  taking  no  notice  of  this  admonition, 
though  it  was  repeated  three  times,  at  length  the  angel  Gabriel,  or,  as  others  will  have  it, 
the  figure  of  his  master,  appeared  to  him  :  but  the  more  general  opinion  is  that  it  was  the 
apparition  of  his  father  Jacob,  who  bit  his  fingers'  ends,  or,  as  some  write,  struck  him 
on  the  breast,  whereupon  his  lubricity  passed  out  at  the  ends  of  his  fingers.' 

For  this  fable,  so  injurious  to  the  character  of  Joseph,  the  Mohammedans  are  obliged 
to  their  old  friends  the  Jews,*  who  imagine  that  he  had  a  design  to  lie  with  his  mistress, 
from  these  words  of  Moses, ^  And  it  came  to  pass — that  Joseph  went  into  the  house  to  do  his 
business,  &c. 

^  He  flying  from  her,  and  she  running  after  to  detain  him. 

'  viz.  A  cousin  of  hers,  who  was  then  a  child  in  the  cradle.* 

^  These  women,  whose  tongues  were  so  free  with  Zoleikha's  character  on  this  occasion, 
were  five  in  number,  and  the  wives  of  so  many  of  the  king's  chief  officers,  viz.  his  cham- 
berlain, his  butler,  his  baker,  his  jailor,  and  his  herdsman.' 

'  The  number  of  all  the  women  invited  was  forty,  and  among  them  were  the  five  ladies 
above  mentioned. 

^  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakhshari,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  ^  Talm.  Babyl.  Sed. 

Nashim.  p.  36.     Vide  Bartolocc.  Bibl.  Rabb.  part  3,  p.  509.  =*  Gen.  xxxix.  11. 

*  Supra  citati  interpretes.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.  191 

Joseph,  Come  forth  unto  them.  And  when  they  saw  him,  they  praised  him 
greatly ;  ™  and  they  cut  their  own  hands,"  and  said,  O  God  !  this  is  not  a 
mortal ;  he  is  no  other  than  an  angel,  deserving  the  highest  respect.  And 
his  mistress  said.  This  is  he,  for  whose  sake  ye  blamed  me :  I  asked  him  to 
lie  with  me,  but  he  constantly  refused.  But  if  he  do  not  perform  that 
which  I  command  him,  he  shall  surely  be  cast  into  prison,  and  he  shall  be 
made  one  of  the  contemptible.  Joseph  said,  O  Lord,  a  prison  is  more 
eligible  unto  me  than  the  crime  to  which  they  invite  me ;  but  unless  thou 
turn  aside  their  snares  fi'om  me,  I  shall  youthfully  incline  unto  them,  and 
I  shall  become  one  of  the  foolish.  Wherefore  his  Lord  heard  him,  and 
turned  aside  their  snare  from  him ;  for  he  both  heareth  and  knoweth.  And 
it  seemed  good  unto  them"  even  after  they  had  seen  the  signs  of  innocency, 
to  imprison  him  for  a  time.  And  there  entered  into  the  prison  with  him 
two  of  the  king''s  servants.^"  One  of  them  ^  said,  it  seemed  to  me  in  my 
dream  that  I  pressed  wine  out  of  grapes.  And  the  other  said.  It  seemed 
unto  me  in  my  dream  that  I  carried  bread  on  my  head,  whereof  the  birds 
did  eat.  Declare  unto  us  the  interpretation  of  our  dreams,  for  we  perceive 
that  thou  art  a  beneficent  person.  Joseph  answered,  No  food,  wherewith 
ye  may  be  nourished,  shall  come  unto  you,  but  I  will  declare  unto  you  the 
interpretation  thereof,  before  it  come  unto  you,'-  This  knowledge  is  a  part 
of  that  which  my  Lord  hath  taught  me;  for  I  have  left  the  religion 
of  people  who  believe  not  in  God,  and  who  deny  the  life  to  come;  and  I 
follow  the  religion  of  my  fathers,  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob.     It  is 

*  "  The  Egyptian  women  frequently  visit  and  give  entertainments  to  each  other.  Men 
are  excluded.  Only  the  slaves  necessary  to  wait  on  the  company  are  admitted.  The 
pleasures  of  the  table  are  succeeded  by  music  and  dancing.  They  are  passionately  fond 
of  both.  The  Alme,  that  is  to  say,  the  learned  women,  are  the  delight  oCthese  entertainments. 
They  sing  verses  in  praise  of  guests,  and  conclude  with  love  songs.  They  afterwards  ex- 
hibit voluptuous  dances,  the  licentiousness  of  which  is  often  carried  to  excess." — Savary. 

°  The  old  Latin  translators  have  strangely  mistaken  the  sense  of  the  original  word 
acbarnaho,  which  they  render  menstruatce  sunt  ;  and  then  rebuke  Mohammed  for  the 
indecency,  crying  out  demurely  in  the  margin,  Ofcedum  et  obsccenum  prophetam  !  Erpe- 
nius'  thinks  that  there  is  not  the  least  trace  of  such  a  meanmg  in  the  word  ;  but  he  is 
mistaken:  for  the  verb  cabara  in  the  fourth  conjugation,  which  is  here  used,  has  that  im- 
port, though  the  subjoining  of  the  pronoun  to  it  here  (which  possibly  the  Latin  translators 
did  not  observe),  absolutely  overthrows  that  interpretation. 

"  Through  extreme  surprise  at  the  wonderful  beauty  of  Joseph  ;  which  surprise  Zoleikha 
foreseeing,  put  knives  into  their  hands,  on  purpose  that  this  accident  might  happen.  Some 
writers  observed,  on  occasion  of  this  passage,  that  it  is  customary  in  the  East  for  lovers  to 
testify  the  violence  of  their  passion  by  cutting  themselves,  as  a  sign  that  they  would  spend 
their  blood  in  the  service  of  the  person  beloved ;  which  is  true  enough,  but  I  do  not  find 
that  any  of  the  commentators  suppose  these  Egyptian  ladies  had  any  such  design. 

"  That  is,  to  Kitfir  and  his  friends.  The  occasion  of  Joseph's  imprisonment  is  said  to 
be  either  that  they  suspected  him  to  be  guilty,  notwithstanding  the  proofs  which  had  been 
given  of  his  innocence  ;  or  else  that  Zoleikha  desired  it,  feigning,  to  deceive  her  husband, 
that  she  wanted  to  have  Joseph  removed  from  her  sight,  till  she  could  conquer  her  pas- 
sion by  time  ;  though  her  real  design  was  to  force  him  to  compliance. 

p  viz.  His  chief  butler  and  baker ;  who  were  accused  of  a  design  to  poison  him. 

•>  Namely,  the  butler. 

'  The  meaning  of  this  passage  seems  to  be,  either  that  Joseph,  to  show  he  used  no 
arts  of  divination  or  astrology,  promises  to  interpret  their  dreams  to  them  immediately,  even 
before  they  should  eat  a  single  meal;  or  else,  he  here  offers  to  prophesy  to  thein  before- 
hand, the  quantity  of  the  victuals  which  should  be  brought  them,  as  a  taste  of  his  skill. 

'  In  Not.  ad.  Hist.  Josephi. 


192  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xii. 

not  lawful  for  us  to  associate  any  thing  with  God.  This  knowledge  of  the 
divine  unity  hath  been  given  us  of  the  bounty  of  God  towards  us,  and 
towards  mankind;  but  the  greater  part  of  men  are  not  thankful.  O 
my  fellow-prisoners,  are  sundry  lords  better,  or  the  only  true  and  mighty 
God  ?  Ye  worship  not,  besides  him,  other  than  the  names  which  ye  have 
named, ^  ye  and  your  fathers,  concerning  which  God  hath  sent  down  no 
authoritative  proof:  yet  judgment  belongeth  unto  God  alone;  who  hath 
commanded  that  ye  worship  none  besides  him.  This  is  the  right  religion ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  men  know  it  not.  O  my  fellow-prisoners,  verily  the 
one  of  you  shall  serve  wine  unto  his  lord,  as  formerly ;  but  the  other  shall 
be  crucified,  and  the  birds  shall  eat  from  off  his  head.  The  matter  is 
decreed,  concerning  which  ye  seek  to  be  informed.  And  Joseph  said  unto 
him  whom  he  judged  to  be  the  person  who  should  escape  of  the  two, 
Remember  me  in  the  presence  of  thy  lord.  But  the  devil  caused  him  to 
forget  to  make  mention  oi^  Joseph  unto  his  lord ;  *  wherefore  he  remained  in 
the  prison  some  years.^  And  the  king  of  Egypt  ^  said.  Verily,  I  saw  in 
my  dream  seven  fat  kine,  which  seven  lean  kine  devoured,  and  seven  green 
ears  of  corn,  and  other  seven  withered  ears.  O  nobles,  expound  my  vision 
unto  me,  if  ye  be  able  to  interpret  a  vision.  They  answered.  They  are 
confused  dreams,  neither  are  we  skilled  in  the  interpretation  of  such  kind  of 
dreams.  And  JosepWs  fellow-prisoner  who  had  been  delivered,  said,  (for 
he  remembered  Joseph  after  a  certain  space  of  time,)  I  will  declare  unto  you 
the  interpretation  thereof;  wherefore  let  me  go  unto  the  person  who  will 
interpret  it  unto  me.  And  he  went  to  the  prison,  and  said,  O  Joseph,  thou 
man  of  veracity,  teach  us  the  interpretation  of  seven  fat  kine,  which  seven 
lean  kine  devoured ;  and  of  seven  green  ears  of  corn,  and  other  seven 
withered  ears,  which  the  king  saw  in  his  dream  ;  that  I  may  return  unto 
the  men  who  have  sent  me,  that  peradventure  they  may  understand  the 
same.  Joseph  answered,  Ye  shall  sow  seven  years  as  usual :  and  the  corn 
which  ye  shall  reap,  do  ye  leave  in  its  ear,y  except  a  little  whereof  ye  may 
eat.  Then  shall  there  come,  after  this,  seven  grievous  years  of  famine, 
which  shall  consume  what  ye  shall  have  laid  up  as  a  provision  for  the  san)e, 
except  a  little  which  ye  shall  have  kept.     Then  shall  there  come,  after  this, 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  123,  note  b. 

*  According  to  the  explication  of  some,  who  take  the  pronoun  him  to  relate  to  Jo- 
seph, this  passage  may  be  rendered,  But  the  devil  caused  him  {i.  e.  Joseph)  to  forget  to 
make  his  application  unto  his  Lord  ;  and  to  beg  the  good  offices  of  his  fellow-prisoner 
for  his  deliverance,  instead  of  relying  on  God  alone,  as  it  became  a  prophet,  especially,  to 
have  done.* 

"  The  original  word  signifying  any  number  from  three  to  nine,  or  ten,  the  common 
opinion  is  that  Joseph  remained  in  prison  seven  years  ;  though  some  say  he  was  confined 
no  less  than  twelve  years.* 

^  This  prince,  as  the  oriental  writers  generally  agree,  was  Riyan,  the  son  of  al  Walid, 
the  Amalekite,'  who  was  converted  by  Joseph  to  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  and  died  in 
the  lifetime  of  that  prophet.  But  some  pretend  that  the  Pharaoh  of  Joseph  and  of  Moses 
were  one  and  the  same  person,  and  that  he  lived  (or  rather  reigned)  four  hundred  years."^ 

'  To  preserve  it  from  the  weevil.^ 

«  Al  Beidawi.  ®  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  6. 

^  Al  Beidawi.    See  chap.  7,  p.  127,  note  b.  ^  Idem,  ibid. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.  193 

a  year  wherein  men  shall  have  plenty  of  rain,*  *  and  wherein  they  shall 
press  wine  and  oil.  And  when  the  chief  huller  had  reported  this,  the  king 
said,  Bring  him  unto  me.  And  when  the  messenger  came  unto  Joseph,  he 
said,  Return  unto  thy  lord,  and  ask  of  him,  what  was  the  intent  of  the 
women  who  cut  their  hands ;  ^  for  my  Lord  well  knoweth  the  snare  which 
they  laid  for  me."  And  when  the  tvomen  were  assembled  before  the  king, 
he  said  unto  them,  What  was  your  design, f  when  ye  solicited  Joseph  to 
unlawful  love?  They  answered,  God  be  praised  !  we  know  not  any  ill  of 
him.  The  nobleman's  wife  said.  Now  is  the  truth  become  manifest :  I 
solicited  him  to  lie  with  me;  and  he  is  one  of  those  who  speak  truth.  Jlnd 
when  Joseph  was  acquainted  therewith,  he  said,  This  discovery  hath  been 
made,  thai  7?iy  lord  might  know  that  I  was  not  unfaithful  unto  him  in  his 
absence,  and  that  God  directeth  not  the  plot  of  the  deceivers.  *  [XIII.] 
Neither  do  I  absolutely  justify  myself:  •=  since  every  soul  is  prone  unto  evil, 
except  those  on  whom  my  Lord  shall  show  mercy ;  for  my  Lord  is  gracious 
and  merciful.  And  the  king  said.  Bring  him  unto  me:  I  will  take  him 
into  my  own  peculiar  service.  And  when  Joseph  was  brought  unto  the  king, 
and  he  had  discoursed  with  him,  he  said,  Thou  art  this  day  firmly  estab- 
lished with  us,  and  shalt  be  intrusted  with  our  affairs.^     Joseph  answered, 

'  Notwithstanding  what  some  ancient  authors  write  to  the  contrary,"  it  often  rains  in 
winter  in  the  lower  Egypt,  and  even  snow  has  been  observed  to  tall  at  Alexandria,  con- 
trary to  the  express  assertion  of  Seneca.'  In  the  upper  Egypt,  indeed,  towards  the  cata- 
racts of  Nile,  it  rains  very  seldom.^  Some,  however,  suppose  that  the  rains  here  men- 
tioned are  intended  of  those  which  should  fall  in  Ethiopia,  and  occasion  the  swelling  of 
the  Nile,  the  great  cause  of  the  fertility  of  Egypt ;  or  else  of  those  which  should  fall  in 
the  neighbourmg  countries,  which  were  also  afllicted  with  famine  during  the  same  time. 

*  "  Then  a  time  shall  come,  when  men  shall  grow  corrupt,  and  shall  press  the  grape." 
— Sutary. 

'  Joseph,  it  seems,  cared  not  to  get  out  of  prison,  till  his  innocence  was  publicly  known 
and  declared.  It  is  observed  by  the  commentators,  that  Joseph  does  not  bid  the  messen- 
ger move  the  king  to  inform  himself  of  the  truth  of  the  affair,  but  bids  him  directly  to  ask 
the  king,  to  incite  him  to  make  inquiry  with  the  greater  earnestness.  They  also  observe 
that  Joseph  takes  care  not  to  mention  his  mistress,  out  of  respect  and  gratitude  for  the 
favours  he  had  received  while  in  her  house.'' 

"  Endeavouring,  both  by  threats  and  persuasions,  to  entice  me  to  commit  folly  with  my 
mistress. 

t  "  The  king  inquired  of  them,  What  success  had  ye  in  your  trials  of  Joseph  ?  Prince, 
replied  they,  his  heart  was  proof  against  wickedness." — Savary. 

"  According  to  a  tradition  of  Ebn  Abbas,  Joseph  had  no  sooner  spoken  the  foregoing 
words,  asserting  his  innocency,  than  Gabriel  said  to  him,  What  !  not  when  thou  wast  de- 
liberating to  lie  with  her  ?     Upon  which  Joseph  confessed  his  frailty.^ 

**  The  commentators  say,  that  Joseph  being  taken  out  of  prison,  after  he  had  washed 
and  changed  his  clothes,  was  introduced  to  the  king,  whom  he  saluted  in  the  Hebrew 
tongue,  and  on  the  king's  asking  what  language  that  was,  he  answered,  that  it  was  the 
language  of  his  fathers.  This  prince,  they  say,  understood  no  less  than  seventy  lan- 
guages, in  every  one  of  which  he  discoursed  with  Joseph.,  who  answered  him  in  the 
same;  at  which  the  king  greatly  marvelling,  desired  him  to  relate  his  dream,  which  he 
did,  describing  the  most  minute  circumstances;  whereupon  the  king  placed  Joseph  by 
him  on  his  throne,  and  made  him  his  VVaxir  or  chief  minister.  Some  say  that  his  master 
Kitfir  dying  about  this  time,  he  not  only  succeeded  him  in  his  place,  but,  by  the  king's 
command,  married  the  widow,  his  late  mistress,  whom  he  found  to  be  a  virgin,  and  who 
bare  him  Ephraim  and  Manasses.*    So  that  according  to  this  tradition,  she  was  the  same 

*  Plato,  in  Timaeo.  Pomp.  Mela.  *  Nat.  Qujest.  lib.  4.  ^  See  Greaves's  Dcscr. 
of  the  Pyramids,  p.  74,  &c.  Ray's  Collection  of  Travels,  tom.  2,  p.  92.  ■"  Al  Beidawi, 
&c.               *  Idem,  ibid.               » Idem,  Kitab  Tafasir,  &.c. 


194  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xit. 

Set  me  over  the  storehouses  of  the  land;  for  I  7vill  be  a  skilful  keeper 
thereof.  Thus  did  we  establish  Joseph  in  the  land,  that  he  might  provide 
himself  a  dwelling  therein,  where  he  pleased.  We  bestow  our  mercy  on 
whom  we  please,  and  we  suffer  not  the  reward  of  the  righteous  to  perish : 
and  certainly  the  reward  of  the  next  life  is  better,  for  those  who  believe, 
and  fear  God.  Moreover,  Joseph's  brethren  came,*"  and  went  in  unto  him ; 
and  he  knew  them,  but  they  knew  not  him.  And  when  he  had  furnished 
them  with  their  provisions,  he  said,  Bring  unto  me  your  brother,  the  son  of 
your  father ;  do  ye  not  see  that  I  give  full  measure,  and  that  I  am  the  most 
hospitable  receiver  of  guests  1  But  if  ye  bring  him  not  unto  me,  there 
shall  be  no  corn  measured  unto  you  from  me,  neither  shall  ye  approach  my 
presence.  They  answered.  We  will  endeavour  to  obtain  him  of  his  father, 
and  we  will  certainly  perform  what  thou  requirest.  And  Joseph  said  to  his 
servants.  Put  their  money,^  which  they  have  paid  for  their  corn,  into  their 
sacks,  that  they  may  perceive  it,  when  they  shall  be  returned  to  their 
family  :  perad venture  they  will  come  back  unto  us.  And  when  they  were 
returned  unto  their  father,  they  said,  0  father,  it  is  forbidden  to  measure 
out  corn  unto  us  any  more,  unless  we  carry  our  brother  Benjamin  with  us  : 

woman  who  is  called  Asenath  by  Moses.  This  supposed  marriage,  which  authorized 
their  amours,  probably  encouraged  the  Mohammedan  divines  to  make  use  of  the  loves 
of  Joseph  and  Zoleikha,  as  an  allegorical  emblem  of  the  spiritual  love  between  the 
Creator  and  the  creature,  God  and  the  soul;  just  as  the  Christians  apply  the  Song  of 
Solomon  to  the  same  mystical  purpose.'" 

*  Joseph,  being  made  Wazir,  governed  with  great  wisdom ;  for  he  not  only  caused 
justice  to  be  impartially  administered,  and  encouraged  the  people  to  industry  and  the  im- 
provement of  agriculture,  during  the  seven  years  of  plenty,  but  began  and  perfected 
several  works  of  great  benefit ;  the  natives  at  this  day  ascribing  to  the  patriarch  Joseph 
almost  all  the  ancient  works  of  public  utility  throughout  the  kingdom  ;  as  particularly  the 
rendering  the  province  of  al  Feyyum,  from  a  standing  pool  or  marsh,  the  most  fertile  and 
best  cultivated  land  in  all  Egypt/  When  the  years  of  famme  came,  the  effects  of  which 
were  felt  not  only  in  Egypt,  but  in  Syria  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  the  inhabitants 
were  obliged  to  apply  to  Joseph  for  corn,  which  he  sold  to  them,  first  for  their  money, 
jewels,  and  ornaments,  then  for  their  cattle  and  lands,  and  at  length  for  their  persons; 
so  that  all  the  Egyptians  in  general  became  slaves  to  the  king,  though  Joseph,  by  his 
consent,  soon  released  them,  and  returned  them  their  substance.  The  dearth  being  felt 
in  the  land  of  Canaan,  Jacob  sent  all  his  sons,  except  only  Benjamin,  into  Egypt  for 
corn.  On  their  arrival,  Joseph,  (who  well  knew  them)  asked  them  who  they  were,  say- 
ing he  suspected  them  to  be  spies  ;  but  they  told  him  they  came  only  to  buy  provisions, 
and  that  they  were  all  the  sons  of  an  ancient  man,  named  Jacob,  who  was  also  a  prophet. 
Joseph  then  asked  how  many  brothers  there  were  of  them  ;  they  said.  Twelve  ;  but  that 
one  of  them  had  been  lost  in  a  desert.  Upon  which  he  inquired  for  the  eleventh  brother, 
there  being  no  more  than  ten  of  them  present.  They  said,  he  was  a  lad,  and  with  their 
father,  whose  fondness  for  him  would  not  suffer  him  to  accompany  them  in  their  journey. 
At  length  Joseph  asked  them,  whom  they  had  to  vouch  for  their  veracity  ;  but  they  told 
him  they  knew  no  man  who  could  vouch  for  them  in  Egypt.  Then,  replied  he,  one  of 
you  shall  stay  behind  with  me  as  a  pledge,  and  the  others  may  return  home  with  their 
provisions ;  and  when  ye  come  again,  ye  shall  bring  your  younger  brother  with  you,  that 
I  may  know  ye  have  told  me  the  truth.  Whereupon,  it  being  in  vain  to  dispute  the 
matter,  they  cast  lots  who  should  stay  behind,  and  the  lot  fell  upon  Simeon.  When  they 
departed,  Joseph  gave  each  of  them  a  camel,  and  another  for  their  brother.' 

'  The  original  word  signifying  not  only  money,  but  also  goods  bartered  or  given  in  ex- 
change for  other  merchandize,  some  commentators  tell  us,  that  they  paid  for  their  corn, 
not  in  money,  but  in  shoes  and  dressed  skins. ^ 

">  Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  art.  Jousouf.  '  Vide  Golii  not.  in  Alfragan.  p.  175, 
&c.  Kircher.  (Edip.  ^gypt.  vol.  1,  p.  8.  Lucas,  Voy.  torn.  ii.  p.  205,  and  torn.  iii.  p.  53. 
»  Al  Beidawi.  =>  Idem. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.      .  105 

wherefore  send  our  brother  with  us,  and  we  shall  have  corn  measured  unto 
us ;  and  we  will  certainly  guard  \{\mfrom  any  mischance.  Jacob  answered, 
Shall  I  trust  him  with  you  with  any  better  success  than  I  trusted  your  brother 
Joseph  with  you  heretofore  ?  But  God  is  the  best  guardian  ;  and  he  is  the 
most  merciful  of  those  that  show  mercy.  And  when  they  opened  their 
provision,  they  found  their  money  had  been  returned  unto  them ;  and  they 
said,  O  father,  what  do  we  desire  farther  ?  this  our  money  hath  been 
returned  unto  us ;  we  will  therefore  return,  arid  provide  corn  for  our 
family:  we  will  take  care  of  our  brother;  and  we  shall  receive  a  camel's 
burden  more  than  we  did  the  last  time.  This  is  a  small  quanlity.e  Jacob 
said,  I  will  by  no  means  send  him  with  you,  until  ye  give  me  a  solemn 
promise,  and  swear  by  God  that  ye  will  certainly  bring  him  back  unto  me, 
unless  ye  be  encompassed  by  some  inevitable  impediment.  And  when  they 
had  given  him  their  solemn  promise,  he  said,  God  is  witness  of  what  we 
say.  And  he  said.  My  sons,  enter  not  into  the  city  by  one  and  the  same 
gate;  but  enter  by  different  gates.  But  this  precaution  will  be  of  no 
advantage  unto  you  against  the  decree  of  God  ;  for  judgment  belongeth 
unto  God  alone  :  in  him  do  I  put  my  trust,  and  in  him  let  those  confide 
who  seek  in  whom  to  put  their  trust.  And  when  they  entered  the  city,  as 
their  father  had  commanded  them,  it  was  of  no  advantage  unto  them  against 
the  decree  of  Gob  ;  and  the  same  served  only  to  satisfy  the  desire  of  Jacob's 
soul,  which  he  had  charged  them  to  perform  :  for  he  was  endued  with 
knowledge  of  that  which  we  had  taught  him  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  men 
do  not  understand.  And  when  they  entered  into  the  presence  of  Joseph, 
he  received  his  brother  Benjamin  as  his  guest,  and  said,  Verily  I  am  thy 
brother :  ^  be  not  therefore  afflicted  for  that  which  they  have  committed 
against  us.  And  when  he  had  furnished  them  with  their  provisions,  he 
put  his  cup '  in  his  brother  Benjamin'^s  sack.  Then  a  crier  cried  after  them^ 
saying,  O  company  of  travellers,  ye  are  surely  thieves.  They  said,  (and 
turned  back  unto  them,)  What  is  it  that  ye  miss?  They  answered.  We 
miss  the  prince's  cup :  and  unto  him  who  shall  produce  it,  shall  be  given  a 


8  The  meaning  may  be,  either  that  the  corn  they  now  brought  was  not  sufficient  for  the 
support  of  their  famihes,  so  tiiat  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  take  another  journey ;  or 
else,  that  a  camel's  load  more  or  less  was  but  a  trifle  to  the  king  of  Egypt.  Some  sup- 
pose these  to  be  the  words  of  Jacob,  declaring  it  was  too  mean  a  consideration  to  induce 
him  to  part  with  his  son. 

"  It  is  related  that  Joseph,  having  invited  his  brethren  to  an  entertainment,  ordered 
them  to  be  placed  two  and  two  together ;  by  which  means  Benjamin,  the  eleventh,  was 
obliged  to  sit  alone,  and,  bursting  into  tears,  said,  If  my  brother  Joseph  vvere  alive,  he 
would  have  sat  with  me.  Whereupon  Joseph  ordered  him  to  be  seated  at  the  same  table 
with  himself;  and  when  the  entertainment  was  over,  dismissed  the  rest,  ordering  that 
they  should  be  lodged  two  and  two  in  a  house,  but  kept  Benjamin  in  his  own  apartment, 
where  he  passed  the  night.  The  next  day  Joseph  asked  him,  whether  he  would  accept 
of  himself  for  his  brother,  in  the  room  of  him  whom  he  had  lost ;  to  which  Benjamin 
replied,  Who  can  find  a  brother  comparable  unto  thee  ?  yet  thou  art  not  the  sun  of  Jacob  and 
Rachel.     And  upon  this  Joseph  discovered  himself  to  nim.* 

'  Some  imagine  this  to  be  a  measure  holding  a  Saa,  (or  about  a  gallon)  wherein  they 
used  to  measure  corn,  or  give  water  to  the  beasts.  But  others  take  it  to  be  a  drinking- 
cup  of  silver,  or  gold. 

*  Al  Beidavj^i. 


196  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  xir. 


camel's  load  of  corn,  and  I  will  he  surety  for  the  same.  Joseph'^s  brethren 
replied,  By  God,  ye  do  well  know,  that  we  come  not  to  act  corruptly  in  the 
land,''  neither  are  we  thieves.  The  Egyptians  said.  What  shall  be  the 
reward  of  him,  who  shall  appear  to  have  stolen  the  cup,  if  ye  he  found  liars  1 
Joseph'^s  brethren  answered,  As  to  the  reward  of  him,  in  whose  sack  it  shall 
be  found,  let  him  become  a  bondman  in  satisfaction  of  the  same  :  thus  do  we 
reward  the  unjust,  who  are  guilty  of  theft.  ^  Then  he  began  by  their  sacks, 
before  he  searched  the  sack  of  his  brother ; "»  and  he  drew  out  the  cup 
from  his  brother's  sack.  Thus  did  we  furnish  Joseph  with  a  stratagem. 
It  was  not  laiiful  for  him  to  take  his  brother  for  a  bondman,  by  the  law 
of  the  king  of  Egypt, ^  had  not  God  pleased  to  allow  it,  according  to  the 
offer  of  his  brethren.  We  exalt  to  degrees  of  knowledge  and  honour  whom 
we  please :  and  there  is  one  who  is  knowing  above  all  those  who  are 
endued  with  knowledge.  His  brethren  said.  If  Benjamin  be  guilty  of  theft, 
his  brother  Joseph  hath  been  also  guilty  of  theft  heretofore."  But  Joseph 
concealed  these  things  in  his  mind,  and  did  not  discover  them  unto  them : 
and  he  said  within  himself  Ye  are  in  a  worse  condition  than  us  two ;  and 
God  best  knoweth  what  ye  discourse  about.  They  said  unto  Joseph,  Noble 
lord,  verily  this  lad  hath  an  aged  father;  wherefore  take  one  of  us  in  his 
stead ;  for  we  perceive  that  thou  art  a  beneficent  person.  Joseph  answered, 
God  forbid  that  we  should  take  any  other  than  him  with  whom  we  found 
our  goods ;  for  then  should  we  certainly  be  unjust.  And  when  they  de- 
spaired of  obtaining  Benjamin,  they  retired  to  confer  privately  together. 
And  the  elder  of  them  p  said,  Do  ye  not  know  that  your  father  hath  re- 
ceived a  solemn  promise  from  you,  in  the  name  of  God,  and  how  perfi- 
diously ye  behaved  heretofore  towards  Joseph?  Wherefore  I  will  by  no 
means  depart  the  land  of  Egypt,  until  my  father  give  me  leave  to  return 
unto  him,  or  God  makelh  known  his  will  to  me;  for  he  is  the  best  judge. 
Return  ye  to  your  father,  and  say,  O  father,  verily  thy  son  hath  committed 
theft ;  we  bear  witness  of  no  more  than  what  we  know,  and  we  could  not 

^  Both  by  our  behaviour  among  you,  and  our  bringing  again  our  money  which  was  re- 
lumed to  us  without  our  knowledge. 

'  This  was  the  method  of  punishing  theft  used  by  Jacob  and  his  family  :  for  among  the 
Egyptians  it  was  punished  in  another  manner. 

"^  Some  suppose  this  search  was  made  by  the  person  whom  Joseph  sent  after  them ; 
others  by  Joseph  himself,  when  they  were  brought  back  to  the  city. 

"  For  there  the  thief  was  not  reduced  to  servitude,  but  was  scoarged,  and  obhged  to 
restore  the  double  of  what  he  had  stolen.* 

°  The  occasion  of  this  suspicion,  it  is  said,  was,  that  Joseph  having  been  brought  up  by 
his  father's  sister,  she  became  so  fond  of  him,  that  when  he  grew  up,  and  Jacob  designed 
to  take  him  from  her,  she  contrived  the  following  stratagem  to  keep  him.  Having  a  girdle 
which  had  once  belonged  to  Abraham,  she  girt  it  about  the  child,  and  then  pretending 
she  had  lost  it,  caused  strict  search  to  be  made  for  it  ;  and  it  being  at  length  found  on 
Joseph,  he  was  adjudged,  according  to  the  abovementioned  law  of  the  family,  to  be  deli- 
vered to  her  as  her  property.  Some,  however,  say,  that  Joseph  actually  stole  an  idol  of 
gold,  which  belonged  to  his  mother's  father,  and  destroyed  it ;  a  story  probably  taken 
from  Rachel's  stealing  the  images  of  Laban:  and  others  tell  us  that  he  once  stole  a  goat, 
or  a  hen,  to  give  to  a  poor  man.« 

p  viz.  Reuben.  But  some  think  Simeon  or  Judah  to  be  here  meant;  and  instead  oi  the 
elder,  interpret  it,  the  most  prudent  of  them. 

» Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.  197 

guard  against  what  we  did  not  foresee :  and  do  thou  inquire  in  the  city, 
where  we  have  been,  and  of  the  company  of  merchants,  with  whom  we  are 
arrived,  and  thou  wilt  find  that  we  speak  the  truth.  Jlnd  when  they  were 
returned^  and  had  spoken  thus  to  their  father^  he  said,  Nay,  but  rather  ye 
yourselves  have  contrived  the  thing  for  your  own  sakes ;  but  patience  is 
most  proper /or  ?we ;  peradventure  God  will  restore  them  all^  unto  rae; 
for  he  is  knowing  and  wise.  And  he  turned  from  them  and  said,  Oh  how 
I  am  grieved  for  Joseph !  And  his  eyes  became  white  with  mourning,'"  he 
being  oppressed  with  deep  sorrow.*  His  sons  said,  By  God,  thou  wilt  not 
cease  to  remember  Joseph  until  thou  be  brought  to  death's  door,  or  thou 
be  actually  destroyed  hy  excessive  affliction.  He  answered,  I  only  represent 
my  grief,  which  I  am  not  able  to  contain,  and  my  sorrow  unto  God  ;  but  I 
know  by  revelation  from  God  that  which  ye  know  not.^  O  my  sons,  go  and 
make  inquiry  after  Joseph  and  his  brother ;  and  despair  not  of  the  mercy 
of  God  ;  for  none  despaireth  of  God's  mercy,  except  the  unbelieving  people. 
Wherefore  Joseph's  brethren  returned  into  Egypt :  and  when  they  came  into 
his  presence,  they  said.  Noble  lord,  the  famine  is  felt  by  us  and  our  family, 
and  we  are  come  with  a  small  sum  of  money:*  yet  give  unto  us  full 
measure,  and  bestow  corn  upon  us  as  alms ;  for  God  rewardeth  the  alms- 
givers.  Joseph  said  unto  them,  Do  ye  know  what  ye  did  unto  .Joseph  and 
his  brother,  when  ye  were  ignorant  of  the  consequences  thereof?"^  They 
answered.  Art  thou  really  Joseph?^  He  replied,  I  am  Joseph;  and  this 
is  my  brother.  Now  hath  God  been  gracious  unto  us.  For  whoso  feareth 
God,  and  perse  vereth  with  patience,  shall  at  length  find  relief ;  since  God 
will  not  suffer  the  reward  of  the  righteous  to  perish.  They  said.  By  God^ 
now  hath  God  chosen  thee  above  us ;  and  we  have  surely  been  sinners. 
Joseph  answered,  Let  there  be  no  reproach  cast  on  you  this  day.     God 

■i  i.  e.  Joseph,  Benjamin,  and  Simeon. 

■■  That  is,  the  pupils  lost  their  deep  blackness,  and  became  of  a  pearl  colour  (as  happens 
in  suffusions)  by  his  continual  weeping;  which  very  much  weakened  his  sight,  or,  as 
some  pretend,  made  him  quite  blind.'' 

*  "  Grief  covered  his  countenance  with  paleness.  His  heart  was  full  of  bitterness." — 
Savary, 

^  viz.  That  Joseph  is  yet  alive  ;  of  which  some  tell  us  he  was  assured  by  the  angel  of 
death  in  a  dream ;  though  others  suppose  he  depended  on  the  completion  of  Joseph's 
dream,  which  must  have  been  frustrated,  had  he  died  before  his  brethren  had  bowed  down 
before  him.* 

'  Their  money  being  clipped  and  adulterated.  Some,  however,  imagine  they  did  not 
bring  money,  but  goods  to  barter,  such  as  wool  and  butter,  or  other  commodities  of  small 
value." 

"  The  injury  they  did  Benjamin  was  the  separating  him  from  his  brother ;  after  which 
they  kept  him  in  so  great  subjection,  that  he  durst  not  speak  to  them  but  with  the  utmost 
submission.  Some  say  that  these  words  were  occasioned  by  a  letter  which  Joseph's 
brethren  dehvered  to  him  from  their  father,  requesting  the  reieasement  of  Benjamin,  and 
by  their  representing  his  extreme  affliction  at  the  loss  of  him  and  his  brother.  The  com- 
mentators observe  that  Joseph,  to  excuse  his  brethren's  behaviour  towards  him,  attributes 
it  to  their  ignorance,  and  the  heat  of  youth. '^ 

^  They  say  that  this  question  was  not  the  effect  of  a  bare  suspicion  that  he  was  Joseph, 
but  that  they  actually  knew  him,  either  by  his  face  and  behaviour,  or  by  his  foreteeth, 
which  he  showed  in  smiling,  or  else  by  putting  off  his  tiaTa,  and  discovering  a  whitish 
mole  on  his  forehead.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem.  » Idem.  "  Idem.  *  Idem. 


198  AL  KOKAN.  crap.  xir. 

forgiveth  you ;  for  he  is  the  most  merciful  of  those  who  show  mercy. 
Depart  ye  with  this  my  inner  garment/  and  throw  it  on  my  father's  face ; 
and  he  shall  recover  his  sight :  and  then  come  unto  me  with  all  your  family. 
And  when  the  company  of  travellers  was  departed  from  Egypt  on  their 
journey  toivards  Canaan,  their  father  said,  unto  those  who  were  about  hinij 
Verily  I  perceive  the  smell  of  Joseph ;  ^  although  ye  think  that  I  dote. 
They  answered,  By  God,  thou  art  in  thy  old  mistake.''  But  when  the 
messenger  of  good  tidings''  was  come  with  Josephs  inner  garment^  he'threw 
it  over  his  face ;  and  he  recovered  his  eye-sight.  *Bnd  Jacob  said.  Did  I 
not  tell  you  that  I  knew  from  God,  that  which  ye  knew  not?  They 
answered,  O  father,  ask  pardon  of  our  sins  for  us,  for  we  have  surely  been 
sinners.  He  replied,  I  will  surely  ask  pardon  for  you  of  my  Lord  ;  •=  for  he 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  And  when  Jacob  and  his  family  arrived  in 
Egypt,  and  were  introduced  unto  Joseph,  he  received  his  parents  unto  him,** 
and  said,  Enter  ye  into  Egypt,  by  God's  favour,  in  full  security.  And  he 
raised  his  parents  to  the  seat  of  state,  and  they,  together  with  his  brethren, 
lell  down,  and  did  obeisance  unto  him.«  And  he  said,  O  my  father,  this 
is  the  interpretation  of  my  vision,  ivhich  I  saw  heretofore :  now  hath  my 
Lord  rendered  it  true.  And  he  hath  surely  been  gracious  unto  me,  since 
he  took  me  forth  from  the  prison,  and  hath  brought  you  hither  from  the 
desert ;  after  that  the  devil  had  sown  discord  between  me  and  my  brethren  : 
for  my  Lord  is  gracious  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  is  the  knowing, 
the  wise  God.  O  Lord,  thou  hast  given  me  a  part  of  the  kingdom,  and 
hast  taught  me  the  interpretation  of  dark  sayings.  The  Creator  of  heaven 
and  earth !  thou  art  my  protector  in  this  world,  and  in  that  which  is  to 
come :  make  me  to  die  a  Moslem,  and  join  me  with  the  righteous.'    This 

'  Which  the  commentators  generally  suppose  to  be  the  same  garment  with  which 
Gabriel  invested  him  in  the  well ;  which,  having  originally  come  from  paradise,  had  pre- 
served the  odour  of  that  place,  and  was  of  so  great  virtue  as  to  cure  any  distemper  in  the 
person  who  was  touched  with  it.^ 

^  This  was  the  odour  of  the  garment  above-mentioned,  brought  by  the  wind  to  Jacob, 
who  smelt  it,  as  is  pretended,  at  the  distance  of  eighty  parasangs ;  ^  or,  as  others  will  have, 
three,  or  eight  days'  journey  off.* 

"  Being  led  into  this  imagination  by  thy  excessive  love  of  Joseph. 

^viz.  Judah  ;  who  as  he  had  formerly  grieved  his  father,  by  bringing  him  Joseph's  coat 
stained  with  blood,  now  rejoiced  him  as  much,  by  being  the  bearer  of  this  vest,  and  the 
news  of  Joseph's  prosperity.* 

•■  Deferring  it,  as  some  fancy,  till  he  should  see  Joseph,  and  have  his  consent. 

**  viz.  His  father,  aad  Leah,  his  mother's  sister,  whom  he  looked  on  as  his  mother,  after 
Rachel's  death.* 

Al  Beidawi  tells  us,  that  Joseph  sent  carriages  and  provisions  for  his  father  and  his 
family  ;  and  that  he  and  the  king  of  Egypt  went  forth  to  meet  them.  He  adds,  that  the 
number  of  the  children  of  Israel,  who  entered  Egypt  with  him,  was  seventy-two;  and 
that  when  they  were  led  out  thence  by  Moses,  they  were  increased  to  six  hundred  thou- 
sand five  hundred  and  seventy  men  and  upwards,  besides  the  old  people  and  children. 

*  A  transposition  is  supposed  to  be  in  these  words,  and  that  he  seated  his  father  and 
mother  after  they  had  bowed  down  to  him,  and  not  before.' 

^  The  Mohammedan  authors  write,  that  Jacob  dwelt  in  Egypt  twentv-four  years,  and  at 
his  death  ordered  his  body  to  be  buried  in  Palestine  by  his  father,  which  Joseph  took  care 
to  perform ;  and  then  returning  into  Egypt,  died  twenty-three  years  after.    They  add,  that 

^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Idem.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem- 
See  Gen.  xxxvii.  10.  "■  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XII.  AL  KORAN.  190 

is  a  secret  history  which  we  reveal  unto  thee,  O  Mohammed,  although  thou 
wast  not  present  with  the  brethren  of  Joseph,  when  they  concerted  their 
design,  and  contrived  a  plot  against  him.  But  the  greater  part  of  men, 
although  they  earnestly  desire  it,  will  not  believe.  Thou  shalt  not  demand 
of  them  any  reward  for  thy  puhlishing  the  Koran ;  it  is  no  other  than  an 
admonition  unto  all  creatures.  And  how  many  signs  soever  there  he  of  the 
heing,  unity ,  and  providence  of  God,  in  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  they 
will  pass  by  them,  and  will  retire  afar  off  from  them.  And  the  greater 
part  of  them  believe  not  in  God,  without  being  also  guilty  of  idolatry.^  Do 
they  not  believe  that  some  overwhelming  affiiction  shall  fall  on  them,  as  a 
punishment  from  God  ;  or  that  the  hour  of  judgment  shall  overtake  thenn. 
suddenly,  when  they  consider  not  its  approach  f  Say  unto  those  of  Mecca, 
This  is  my  way :  I  invite  you  unto  God,  by  an  evident  demonstration ; 
hoth  I  and  he  who  foUoweth  me ;  and,  praise  be  unto  God  !  I  am  not  an 
idolater.  We  sent  not  any  apostles  before  thee,  except  men,  unto  whom 
we  revealed  our  will,  and  whom  we  chose  out  of  those  who  dwelt  in  cities.*' 
Will  they  not  go  through  the  earth,  and  see  what  hath  been  the  end  of 
those  who  have  preceded  them  ?  But  the  dwelling  of  the  next  life  shall 
surely  be  better  for  those  who  fear  God.  Will  they  not  therefore  under- 
stand ?  Their  predecessors  were  borne  loith  for  a  time,  until,  when  our 
apostles  despaired  of  their  conversion,  and  they  thought  that  they  were  liars, 
our  help  came  unto  them,  and  we  delivered  whom  we  pleased ;  but  our 
vengeance  was  not  turned  away  from  the  wicked  people.  Verily  in  the 
histories  of  the  prophets  and  their  people,  there  is  an  instructive  example 
unto  those  who  are  endued  with  understanding.  The  Koran  is  not  a  new 
invented  fiction :  but  a  confirmation  of  those  scriptures  which  have  been 
revealed  before  it,  and  a  distinct  explication  of  every  thing  necessary,  in 
respect  either  to  faith  or  practice,  and  a  direction  and  mercy  unto  people 
who  believe. 


such  high  disputes  arose  among  the  Egyptians,  concerning  his  burial,  that  they  had  like 
to  have  come  to  blows;  but  at  length  they  agreed  to  put  his  body  into  a  marble  coffin, 
and  to  sink  it  in  the  Nile ;  out  of  a  superstitious  imagination,  that  it  might  help  the  re- 
gular increase  of  the  river,  and  deliver  them  from  famine,  for  the  future  :  but  when  Moses 
led  the  Israelites  out  of  Egypt,  he  took  up  the  coffin,  and  carried  Joseph's  bones  with 
him  into  Canaan,  where  he  buried  them  by  his  ancestors.^ 

°  For  this  crime  Mohammed  charges  not  only  on  the  idolatrous  Meccans,  but  also  on 
the  Jews  and  Christians ;  as  has  been  already  observed  more  than  once. 

^  And  not  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  deserts;  because  the  former  are  more  knowing  and 
compassionate,  and  the  latter  more  ignorant  and  hard-hearted." 

•  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  22. 


200  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xiii. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

INTITLED,  THUNDER;' REVEALED  AT  MECCA.'' 

IN    THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

Al.  M.  R.^  These  arc  the  signs  of  the  book  of  the  Koran  :  and  that 
which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord  is  the  truth ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  men  will  not  believe.  It  is  God  who  hath  raised  the 
heavens  without  visible  pillars ;  and  then  ascended  his  throne,  and  com- 
pelled the  sun  and  the  moon  to  perform  their  services  ;  every  of  the  heavenly 
iodies  runneth  an  appointed  course.  He  ordereth  all  things.  He  showeth 
his  signs  distinctly,  that  ye  may  be  assured  ye  must  meet  your  Lord  at  the 
last  day.  It  is  he  who  hath  stretched  forth  the  earth,  and  placed  therein 
stedfast  mountains,  and  rivers ;  and  hath  ordained  therein  of  every  fruit 
two  different  kinds."*  He  causeth  the  night  to  cover  the  day.  Herein 
are  certain  signs  unto  people  who  consider.  And  in  the  earth  are  tracts 
of  land  of  different  natures,''  though  bordering  on  each  other;  and  also 
vineyards,  and  seeds,  and  palm-trees  springing  several  from  the  same  root, 
and  singly  from  distinct  roots.  They  are  watered  with  the  same  water,  yet 
we  render  some  of  them  more  excellent  than  others  to  eat.  Herein  are 
surely  signs  unto  people  who  understand.  If  thou  dost  wonder  at  the  infidels 
denying  the  resurrection,  surely  wonderful  is  their  saying,*  After  we  shall 
have  been  reduced  to  dust,  shall  we  be  restored  in  a  new  creature  ?  These 
are  they  who  believe  not  in  their  Lord  ;  these  shall  have  collars  on  their 
necks,"  and  these  shall  he  the  inhabitants  of  hell  fire :  therein  shall  they 
abide  for  ever.     They  will  ask  of  thee  to  hasten  evil  rather  than  good :  p 

'  This  word  occurs  in  the  next  page. 
•"  Or,  according  to  some  copies,  at  Medina. 

'  The  meaning  of  these  letters  is  unknown.    Of  several  conjectural  explications  which 
are  given  of  them,  the  following  is  one  ;  I  am  the  most  wise  and  knowing  God. 
™  As  sweet  and  sour,  black  and  white,  small  and  large,  &lc.' 

*  "  It  is  He  who  spread  out  the  earth,  who  raised  the  mountains,  who  formed  the  rivers, 
who  gave  you  fruits  of  various  kinds.     He  created  them  male  and  female," — Savary. 

"  Some  tracts  being  fruitful  and  others  barren,  some  plain  and  others  mountainous, 
some  proper  for  corn  and  others  for  trees,  fcc.'^ 

*  "  If  thou  dost  marvel  at  their  unbelief,  what  must  be  thy  surprise,  when  thou  hearest 
them  say.  Is  it  possible  that  the  dust  of  our  body  can  become  a  new  creature  ?" — Savary. 

°  The  collar  here  mentioned  is  an  engine  something  like  a  pillory,  but  light  enough  for 
the  criminal  to  walk  about  with.  Besides  the  hole  to  fix  it  on  the  neck,  there  is  another 
for  one  of  the  hands,  which  is  thereby  fastened  to  the  neck.^  And  in  this  manner  the 
Mohammedans  suppose  the  reprobates  will  appear  at  the  day  of  judgment."  Some  under- 
stand this  passage  figuratively,  of  the  infiidels  being  bound  in  the  chains  of  error  and 
obstinacy.' 

J*  Provoking  and  daring  thee  to  call  down  the  divine  vengeance  on  them  for  their  im- 
penitency. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  » Idem.  '  Vide  Chardin,  Voy.  de  Perse,  t.  2,  p.  229. 
*  See  chap.  5,  p.  90.  »  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XIII.  AL  KORAN.  201 

although  there  have  already  been  examples  of  the  divine  vengeance  before 
them.  Thy  Lord  is  surely  endued  with  indulgence  towards  men,  not- 
withstanding their  iniquity;  but  thy  Lord  is  also  severe  in  punishing. 
The  infidels  say,  Unless  a  sign  be  sent  down  unto  him  from  his  Lord,  ?re 
will  not  believe.  Thou  art  commissioned  to  he  a  preacher  only,  and  not  a 
worker  of  miracles  :  and  unto  every  people  hath  a  director  been  appointed. 
God  knoweth  what  every  female  beareth  in  her  womb ;  and  what  the 
wombs  want  or  exceed  of  their  due  time,  or  number  of  young.  With  him 
is  every  thing  regulated  according  to  a  determined  measure.  He  knoweth 
that  which  is  hidden,  and  that  which  is  revealed.  He  is  the  great,  the 
most  high.  He  among  you  who  concealeth  his  words,  and  he  who  pro- 
claimeth  them  in  public;  he  also  who  seeketh  to  hide  himself  in  the 
night,  and  he  who  goeth  forth  openly  in  the  day,  is  equal  in  respect  to  the 
knowledge  of  God.  Each  of  them  hath  angels  mutually  succeeding  each 
other,  before  him,  and  behind  him ;  they  watch  him  by  the  command  of 
GoD.i  Verily  God  will  not  change  his  grace  which  is  in  men,  until  they 
change  the  disposition  in  their  souls  by  sin.  When  God  willeth  evil 
on  a  people  there  shall  be  none  to  avert  it ;  neither  shall  they  have 
any  protector  beside  him.  It  is  he  who  causeth  the  lightning  to  ap- 
pear unto  you,  to  strike  fear,  and  to  raise  hope,'  and  who  formeth  the 
pregnant  clouds.  The  thunder  celebrateth  his  praise,^  and  the  angels  also, 
for  fear  of  him.  He  sendeth  his  thunderbolts,  and  striketh  therewith 
whom  he  pleaseth,  while  they  dispute  concerning  God  ;  *  for  he  is  mighty 
in  power.  It  is  he  who  ought  of  right  to  be  invoked  ;  and  the  idols,  which 
they  invoke  besides  him,  shall  not  hear  them  at  all ;  otherwise  than  as  he 
is  heard,  who  stretcheth  forth  his  hands  to  the  water  that  it  may  ascend  to 
his  mouth,  when  it  cannot  ascend  thither :  the  supplication  of  the  un- 
believers is  utterly  erroneous.  Whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth 
worshippeth  God,  voluntarily  or  of  force;"  and  their  shadows  also,  morn- 

■J  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  51. 

'  Thunder  and  hghtning  being  the  sign  of  approaching  rain;  a  great  blessing,  in  the 
eastern  countries  more  especially. 

'  Or  causeth  those  who  hear  it,  to  praise  him.  Some  commentators  tell  us,  that  by  the 
word  thunder,  in  this  place,  is  meant  the  angel  who  presides  over  the  clouds,  and  drives 
them  forward  with  twisted  sheets  of  fire.* 

*  This  passage  was  revealed  on  the  following  occasion.  Amer  Ebn  al  Tofail,  and  Arbad 
Ebn  Rabiah,  the  brother  of  Labid,  went  to  Mohammed  with  an  intent  to  kill  him  ;  and 
Amer  began  to  dispute  with  him  concerning  the  chief  points  of  his  doctrine,  while  Arbad, 
taking  a  compass,  went  behind  him  to  dispatch  him  with  his  sword:  but  the  prophet,  per- 
ceiving his  design,  implored  God's  protection  ;  whereupon  Arbad  was  immediately  struck, 
dead  by  thunder,  and  Amer  was  struck  with  a  pestilential  boil,  of  which  he  died  in  a  short 
time,  in  a  miserable  condition.'' 

Jallalo'ddin,  however,  tells  another  story,  saying  that  Mohammed  having  sent  one  to 
invite  a  certain  man  to  embrace  his  religion,  the  person  put  this  question  to  the  missionary. 
Who  is  f/iis  apostle,  and  what  is  God  ?  is  he  of  gold,  or  of  silver,  or  of  brass  ?  Upon  which 
a  thunderbolt  struck  off  his  skull  and  killed  him. 

"  The  infidels  and  devils  themselves  being  constrained  to  humble  themselves  before 
him,  though  against  their  will,  when  they  are  delivered  up  to  punishment. 

•  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  ■■  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Golii,  note  in  Adajia  Arab, 
adject,  ad  Gram.  Erpenii,  p.  99. 

X 


202  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xiil 

ing  and  evening.^  Say,  Who  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth  ?  Answer, 
God.  Say,  Have  ye,  therefore,  taken  unto  yourselves  protectors  beside  him, 
who  are  unable  either  to  help,  or  to  defend  themselves  from  hurt?  Say, 
Shall  the  blind  and  the  seeing  be  esteemed  equal  1  or  shall  darkness  and 
light  be  accounted  the  same?  or  have  they  attributed  companions  unto 
God  who  have  created  as  he  hath  created,  so  that  their  creation  bear  any 
resemblance  unto  his  ?  Say,  God  is  the  creator  of  all  things ;  he  is  the 
one,  the  victorious  God.  He  causeth  water  to  descend  from  heaven, 
and  the  brooks  flow  according  to  their  respective  measure,  and  the  floods 
bear  the  floating  froth :  and  from  the  metals  which  they  melt  in  the  fire, 
seeking  to  cast  ornaments  or  vessels  ybr  use,  there  ariseth  a  scum  like  unto 
it.  Thus  God  setteth  forth  truth  and  vanity.  But  the  scum  is  thrown  ofl^, 
and  that  which  is  useful  to  mankind  remaineth  on  the  earth.  Thus  doth 
God  put  forth  parables.  Unto  those  who  obey  their  Lord  shall  he  given 
the  most  excellent  reward  :  but  those  who  obey  him  not,  although  they 
were  possessed  of  whatever  is  in  the  whole  earth  and  as  much  more,  they 
would  give  it  all  for  their  ransom.  These  will  be  brought  to  a  terrible 
account :  their  abode  shall  he  hell ;  an  unhappy  couch  shall  it  he  !  Shall 
he,  therefore,  who  knoweth  that  what  hath  been  sent  down  unto  thee  from 
thy  Lord,  is  truth,  be  rewarded  as  he  who  is  blind?  The  prudent  only 
will  consider ;  who  fulfil  the  covenant  of  God,  and  break  not  their  con- 
tract ;  and  who  join  that  which  God  hath  commanded  to  be  joined,^  and 
who  fear  their  Lord,  and  dread  an  ill  account ;  and  who  persevere  out  of  a 
sincere  desire  to  please  their  Lord,  and  observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer, 
and  give  alms  out  of  what  we  have  bestowed  on  them,  in  secret  and  openly, 
and  who  turn  away  evil  with  good  :  the  reward  of  these  shall  he  paradise, 
gardens  of  eternal  abode,*  which  they  shall  enter,  and  also  whoever  shall 
have  acted  uprightly,  of  their  fathers,  and  their  wives,  and  their  posterity : 
and  the  angels  shall  go  in  unto  them  by  every  gate,  saying,  Peace  be  upon 
you,  because  ye  have  endured  with  patience ;  how  excellent  a  reward  is 
paradise !  But  as  for  those  who  violate  the  covenant  of  God,  after  the 
establishment  thereof,  and  who  cut  in  sunder  that  which  God  hath  com- 
manded to  be  joined,  and  act  corruptly  in  the  earth,  on  them  shall  a  curse 
fall,  and  they  shall  have  a  miserable  dwelling  in  hell.  God  giveth  provision 
in  abundance  unto  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  is  sparing  unto  whom  he  pleaseth. 
Those  of  Mecca  rejoice  in  the  present  life;  although  the  present  life,  in 
respect  of  the  future,  is  but  a  precarious  provision.  The  infidels  say, 
Unless  a  sign  be  sent  down  unto  him  from  his  Lord,  we  will  not  helieve. 
Answer,  Verily  God  will  lead  into  error  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  direct 

^  This  is  an  allusion  to  the  increasing  and  diminishing  of  the  shadows,  according  to  the 
height  of  the  sun  ;  so  that  when  they  are  the  longest,  which  is  in  the  morning  and  the 
evening,  they  appear  prostrate  on  the  ground,  in  the  posture  of  adoration. 

'^  By  believing  in  all  the  prophets  without  exception,  and  joining  thereto  the  continual 
practice  of  their  duty,  both  towards  God  and  man.^ 

*  Literally,  gardens  of  Eden.     See  chap.  9,  p.  157. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  Yahya. 


CHAP.  XIII.  AL  KORAN.  203 

unto  himself  him  who  repenteth,  and  those  who  believe,  and  whose  hearts 
rest  securely  in  the  meditation  of  God  ;  shall  not  meii's  hearts  rest  securely 
in  the  meditation  of  God  1  They  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is  right 
shall  enjoy  blessedness,  and  partake  of  a  happy  resurrection.  Thus  have 
we  sent  thee  to  a  nation  which  otht  -  nations  have  preceded,  unto  loJiom 
prophets  have  likewise  been  sent,  that  thou  mayest  rehearse  unto  them  that 
which  we  have  revealed  unto  thee,  even  while  they  believe  not  in  the 
merciful  God.  Say  unto  them,  He  is  my  Lord  ;  there  is  no  God  but  he : 
in  him  do  I  trust,  and  unto  him  must  I  return.  Though  a  Koran  v)ere 
revealed  by  which  mountains  should  be  removed,  or  the  earth  cleaved  in 
sunder,  or  the  dead  be  caused  to  speak,"  it  would  he  in  vain.  But  the 
matter  helongeth  wholly  unto  God.  Do  not,  therefore,  the  believers  know, 
that  if  God  pleased^  he  would  certainly  direct  all  men  ?  Adversity  shall 
not  cease  to  afflict  the  unbelievers  for  that  which  they  have  committed,  or 
to  sit  down  near  their  habitations,''  until  God's  promise  come ;"  for  God  is 
not  contrary  to  the  promise.  Apostles  before  thee  have  been  laughed  to 
scorn ;  and  I  permitted  the  infidels  to  enjoy  a  long  and  happy  life :  but 
afterwards  I  punished  them ;  and  how  severe  was  the  punishment  which  I 
injlicted  on  them !  Who  is  it,  therefore,  that  standeth  over  every  soul,  to 
observe  that  which  it  committeth  ?  They  attribute  companions  unto  God. 
Say,  Name  them :  will  ye  declare  unto  him  that  which  he  knoweth  not  in 
the  earth  1*  or  will  ye  name  them  in  outward  speech  only  ?  ^  But  the  deceit- 
ful procedure  of  the  infidels  was  prepared  for  them ;  and  they  are  turned 
aside  from  the  right  path :  for  he  whom  God  shall  cause  to  err,  shall  have 
no  director.  They  shall  suffer  a  punishment  in  this  life ;  but  the  punish- 
ment of  the  next  shall  be  more  grievous :  and  there  shall  be  none  to  protect 
them  against  God.  This  is  the  description  of  paradise,  which  is  promised 
to  the  pious.  It  is  watered  by  rivers ;  its  food  is  perpetual,  and  its  shade 
also  :  this  shall  be  the  reward  of  those  who  fear  God.  But  the  reward  of 
the  infidels  shall  be  hell  fire.   Those  to  whom  we  have  given  the  scriptures, 

*  These  are  miracles  which  the  Koreish  required  of  Mohammed ;  demanding  that  he 
-would  by  the  power  of  his  Koran,  either  remove  the  mountains  from  about  Mecca,  that 
they  might  have  delicious  gardens  in  their  room  ;  or  that  he  would  oblige  the  wind  to 
transport  them  with  their  merchandize  to  Syria  (according  to  which  tradition  the  words 
here  translated,  or  the  earth  cleaved  in  sunder,  should  be  rendered,  or  the  earth  be  travelled 
over  in  an  instant) ;  or  else  raise  to  life  Kosia  Ebn  Kelab,'  and  others  of  their  ancestors, 
to  bear  witness  to  him. 

"  It  is  supposed  by  some,  that  these  words  are  spoken  to  Mohammed,  and  then  they 
must  be  translated  in  the  second  person,  Nor  shall  thou  cease  to  sit  down,  &c.  For  they 
say  this  verse  relates  to  the  idolaters  of  Mecca ;  who  were  afflicted  with  a  series  of  mis- 
fortunes for  their  ill-usage  of  their  prophet,  and  were  also  continually  annoyed  and  harassed 
by  his  parties,  which  frequently  plundered  their  caravans  and  drove  off  their  cattle  ;  him- 
self sitting  down  with  his  whole  army  near  the  city  in  the  expedition  of  Al  Hodeibiya.' 

'  i.  e.  Till  death  and  the  day  of  judgment  overtake  them  ;  or,  according  to  the  exposi- 
tion in  the  preceding  note,  until  the  taking  of  Mecca.^ 

*  "  Say  to  them,  Name  your  divinities.  Can  ye  teach  God  any  thing  which  he  knoweth 
not  ?     Or  are  the  names  which  ye  have  created  only  an  idle  sound  ?" — Savary. 

■*  That  is,  calhng  them  the  companions  of  God,  M'ithout  being  able  to  assign  any  reason, 
or  give  any  proof  why  they  deserve  to  be  sharers  in  the  honour  and  worship  due  from 
mankind  to  him.^ 

'Sec  chap.  8,  p.  141,  note  a.  *  Al  Beidawi.  -  Idem.  '  Idem. 


204  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xiv. 

rejoice  at  what  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee.^  Yet  there  are  some  of  the 
confederates  who  deny  part  thereof/  Say  unto  them,  Verily  I  am  commanded 
to  worship  God  alone ;  and  to  give  him  no  companion :  upon  him  do  I  call, 
and  unto  him  shall  I  return.  To  this  purpose  have  we  sent  down  the  Koran 
a  rule  of  judgment,  in  the  Arabic  language.  And  verily,  if  thou  follow 
their  desires,  after  the  knowledge  which  hath  been  given  thee,  there  shall 
be  none  to  defend  or  protect  thee  against  God.  We  have  formerly  sent 
apostles  before  thee,  and  bestowed  on  them  wives  and  children  ;s  and  no 
apostle  had  the  power  to  come  with  a  sign,  unless  by  the  permission  of  God. 
Every  age  hath  its  book  of  revelation  :  God  shall  abolish  and  shall  confirm 
what  he  pleaseth.  With  him  is  the  original  of  the  book.^»  Moreover,  whether 
we  cause  thee  to  see  any  part  of  that  punishment  wherewith  we  have  threat- 
ened them,  or  whether  we  cause  thee  to  die  before  it  be  inflicted  on  them, 
verily  unto  thee  belongeth  preaching  only,  but  unto  us  inquisition.  Do  they 
not  see  that  we  come  into  their  land,  and  straiten  the  borders  thereof,  by  the 
conquests  of  the  true  believers?  When  God  judgeth,  there  is  none  to  re- 
verse his  judgment :  and  he  ivill  be  swift  in  taking  an  account.  Their  pre- 
decessors formerly  devised  subtle  plots  against  their  prophets ;  but  God  is 
master  of  every  subtle  device.  He  knoweth  that  which  every  soul  deserveth  : 
and  the  infidels  shall  surely  know,  whose  will  be  the  reward  of  paradise. 
The  unbelievers'  will  say.  Thou  art  not  sent  of  God.  Answer,  God  is  a 
sufficient  witness  between  me  and  you,  and  he  who  understandeth  the 
scriptures. 

CHAPTER    XIY. 
INTITLED,  ABRAHAM;'^    REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al.  R.^  This  book  have  we  sent  down  unto  thee,  that  thou  mayest  lead 
men  forth  from  darkness  into  light,  by  the  permission  of  their  Lord,  into 

*  viz.  The  first  proselytes  to  Mohammedism  from  Judaism  and  Christianity ;  or  the 
Jews  and  Christians  in  general,  who  were  pleased  to  find  the  Koran  so  consonant  to  their 
own  scriptures.* 

^  That  is,  such  of  them  as  had  entered  into  a  confederacy  to  oppose  Mohammed ;  as 
did  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf,  and  the  Jews  who  followed  him,  and  al  Seyid  al  Najrani,  al 
Akib,  and  several  other  Christians;  who  denied  such  parts  of  the  Koran  as  contradicted 
their  corrupt  doctrines  and  traditions.' 

«  As  we  have  on  thee.  This  passage  was  revealed  in  answer  to  the  reproaches  which 
were  cast  on  Mohammed,  on  account  of  the  great  number  of  his  wives.  For  the  Jews 
said,  That  if  he  was  a  true  prophet,  his  care  and  attention  would  be  employed  about 
something  else  than  women  and  the  getting  of  children.*  It  may  be  observed  that  it  is  a 
maxim  of  the  Jews,  that  nothing  is  more  repugnant  to  prophecy  than  carnality.'' 

•^  Literally,  the  mother  of  the  book  :  by  which  is  meant,  the  preserved  table,  from  which 
all  the  written  revelations  which  have  been  from  time  to  lime  published  to  mankind,  ac- 
cording to  the  several  dispensations,  are  transcripts. 

'  The  persons  intended  in  this  passage,  it  is  said,  were  the  Jewish  doctors.^ 

^  Mention  is  made  of  this  patriarch  towards  the  end  of  the  chapter.  (After  the  patri- 
arch's name,  Savary's  translation  adds,  "  Peace  be  with  him.") 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

*  See  chap.  3,  p.  58.  '  Idem.  «  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  '  Vide  Maimon.  More 
Nev,  part  2,  c.  36,  &c.        '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XIV.  AL  KORAN.  205 

the  glorious  and  laudable  way.  God  is  he  unto  whom  belongeth  whatsoever 
is  in  heaven  and  on  earth :  and  woe  be  to  the  infidels,  because  a  grievous 
punishment  waiteth  them ;  who  love  the  present  life  above  that  which  is  to 
come,  and  turn  men  aside  from  the  way  of  God,  and  seek  to  render  it 
crooked :  these  are  in  an  error  far  distant /rowi  the  truth.  We  have  sent  no 
apostle  but  with  the  language  of  his  people,  that  he  might  declare  their 
duty  plainly  unto  them;"  for  God  causeth  to  err  whom  he  pleaseth,  and 
directeth  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise.  We  formerly 
sent  Moses  with  our  signs,  and  commanded  him  saying,  Lead  forth  thy 
people  from  darkness  into  light,  and  remind  them  of  the  favours  of  God  :° 
verily  therein  are  signs  unto  every  patient  and  grateful  person.  And  call 
to  mind  when  Moses  said  unto  his  people.  Remember  the  favour  of  God 
towards  you,  when  he  delivered  you  from  the  people  of  Pharaoh :  they 
grievously  oppressed  you ;  and  they  slew  your  male  children,  but  let  your 
females  live : "  therein  was  a  great  trial  from  your  Lord.*  And  when 
your  Lord  declared  hy  the  mouth  of  Moses,  saying,  If  ye  be  thankful,  I  will 
surely  increase  my  favours  towards  you ;  but  if  ye  be  ungrateful,  verily 
my  punishment  shall  he  severe.  And  Moses  said.  If  ye  be  ungrateful,  and 
all  who  are  in  the  earth  likewise ;  verily  God  needeth  not  your  thanks, 
though  he  deserveth  the  highest  praise.  Hath  not  the  history  of  the  nations 
your  predecessors  reached  you;  namely,  of  the  people  of  Noah,  and  of  Ad, 
and  of  Thamud,p  and  of  those  who  succeeded  them ;  whose  number  none 
knoweth  except  God?  Their  apostles  came  unto  them  with  evident 
miracles ;  but  they  clapped  their  hands  to  their  mouths  out  of  indignation, 
and  said.  We  do  not  believe  the  message  with  which  ye  pretend  to  be  sent ; 
and  we  are  in  a  doubt  concerning  the  religion  to  which  ye  invite  us, 
as  justly  to  he  suspected.  Their  apostles  answered.  Is  there  any  doubt  con- 
cerning God,  the  creator  of  heaven  and  earth?  He  inviteth  you  to  the  true 
faith  that  he  may  forgive  you  part  of  your  sins,i  and  may  respite  your 
punishment,  hy  granting  you  space  to  repent,  until  an  appointed  time. 
They  answered,  Ye  are  but  men,  like  unto  us :  ye  seek  to  turn  us  aside 
from  the  gods  which  our  fathers  worshipped  :  wherefore  bring  us  an  evident 
demonstration  hy  some  miracle,  that  ye  speak  truth.  Their  apostles  replied 
unto  them,  We  are  no  other  than  men  like  unto  you ;  but  God  is  bountiful 
unto  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth :  and  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  give 

^  That  so  they  might  not  only  perfectly  and  readily  understand  those  revelations  them- 
selves, but  might  also  be  able  to  translate  and  interpret  them  unto  others.' 

°  Literally  the  days  of  God ;  which  may  also  be  translated,  the  battles  of  God  (the 
Arabs  using  the  word  day  to  signify  a  remarkable  engagement,  as  the  Italians  do  piomata, 
and  the  French  jowmee),  or  his  wonderful  acts  manifested  in  the  various  success  of  formei 
nations  in  their  wars/ 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  129,  &c. 

*  "  Your  deliverance  is  a  magnificent  proof  of  the  divine  goodness."— .Savary. 

p  See  chap.  7,  p.  122,  &c. 

"J  That  is,  such  of  them  as  were  committed  directly  against  God,  which  are  immediately 
cancelled  by  faith,  or  embracing  Islam;  but  not  the  crimes  of  injustice,  and  oppression, 
which  were  committed  against  man  ;'^  for  to  obtain  remission  of  these  last,  besides  faith, 
repentance  and  restitution,  according  to  a  man's  abihty,  are  also  necessary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  » Idem.  °  Idem. 


206  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XIV. 


you  a  miraculous  demonstration  of  our  mission^  unless  by  the  permission  of 
God  ;  in  God  therefore  let  the  faithful  trust.  And  what  excuse  have  we 
to  allege,  that  we  should  not  put  our  trust  in  God  ;  since  he  hath  directed 
us  our  paths  ?  Wherefore  we  will  certainly  suffer  with  patience  the  per- 
secution wherewith  ye  shall  afflict  us :  in  God  therefore  let  those  put  their 
confidence  who  seek  in  whom  to  put  their  trust.  And  those  who  believed 
not  said  unto  their  apostles,  We  will  surely  expel  you  out  of  our  land ;  or 
ye  shall  return  unto  our  religion.  And  their  Lord  spake  unto  them 
by  revelation,  saying,  We  will  surely  destroy  the  wicked  doers;  and 
we  will  cause  you  to  dwell  in  the  earth,  after  them.  This  shall  he  granted 
unto  him  who  shall  dread  the  appearance  at  my  tribunal,  and  shall  fear  my 
threatening.  And  they  asked  assistance  of  God,""  and  every  rebellious  per- 
verse person  failed  of  success.  Hell  lieth  unseen  before  him,  and  he  shall 
have  filthy  water «  given  him  to  drink  :  he  shall  sup  it  up  by  little  and  little, 
and  he  shall  not  easily  let  it  pass  his  throat  because  of  its  nauseousness ; 
death  also  shall  come  upon  him  from  every  quarter,  yet  he  shall  not  die ; 
and  before  him  shall  there  stand  prepared  a  grievous  torment.  This  is  the 
likeness  of  those  who  believe  not  in  their  Lord.  Their  works  are  as 
ashes,  which  the  wind  violently  scattereth  in  a  stormy  day :  they  shall  not 
be  able  to  ohtain  any  solid  advantage  from  that  which  they  have  wrought. 
This  is  an  error  most  distant /row  truth.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  hath 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  wisdom  ?  If  he  please,  he  can  destroy 
you,  and  produce  a  new  creature  in  your  stead :  neither  will  this  be  difficult 
with  God.  And  they  shall  all  come  forth  into  the  presence  of  God  at  the 
last  day :  and  the  weak  among  them  shall  say  unto  those  who  behaved 
themselves  arrogantly,**  Verily  we  were  your  followers  on  earth  ;  will  ye 
not  therefore  avert  from  us  some  part  of  the  divine  vengeance  ?  They  shall 
answer,  If  God  had  directed  us  aright,  we  had  certainly  directed  you."^  It 
is  equal  unto  us  whether  we  bear  our  torments  impatiently,  or  whether  we 
endure  them  with  patience :  for  we  have  no  way  to  escape.  And  Satan 
shall  say,  after  judgment  shall  have  been  given.  Verily  God  promised  you 
a  promise  of  truth :  and  I  also  made  you  a  promise ;  but  I  deceived 
you.  Yet  I  had  not  any  power  over  you  to  compel  you;  but  I  called 
you  only,  and  ye  answered  me :  wherefore  accuse  not  me,  but  accuse 

^  The  commentators  are  uncertain  whether  these  were  the  prophets,  who  begged  assist- 
ance against  their  enemies  ;  or  the  infidels,  who  called  for  God's  decision  between  them- 
selves and  them  ;  or  both.  And  some  suppose  this  verse  has  no  connexion  with  the  pre- 
ceding, but  is  spoken  of  the  people  of  Mecca,  who  begged  rain  in  a  great  drought  with 
which  they  were  afflicted  at  the  prayer  of  their  prophet,  but  could  not  obtain  it.^ 

"  Which  will  issue  from  the  bodies  of  the  damned,  mixed  with  purulent  matter  and 
blood. 

*  i.  e.  The  more  simple  and  inferior  people  shall  say  to  their  teachers  and  princes  who 
seduced  them  to  idolatry,  and  confirmed  them  in  their  obstinate  infidehty. 

*  "All  men  shall  appear  before  God.  The  idolaters  will  say  to  their  leaders,  We 
followed  you,  cannot  you  mitigate  our  punishment?" — Savary. 

"  That  is,  We  made  the  same  choice  for  you  as  we  did  for  ourselves  ;  and  had  not  God 
permitted  us  to  fall  into  error,  we  had  not  seduced  you. 

^  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XIV.  AL  KORAN.  207 

yourselves."^  I  cannot  assist  you ;  neither  can  ye  assist  me.  Verily  I  do 
now  renounce  your  having  associated  me  toith  God  heretofore.^  A  grievous 
punishment  is  prepared  for  the  unjust.  But  they  who  shall  have  believed 
and  wrought  righteousness  shall  be  introduced  into  gardens,  wherein  rivers 
flow;  they  shall  remain  therein /or  ever,  by  the  permission  of  their  Lord; 
and  their  salutation  therein  shall  be,  Peace !  ^  Dost  thou  not  see  how  God 
putteth  forth  a  parable ;  representing  a  good  word,  as  a  good  tree,  whose 
root  is  firmly  fixed  in  the  earth,  and  whose  branches  reach  unto  heaven ; 
which  bringeth  forth  its  fruit  in  all  seasons,  by  the  will  of  its  Lord  ?  God 
propoundcth  parables  unto  men,  that  they  may  be  instructed.  And  the 
likeness  of  an  evil  word  is  as  an  evil  tree ;  which  is  torn  up  from  the  face 
of  the  earth,*  and  hath  no  stability.^  God  shall  confirm  them  who  believe, 
by  the  stedfast  word  of  faith,  both  in  this  life  and  in  that  which  is  to  come  :* 
but  God  shall  lead  the  wicked  into  error ;  for  God  doth  that  which  he 
pleaseth.  Hast  thou  not  considered  those  who  have  changed  the  grace  of 
God  to  infidelity,"  and  cause  their  people  to  descend  into  the  house  of  per- 
dition, namely,  into  hell?  They  shall  be  thrown  to  burn  therein;  and  an 
unhappy  dwelling  shall  it  be.  They  also  set  up  idols  as  co-partners  with 
God,  that  they  might  cause  men  to  stray  from  his  path.  Say,  unto  them. 
Enjoy  the  pleasures  of  this  life  for  a  time  ;  but  your  departure  hence  shall 
be  into  hell  fire.  Speak  unto  my  servants  who  have  believed,  that  they 
be  assiduous  at  prayer,  and  give  alms  out  of  that  which  we  have  bestowed 
on  them,  both  privately  and  in  public;  before  the  day  cometh,  wherein 
there  shall  be  no  buying  nor  selling,  neither  any  friendship.  It  is  God  who 
hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  and  causeth  water  to  descend  from 
heaven,  and  by  means  thereof  produceth  fruits  for  your  sustenance  :  and  by 

'■  Lay  not  the  blame  on  my  temptations,  but  blame  your  own  folly  in  obeying  and  trust- 
ing to  me,  who  had  openly  professed  myself  your  irreconcileable  enemy. 

"  Or  I  do  now  declare  myself  clear  of  your  having  obeyed  me,  preferably  to  God,  and 
worshipped  idols  at  my  instigation.  Or  the  words  may  be  translated,  I  believed  not  here- 
tofore ill  that  Being  with  whom  ye  did  associate  me  ;  intimating  his  first  disobedience  in 
refusing  to  worship  Adam  at  God's  command.'' 

y  See  chap.  10,  p.  166. 

*  "  He  compareth  the  doctrine  of  the  unbelievers  to  a  worthless  tree,  the  roots  of  which 
run  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  which  hath  no  stabihty." — Savary. 

^  What  is  particularly  intended  in  this  passage  by  the  good  word,  and  the  evil  word,  the 
expositors  differ.  But  the  first  seems  to  mean  the  profession  of  God's  unity,  the  inviting 
others  to  the  true  religion,  or  the  Koran  itself;  and  the  latter,  the  acknowledging  a  pluraHty 
of  gods,  the  seducing  of  others  to  idolatry,  or  the  obstinate  opposition  .of  God's  prophets.^ 

"  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  the  sepulchre  to  be  here  understood ;  in  which  place,  when  the 
true  believers  come  to  be  examined  by  the  two  angels  concerning  their  faith,  they  will 
answer  properly  and  without  hesitation  ;  which  the  infidels  will  not  be  able  to  do.^ 

"  That  IS,  who  requite  his  favours  with  disobedience  and  increduhty.  Or,  whose  ingra- 
titude obliged  God  to  deprive  them  of  the  blessings  he  had  bestowed  on  them  ;  as  he  did 
the  Meccans,  who  though  God  had  placed  them  in  the  sacred  territory,  and  given  them 
the  custody  of  the  Caaba,  and  abundant  provision  of  all  necessaries  and  conveniences  of 
life,  and  had  also  honoured  them  by  the  mission  of  Mohammed,  yet  in  return  for  all  this, 
became  obstinate  unbelievers,  and  persecuted  his  apostles ;  for  which  they  were  not  only 
punished  l)y  a  famine  of  seven  years,  but  also  by  the  loss  and  disgrace  they  sustained  at 
Bedr  ;  so  that  they  who  had  before  been  celebrated  for  their  prosperity  were  now  stripped 
of  that,  and  become  conspicuous  only  for  their  infidehty.''     If  this  be  the  drift  of  the  pas- 

*  Al  Bojdawi.  *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  55. 
'  Al  Beidawi. 


208  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xiv. 

his  command  he  obligeth''  the  ships  to  sail  in  the  sea  for  your  service ;  and 
he  also  forceth  the  rivers  to  supply  your  uses  :  he  hkewise  compelleth  the 
sun  and  the  moon,  which  diligently  perform  their  courses,  to  serve  you ; 
and  hath  subjected  the  day  and  the  night  to  your  service.  He  giveth  you 
of  every  thing  which  ye  ask  him ;  and  if  ye  attempt  to  reckon  up  the  favours 
of  God,  ye  shall  not  be  able  to  compute  the  same.  Surely  man  is  unjust 
and  ungrateful.  Remember  when  Abraham  said,  O  Lord,  make  this  land"^ 
a  place  of  security ;  and  grant  that  I  and  my  children^  may  avoid  the 
worship  of  idols ;  for  they,  O  Lord,  have  seduced  a  great  number  of  men. 
Whoever  therefore  shall  follow  me,  he  shall  he  of  me :  and  whosoever  shall 
disobey  me,  verily  thou  wilt  he  gracious  and  merciful.^  O  Lord,  I  have 
caused  some  of  my  oifsprings  to  settle  in  an  unfruitful  valley,  near  thy  holy 
house,  O  Lord,  that  they  may  be  constant  at  prayer.  Grant,  therefore, 
that  the  hearts  of  some  men^  may  be  affected  with  kindness  toward  them ; 
and  do  thou  bestow  on  them  all  sorts  of  fruits,*  that  they  may  give  thanks. 
O  Lord,  thou  knowest  whatsoever  we  conceal,  and  whatsoever  we  publish; 
for  nothing  is  hidden  from  God,  either  on  earth  or  in  heaven.  Praise  be 
unto  God,  who  hath  given  me,  in  my  old  age,  Israel  and  Isaac:  for 
my  Lord  is  the  hearer  of  supplication.  O  Lord,  grant  that  I  may  be 
an  observer  of  prayer,  and  a  part  of  my  posterity  also,^  O  Lord,  and 
receive  my  supplication.  O  Lord,  forgive  me,  and  my  parents,^  and 
the  faithful,  on  the  day  whereon  an  account  shall  be  taken.  Think  not, 
O  prophet,  that  God  is  regardless  of  what  the  ungodly  do.  He  only  de- 
ferreth  their  punishment  unto  the  day  whereon  men^s  eyes  shall  be  fixed : 


sage,  it  could  not  have  been  revealed  at  Mecca,  as  the  rest  of  the  chapter  is  agreed  to  be  ; 
wherefore  some  suppose  this,  verse  and  the  next  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

*=  The  w^ord  used  here,  and  in  the  following  passages,  is  sakhkhara,  which  signifies  /or- 
cibly  to  press  into  any  service.^ 

^  viz.  The  territory  of  Mecca.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect,  iv, 

®  This  prayer,  it  seems,  was  not  heard  as  to  all  his  posterity,  particularly  as  to  the  de- 
scendants of  Ismael;  though  some  pretend  that  these  latter  did  not  worship  images,  but 
only  paid  a  superstitious  veneration  to  certain  stones,  which  they  set  up  and  compassed, 
as  representations  of  the  Caaba.* 

f  That  is,  by  disposing  him  to  repentance.  But  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  these  words  were 
spoken  by  Abraham  before  he  knew  that  God  would  not  pardon  idolatry. 

e  i.  e.  Ismael  and  his  posterity.  The  Mohammedans  say  that  Hagar,  his  mother,  be- 
longed to  Sarah,  who  gave  her  to  Abraham ;  and  that,  on  her  bearing  him  this  son,  Sarah 
became  so  jealous  of  her,  that  she  prevailed  on  her  husband  to  turn  them  both  out  of 
doors ;  whereupon  he  sent  them  to  the  territory  of  Mecca,  where  God  caused  the  fountain 
of  Zemzem  to  spring  forth  for  their  relief,  in  consideration  of  which  the  Jorhamites,  who 
were  the  masters  of  the  country,  permitted  them  to  settle  among  them.^ 

^  Had  he  said  the  hearts  of  men,  absolutely,  the  Persians  and  the  Romans  would  also 
have  treated  them  as  friends ;  and  both  the  Jews  and  Christians  would  have  made  their 
pilgrimages  to  Mecca.' 

•  This  part  of  the  prayer  was  granted;  Mecca  being  so  plentifully  supplied,  that  the 
fruits  of  spring,  summer,  and  autumn,  are  to  be  found  there  at  one  and  the  same  time." 

^  For  he  knew  by  revelation  that  some  of  them  would  be  infidels. 

'  Abraham  put  up  this  petition  to  God,  before  he  knew  that  his  parents  were  the  ene- 
mies of  God.*  Some  suppose  his  mother  was  a  true  believer,  and  therefore  read  it  in  the 
singular,  and  my  father.  Others  fancy,  that  by  his  parents  the  patriarch  here  means 
Adam  and  Eve.^ 

^  See  chap.  2,  p.  19,  note  c.        *  Al  Beidawi.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  14,  15. 
Idem.        ""  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.        *  Idem.         »  See  chap.  9,  p.  163.        «  Jallalo'ddin, 
Al  Beidawi,  &c. 


CHAP.  XV.  AL  KORAN.  209 

they  shall  hasten  forward,  at  the  voice  of  the  angel  calling  to  judgment, 
and  shall  lift  up  their  heads ;  they  shall  not  be  able  to  turn  their  sight /ro7?i 
the  object  lohereon  it  shall  he  fixed,  and  their  hearts  shall  be  void  of  sense, 
through  excessive  terror.  Wherefore  do  thou  threaten  men  with  the  day, 
whereon  their  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  on  them,  and  whereon  those  who 
have  acted  unjustly  shall  say,  O  Lord,  give  us  respite  unto  a  term  near  at 
hand ;  and  we  will  obey  thy  call,  and  we  will  follow  thy  apostles.  But  it 
shall  he  answered  unto  them,  Did  ye  not  swear  heretofore,  that  no  reverse 
should  befall  you  1  "*  yet  ye  dwelt  in  the  dwellings  of  those  who  had  treated 
their  own  souls  unjustly ;"  and  it  appeared  plainly  unto  you  how  we  had 
dealt  with  them  ;  °  and  we  propounded  their  destruction  as  examples  unto 
you.  They  employ  their  utmost  subtlety  to  oppose  the  truth ;  but  their 
subtlety  is  apparent  unto  God,  who  is  able  to  frustrate  their  designs ;  although 
their  subtlety  were  so  great,  that  the  mountains  might  be  moved  thereby. 
Think  not,  therefore,  O  prophet,  that  God  will  be  contrary  to  his  promise 
of  assistance,  made  unto  his  apostles;  for  God  is  mighty,  able  to  avenge. 
The  day  nnll  come,  when  the  earth  shall  be  changed  into  another  earth, 
and  the  heavens  into  other  heavens  ;^  and  men  shall  come  forth /ro77i  their 
graves  to  appear  before  the  only,  the  mighty  God.  And  thou  shalt  see  the 
wicked  on  that  day  bound  together  in  fetters :  their  inner  garments  shall 
be  of  pitch,  and  fire  shall  cover  their  faces ;  that  God  may  reward  every 
soul  according  to  what  it  shall  have  deserved ;  for  God  is  swift  in  taking  an 
account.  This  is  a  sufficient  admonition  unto  men,  that  they  may  be  warned 
thereby,  and  that  they  may  know  that  there  is  but  one  God ;  and  that  those 
who  are  endued  with  understanding  may  consider. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

INTITLED,  AL  HEJR;i  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Al  R.""  These  are  the  signs  of  the  book,  and  of  the  perspicuous  Koran. 
*[XIV.]    The   time   may  come   when   the   unbelievers   shall   wish   that 

"^  That  is,  that  ye  should  not  taste  of  death,  but  continue  in  this  world  for  ever  ;  or  that 
ye  should  not  after  death  be  raised  to  judgment."* 

°  viz.  Of  the  Adites  and  the  Thamudites. 

"  Not  only  by  the  histories  of  those  people  revealed  in  the  Koran,  but  also  by  the 
monuments  remaining  of  them  (as  those  of  Thamudites),  and  the  traditions  preserved 
among  you  of  the  terrible  judgments  which  befell  them. 

p  This  the  Mohammedans  suppose  will  come  to  pass  at  the  last  day ;  the  earth  becom- 
ing white  and  even,  or,  as  some  will  have  it,  of  silver ;  and  the  heavens  of  gold.^ 

"  Al  Hejr  is  a  territory  in  the  province  of  Hejaz,  between  Medina  and  Syria,  where  the 
tribe  of  Thamud  dwelt;'  and  is  mentioned  towards  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakhshari,  Yahya.  '  Idem.  Vide  Prehm.  Disc. 
sect.  iv.  p.  61.  '  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  p.  4. 


210  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xv. 

they  had  been  Moslems.'  Suffer  them  to  eat,  and  to  enjoy  themselves  in 
this  world ;  and  let  hope  entertain  them,  but  they  shall  hereafter  know 
their  folly.  We  have  not  destroyed  any  city,  but  a  fixed  term  of  repentance 
was  appointed  them.  No  nation  shall  be  punished  before  their  time  shall 
he  come  ;  neither  shall  they  be  respited  after.  The  Meccans  say,  O  thou  to 
whom  the  admonition'  hath  been  sent  down,  thou  art  certainly  possessed 
with  a  devil :  wouldest  thou  not  have  come  unto  us  with  an  attendance  of 
angels,  if  thou  hadst  spoken  truth  ?  Answer^  We  send  not  down  the  angels, 
unless  on  a  just  occasion ;  *  nor  should  they  be  then  respited  any  longer. 
We  have  surely  sent  down  the  Kor&n ;  and  we  will  certainly  preserve  the 
same/rom  corruption."^  We  have  heretofore  sent  apostles  before  thee  among 
the  ancient  sects  :  and  there  came  no  apostle  unto  them,  but  they  laughed 
him  to  scorn.  In  the  same  manner  will  we  put  it  into  the  hearts  of  the 
wicked  Meccans  to  scoff  at  their  prophet :  they  shall  not  believe  on  him ; 
and  the  sentence  of  the  nations  of  old  hath  been  executed  heretofore.  If 
we  should  open  a  gate  in  the  heaven  above  them,  and  they  should  ascend 
thereto'^  all  the  day  long,*  they  should  rather  say.  Our  eyes  are  only  dazzled ; 
or  rather  we  are  a  people  deluded  by  enchantments.  We  have  placed  th^ 
twelve  signs  in  the  heaven,  and  have  set  them  out  in  various  figures^  for  the 
observation  of  spectators  :  and  we  guard  them  from  every  devil^  driven  away 
with  stones,*!  except  him  who  listeneth  by  stealth,  at  whom  a  visible  flame 
is  darted. y  We  have  also  spread  forth  the  earth,  and  thrown  thereon  stable 
mountains ;  and  we  have  caused  every  kind  of  vegetable  to  spring  forth  in 
the  same,  according  to  a  determinate  weight  :J  and  we  have  provided 
therein  necessaries  of  life  for  you,  and  for  him  whom  ye  do  not  sustain.* 

'  viz.  When  they  shall  see  the  success  and  the  prosperity  of  the  true  believers  ;  or  when 
they  shall  come  to  die  ;  or  at  the  resurrection. 
°  i.  e.  The  revelations  which  compose  the  Koran. 

*  When  the  divine  wisdom  shall  judge  it  proper  to  use  their  ministry,  as  in  bearing  his 
revelations  to  the  prophets,  and  the  executing  his  sentence  on  wicked  people  ;  but  not  to 
humour  you  with  their  appearance  in  visible  shapes,  which,  should  your  demand  be 
complied  with,  would  only  increase  your  confusion,  and  bring  God's  vengeance  on  you 
the  sooner. 

"  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  53. 

'i.  e.  The  incredulous  Meccans  themselves;  or,  as  others  rather  think,  the  angels  in 
visible  forms. 

*  "  Were  we  to  open  the  gate  of  heaven,  and  they  were  about  to  enter  therein,  they 
would  exclaim,  Our  eyes  are  clouded  by  intoxication,  or  we  labour  under  an  illusion." — 
Savary. 

■"  For  the  Mohammedans  imagine  that  the  devils  endeavour  to  ascend  to  the  constella- 
tions, to  pry  into  the  actions,  and  overhear  the  discourse  of  the  inhabitants  of  heaven, 
and  to  tempt  them.  They  also  pretend  that  these  evil  spirits  had  the  liberty  of  entering 
any  of  the  heavens  till  the  birth  of  Jesus,  when  they  were  excluded  three  of  them ;  but 
that  on  the  birth  of  Mohammed  they  were  forbidden  the  other  four.' 

*  See  chap.  3,  p.  39,  note  a. 

t  "  We  defend  them  against  the  attacks  of  the  devils,  who  are  pierced  with  shafts." — 
Savary. 

y  For  when  a  star  seems  to  fall  or  shoot,  the  Mohammedans  suppose  the  angels,  who 
keep  guard  in  the  constellations,  dart  them  at  the  devils  who  approach  too  near. 

t  **  We  have  caused  all  the  plants  to  spring  therefrom  in  an  admirable  order." — Savary. 
'  viz.  Your  family,  servants,  and  slaves,  whom  ye  wrongly  imagine  that  ye  feed  your 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XV.  AL  KORAN.  211 

There  is  no  one  thing  but  the  storehouses  thereof  are  in  our  hands ;  and 
we  distribute  not  the  same  otherwise  than  in  a  determinate  measure.  We 
also  send  the  winds  driving  the  pregnant  clouds,  and  we  send  down  from 
heaven  water,  whereof  we  give  you  to  drink,  and  which  ye  keep  not  in 
store.  Verily  we  give  life,  and  we  put  to  death :  and  we  are  the  heirs  of 
all  things.''  We  know  those  among  you  who  go  before ;  and  we  know  those 
who  stay  behind."*  And  thy  Lord  shall  gather  them  together  at  the  last 
day  :  for  he  is  knowing  and  wise.  We  created  man  of  dried  clay,  of  black 
mud,  formed  into  shape : "  and  we  had  before  created  the  devil  of  subtle 
fire.  And  remcmher  when  thy  Lord  said  unto  the  angels,  Verily  I  am 
about  to  create  man  of  dried  clay,  of  black  mud,  wrought  into  shape ;  when, 
therefore,  I  shall  have  completely  formed  him,  and  shall  have  breathed  of 
my  spirit  into  him ;  do  ye  fall  down  and  worship  him.  And  all  the  angels 
worshipped  Adam  together,  except  Eblis,  who  refused  to  be  with  those  who 
worshipped  him.  And  God  said  unto  him,  O  Eblis,  what  hindered  thee 
from  being  with  those  who  worshipped  Adam  f  He  answered,  It  is  not  fit 
that  I  should  worship  man,  whom  thou  hast  created  of  dried  clay,  of  black 
mud,  wrought  into  shape.  God  said.  Get  thee  therefore  hence :  for  thou 
shalt  be  driven  away  with  stones :  and  a  curse  shall  he  on  thee,  until  the 
day  of  judgment.  The  devil  said,  O  Lord,  Give  me  respite  until  the  day  of 
res;.irrection.  God  answered,  Verily  thou  shalt  be  one  of  those  who  are 
respited  until  the  day  of  the  appointed  time.*  The  devil  replied,  O 
Lord,  because  thou  hast  seduced  me,!  I  will  surely  tempt  them  to  dis- 
obedience in  the  earth ;  and  I  will  seduce  such  of  them  as  shall  be  thy 
chosen  servants.  God  said.  This  is  the  right  way  with  me.^  Verily  as  to 
my  servants,  thou  shalt  have  no  power  over  them ;  but  over  those  only  who 
shall  be  seduced,  and  who  shall  follow  thee.  And  hell  is  surely  denounced 
unto  them  all :  it  hath  seven  gates ;  unto  every  gate  a  distinct  company  of 
them  shall  be  assigned.^  But  those  who  fear  God  shall  dwell  in  gardens, 
amidst  fountains.     The  angels  shall  say  unto  them,  Enter  ye  therein  in  peace 

selves ;  though  it  is  God  who  provides  for  them  as  well  as  ybu :  ^  or,  as  some  rather 
think,  the  animals,  of  whom  men  take  no  care.^ 

■  i.  e.  Alone  surviving,  when  all  creatures  shall  be  dead  and  annihilated. 

"  What  these  words  particularly  drive  at  is  uncertain.  Some  think  them  spoken  of  the 
different  times  of  men's  several  entrance  into  this  world,  and  their  departure  out  of  it; 
others  of  the  respective  forwardness  and  backwardness  of  Mohammed's  men  in  battle  ; 
and  a  third  says,  the  passage  was  occasioned  by  the  different  behaviour  of  Mohammed's 
followers,  on  seeing  a  very  beautiful  woman  at  prayers  behind  the  prophet :  some  of 
them  going  out  of  the  Mosque  before  her,  to  avoid  looking  on  her  more  nearly,  and 
others  staying  behind,  on  purpose  to  view  her.^ 

*  "  We  know  those  who  have  gone  before  you,  as  we  do  those  who  will  come  after 
you." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  2,  p.  4,  &c. 

•*  See  ibid,  and  chap.  7,  p.  117. 

t  "  Because  thou  hast  cast  me  down,  added  the  rebel  spirit,  I  will  render  evil  pleasmg 
unto  man,  and  will  seduce  them  all.  Thy  sincere  servants  alone  shall  be  spared.  God 
said,  I  am  the  way  of  salvation." — Savary. 

'  viz.  The  saving  of  the  elect,  and  the  utter  reprobation  of  the  wicked,  according  to 
my  eternal  decree. 

'  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect,  iv,  p.  65. 

2  Al  Beidawi.  '  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


212  AL  KOEAN.  chap.  xv. 

and  security,  and  we  will  remove  all  grudges  from  their  breasts ;  s  they  shall 
he  as  brethren,  sitting  over  against  one  another  ^  on  couches ;  weariness  shall 
not  affect  them  therein,  neither  shall  they  be  cast  out  thence  for  ever. 
Declare  unto  my  servants  that  I  am  the  gracious,  the  merciful  God  ;  and 
that  my  punishment  is  a  grievous  punishment.  And  relate  unto  them  the 
history  of  Abraham's  guests.'  When  they  went  in  unto  him,  and  said, 
Peace  he  unto  ihee^  he  answered.  Verily  we  are  afraid  of  you  :^  and  they 
replied,  Fear  not ;  we  bring  thee  the  promise  of  a  wise  son.  He  said.  Do 
ye  bring  me  the  promise  of  a  son  now  old  age  hath  overtaken  me  ?  what  is 
it  therefore  -  that  ye  tell  me  ?  They  said.  We  have  told  thee  the  truth  ;  be 
not  therefore  one  of  those  who  despair.  He  answered,  And  who  despaireth 
of  the  mercy  of  God,  except  those  who  err?  And  he  said,  What  is  your 
errand,  therefore,  O  messengers  of  God  ?  They  answered,  Verily  we  are 
sent  to  destroy  a  wicked  people;  but  as  for  the  family  of  Lot,  we  will  save 
them  all,  except  his  wife ;  we  have  decreed  that  she  shall  be  one  of  those 
who  remain  behind  to  he  destroyed  with  the  infidels.  And  when  the  mes- 
sengers came  to  the  family  of  Lot,  he  said  unto  them,  Verily  ye  are  a  people 
who  are  unknown  to  me.  They  answered,  But  we  are  come  unto  thee  to 
execute  that  sentence,  concerning  which  your  fellow-citizens  doubted  :  we  tell 
thee  a  certain  truth  ;  and  we  are  messengers  of  veracity.  Therefore  lead 
forth  thy  family,  in  some  time  of  the  night ;  and  do  thou  follow  behind 
them,  and  let  none  of  you  turn  back ;  but  go  whither  ye  are  commanded.^ 
And  we  gave  him  this  command ;  because  the  utmost  remnant  of  those 
people  was  to  be  cut  off  in  the  morning.  And  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
came  unto  Lot,  rejoicing  at  the  news  of  the  arrival  of  sojne  strangers.  Jlnd 
he  said  unto  them,  Verily  these  are  my  guests :  wherefore  do  not  disgrace 
me  hy  ahusing  them;  but  fear  God,  and  put  me  not  to  shame.  They 
answered.  Have  we  not  forbidden  thee  from  entertaining  or  protecting 
any  man  ?  Lot  replied,  These  are  my  daughters  :  therefore  rather  make 
use  of  them,  if  ye  he  resolved  to  do  what  ye  purpose.  As  thou  livest  they 
wander  in  their  folly.™  Wherefore  a  terrible  storm  from  heaven  assailed 
them  at  sun-rise,*  d^d  we  turned  the  city  upside  down :  and  we  rained  on 

e  That  is,  all  hatred  and  ill-will  which  they  bore  each  other  in  their  lifetime  ;  ^  or,  as 
some  choose  to  expound  it,  all  envy  or  heart-burning  on  account  of  the  different  degrees 
of  honour  and  happiness  to  which  the  blessed  will  be  promoted,  according  to  their 
respective  merits. 

^  Never  turning  their  backs  to  one  another ;  ^  which  might  be  construed  a  sign  of  con- 
tempt. 

•  See  chap.  11,  p.  182,  &c. 

^  What  occasioned  Abraham's  apprehension  was,  cither  their  sudden  entering  without 
leave,  or  their  coming  at  an  unseasonable  time,  or.  else  their  not  eating  with  him. 

'  Which  was  into  Syria  ;  or  into  Egypt.'' 

^  Some  will  have  these  words  spoken  by  the  angels  to  Lot ;  others,  by  God  to 
Mohammed. 

*  "At  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  cry  of  the  angel  precipitated  upon  them  our  scourges. 
We  buried  Sodom  under  its  ruins,  and  caused  a  shower  of  stones  to  fall  upon  its  inha- 
bitants. These  are  signs  to  those  who  can  discern.  Sodom  was  situated  on  the  high 
road.     This  example  serves  as  a  warning  to  the  believers." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  119,  note  u.  *  Jallalo'ddin.          '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XV.  AL  KORAN.  213 

them  stones  of  baked  clay.  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  men  of  sagacity  : 
and  those  cities  ivere  punished,  to  point  out  a  right  way  for  men  to  walk  in. 
Verily  herein  is  a  sign  unto  the  true  believers.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
VI ooA*  near  Midian""  were  also  ungodly.  Wherefore  we  took  vengeance 
on  them."  And  both  of  them  were  destroyed,  to  serve  as  a  manifest  rule 
for  men  to  direct  their  actions  by.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Al  Hejr  p  likewise 
heretofore  accused  the  messengers  of  God  of  imposture :  and  we  produced 
our  signs  unto  them,  but  they  retired  afar  off  from  the  same.  And  they 
hewed  houses  out  of  the  mountains,  to  secure  themselves.  But  a  terrible 
noise  from  heaven  assailed  them  in  the  morning;!  neither  was  what  they 
had  wrought  of  any  advantage  unto  them.  We  have  not  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  and  whatever  is  contained  between  them,  otherwise 
than  in  justice :  and  the  hour  of  judgment  shall  surely  come.  Wherefore 
O  Mohammed,  forgive  thy  people  with  a  gracious  forgiveness.i  J  Verily  thy 
Lord  is  the  creator  of  thee  and  of  them,  and  knoweth  what  is  most  expedient. 
We  have  already  brought  unto  thee  seven  verses  which  are  frequently  to  be 
repeated, •■  and  the  glorious  Koran.  Cast  not  thine  eyes  on  the  good  things 
which  we  have  bestowed  on  several  of  the  unbelievers,  so  as  to  covet  the 
same  :  *  neither  be  thou  grieved  on  their  account.  Behave  thyself  with 
meekness  towards  the  true  believers  ;  and  say,  I  am  a  public  preacher.*  If 
they  believe  not,  we  icill  inflict  a  like  punishment  on  them,  as  we  have 
inflicted  on  the  dividers,*  who  distinguished  the  Koran  into  different  parts ; 
for  by  thy  Lord,  we  will  demand  an  account  from  them  all  of  that  which 

*  "The  inhabitants  of  Aleica*  were  corrupted.  We  inflicted  on  them  our  chastise- 
ments.    These  two  cities  were  in  the  pubUc  road." — Savary. 

°  To  whom  Shoaib  was  also  sent,  as  well  as  to  the  inhabitants  of  Midian.  Abulfeda 
says  these  people  dwelt  near  Tabuc,  and  that  they  were  not  of  the  same  tribe  with  Shoaib. 
See  also  Geogr.  Nub.  p.  110. 

°  Destroying  them,  for  their  increduUty  and  disobedience,  by  a  hot  suffocating  wind.' 

p  Who  were  the  tribe  of  Thamud. 

t  •'  The  cry  of  the  angel  annihilated  them  at  the  dawn  of  day." — Savary. 

"i  This  verse,  it  is  said,  was  abrogated  by  that  of  the  sword. 

t  "  Certainly  the  hour  will  come,  O  Mohammed,  make  a  glorious  retreat." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  the  first  chapter  of  the  Koran,  which  consists  of  so  many  verses:  though 
some  suppose  the  seven  long  chapters*  are  here  intended. 

°  That  is,  Do  not  envy  or  covet  their  worldly  prosperity,  since  thou  hast  received  in  the 
Koran  a  blessing,  in  conjparison  whereof  all  that  we  have  bestowed  on  them  ought  to 
be  contemned  as  of  no  value.  Al  Beidawi  mentions  a  tradition,  that  Mohammed  meeting 
at  Adhriat  (a  town  of  Syria)  seven  caravans,  very  richly  laden,  belonging  to  some  Jews 
of  the  tribes  of  Koreidha  and  al  Nadir,  his  men  had  a  great  mind  to  plunder  them,  saying, 
That  those  riches  would  be  of  great  service  for  the  propagation  of  God's  true  religion. 
But  the  prophet  represented  to  them,  by  this  passage,  that  they  had  no  reason  to  repine, 
God  having  given  them  the  seveti  verses,  which  were  infinitely  more  valuable  than  those 
seven  caravans.* 

*  "Cast  not  thy  looks  on  the  good  which  we  have  bestowed  upon  the  unbelievers. 
Grieve  not  for  their  fate.  Spread  thy  wings  over  the  faithful.  Say  unto  them,  I  am  truly 
your  apostle." — Savary. 

'  Some  interpret  the  original  word,  the  obstructers,  who  hindered  men  from  entering  into 
Mecca,  to  visit  the  temple,  lest  they  should  be  persuaded  to  embrace  Islam  ;  and  this  it  is 
said,  was  done  by  ten  men,  who  were  all  slain  at  Bedr.     Others  translate  the  word,  who 

*  The  city  of  Aleica  was  situated  in  the  desert  near  Midian,  on  the  border  of  the  Red 
Sea. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  &c.  and  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  5.  *  See 
chap.  9,  p.  148,  note  a.        *  Al  Beidawi. 


214  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XVI. 


they  have  wrought.  Wherefore  publish  that  which  thou  hast  been  com- 
manded, and  withdraw  from  the  idolaters.  We  will  surely  take  thy  part 
against  the  scoffers,"  who  associate  with  God  another  god;  they  shall 
surely  know  their  folly.  And  now  we  well  know  that  thou  art  deeply 
concerned  on  account  of  that  which  they  say ;  but  do  thou  celebrate  the 
praise  of  thy  Lord  ;  and  be  one  of  those  who  worship ;  and  serve  thy  Lord, 
until  death  ^  shall  overtake  thee. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

INTITLED,  THE  BEE:^  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  sentence  of  God  will  surely  come  to  be  executed  :  wherefore  do  not 
hasten  it.  Praise  be  unto  him!  and  far  be  that  from  him  which  they 
associate  with  him  !  He  shall  cause  the  angels  to  descend  with  a  revelation 
by  his  command,  unto  such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth,  saying.,  Preach 
that  there  is  no  God,  except  myself;  therefore  fear  me.  He  hath  created 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  to  manifest  his  justice :  far  be  that  from  him 
which  they  associate  with  him  !  He  hath  created  man  of  seed  ;*  and  yet 
behold  he  is  a  professed  disputer  against  the  resurrection.^  He  hath  like- 
wise created  the  cattle  for  you ;  from  them  ye  have  wherewith  to  keep 
yourselves  warm,^  and  other  advantages ;  and  of  them  do  ye  also  eat.     And 

bound  themselves  by  oath;  and  suppose  certain  Thamudites,  who  swore  to  kill  Saleb  by 
night,  are  here  meant.  But  the  sentence  more  probably  relates  to  the  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians, who  (say  the  Mohammedans)  receive  some  part  of  the  scriptures,  and  reject  others  ; 
and  also  approved  of  some  passages  of  the  Koran,  and  disapproved  of  others,  according 
to  their  prejudices ;  or  else  to  the  unbelieving  Meccans,  some  of  whom  called  the  Koran 
a  piece  of  witchcraft ;  others,  flights  of  divination ;  others,  old  stories ;  and  others,  a 
poetical  composition.^ 

""  This  passage,  it  is  said,  was  revealed  on  account  of  five  noble  Koreish,  whose  names 
were  Al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mogheira,  al  As  Ebn  Wayel,  Oda  Ebn  Kais,  al  Aswad  Ebn  Abd 
Yaghuth,  and  al  Aswad  Ebn  al  Motalleb.  These  were  inveterate  enemies  of  Moham- 
med, continually  persecuting  him,  and  turning  him  into  ridicule  ;  wherefore  at  length 
Gabriel  came  and  told  him  that  he  was  commanded  to  take  his  part  against  them  ;  and 
on  the  angel's  making  a  sign  towards  them  one  after  another,  al  Walid  passing  by  seme 
arrows,  one  of  them  hitched  in  his  garment,  and  he,  out  of  pride,  not  stooping  to  take  it 
off,  but  walking  forward,  the  head  of  it  cut  a  vein  in  his  heel,  and  he  bled  to  death ;  al 
As  was  killed  with  a  thorn,  which  stuck  into  the  sole  of  his  foot,  and  caused  his  leg  to 
swell  to  a  monstrous  size  ;  Oda  died  with  violent  and  perpetual  sneezing ;  al  Aswad  Ebn 
Abd  Yaghiith  ran  his  head  against  a  thorny  tree  and  killed  himself;  and  al  Aswad  Ebn 
al  Motalleb  was  struck  bhnd." 

"  Literally,  That  which  is  certain. 

>■  This  insect  is  mentioned  about  the  middle  of  the  chapter. 

^  Except  the  last  three  verses. 

*  "  He  hath  created  man  of  clay,  and  he  disputes  with  obstinacy." — Savory. 

""  The  person  particularly  intended  in  this  place  was  Obba  Ebn  Khalf,  who  came  to 
Mohammed  with  a  rotten  bone,  and  asked  him  whether  it  was  possible  for  God  to  restore 
it  to  life.* 

"  viz.  Their  skins,  wool,  and  hair,  which  serve  you  for  clothing. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  215 

they  are  likewise  a  credit  unto  you,''  when  ye  drive  them  home  in  the 
evening,  and  when  ye  lead  them  forth  to  feed  in  the  morning  :  and  they 
carry  your  burdens  to  a  distant  country,  at  which  ye  could  not  otherwise 
arrive,  unless  with  great  difficulty  to  yourselves ;  for  your  Lord  is  com- 
passionate and  merciful.  And  he  hath  also  created  horses,  and  mules,  and 
asses,  that  ye  may  ride  thereon,  and  for  an  ornament  unto  you;  and 
he  likewise  created  other  things  which  ye  know  not.  It  appertaineth  unto 
God  to  instruct  men  in  the  right  way ;  and  there  is  who  turneth  aside  from 
the  same :  but  if  he  had  pleased,  he  would  certainly  have  directed  you  all. 
It  is  he  who  sendeth  down  from  heaven  rain  water,  whereof  ye  have 
to  drink,  and  from  which  plants,  whereon  ye  feed  your  catilCj  receive  their 
nourishment.  And  by  means  thereof  he  causeth  corn,  and  olives,  and  palm- 
trees,  and  grapes,  and  all  kinds  of  fruits,  to  spring  forth  for  you.  Surely 
herein  is  a  sign  of  the  divine  power  and  wisdom  unto  people  who  consider. 
And  he  hath  subjected  the  night  and  the  day  to  your  service ;  and  the  sun, 
and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  which  are  compelled  to  serve  by  his  command. 
Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  of  understanding.  And  he  hath  also 
given  you  dominion  over  whatever  he  hath  created  for  you  in  the  earth,  dis- 
tinguished by  its  different  colour.*^  Surely  herein  is  a  sign  unto  people  who 
reflect.  It  is  he  who  hath  subjected  the  sea  unto  you,  that  ye  might  eat  fish " 
thereout,  and  take  from  thence  ornaments  ^  for  you  to  wear ;  and  thou  seest 
the  ships  ploughing  the  loaves  thereof,  that  ye  may  seek  to  enrich  yourselves 
of  his  abundance,  hy  commerce ;  and  that  ye  might  give  thanks.  And  he 
hath  thrown  upon  the  earth  mountains  firmly  rooted,  lest  it  should  move 
with  yoUjS  and  also  rivers,  and  paths,  that  ye  might  be  directed  :  and  he  hath 
likewise  ordained  marks  whereby  men  may  know  their  way ;  and  they  are 
directed  by  the  stars. ^  Shall  God  therefore,  who  createth,  be  as  he  who 
createth  not?  Do  ye  not  therefore  consider?  If  ye  attempt  to  reckon  up 
the  favours  of  God,  ye  shall  not  be  able  to  compute  their  number ;  God  is 
surely  gracious  and  merciful ;  and  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  conceal, 
and  that  which  ye  publish.  But  the  idols  which  ye  invoke,  besides  God, 
create  nothing,  but  are  themselves  created.  They  are  dead,  and  not  living : 
neither  do  they  understand  when  they  shall  be  raised.'*     Your  God  is  one 

"  Being  a  grace  to  your  court-yards,  and  a  credit  to  you  in  the  eyes  of  your  neighbours.* 
"*  That  is,  of  every  kind;  the  various  colour  of  things  being  one  of  their  chief  distinctions.'' 

*  Literally, /resA  flesh;  by  which  fish  is  meant,  as  being  naturally  more  fresh,  and 
sooner  liable  to  corruption,  than  the  flesh  of  birds  and  beasts.  The  expression  is  thought 
to  have  been  made  use  of  here  the  rather,  because  the  production  of  such  fresh  food  from 
salt  water  is  an  instance  of  God's  power.* 

f  As  pearls  and  coral. 

« The  Mohammedans  suppose  that  the  earth,  when  first  created,  was  smooth  and 
equal,  and  thereby  liable  to  a  circular  motion  as  well  as  the  celestial  orbs ;  and  that  the 
angels  asking  who  could  be  able  to  stand  on  so  tottering  a  frame,  God  fixed  it  the  next 
morning  by  throwing  the  mountains  on  it. 

>"  Which  arc  their  guides,  not  only  at  sea,  but  also  on  land,  when  they  travel  by  night 
through  the  deserts.  The  stars  which  they  observe  for  this  purpose  are  either  the  pie- 
iades,  or  some  of  those  near  the  pole, 

*  t.  e.  At  what  time  they  or  their  worshippers  shall  be  raised  to  receive  judgment. 

*  "  They  know  not  the  time  when  they  were  made."— 5'ai;ary. 

"  Al  Beidawi.  ■»  Idem.  '  Idem. 


216  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvi. 

God.  As  to  those  who  beheve  not  in  the  Hfe  to  come,  their  hearts  deny 
tlie  plainest  evidence^  and  they  proudly  reject  the  truth.  There  is  no  doubt 
but  God  knoweth  that  which  they  conceal  and  that  which  they  discover. 
Verily  he  loveth  not  the  proud.  And  when  it  is  said  unto  them,  What 
hath  your  Lord  sent  down  unto  Mohammed?  they  answer,  Fables  of 
ancient  times.  Thus  are  they  given  up  to  error,  that  they  may  bear  their 
own  burdens  without  diminution  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  and  also  a  part 
of  the  burdens  of  those  whom  they  caused  to  err,  without  knowledge.  Will 
it  not  le  an  evil  burden  which  they  shall  bear?  Their  predecessors 
devised  plots  heretofore :  but  God  came  into  their  building,  to  overthrow  it 
from  the  foundations ;  and  the  roof  fell  on  them  from  above,  and  a  punish- 
ment came  upon  them,  from  whence  they  did  not  expect.^  Also  on 
the  day  of  resurrection  he  will  cover  them  with  shame;  and  will  say, 
Where  are  my  companions,  concerning  whom  ye  disputed  ?  Those  unto 
whom  knowledge  shall  have  been  given  ^  shall  answer.  This  day  shall  shame 
and  misery  fall  upon  the  unbelievers.  They  whom  the  angels  shall  cause 
to  die,  having  dealt  unjustly  with  their  own  souls,  shall  offer  to  make  their 
peace™  in  the  article  of  death^  sayings  We  have  done  no  evil.  But  the 
angels  shall  reply,  Ybsl;  verily  God  well  knoweth  that  which  ye  have 
wrought:  wherefore  enter  the  gates  of  hell,  therein  to  remain /or  ever;  and 
miserable  shall  be  the  abode  of  the  proud.  And  it  shall  be  said  unto  those 
who  shall  fear  God,  What  hath  your  Lord  sent  down  ?  They  shall  answer, 
Good ;  unto  those  who  do  right  shall  he  given  an  excellent  reward  in  this 
world ;  but  the  dwelling  of  the  next  life  shall  he  better ;  and  happy  shall  be 
the  dwelling  of  the  pious !  namely,  gardens  of  eternal  abode,"  into  which 
they  shall  enter ;  rivers  shall  flow  beneath  the  same ;  therein  shall  they 
enjoy  whatever  they  wish.  Thus  will  God  recompense  the  pious.  Unto 
the  righteous,  whom  the  angels  shall  cause  to  die,  they  shall  say.  Peace  be 
upon  you ;  enter  ye  into  paradise,  as  a  reward  for  that  which  ye  have 
wrought.  Do  the  unbelievers  expect  any  other  than  that  the  angels  come 
unto  them,  to  part  their  souls  from  their  bodies  ;  or  that  the  sentence  of  thy 
Lord  come  to  be  executed  on  them  f  So  did  they  act  who  were  before 
them ;  and  God  was  not  unjust  towards  them  in  that  he  destroyed  them  ; 
but  they  dealt  unjustly  with  their  own  souls :  the  evils  of  that  which 
they  committed  reached  them;  and  the  divine  judgment  which  they 
scoffed  at  fell  upon  them.     The  idolaters  say,  If  God  had  pleased,  we 

^  Some  understand  this  passage  figuratively,  of  God's  disappointing  their  wicked 
designs  ;  but  others  suppose  the  words  hterally  relate  to  the  tower  which  Nimrod  (whom 
the  Mohammedans  will  have  to  be  the  son  of  Canaan,  the  son  of  Ham,  and  so  the  nephew 
of  Cush,  and  not  his  son,)  bui^lt  in  Babel,  and  carried  to  an  immense  height  (five  thousand 
cubits,  say  some),  foolishly  purposing  thereby  to  ascend  to  heaven,  and  wage  war  with 
the  inhabitants  of  that  place  ;  but  God  frustrated  his  attempt,  utterly  overthrowing  the 
tower  by  a  violent  wind  and  earthquake.' 

'  viz.  The  prophets,  and  the  teachers  and  professors  of  God's  unity;  or,  the  angels. 

"Making  their  submission,  and  huml)ly  excusing  their  evil  actions,  as  proceeding  from 
ignorance,  and  not  from  obstinacy  or  malice. '° 

°  Literally,  gardens  (>/"  Eden.     See  chap.  9,  p.  157. 

»  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.     Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orrent.  Art.  Nimrod.  '"  Idem. 

interpretes. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  217 

had  not  worshipped  any  thing  besides  him,  neither  had  our  fathers :  neither 
had  we  forbidden  any  thing,  without  him."  So  did  they  who  were  before 
them.  But  is  the  duty  of  the  apostles  any  other  than  public  preaching  ? 
We  have  heretofore  raised  up  in  every  nation  an  apostle  to  admonish  them, 
sayings  Worship  God,  and  avoid  Taghut.p  And  of  them  there  were  some 
whom  God  directed,  and  there  were  others  of  them  who  were  decreed  to 
go  astray.  Wherefore  go  through  the  earth,  O  trihe  of  Koreish,  and  see 
what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  accused  their  apostles  of  imposture. 
If  thou,  0  prophet^  dost  earnestly  wish  for  their  direction ;  verily  God 
will  not  direct  him  whom  he  hath  resolved  to  lead  into  error;  neither 
shall  they  have  any  helpers.  And  they  swear  most  solemnly  by  God, 
sayings  God  will  not  raise  the  dead.  Yea ;  the  promise  thereof  is  true : 
but  the  greater  part  of  men  know  it  not.  He  will  raise  them  that  he  may 
clearly  show  them  the  truth  concerning  which  they  noiv  disagree,  and  that 
the  unbelievers  may  know  that  they  are  liars.  Verily  our  speech  unto  any 
thing,  when  we  will  the  same,  is,  that  we  only  say  unto  it,  Be ;  and  it  is 
^Isfor  those  who  have  fled  their  country  for  the  sake  of  God,  after  they 
had  been  unjustly  persecuted ;  *  we  will  surely  provide  them  an  excellent 
habitation  in  this  world,  but  the  reward  of  the  next  life  shall  be  greater ;  if 
they  knew  it."^  They  who  persevere  patiently,  and  put  their  trust  in  their 
Lord,  shall  not  fail  of  happiness  in  this  life  and  in  that  ivhich  is  to  come. 
We  have  not  sent  any  before  thee,  as  our  apostles^  other  than  men/  unto 
whom  we  spake  by  revelation.  Inquire  therefore  of  those  who  have  the 
custody  of  the  scriptures,  if  ye  know  not  this  to  be  truth.  We  sent  them 
with  evident  miracles^  and  written  revelations;  and  we  have  sent  down 
unto  thee  this  Koran,*  that  thou  mayest  declare  unto  mankind  that  which 
hath  been  sent  down  unto  them,*  and  that  they  may  consider.  Are  they 
who  have  plotted  evil  against  their  prophet  secure  that  God  will  not  cause 
the  earth  to  cleave  under  them,  or  that  a  punishment  will  not  come  upon 
them,  from  whence  they  do  not  expect ;  or  that  he  will  not  chastise  them 
while  they  are  busied  in  travelling  from  one  place  to  another,  and  in  traffic  f 

°  This  they  spoke  in  a  scoffing  manner,  justifying  their  idolatry  and  superstitious  ab- 
staining from  certain  cattle/  by  pretending,  that  had  these  things  been  disagreeable  to 
God,  he  would  not  have  suffered  them  to  be  practised. 

''  See  chap.  2,  p.  31. 

■J  Some  suppose  the  prophet  and  the  companions  of  his  flight  in  general  are  here  in- 
tended :  others  suppose  that  those  are  particularly  meant  in  this  place,  who,  after  Mo- 
hammed's departure,  were  imprisoned  at  Mecca  on  account  of  their  having  embraced  his 
religion,  and  suftered  great  persecution  from  the  Koreish ;  as,  Belal,  Soheib,  Khabbab, 
Ammar,  Abes,  Abu'l  Jandal,  and  Sohail.* 

'  It  is  uncertain  whether  the  pronoun  they  relates  to  the  infidels,  or  to  the  true  believers. 
If  to  the  former,  the  consequence  would  be,  that  they  would  be  desirous  of  attaining  to 
the  happiness  of  the  Mohajerin,  by  professing  the  same  faith;  if  to  the  latter,  the  know- 
ledge of  this  is  urged  as  a  motive  to  patience  and  perseverance.^ 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  121,  note  p,  chap.  12,  p.  199,  &lc. 

'  Literally,  this  admonition.*^ 

*  "  We  have  sent  down  unto  thee  the  Koran  ;  to  recall  to  men  the  doctrine  which  they 
have  received,  to  the  end  that  they  may  keep  it  in  remembrance."' — Savary. 

*  See  chap.  6,  p.  113,  &c.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  =»  Idem.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc, 
sect.  iii.  p.  40. 

Y 


218  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvi. 

(for  they  shall  not  be  able  to  elude  the  power  of  God,)  or  that  he  will  not 
chastise  them  b}'  a  gradual  destruction?  But  your  Lord  is  truly  gracious 
and  merciful  in  granting  you  respite.  Do  they  not  consider  the  things 
which  God  hath  created ;  whose  shadows  are  cast  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left,  worshipping  God,°*  and  become  contracted  ?  Whatever  moveth 
both  in  heaven  and  on  earth  worshippeth  God,  and  the  angels  also  ;  and 
they  are  not  elated  with  pride,  so  as  to  disdain  his  service  :  they  fear  their 
Lord,  who  is  exalted  above  them,  and  perform  that  which  they  are  com- 
manded. God  said.  Take  not  unto  yourselves  two  gods ;  for  there  is  but 
one  God  :  and  revere  me.  Unto  him  helongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven 
and  on  earth  ;  and  unto  him  is  obedience  eternally  due.  Will  ye  therefore 
fear  any  besides  God  ?  Whatever  favours  ye  have  received  are  certainly 
from  God  ;  and  when  evil  afflicteth  you,  unto  him  do  ye  make  your  sup- 
plication ;  yet  when  he  taketh  the  evil  from  oif  you,  behold,  a  part  of  you 
give  a  companion  unto  their  Lord,  to  show  their  ingratitude  for  the  favours 
we  have  bestowed  on  them.  Delight  yourselves  in  the  enjoyments  of  this 
life  :  but  hereafter  shall  ye  know  that  ye  cannot  escape  the  divine  vengeance. 
And  they  set  apart  unto  idols  which  have  no  knowledge^  a  part  of  the  food 
which  we  have  provided  for  them.  By  God,  ye  shall  surely  be  called  to 
account  for  that  which  ye  have  falsely  devised.  They  attribute  daughters 
unto  God^  (far  be  it  from  him !)  but  unto  themselves  children  of  the  sex 
which  they  desire.^  And  when  any  of  them  is  told  the  news  of  the  birth  of 
a  female,  his  face  becometh  black,^  and  he  is  deeply  afflicted :  he  hideth 
himself  from  the  people,  because  of  the  ill  tidings  which  have  been  told 
him  ;  considering  within  himself  whether  he  shall  keep  it  with  disgrace,  or 
whether  he  shall  bury  it  in  the  dust.  Do  they  not  make  an  ill  judgment? 
Unto  those  who  believe  not  in  the  next  life,  the  similitude  of  evil  ought  to 
he  applied.,  and  unto  God  the  most  sublime  similitude : ''  for  he  is  mighty 
and  wise.  If  God  should  punish  men  for  their  iniquity,  he  would  not 
leave  on  the  earth  any  moving  thing :  but  he  giveth  them  respite  unto  an 
appointed  time ;  and  when  their  time  shall  come,  they  shall  not  be  respited 
an  hour,  neither  shall  their  punishment  be  anticipated.    They  attribute  unto 

"  See  chap.  13,  p.  202,  note  x. 

*  "  See  they  not  that  all  the  bodies  which  God  hath  created  bend  their  shadow  to  the 
right  and  to  the  left,  to  worship  him,  and  to  humble  themselves  before  him  ?" — Savary. 

'  Or,  which  they  know  not;  foolishly  imagining  that  they  have  power  to  help  them,  or 
interest  with  God  to  intercede  for  them. 

As  to  the  ancient  Arabs  setting  apart  a  certain  portion  of  the  produce  of  their  lands  for 
their  idols,  and  their  superstitious  abstaining  from  the  use  of  certain  cattle,  in  honour  to 
the  same,  see  chap.  5,  p.  95,  and  chap.  6,  p.  113,  and  the  notes  there. 

y  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  13.  Al  Beidawi  says,  that  the  tribes  of  Khozaah  and  Kenana, 
in  particular,  used  to  call  the  angels  the  daughters  of  God. 

'  viz.  Sons  :  for  the  birth  of  a  daughter  was  looked  on  as  a  kind  of  misfortune  among 
the  Arabs ;  and  they  often  used  to  put  them  to  death  by  burying  them  alive.' 

^  i.  e.  Clouded  with  confusion  and  sorrow. 

''.This  passage  condemns  the  Meccans'  injudicious  and  blasphemous  apphcation  of  such 
circumstances  to  God  as  were  unworthy  of  him,  and  not  only  derogatory  to  the  perfec- 
tions of  the  Deity,  but  even  disgraceful  to  man ;  while  they  arrogantly  applied  the  more 
honourable  circumstances  to  themselves. 

'  See  chap.  81. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  219 

God  that  which  they  dislike  themselves,*  and'  tiieir  tongues  utter  a  lie ; 
namely,  that  the  reward  of  paradise  is  for  them.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  fire  of  hell  is  prepared  for  them,  and  that  they  shall  be  sent  thither 
before  the  rest  of  the  wicked.  By  God,  we  have  heretofore  sent  messengers 
unto  the  nations  before  thee ;  but  Satan  prepared  their  works  for  them ;  he 
was  their  patron  in  this  world,'^  and  in  that  lohich  is  to  come  they  shall  suffer 
a  grievous  torment.  We  have  not  sent  down  the  book  of  the  Koran  unto 
thee,  for  any  other  purpose,  than  that  thou  shouldest  declare  unto  them 
that  truth  concerning  which  they  disagree ;  and  for  a  direction  and  mercy 
unto  people  who  believe.  God  sendeth  down  water  from  heaven,  and 
causeth  the  earth  to  revive  after  it  hath  been  dead.  Verily  herein  is  a  sign 
of  the  resurrection  unto  people  who  hearken.  Ye  have  also  in  cattle  an 
example  of  instruction :  we  give  you  to  drink  of  that  which  is  in  their 
bellies;  a  liquor  between  digested  dregs,  and  blood ;^  namely,  pure  milk,^ 
which  is  swallowed  with  pleasure  by  those  who  drink  it*  And  of  the 
fruits  of  palm-trees,  and  of  grapes,  ye  obtain  an  inebriating  liquor,  and  also 
good  nourishment.^  Verily  herein  is  a  sign  unto  people  who  understand. 
Thy  Lord  spake  by  inspiration  unto  the  bee,  saying,  Provide  thee  houses'' 
in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  trees,  and  of  those  materials  wherewith  men 
build  hives  for  thee  :  then  eat  of  every  kind  0/ fruit,  and  walk  in  the  beaten 
paths  of  thy  Lord.|'  There  proceedeth  from  their  bellies  a  liquor  of 
various  colour,^  wherein  is  a  medicine  for  men.^     Verily  herein  is  a  sign 

*=  By  giving  him  daughters,  and  associates  in  power  and  honour;  by  disregarding  his 
messengers  ;  and  by  setting  apart  the  better  share  of  the  presents  and  offerings  for  their 
idols,  and  the  worse  for  him.^ 

^  Or,  He  is  the  patron  of  them  (viz.  the  Koreish)  this  day,  &c. 

*  The  milk  consisting  of  certain  particles  of  the  blood,  supplied  from  the  finer  parts  of 
the  aliment.  Ebn  Abbas  says,  that  the  grosser  parts  of  the  food  subside  into  excrement, 
and  that  the  finer  parts  are  converted  into  milk,  and  the  finest  of  all  into  blood. 

^  Having  neither  the  colour  of  the  blood,  nor  the  smell  of  the  excrements. 

*  "  Their  milk,  elaborated  in  the  stomach,  between  chyle  and  blood,  becomes  for  yon 
a  salutary  beverage." — Savary. 

8  Not  only  wine,  which  is  forbidden,  but  also  lawful  food,  as  dates,  raisins,  a  kind  of 
honey  flowing  from  the  dates,  and  vinegar. 

Some  have  supposed  that  these  words  allow  the  moderate  use  of  wine ;  but  the  contrary 
is  the  received  opmion." 

•^  So  the  apartments  which  the  bee  builds  are  here  called,  because  of  their  beautiful 
workmanship,  and  admirable  contrivance,  which  no  geometrician  can  excel.^ 

t  "  To  be  nourished  with  every  kind  of  fruit,  and  to  wander  at  will." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  The  ways  through  which,  by  God's  power,  the  bitter  flowers  passing  the  bee's 
stomach,  become  honey  ;  or,  the  methods  of  making  honey,  which  he  has  taught  her  by 
instinct ;  or  else  the  ready  way  home  from  the  distant  places  to  which  that  insect  flies.^ 

^  viz.  Honey  ;  the  colour  of  which  is  very  different,  occasioned  by  the  different  plants 
on  which  the  bees  feed  ;  some  being  white,  some  yellow,  some  red,  and  some  black.' 

'  The   same  being  not  only  good  food,  but  a  useful  remedy  in  several  distempers. 

Sarticularly  those  occasioned  by  phlegm.  'I'hcre  is  a  story,  that  a  man  came  once  to 
lohammed,  and  told  him  that  his  brother  was  afflicted  with  a  violent  pain  in  his  belly  : 
upon  which  the  prophet  bade  him  give  him  some  honey.  The  fellow  took  his  advice  ; 
but  soon  after  coming  again,  told  him  that  the  medicine  had  done  his  brother  no  manner 
of  service  :  Mohammed  answered,  Go  and  give  him  more  honey,  for  God  speaks  truth,  and 
thy  brother's  belly  lies.  And  the  dose  being  repeated,  the  man,  by  God's  mercy,  was 
immediately  cured. - 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '■  See  chap.  2,  p.  25.  »  j^\  Beidawi.  "  Idem.  '  Idem. 
» Idem. 


220  AL  KOKAN.  chap,  xvi- 

unto  people  who  consider.  God  hath  created  you,  and  he  will  hereafter 
cause  you  to  die :  and  some  of  you  shall  have  his  life  prolonged  to  a 
decrepit  age,  so  that  he  shall  forget  whatever  he  knew ;  for  God  is  wise 
and  powerful.  God  causeth  some  of  you  to  excel  others  in  worldly  pos- 
sessions :  yet  they  who  are  caused  to  excel  do  not  give  their  wealth  unto 
the  slaves  whom  their  right  hands  possess,  that  they  may  become  equal 
sharers  therein.™  Do  they  therefore  deny  the  beneficence  of  God  ?  God 
hath  ordained  you  wives  from  among  yourselves,"  and  of  your  wives  hath 
granted  you  children  and  grandchildren ;  and  hath  bestowed  on  you  good 
things  for  food.  Will  they  therefore  believe  in  that  which  is  vain,  and 
ungratefully  deny  the  goodness  of  God  ?  They  worship,  besides  God,  idols 
which  possess  nothing  wherewith  to  sustain  them,  either  in  heaven,  or  on 
earth;  and  have  no  power.  Wherefore  liken  not  any  thing  unto  God:" 
for  God  knoweth,  but  ye  know  not.  God  propoundeth  as  a  parable  a  pos- 
sessed slave,  who  hath  power  over  nothing,  and  him  on  whom  we  have 
bestowed  a  good  provision  from  us,  and  who  giveth  alms  thereout  hoth 
secretly  and  openly  :  p  shall  these  two  *be  esteemed  equal  1  God  forbid ! 
But  the  greater  part  of  -men  know  it  not.  God  also  propoundeth  as  a 
parable  two  men ;  one  of  them  born  dumb,  who  is  unable  to  do  or  under- 
stand any  thing,  but  is  a  burden  unto  his  master ;  whithersoever  he  shall 
send  him,  he  shall  not  return  with  any  good  success  :  shall  this  man,  and 
he  loho  hath  his  speech  and  understanding,  and  who  commandeth  that  which 
is  just,  and  followeth  the  right  way,  be  esteemed  equal  ?  i  Unto  God  alone 
is  the  secret  of  heaven  and  earth  known.  And  the  business  of  the  last 
hour*"  shall  be  only  as  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  or  even  more  quick :  for 
God  is  almighty.  God  hath  brought  you  forth  from  the  wombs  of  your 
mothers ;  ye  knew  nothing,  and  he  gave  you  the  seiises  of  hearing  and 
seeing,  and  understandings,  that  ye  might  give  thanks.  Do  they  not  behold 
the  fowls  which  are  enabled  to  fly  in  the  open  firmament  of  heaven  1*  none 
supporteth  them  except  God.     Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who 

™  These  words  reprove  the  idolatrous  Meccans,  who  could  admit  created  beings  to  a 
share  of  the  divine  honour,  though  they  suffered  not  their  slaves  to  share  with  themselves 
in  what  God  had  bestowed  on  them.^ 

"  That  is,  of  your  own  nations  and  tribes.  Some  think  the  formation  of  Eve  from 
Adam  is  here  intended. 

"  Or  propound  no  similitudes  or  comparisons  between  him  and  his  creatures.  One 
argument  the  Mrccans  employed  in  defence  of  their  idolatry,  it  seems,  was,  that  the  wor- 
ship ot  inferior  deities  did  honour  to  God ;  in  the  same  manner  as  the  respect  showed  to 
the  servants  of  a  prince  does  honour  to  the  prince  himself.* 

p  The  idols  are  here  likened  to  a  slave,  who  is  so  far  from  having  any  thing  of  his  own, 
that  he  is  himself  in  the  possession  of  another  ;  whereas  God  is  as  a  rich  free  man,  who 
provideth  for  his  family  abundantly,  and  also  assisteth  others  who  have  need,  both  in 
public  and  in  private.^ 

■1  The  idol  is  here  again  represented  under  the  image  of  one  who,  by  a  defect  in  his 
senses,  is  a  useless  burden  to  the  man  who  maintains  him  ;  and  God,  under  that  of  a 
person  completely  qualified  either  to  direct  or  to  execute  any  useful  undertaking.  Some 
suppose  the  comparison  is  intended  of  a  true  behever  and  an  infidel. 

^  That  is,  the  resurrection  of  the  dead. 

*  "  See  they  not  the  bird  cut  the  air  ?     God  alone  can  arrest  its  flight  V'—Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  221 

believe.  God  hath  also  provided  you  houses  for  habitations  for  you ;  and 
hath  also  provided  you  tents  of  the  skins  of  cattle,  which  ye  find  light  to  be 
removed  on  the  day  of  your  departure  to  new  quarters^  and  easy  to  he  jnlched 
on  the  day  of  your  sitting  down  therein  :  and  of  their  wool,  and  their  fur, 
and  their  hair,  hath  he  supplied  you  with  furniture  and  household-stuif  for  a 
season.  And  God  hath  provided  for  you,  of  that  which  he  hath  created, 
conveniences  to  shade  you  from  the  sim,*  and  he  hath  also  provided  you 
places  of  retreat  in  the  mountains,*  and  he  hath  given  you  garments  to  de- 
fend you  from  the  heat,"  and  coats  of  mail  tO  defend  you  in  your  wars. 
Thus  doth  he  accomplish  his  favour  towards  you,  that  ye  may  resign  your- 
selves unto  him.  But  if  they  turn  back,  verily  thy  duty  is  public  preaching 
only.  They  acknowledge  the  goodness  of  God,*  and  afterwards  they  deny 
the  same ;''  but  the  greater  part  of  them  are  unbelievers.^  On  a  certain  day 
we  will  raise  a  witness  out  of  every  nation :'-  then  they  who  shall  have  been 
unbelievers  shall  not  be  suffered  to  excuse  themselves^  neither  shall  they  be 
received  into  favour.  And  when  they  who  shall  have  acted  unjustly  shall 
see  the  torment  prepared  for  them ;  (it  shall  not  be  mitigated  unto  them, 
neither  shall  they  be  respited) :  and  when  those  who  shall  have  been 
guilty  of  idolatry  shall  see  their  false  gods,^  they  shall  say,  O  Lord,  these 
are  our  idols  which  we  invoked,  besides  thee.  But  they  shall  return 
an  answer  unto  them,  sayings  Verily  ye  are  liars.''  And  on  that  day  shall 
the  wicked  offer  submission  unto  God  ;  and  the  false  deities  which  they 
imagined  shall  abandon  them.  As  for  those  who  shall  have  been  infidels, 
and  shall  have  turned  aside  others  from  the  way  of  God,  we  will  add  unto 
them  punishment  upon  punishment  because  they  have  corrupted  others. 
On  a  certain  day  we  will  raise  up  in  every  nation  a  witness  against  them, 
from  among  themselves ;  and  we  will  bring  thee,  O  Mohammed,  as  a  wit- 
ness against  these  Arabians.  We  have  sent  down  unto  thee  the  book  of 
the  Kordn^  for  an  explication  of  every  thing  necessary  both  as  to  faith  and 
practice^  and  a  direction,  and  mercy,  and  good  tidings  unto  the  Moslems: 
Verily  God  commandeth  justice,  and  the  doing  of  good,  and  the  giving 
unto  kindred  what  shall  be  necessary ;  and  he  forbiddcth  wickedness,  and 
iniquity,  and  oppression:    he  admonisheth  you  that  ye  may  remember.'' 

*  As  trees,  houses,  tents,  mountains,  &c. 

'  viz.  Caves  and  grottos,  both  natural  and  artificial. 

°  Al  Beidawi  says,  that  one  extreme,  and  that  the  most  insupportable  in  Arabia,  is  here 
put  for  both  ;  but  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  that  by  Jieat  we  are  in  this  place  to  understand  cold. 

*  "  They  deny  the  gifts  of  heaven  which  they  know;  the  most  of  them  are  unbe- 
lievers."— Savary. 

*  Confessing  God  to  be  the  author  of  all  the  blessings  they  enjoy  ;  and  yet  directing 
their  worship  and  thanks  to  their  idols,  by  whose  intercession  they  imagine  blessings  are 
obtained. 

y  Absolutely  denying  God's  providence,  cither  through  ignorance  or  perverseness. 

^  See  chap.  4.  p.  65,  note  y. 

^  Literally,  Their  companions. 

^  For  that  we  are  not  the  companions  of  God,  as  ye  imagined ;  neither  did  ye  really 
serve  us,  but  your  own  corrupt  affections  and  lusts ;  nor  yet  were  ye  led  into  idolatry  by 
us,  but  ye  fell  into  it  of  your  own  accord.^ 

"  This  verse,  which  was  the  occasion  of  the  conversion  of  Othman  Ebn  Matiin,  the 

^  Al  Beidawi. 


222  AL  KOEAN.  chap.  xvi. 

Perform  your  covenant  with  God,*^  when  ye  enter  into  covenant  with  him ; 
and  violate  not  your  oaths,  after  the  ratification  thereof;  since  ye  have 
niade  God  a  witness  over  you.  Verily  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  do. 
And  be  not  hke  unto  her  who  undoeth  that  which  she  hath  spun,  un- 
twisting it  after  she  hath  twisted  it  strongly ;«  taking  your  oaths  between 
you  deceitfully,  because  one  party  is  more  numerous  than  another  party. ^ 
Verily  God  only  tempteth  you  therein ;  and  he  will  make  that  manifest 
unto  you,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  concerning  which  ye  now  disagree. 
U  God  had  pleased,  he  would  surely  have  made  you  one  people :  s  but 
he  will  lead  into  error  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  he  will  direct  whom  he 
pleaseth ;  and  ye  shall  surely  give  an  account  of  that  which  ye  have  done. 
Therefore  take  not  your  oaths  between  you  deceitfully  lest  your  foot  slip, 
after  it  hath  been  stedfastly  fixed,  and  ye  taste  evil  in  this  life,  for  that  ye 
have  turned  aside  from  the  way  of  God  :  and  ye  suffer  a  grievous  punish- 
ment in  the  life  to  come.  And  sell  not  the  covenant  of  God  for  a  small 
price ;''  for  with  God  is  a  better  recompense  prepared  for  you,  if  ye  be  men 
of  understanding.  That  which  is  with  you  will  fail ;  but  that  which  is 
with  God  is  permanent :  and  we  will  surely  reward  those  who  shall  per- 
severe, according  to  the  utmost  merit  of  their  actions.  Whoso  worketh 
righteousness,  whether  he  be  male  or  female,  and  is  a  true  believer,  we 
will  surely  raise  him  to  a  happy  life ;  and  we  will  give  them  their  reward, 
according  to  the  utmost  merit  of  their  actions.  When  thou  readest  the 
Koran,  have  recourse  unto  God,  that  he  may  preserve  thee  from  Satan  driven 
away  with  stones  :'*  he  hath  no  power  over  those  who  believe,  and  who  put 

commentators  say,  containeth  the  whole  which  it  is  a  man's  duty  either  to  perform  or  to 
avoid ;  and  is  alone  a  sufficient  demonstration  of  what  is  said  in  the  foregoing  verse. 
Under  the  three  things  here  commanded,  they  understand  the  behef  of  God's  unity,  with- 
out inchning  to  atheism,  on  the  one  hand,  or  polytheism,  on  the  other ;  obedience  to  the 
commands  of  God  ;  and  charity  towards  those  in  distress.  And  under  the  three  things 
forbidden  they  comprehend  all  corrupt  and  carnal  affections ;  all  false  doctrines  and 
heretical  opinions;  and  all  injustice  towards  man.'' 

•^  By  persevering  in  his  true  religion.  Some  think  that  the  oath  of  fidelity  taken  to 
Mohammed  by  his  followers  is  chiefly  intended  here. 

*  Some  suppose  that  a  particular  woman  is  meant  in  this  passage,  who  used  (like  Pene- 
lope) to  undo  at  night  the  work  that  she  had  done  in  the  day.  Her  name,  they  say,  was 
Reita  Bint  Saad  Ebn  Teym,  of  the  tribe  of  Koreish.^ 

''  Of  this  insincerity  in  their  alliances  the  Koreish  are  accused  ;  it  being  usual  with  them, 
when  they  saw  the  enemies  of  their  confederates  to  be  superior  in  force,  to  renounce  their 
league  with  their  old  friends,  and  strike  up  one  with  the  others.* 

E  Or,  of  one  religion. 

^  That  is,  Be  not  prevailed  on  to  renounce  your  religion,  or  your  engagements  with 
your  prophet,  by  any  promises  or  gifts  of  the  infidels.  For,  it  seems,  the  Koreish,  to 
tempt  the  poorer  Moslems  to  apostatize,  made  them  otfers,  not  very  considerable  indeed, 
but  such  as  they  imagined  might  be  worth  their  acceptance.'" 

'  Mohammed  one  day  reading  in  the  Koran  uttered  a  horrid  blasphemy,  to  the  great 
scandal  of  those  who  were  present,  as  will  be  observed  in  another  place;'  to  excuse 
which  he  assured  them  that  those  words  were  put  into  his  mouth  by  the  devil ;  and  to 
prevent  any  such  accident  for  the  future,  he  is  here  taught  to  beg  God's  protection  before 
he  entered  on  that  duty.'^  Hence  the  Mohammedans,  before  they  begin  to  read  any  part 
of  this  book,  repeat  these  words,  I  have  recourse  unto  God  for  assistance  agaiiist  Satan 
driven  away  with  stones. 

*  "  When  thou  readest  the  Koran,  pray  unto  the  Lord  to  preserve  thee  from  the  snares 
of  Satan,  the  thunder-smitten." — Savory. 

Al  Beidawi.  «  Idem.  *  Idem.  "  Idem.  '  In  not.  ad  cap.  22. 

^  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya,  &c. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  223 

confidence  in  their  Lord  ;  but  his  power  is  over  those  only  who  take  him 
for  their  patron,  and  who  give  companions  unto  God.  When  we  substitute 
in  the  Koran  an  abrogating  verse  in  lieu  of  a  verse  abrogated  (and  God 
best  knowelh  the  fitness  o/that  which  he  revealeth),  the  infidels  say,  Thou 
art  only  a  forger  of  these  verses  :  but  the  greater  part  of  them  know  not 
truth  from  falsehood.  Say,  The  holy  spirit^  hath  brought  the  same  down 
from  thy  Lord  with  truth ;  that  he  may  confirm  those  who  believe,  and 
for  a  direction  and  good  tidings  unto  the  Moslems.  We  also  know  that 
they  say,  Verily,  a  certain  man  teacheth  him  to  compose  the  Koran.  The 
tongue  of  the  person  unto  whom  they  incline  is  a  foreign  tongue  ;  but  this, 
ivherein  the  Koran  is  written,  is  the  perspicuous  Arabic  tongue.*^     More- 


*  viz.  Gabriel.    See  chap.  2,  p.  12. 

*  "  He  whom  they  suspect  speaketh  a  foreign  tongue,  and  the  Arabic  of  the  Koran  is 
pure  and  elegant." — Savary. 

'  This  was  a  great  objection  made  by  the  Meccans  to  the  authority  of  the  Koran  ;  for 
when  Mohammed  insisted,  as  a  proof  of  its  divine  original,  that  it  was  impossible  a  man, 
so  utterly  unacquainted  with  learning  as  himself,  could  compose  such  a  book,  they  replied, 
that  he  had  one  or  more  assistants  in  the  forgery  ;  but  as  to  the  particular  person  or  per- 
sons suspected  of  this  confederacy,  the  traditions  differ.  One  says  it  was  Jabar,  a  Greek, 
servant  to  Amer  Ebn  al  Hadrami,  who  could  read  and  write  well  f  another,  that  they 
were  Jabar  and  Yesar,  two  slaves,  who  followed  the  trade  t>f  sword  cutlers  at  Mecca, 
and  used  to  read  the  pentateuch  and  gospel,  and  had  often  Mohammed  for  their  auditor, 
when  he  passed  that  way."  Another  tells  us  it  was  one  Ai'sh,  or  Yaish,  a  domestic  of 
al  Haweiteb  Ebn  Abd  al  Uzza,  who  was  a  man  of  some  learning,  and  had  embraced 
Mohammedism.^  Another  supposes  it  was  one  Kais,  a  Christian,  whose  house  Moham- 
med frequented  f  another,  that  it  was  Addas,  a  servant  of  Otba  Ebn  Rabia;^  and  an- 
other, that  it  was  Salman,  the  Persian.^ 

According  to  some  Christian  writers,'  Abdallah  Ebn  Salam,  the  Jew  who  was  so  inti- 
mate with  Mohammed  (named  by  one,  according  to  the  Hebrew  dialect,  Abdias  Bea 
Salon,  and  by  another,  Abdala  Celen) ,  was  assisting  to  him  in  the  compiUng  his  pretended 
revelations.  This  Jew  Dr.  Prideaux  confounds  with  Salman,  the  Persian,  who  was  a 
very  diflerent  man,  as  a  late  author'  has  observed  before  me ;  wherefore,  and  for  that  we 
may  have  occasion  to  speak  of  Salman  hereafter,  it  may  be  proper  to  add  a  brief  extract 
of  his  story  as  told  by  himself  He  was  of  a  good  family  of  Ispahan,  and,  in  his  younger 
years,  left  the  religion  of  his  country  to  embrace  Christianity ;  and  travelling  into  Syria, 
was  advised  by  a  certain  monk  of  Amuria  to  go  into  Arabia,  where  a  prophet  was  ex- 
pected to  arise  about  that  time,  who  should  establish  the  religion  of  Abraham  ;  and  whom 
he  should  know,  among  other  things,  by  the  seal  of  prophecy  between  his  shoulders. 
Salman  performed  the  journey,  and  meeting  with  Mohammed  at  Koba,  where  he  rested 
in  his  flight  to  Medina,  soon  found  him  to  be  the  person  he  sought,  and  professed 
Islam.^ 

The  general  opinion  of  the  Christians  however  is,  that  the  chief  help  Mohammed  had 
in  the  contriving  his  Koran  was  from  a  Nestorian  monk  named  Sergius,  supposed  to  be 
the  same  person  with  the  monk  Boheira,  with  whom  Mohammed,  in  his  younger  years, 
had  some  conference  at  Bosra,  a  city  of  Syria  Damascena,  where  that  monk  resided.^  To 
confirm  which  supposition,  a  passage  has  been  produced  from  an  Arab  writer,*  who  says 
that  Boheira's  name,  in  the  books  of  the  Christians,  is  Sergius ;  but  this  is  only  a  conjec- 
ture ;  and  another*  tells  us  his  true  name  was  Sai'd,  or  Fehx,  and  his  surname  Boheira. 
But  be  that  as  it  will,  if  Boheira  and  Sergius  were  the  same  man,  I  find  not  the  least  in- 
timation in  the  Mohammedan  writers  that  he  ever  quitted  his  monastery  to  go  into  Arabia 
(as  is  supposed  by  the  Christians ;)  and  his  acquaintance  with  Mohammed  at  Bosra  was 
too  early  to  favour  the  surmise  of  his  assisting  him  in  the  Koran,  which  was  composed 
long  after ;  though  Mohammed  might,  from  his  discourse,  gain  some  knowledge  of 
Christianity  and  of  the  scriptures,  which  might  be  of  use  to  him  therein. 

^  Al  Zamakhshari,  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  *  Al  Zamakh.  Al  Beidawi.  See  Prid.  Life  of 
Moh.  p.  32.  '  Idem.  "=  Jallalo'ddin.  ''  Al  Zamakh.  Yahya.  «  Al  Zamakh.  Al  Beidawi. 
^  Ricardi  Confut.  Legis  Saracenicae,  c.  13.  Joh.  Andreas,  de  Confus.  Secta^  Mahometanae, 
c.  2.     See  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  33,  34.  '  Gagnier  not.  in  Abulf  Vit.  Moh.  p.  74. 

"  Ex  Ebn  Ishak.     Vide  Gagnier,  ibid.      '  See  Prid.  ubi  sup.  p.  35,  &c.    Gagnier,  ubi  sup. 
p.  10,  11.     Marrac.  de  Alcor.  p.  37.        *  Al  Masudi.        *  Abu'l  Hasan  al  Becri  in  Koran. 


224  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvi. 

over  as  for  those  who  beheve  not  the  signs  of  God,  God  will  not  direct 
them,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  painful  torment:  verily  they  imagine  a 
falsehood  who  believe  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  and  they  are  reallij  the 
liars.*  Whoever  denieth  God,  after  he  hath  believed,  except  him  who 
shall  be  compelled  against  his  will,  and  whose  heart  continueth  stedfast  in 
the  faith,  shall  he  severely  chastised  ;"  but  whoever  shall  voluntarily  profess 
infidelity,  on  those  shall  the  indignation  of  God  fall,  and  they  shall  suffer 
a  grievous  punishment.  This  shall  he  their  sentence^  because  they  have 
loved  the  present  life  above  that  which  is  to  come,  and  for  that  God 
directeth  not  the  unbelieving  people.  These  are  they  whose  hearts,  and 
hearing,  and  sight,  God  hath  sealed  up;  and  these  are  the  negligent: 
there  is  no  doubt  but  that  in  the  next  life  they  shall  perish.  Moreover 
thy  Lord  icill  he  favourable  unto  those  who  have  fled  their  country,  after 
having  suffered  persecution,"*  and  had  been  comjjelled  to  deny  the  faith  hy 

From  the  answer  given  in  this  passage  of  the  Koran  to  the  objectbn  of  the  infidels, 
viz.  that  the  person  suspected  by  him  to  have  had  a  hand  in  the  Koran  spoke  a  ioreign 
language,  and  therefore  could  not,  with  any  face  of  probability,  be  supposed  to  assist  in  a 
composition  written  in  the  Arabic  tongue,  and  with  so  great  elegance,  it  is  plain  this 
person  was  no  Arabian.  The  word  Ajami,  which  is  here  used,  signifies  any  foreign  or 
barbarous  language  in  general ;  but  the  Arabs  applying  it  more  particularly  to  the  Per- 
sian, it  has  been  thence  concluded  by  some  that  Salman  was  the  person  :  however,  if  it 
be  true  that  he  came  not  to  Mohammed  till  after  the  Hejra,  either  he  could  not  be  the 
man  here  intended,  or  else  this  verse  must  have  been  revealed  at  Medina,  contrary  to  the 
common  opinion. 

*  "  The  men  who  deny  Islamism  add  blasphemy  to  falsehood." — Savary. 

™  These  words  were  added  for  the  sake  of  Ammar  Ebn  Yaser,  and  some  others,  who 
being  taken  and  tortured  by  the  Koreish,  renounced  their  faith  out  of  fear,  though  their 
hearts  agreed  not  with  their  mouths.^  It  seems  Ammar  wanted  the  constancy  of  his 
father  and  mother,  Yaser  and  Sommeya,  who  underwent  the  like  trial  at  the  same  time 
with  their  son,  and  resolutely  refusing  to  recant,  were  both  put  to  death,  the  infidels 
tying  Sommeya  between  two  camels,  and  striking  a  lance  through  her  privy  parts." 
When  news  was  brought  to  Mohammed  that  Ammar  had  denied  the  faith,  he  said,  it 
could  not  be,  for  that  Ammar  was  full  of  faith,  from  the  crown  of  his  head  to  the  sole  of 
his  foot,  faith  being  mixed  and  incorporated  with  his  very  flesh  and  blood;  and  when 
Ammar  himself  came  weeping  to  the  prophet,  he  wiped  his  eyes,  saying,  What  fault 
was  it  of  thine,  if  they  forced  thee  ? 

But  though  it  be  here  said  that  those  who  apostatize  in  appearance  only,  to  avoid  death 
or  torments,  may  hope  for  pardon  from  God,  yet  it  is  unanimously  agreed  by  the  Mo- 
hammedan doctors  to  be  much  more  meritorious  and  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  God 
courageously  and  nobly  to  persist  in  the  true  faith,  and  rather  to  suflTer  death  itself  than 
renounce  it,  even  in  words.  Nor  did  the  Mohammedan  religion  want  its  martyrs,  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word  ;  of  which  I  will  here  give  two  instances,  besides  the  above- 
mentioned.  One  is  that  of  Khobaib  Ebn  Ada,  who  being  perfidiously  sold  to  the  Koreish, 
was  by  them  put  to  death  in  a  cruel  manner,  by  mutilation,  and  cutting  off  his  flesh 
piece-meal;  and  being  asked,  in  the  midst  of  his  tortures,  whether  he  did  not  wish  Mo- 
hammed was  in  his  place,  answered,  I  would  not  wish  to  be  with  7ny  family,  my  substance, 
and  my  children,  on  condition  that  Mohammed  was  only  to  be  pricked  loith  a  thorn.^  The 
other  is  that  of  a  man  who  was  put  to  death  by  Moseilama,  on  the  following  occasion. 
That  false  prophet,  having  taken  two  of  Mohammed's  followers,  asked  one  of  them, 
what  he  said  of  Mohammed  ?  The  man  answered.  That  he  was  the  apostle  of  God  : 
And  what  sayest  thou  of  me?  added  Moseilama  ;  to  which  he  replied.  Thou  also  art  the 
apostle  of  God  ;  whereupon  he  was  immediately  dismissed  in  safety.  But  the  other, 
having  returned  the  same  answer  to  the  former  question,  refused  to  give  any  to  the  last, 
though  required  to  do  it  three  several  times,  but  pretended  to  be  deaf,  and  was  therefore 
slain.  It  is  related  that  Mohammed,  when  the  story  of  these  two  men  was  told  him, 
said.  The  first  of  them  threw  himself  on  God's  mercy  ;  but  the  latter  professed  the  truth; 
and  he  shall  find  his  account  in  it.^ 

°  As  did  Ammar,  who  made  one  in  both  the  flights.    Some,  reading  the  verb  with  dif- 

8  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakh.  Yahya.      '  Al  Beidawi.      '  Ebn  Shohnah.     '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XVI.  AL  KORAN.  225 

violence,  and  ivho  have  since  fought  in  defence  of  the  true  religion^  and  have 
persevered  with  patience ;  verily  unto  these  loill  thy  Lord  le  gracious  and 
mercilul,  after  they  shall  have  shown  their  sincerity.  On  a  certain  day  shall 
every  soul  come  to  plead  for  itself,"  and  every  soul  shall  be  repaid  that 
which  it  shall  have  wrought;  and  they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly. 
God  propoundeth  as  a  parable  a  cityp  which  was  secure  and  quiet,  unto 
which  her  provisions  came  in  abundance  from  every  side ;  but  she  ungrate- 
fully denied  the  favour  of  God :  wherefore  God  caused  her  to  taste  the 
extreme  famine,  and  fear,  because  of  that  which  they  had  done.  And 
now  is  an  apostle  come  unto  the  inhabitants  of  Mecca  from  among  them- 
selves ;  and  they  accuse  him  of  imposture :  wherefore  a  punishment  shall 
be  inflicted  on  them,  while  they  are  acting  unjustly.  Eat  of  what  God 
hath  given  you  for  food,  that  ivhich  is  lawful  and  good ;  and  be  thankful 
for  the  favours  of  God,  if  ye  serve  him.  He  hath  only  forbidden  you 
that  which  dieth  of  itself,  and  blood,  and  swine's  flesh,  and  that  which 
hath 'been  slain  in  the  name  of  any,  besides  God.i  But  unto  him  who 
shall  be  compelled  by  necessity  to  eat  of  these  things,  not  lusting  nor  wiU 
fully  transgressing,  God  will  surely  be  gracious  and  merciful.  And  say  not 
that  wherein  your  tongues  utter  a  lie ;  This  is  lawful,  and  this  is  unlawful ;  ■■ 
that  ye  may  devise  a  lie  concerning  God  :  lor  they  who  devise  concerning 
GoD  shall  not  prosper.  They  shall  have  small  enjoyment  in  this  icorld,  and 
in  that  which  is  to  come  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  torment.  Unto  the 
Jews  did  we  forbid  that  which  we  have  told  thee  formerly : '  and  we  did 
them  no  injury  in  that  respect ;  but  they  injured  their  own  souls.*  More- 
over thy  Lord  loill  he  favourable  unto  those  who  do  evil  through 
ignorance,  and  afterwards  repent  and  amend ;  verily  unto  these  tvill  thy 
Lord  be  gracious  and  merciful,  after  their  repentance.  Abraham  was  a 
model  of  true  religion,  obedient  unto  God,  orthodox,  and  was  not  an 
idolater:^  he  was  also  grateful  for  his  benefits:  tvherefore  God  chose  him, 
and  directed  him  into  the  right  way.  And  we  bestowed  on  him  good  in 
this  world ;  and  in  the  next  he  shall  surely  be  one  of  the  righteous.  We 
have  also  spoken  unto  thee,  O  Mohammed,  by  revelation,  saying,  Follow 

ferent  vowels,  render  the  last  words,  after  having  ■persecuted  the  true  believers ;  and 
instance  in  al  Hadrami,  who  obliged  a  servant  of  his  to  renounce  Mohammedism,  by 
force,  but  afterwards,  together  with  that  servant,  professed  the  same  faith,  and  tied  for  it.' 

°  That  is,  every  person  shall  be  sohcitous  for  his  own  salvation,  not  concerning  himself 
with  the  condition  of  another,  but  crying  out,  My  own  soul,  my  own  soul.'^ 

p  This  example  is  applied  to  every  city  which  having  received  great  blessings  from  God 
becometh  insolent  and  unthankful,  and  is  therefore  chastised  by  some  signal  judgment ; 
or  rather  to  Mecca  in  particular,  on  which  the  calamities  threatened  in  this  passage,  viz. 
both  famine  and  sword,  were  inflicted.^ 

1  See  chap,  5,  p.  81. 

^  Allowing  what  God  hath  forbidden,  and  superstitiously  abstaining  from  what  he  hath 
allowed      See  chap.  6,  p.  113. 

'viz.  In  the  6th  chapter,  p.  113. 

'  i.  c.  They  were  forbidden  things  which  were  in  themselves  indifferent,  as  a  punish- 
ment for  their  wickedness  and  rebellion. 

"  This  was  to  reprehend  the  idolatrous  Koreish,  who  pretended  that  they  professed  the 
religion  of  Abraham. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  =»  Idem.  '  Idem. 


226  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvii. 

the  religion  of  Abraham,  who  was  orthodox,  and  was  no  idolater.  The 
sabbath  was  only  appointed  unto  those  who  differed  with  their  ^^Tophet 
concerning  it  ;^  and  thy  Lord  will  surely  judge  between  them,  on  the  day 
of  resurrection,  as  to  that  concerning  which  they  differed.  Invite  men 
unto  the  way  of  thy  Lord,  by  wisdom,  and  mild  exhortation ;  and  dis- 
pute with  them  in  the  most  condescending  manner  :  for  thy  Lord  well 
knoweth  him  who  strayeth  from  his  path,  and  he  well  knoweth  those  who 
are  rightly  directed.  If  ye  take  vengeance  07i  any,  take  a  vengeance  pro- 
portionable to  the  wrong  which  hath  been  done  you ;  ^  but  if  ye  suffer 
wrong  patiently,  verily  this  will  be  better  for  the  patient.^  Wherefore,  do 
thou  bear  opposition  with  patience;  but  thy  patience  shall  not  be  prac- 
ticable, unless  with  God's  assistance.  And  be  thou  not  grieved  on  account 
of  the  unbelievers ;  neither  be  thou  troubled  for  that  which  they  subtilely 
devise ;  for  God  is  with  those  who  fear  him,  and  are  upright. 

m 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
INTITLED  THE  NIGHT  JOURNEY ;=  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.^ 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

*  [XV.]  Praise  be  unto  him  who  transported  his  servant  by  night,  from 
the  sacred  temple  of  Mecca  to  the  farther  temple  of  Jerusalem,"  the  circuit 

*  These  were  the  Jews  ;  who,  being  ordered  by  Moses  to  set  apart  Friday  (the  day  novv 
observed  by  the  Mohammedans)  for  the  exercise  of  divine  worship,  refused  it,  and  chose 
the  sabbath  day,  because  on  that  day  God  rested  from  his  works  of  creation  ;  for  which 
reason  they  were  commanded  to  keep  the  day  they  had  chosen  in  the  strictest  manner."* 

y  This  passage  is  supposed  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina,  on  occasion  of  Hamza, 
Mohammed's  uncle,  being  slain  at  the  battle  of  Ohod.  For  the  infidels  having  abused  his 
dead  body,  by  taking  out  his  bowels,  and  cutting  off  his  ears  and  his  nose,  when  Moham- 
med saw  it,  he  swore  that  if  God  granted  him  success,  he  would  retaliate  those  cruelties 
on  seventy  of  the  Koreish ;  but  he  was  by  these  words  forbidden  to  execute  what  he  had 
sworn,  and  he  accordingly  made  void  his  oath.=  Abu'lfeda  makes  the  number  on  which 
Mohammed  swore  to  wreak  his  vengeance  to  be  but  thirty  :^  but  it  may  be  observed  by 
the  way,  that  the  translator  renders  this  passage  in  that  author,  God  hath  revealed  initome 
that  I  shall  retaliate,  &c.,  instead  of.  If  God  grant  me  victory  over  the  Koreish,  I  will 
retaliate,  &.C.,  reading  iai'w  adhharni,  for  adhfar?ii  ;  God,  far  from  putting  this  design 
into  the  prophet's  head  by  a  revelation,  expressly  forbidding  him  to  put  it  in  execution. 

^  Here,  says  al  Beidawi,  the  Koran  principally  points  at  Mohammed,  who  was  of  all 
men  the  most  conspicuous  for  meekness  and  clemency. 

«  The  reason  of  this  inscription  appears  in  the  first  words.  Some  intitle  the  chapter. 
The  ChildreM  of  Israel. 

b  Some  except  eight  verses,  beginning  at  these  words,  It  wanted  little  hut  that  the  infidels 
had  seduced  thee,  &c. 

<=  From  whence  he  was  carried  through  the  seven  heavens  to  the  presence  of  God,  and 
brought  back  again  to  Mecca  the  same  night. 

This  journey  of  Mohammed  to  heaven  is  so  well  known,  that  I  may  be  pardoned  if  I 
omit  the  description  of  it.  The  English  reader  may  find  it  in  Dr.  Prideaux's  Life  of 
Mohammed,^  and  the  learned  in  Abu'lfeda,*  whose  annotator  has  corrected  several  mis- 
takes in  the  relation  of  Dr.  Prideaux,  and  in  other  writers. 

It  is  a  dispute  among  the  Mohammedan  divines,  whether  their  prophet's  night-journey 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.  ^  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  68.  »  '  Page  43, 
&c.    See  also  Morgan's  Mohammedism  Explained,  vol.  2.  «  Vit.  Moham.  cap.  19. 


CHAP.  xvn.  AL  KORAN.  227 

of  which  we  have  blessed,  that  we  might  show  some  of  our  signs  ;*  for 
God  is  he  who  heareth,  and  seeth.  And  we  gave  unto  Moses  the  book  of 
the  law,  and  appointed  the  same  to  be  a  direction  unto  the  children  of 
Israel,  commanding  them,  saying,  Beioare  that  ye  take  not  any  other  patron 
besides  me.  O  posterity  of  those  whom  we  carried  in  the  ark  with  Noah  :'^ 
verily  he  was  a  grateful  servant.  And  we  expressly  declared  unto  the 
children  of  Israel  in  the  book  of  the  law,  saying,  Ye  will  surely  commit 
evil  in  the  earth  twice,«  and  ye  will  be  elated  with  great  insolence.  And 
when  the  punishment  threatened  for  the  first  of  those  transgressions  came 
to  be  executed,  we  sent  against  you  our  servants/  endued  with  exceeding 
strength  in  war,  and  ihey  searched  the  inner  apartments  of  your  houses ; 
and  the  prediction  became  accomplished.  Afterwards  we  gave  you  the 
victory  over  them,  in  your  turn,  and  we  granted  you  increase  of  wealth 
and  children,  and  we  made  you  a  more  numerous  people,  saying,  If  ye  do 
well,  ye  will  do  well  to  your  own  souls ;  and  if  ye  do  evil,  ye  will  do  it 
unto  the  same.  And  when  the  punishment  threatened  for  your  latter 
transgression  came  to  be  executed,  ive  sent  enemies  against  you  to  afflict  you,'^ 

was  really  performed  by  him  corporeally,  or  whether  it  was  only  a  dream  or  a  vision. 
Some  think  the  whole  was  no  more  than  a  vision ;  and  allege  an  express  tradition  of 
Moawiyah,^  one  of  Mohammed's  successors,  to  that  purpose.  Others  suppose  he  was 
carried  bodily  to  Jerusalem,  but  no  farther;  and  that  he  ascended  thence  to  heaven  in 
spirit  only.  But  the  received  opinion  is,  that  it  was  no  vision,  but  that  he  was  actually 
transported  in  the  body  to  his  journey's  end  ;  and  if  any  impossibiUty  be  objected,  they 
think  it  a  sufficient  answer  to  say,  that  it  might  easily  be  effected  by  an  omnipotent 
agent.* 

*  "  That  we  might  leave  there  the  tokens  of  our  power."— 5'avary. 
^  The  commentators  are  put  to  it  to  find  out  the  connexion  of  these  words  with  the 
foregoing.     Some  think  the  accusative  case  is  here  put  for  the  vocative,  as  I  have  trans- 
lated it  t'^and  others  interpret  the  words  thus.  Take  not  for  your  patrons,  besides  me,  the 
posterity  of  those,  &c.,  meaning,  mortal  men. 

^  Their  first  transgression  was  their  rejecting  the  decisions  of  the  law,  their  putting 
Isaiah  to  death,"  and  their  imprisoning  of  Jeremiah  :^  and  the  second  was  their  slaying  ot 
Zachariah  and  John  the  Baptist,  and  their  imagining  the  death  of  Jesus.'* 

^  These  were  Jalut,  or  Goliah,  and  his  forces;^  or  Sennacherib  the  Assyrian  ;  or  else 
Nebuchadnezzar,  whom  the  eastern  writers  call  Bakhtnasr  (which  was,  however,  only 
his  surname,  his  true  name  being  Gudarz,  or  Raham)  the  governor  of  Babylon  under 
Lohorasp,  king  of  Persia,^  who  took  Jerusalem,  and  destroyed  the  temple. 

e  By  permitting  David  to  kill  Goliah;  or  by  the  miraculous  defeat  of  Sennacherib's 
army  ;  or  for  that  God  put  it  into  the  heart  of  Bahman  the  son  of  Isfandiyar,  when  he 
succeeded  his  grandfather  Lohorasp,  to  order  Kiresh,  or  Cyrus,  then  governor  of  Baby- 
lon, to  send  home  the  Jews  from  their  captivity,  under  the  conduct  of  Daniel;  which  he 
accordingly  did,  and  they  prevailed  ugainst  those  whom  Bakhtnasr  had  left  in  the  land.'' 
^  Some  imagine  the  army  meant  in  this  place  was  that  of  Bakhtnasr  f  but  others  say 
the  Persians  conquered  the  Jews  this  second  time,  by  the  arms  of  Gudarz  (by  whom  they 
seem  to  intend  Antiochus  Epiphanes),  one  of  the  successors  of  Alexander  at  Babylon.  It 
is  related  that  the  general  in  this  expedition,  entering  the  temple,  saw  blood  buhliling  up 
on  the  great  altar,  and  asking  the  reason  of  it,  the  Jews  told  him  it  was  the  blood  of  a 
sacrifice  which  had  not  been  accepted  of  God  ;  to  which  he  replied,  that  they  had  not  told 
him  the  truth,  and  ordered  a  thousand  of  them  to  be  slain  on  the  altar:  but  the  blood  not 
ceasing,  he  told  them,  that  if  they  would  not  confess  the  truth,  he  would  not  spare  one 
of  them  ;  whereupon,  they  acknowledged  it  was  the  blood  of  John:  and  the  general  said, 
Thus  hath  your  Lord  taken  vengeance  o?i  you  ;  and  then  cried  out,  0  John,  my  Lord  and 
thy  Lord  knoweth  what  hath  befallen  thy  people  for  thy  sake  ;  wherefore,  let  thy  blood  stop, 

'  Vide  Vit.  Moham.  cap.  18.  '  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem.  =*  Jallalo'ddin.  "  Idem. 
'  Idem,  Yahya.  *  Al  Zamakhshari,  al  Beidawi.  ■"  Idem.  ^  Yahya, 

Jallalo'ddin. 


228  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvii. 

and  to  enter  the  temple,  as  they  entered  it  the  first  time,  and  utterly  to 
destroy  that  which  they  had  conquered.  Peradventure  your  Lord  will 
have  mercy  on  you  hereafter  :  but  if  ye  return  to  transgress  a  third  time, 
we  also  will  return  to  chastise  you;'  and  we  have  appointed  hell  to  be  the 
prison  of  the  unbelievers.  Verily  this  Koran  directeth  unto  the  way  which 
is  most  right,  and  declareth  unto  the  faithful,  who  do  good  works,  that 
they  shall  receive  a  great  reward  ;  and  that  for  those  who  believe  not  in 
the  life  to  come,  we  have  prepared  a  grievous  punishment.  Man  prayeth 
for  evil,  as  he  prayeth  for  good;^  for  man  is  hasty .^  We  have  ordained 
the  night  and  the  day  for  two  signs  of  our  power  :  afterwards  we  blot  out 
the  sign  of  the  night,  and  we  cause  the  sign  of  the  day  to  shine  forth,  that 
ye  may  endeavour  to  obtain  plenty  from  your  Lord  by  doing  your  business 
therein,  and  that  ye  may  know  the  number  of  years,  and  the  computation 
of  time ;  and  every  thing  necessary  have  we  explained  by  a  perspicuous 
explication.*  The  fate™  of  every  man  have  we  bound  about  his  neck;"* 
and  we  will  produce  unto  him,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  a  book  ivherein 
his  actions  shall  be  recorded  :  it  shall  be  offered  him  open,  and  the  angels 
shall  say  unto  him,  Read  thy  book ;  thine  own  soul  will  be  a  sufficient  ac- 
countant against  thee,  this  day."  He  who  shall  be  rightly  directed,  shall  be 
directed  to  the  advantage  only  of  his  own  soul ;  and  he  who  shall  err  shall 
err  only  against  the  same :  neither  shall  any  laden  soul  be  charged  with  the 

by  God's  permission,  lest  Heave  not  one  of  them  alive  ;  upon  which  the  blood  immediately 
stopped.^ 

These  are  the  explicafions  of  the  commentators,  wherein  their  ignorance  in  ancient 
history  is  sufficiently  manifest  ;  though,  perhaps,  Mohammed  himself,  in  this  latter  pass- 
age, intended  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  by  the  Romans. 

'  And  this  came  accordingly  to  pass  :  for  the  Jews  being  again  so  wicked  as  to  reject 
Mohammed,  and  conspire  against  his  life,  God  delivered  them  into  his  hands ;  and  he 
exterminated  the  tribe  of  Koreidha,  and  slew  the  chiefs  of  that  of  al  Nadir,  and  obliged 
the  rest  of  the  Jewish  tribes  to  pay  tribute.*" 

^  Out  of  ignorance,  mistaking  evil  for  good ;  or  making  wicked  imprecations  on  him- 
self and  others,  out  of  passion  and  impatience. 

'  Or,  inconsiderate,  not  weighing  the  consequence  of  what  he  asks. 

It  is  said  that  the  person  here  meant  is  Adam,  who,  when  the  breath  of  hfe  was  breathed 
into  his  nostrils,  and  had  reached  so  far  as  his  navel,  though  the  lower  part  of  his  body 
was,  as  yet,  but  a  piece  of  clay,  must  needs  try  to  rise  up,  and  got  an  ugly  fall  by  the 
bargain.  But  others  pretend  the  passage  was  revealed  on  the  following  occasion.  Mo- 
hammed committed  a  certain  captive  to  the  charge  of  his  wife,  Sawda  bint  Zamaa,  who, 
moved  with  compassion  at  the  man's  groans,  unbound  him,  and  let  him  escape:  upon 
which  the  prophet,  in  the  first  motions  of  his  anger,  wished  her  hand  might  fail  ofl';  but 
immediately  composing  himself,  said  aloud,  0  God,  I  am  but  a  man  ;  therefore  turn  my 
curse  into  a  blessing} 

*  "  The  night  and  the  day  bear  witness  to  our  power.  We  have  covered  the  night  with 
a  veil,  and  enlightened  the  face  of  day,  that  ye  may  employ  it  in  seeking  abundance.  It 
enables  you  to  compute  the  years  and  the  times.  The  impress  of  our  wisdom  is  re- 
splendent in  all  parts." — Savary. 

""Literally,  the  bird,  which  is  here  used  to  signify  a  man^s  fortune  or  success:  the 
Arabs,  as  well  as  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  taking  omens  from  the  flight  of  birds,  which 
they  supposed  to  portend  good  luck,  if  they  flew  from  the  left  to  the  right,  but  if  from  the 
right  to  the  left,  the  contrary ;  the  like  judgment  they  also  made  when  certain  beasts 
passed  before  them. 

"  Like  a  collar,  which  he  cannot  by  any  means  get  off.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 
p.  73. 

••  See  ibid.  p.  64. 

» Al  Beidawi.  "  Idem.  ^  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XVII.  AL  KORAN.  229 

Lurdcn  of  another.  We  did  not  punish  any  people,  until  wc  had  Jirst  sent 
an  apostle  to  warn  them.  And  when  we  resolved  to  destroy  a  city,  we 
commanded  the  inhabitants  thereof,  who  lived  in  affluence,  to  obey  our 
apostle ;  but  they  acted  corruptly  therein :  wherefore  the  sentence  was 
justly  pronounced  against  that  city;  and  we  destroyed  it  with  an  utter 
destruction.  And  how  many  generations  have  wc  consumed  since  Noah? 
for  thy  Lord  sufficiently  knoweth  and  sceth  the  sins  of  his  servants. 
Whosoever  chooseth  this  transitory  life,  we  will  bestow  on  him  therein 
beforehand  that  which  we  please;  on  him,  najnely,  whom  we  please: 
afterwards  will  we  appoint  him  hell  for  his  abode  ;  he  shall  be  thrown  into 
the  same  to  be  scorched,  covered  with  ignominy,  and  utterly  rejected  from 
mercy.  But  whosoever  chooseth  the  life  to  come,  and  directeth  his  endea- 
vour towards  the  same,  being  also  a  true  believer;  the  endeavour  of  these 
shall  be  acceptable  unto  God.  On  all  will  we  bestow  the  blessings  of  this 
life,  both  on  these  and  on  those,  of  the  gift  of  thy  Lord  ;  for  the  gift  of 
thy  Lord  shall  not  be  denied  unto  any.  Behold,  how  we  have  caused 
some  of  them  to  surpass  others  in  wealth  and  dignity :  but  the  next  life 
shall  be  more  considerable  in  degrees  of  honour,  and  greater  in  excellence. 
Set  not  up  another  god  with  the  true  God,  lest  thou  sit  down  in  disgrace, 
and  destitute.*  Thy  Lord  hath  commanded  that  ye  worship  none  besides 
him ;  and  that  ye  show  kindness  unto  your  parents,  whether  the  one  of 
them,  or  both  of  them  attain  to  old  age  with  thee.p  Wherefore,  say  not 
unto  them.  Fie  on  you  !  neither  reproach  them,  but  speak  respectfully  unto 
them ;  and  submit  to  behave  humbly^  towards  them,  out  of  tender  affec- 
tion, and  say,  O  Lord,  have  mercy  on  them  both,  as  they  nursed  me  when 
I  was  little.  Your  Lord  well  knoweth  that  which  is  in  your  souls ; 
whether  ye  be  men  of  integrity :  and  he  will  be  gracious  unto  those  who 
sincerely  return  unto  him.  And  give  unto  him  who  is  of  kin  to  you  his 
due,"-  and  also  unto  the  poor,  and  the  traveller.  And  waste  not  thy  sub- 
stance profusely :  for  the  profuse  are  brethren  of  the  devils  :^  and  the  devil 
was  ungrateful  unto  his  Lord.  But  if  thou  turn  from  them,  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  mercy  which  thou  hopest  from  thy  Lord  ;^  at  least,  speak 
kindly  unto  them.  And  let  not  thy  hand  be  tied  up  to  thy  neck;  neither 
open  it  with  an  unbounded  expansion,"  lest  thou  become  worthy  of  repre- 

*  "  Give  not  to  God  an  equal ;  nor  remain  seated  without  glory,  and  without  virtue." 
— Savary. 

p  That  is,  receiving  their  support  and  maintenance  from  thee. 

1  Literally,  Lower  the  winp:  of  humility,  &C. 

"■  That  is,  friendship  and  airection,  and  assistance  in  time  of  need. 

•  ProdigaUty,  and  squandering  away  one's  substance  in  folly  or  luxury,  being  a  very 
great  sin.  The  Arabs  were  particularly  guilty  of  extravagance  in  killing  camels,  and 
distributing  them  by  lot,  merely  out  of  vanity  and  ostentation ;  which  they  are  forbidden 
by  this  passacre,  and  commanded  to  bestow  what  they  could  spare  on  their  poor  relations, 
and  other  indigent  people.'* 

'  That  is.  If  thy  present  circumstances  will  not  permit  thee  to  assist  others,  defer  thy 
charity  till  God  grant  thee  l)ettcr  ability. 

°  t.  e.  Be  neither  niggardly  nor  profuse,  but  observe  the  mean  between  the  two  ex- 
tremes, wherein  consists  true  liberality.^ 

»  Al  Beidawi.  =>  Idem. 


230  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvn. 

hension,  and  be  reduced  to  poverty.  Verily  thy  Lord  will  enlarge  the 
store  of  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  be  sparing  unto  lohom  he  jjleaselh ; 
for  he  knoweth  and  regardeth  his  servants.  Kill  not  your  children  for 
fear  of  being  brought  to  want ;  we  will  provide  for  them  and  for  you : 
verily  the  killing  them  is  a  great  sin.^  Draw  not  near  unto  fornication ; 
for  it  is  wickedness,  and  an  evil  way.  Neither  slay  the  soul  which 
God  hath  forbidden  you  to  slay,  unless  for  a  just  cause  ,*y  and  whosoever 
shall  be  slain  unjustly,  we  have  given  his  heir  power  to  demand  satisfac- 
tion ;  ^  but  let  him  not  exceed  the  bounds  of  moderation  in  putting  to  death 
the  murderer  in  too  cruel  a  manner^  or  by  revenging  his  friend'^s  blood  on 
any  other  than  the  person  who  killed  him ;  since  he  is  assisted  by  this  laiv.^ 
And  meddle  not  with  the  substance  of  the  orphan,  unless  it  be  to  improve 
it,  until  he  attain  his  age  of  strength :  ^  and  perform  your  covenant ;  for 
the  performance  of  your  covenant  shall  be  inquired  into  Jiereafter.  And 
give  full  measure,  when  you  measure  aught ;  and  weigh  with  a  just  ba- 
lance. This  will  be  better,  and  more  easy  for  determining*  every  mari^s 
due.^  And  follow  not  that  whereof  thou  hast  no  knowledge ;  ^  for  the 
hearing,  and  the  sight,  and  the  heart,  every  of  these  shall  be  examined 
at  the  last  day.  Walk  not  proudly  in  the  land,  for  thou  canst  not  cleave 
the  earth,  neither  shalt  thou  equal  the  mountains  in  stature.  All  this  is 
evil,  and  abominable  in  the  sight  of  thy  Lord.  These  precepts  are  a  part 
of  the  wisdom  which  thy  Lord  hath  revealed  unto  thee.  Set  not  up  any 
other  god  as  equal  unto  God,  lest  thou  be  cast  into  hell,  reproved  and 
rejected.  Hath  your  Lord  preferably  granted  unto  you  sons,  and  taken 
for  AimseZ/"  daughters  from  among  the  angels  ?''f  Verily  in  asserting  this 
ye  utter  a  grievous  saying.  And  now  have  we  used  various  arguments  and 
repetitions  in  this  Koran,  that  they  may  be  warned :  yet  it  only  rendereth 
them  more  disposed  to  Ryfrom  the  truth.  Say  unto  the  idolaters^  If  there 
were  other  gods  with  him,  as  ye  say,  they  would  surely  seek  an  occasion  of 


*See  chap.  6,  pp.  113  and  114,  and  chap.  81. 

y  The  crimes  for  which  a  man  may  justly  be  put  to  death  are  these  ;  apostacy,  adultery, 
and  murder." 

^  It  being  at  the  election  of  the  heir,  or  next  of  kin,  either  to  take  the  life  of  the  mur- 
derer, or  to  accept  of  a  fine  in  lieu  of  it.' 

"  Some  refer  the  pronoun  he  to  the  person  slain,  for  the  avenging  whose  death  this  law 
was  made  ;  some  to  the  heir,  who  has  a  right  granted  him  to  demand  satisfaction  for  his 
friend's  blood  f  and  others  to  him  who  shall  be  slain  by  the  heir,  if  he  carry  his  vengeance 
too  far.'' 

^  See  chap.  4,  pp.  59,  60. 

*  "  Fill  the  measure.  Hold  the  balance  even  ;  and  you  will  obey  the  laws  of  justice 
and  probity." — Savary. 

"^  Or,  more  advantageous  in  the  end.^ 

•^  i  e.  Vain  and  uncertain  opinions,  which  thou  hast  not  good  reason  to  beheve  true,  or 
at  least  probable.  Some  interpret  the  words,  Accuse  not  another  of  a  crime  whereof  thou 
hast  no  hnowledc^e ;  supposing  they  forbid  the  bearing  false  witness,  or  the  spreading  or 
giving  credit  to  idle  reports  of  others.' 

*  See  chap.  16,  p.  218. 

t  "  Will  you  say  that  God  has  chosen  you  for  his  children,  and  that  he  has  had  daugh- 
ters by  an  intercourse  with  the  angels  ?     Can  you  utter  this  blasphemy." — Savary, 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  chap.  2,  p.  21.  *  Yahya.  '  Vide  AI  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 
Al  Zamakh.           '  lidem. 


CHAP.  xvn.  AL  KORAN.  231 

making  some  attempt  against  the  possessor  of  the  throne :  ^  God  forbid !  and 
far,  very  far,  be  that  from  him  which  they  utter !  The  seven  heavens  praise 
him,  and  the  earth,  and  all  who  are  therein :  neither  is  there  any  thing 
which  doth  not  celebrate  his  praise ;  but  ye  understand  not  their  celebra- 
tion thereof  :  he  is  gracious  and  merciful.  When  thou  readest  the  Koran, 
we  place  between  thee  and  those  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come  a  dark 
veil ;  and  we  put  coverings  over  their  hearts,  lest  they  should  understand 
it,  and  in  their  ears  thickness  of  hearing.  And  when  thou  makest  mention, 
in  repeating  the  Koran,  of  thy  Lord  only,5  they  turn  their  backs,  flying  the 
doctrine  of  his  unity.  We  well  know  with  what  design  they  hearken,  when 
they  hearken  unto  thee,  and  when  they  privately  discourse  together :  when 
the  ungodly  say,  Ye  follow  no  other  than  a  madman.  Behold !  what 
epithets  they  bestow  on  thee.  But  they  are  deceived;  neither  can  they 
find  any  just  occasion  to  reproach  thee*  They  also  say.  After  we  shall 
have  become  bones  and  dust,  shall  we  surely  be  raised  a  new  creature  ? 
Answer,  Be  ye  stones,  or  iron,  or  some  creature  more  improbable  in 
your  opinions  to  be  raised  to  life.  But  they  will  say.  Who  shall  restore  us 
to  life  "?  Answer,  He  who  created  you  the  first  time :  and  they  will  wag  their 
heads  at  thee,  saying.  When  shall  this  he  ?  Answer,  Peradventure  it  is 
nigh.  On  that  day  shall  God  call  you  forth  from  your  sepulchres.,  and  ye 
shall  obey,  with  celebration  of  his  praise,^  and  ye  shall  think  that  ye 
tarried '  but  a  little  while.  Speak  unto  my  servants,  that  they  speak  mildly 
unto  the  unbelievers.^  lest  ye  exasperate  them;  for  Satan  soweth  discord 
among  them,  and  Satan  is  a  declared  enemy  unto  man.  Your  Lord  well 
knoweth  you ;  if  he  pleaseth,  he  will  have  mercy  on  you,  or,  if  he  pleaseth, 
he  will  punish  you  :  ^  and  we  have  not  sent  thee  to  be  a  steward  over  them.t 
Thy  Lord  well  knoweth  all  persons  in  heaven  and  on  earth.*  We  have 
bestowed  peculiar  favours  on  some  of  the  prophets,  preferably  to  others ;  and 
we  gave  unto  David  the  psalms.™     Say,  Call  upon  those  whom  ye  imagine 

^  1,  e.  They  would  in  all  probability  contend  with  God  for  superiority,  and  endeavour 
to  dethrone  him,  in  the  same  manner  as  princes  act  with  one  another  on  earth. 

^  Not  allowing  their  gods  to  be  his  associates,  nor  praying  their  intercession  with  him. 

*  "They  are  in  error,  and  they  no  more  shall  find  the  truth." — Savary. 

^  The  dead,  says  al  Beidawi,  at  his  call  shall  immediately  rise,  and  shaking  the  dust 
off  their  heads,  shall  say.  Praise  he  unto  thee,  0  God. 

'  viz.  In  your  graves;  or,  in  the  world. 

^  These  words  are  designed  as  a  pattern  for  the  Moslems  to  follow,  in  discoursing  with 
the  idolaters ;  by  which  they  are  taught  to  use  soft  and  dubious  expressions,  and  not  to 
tell  them  directly  that  they,  are  doomed  to  hell  fire  ;  which,  besides  the  presumption  in 
offering  to  determine  the  sentence  of  others,  would  only  make  them  more  irreconcileable 
enemies.' 

t  "  We  have  not  sent  thee  to  be  their  defender." — Savary. 

'  And  may  choose  whom  he  pleases  for  his  ambassador.  This  is  an  answer  to  the  ob- 
jections of  the  Koreish,  that  Mohammed  was  the  orphan  pupil  of  Abu  Taleb,  and  fol- 
lowed by  a  parcel  of  naked  and  hungry  fellows.^ 

■^  Which  were  a  greater  honour  to  him  than  his  kingdom ;  and  wherein  Mohammed 
and  his  people  are  foretold  by  these  words,  among  others ;  ^  The  righteous  shall  inherit 
the  earth.'' 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.         ^  Vide  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  2S,  &.c.    Prid.  Life  of  Moh. 

p.  122.  *  Psalm  xxxvii.  2S.     Al  Beidawi. 


232  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xvn. 

to  be  gods  besides  him ;  yet  they  will  not  be  able  to  free  you  from  harm,  or 
to  turn  it  on  others.  Those  whom  ye  invoke "»  do  themselves  desire  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  a  near  conjunction  with  their  Lord  ;  striving  which  of  them  shall 
approach  nearest  unto  him  :  they  also  hope  for  his  mercy,  and  dread  his 
punishment;  for  the  punishment  of  thy  Lord  is  terrible.  There  is  no 
city  but  we  will  destroy  the  same  before  the  day  of  resurrection,  or  we  will 
punish  it  with  a  grievous  punishment.  This  is  written  in  the  book  of  our 
eternal  decrees.  Nothing  hindered  us  from  sending  thee  with  miracles,  ex- 
cept that  the  former  nations  have  charged  them  with  imposture.  We  gave 
unto  the  tribe  of  Thamud,  at  their  demand,  the  she-camel  visible  to  their 
sight :  yet  they  dealt  unjustly  with  her :  °  and  we  send  not  a  prophet  with 
miracles,  but  to  strike  terror.  Remember  when  we  said  unto  thee.  Verily 
thy  Lord  encompasseth  men  by  his  knowledge  and  power.  We  have 
appointed  the  vision  p  which  we  showed  thee,  and  also  the  tree  ^  cursed  in 
the  Koran,  only  for  an  occasion  of  dispute  unto  men,  and  to  strike  them 
with  terror ;  but  it  shall  cause  them  to  transgress  only  the  more  enormously. 
And  remember  when  we  said  unto  the  angels.  Worship  Adam ;  and  they 
all  worshipped  him  except  Eblis,  who  said.  Shall  I  worship  him  whom  thou 
hast  created  of  clay  ?  And  he  said.  What  thinkest  thou,  as  to  this  man 
whom  thou  hast  honoured  above  me  ?  verily,  if  thou  grant  me  respite  until 
the  day  of  resurrection,  I  will  extirpate  his  offspring,  except  a  few.*  God 
answered.  Begone,  /  grant  thee  respite  :  but  whosoever  of  them  shall 
follow  thee,  hell  shall  surely  be  your  reward ;  an  ample  reward  for  your 
demerits  .''"  And  entice  to  vanity  such  of  them  as  thou  canst,  by  thy  voice ; 
and  assault  them  on  all  sides  with  thy  horsemen  and  thy  footmen  ;s 
and  partake  with  them  in  their  riches,  and  their  children  ;*  and  make  them 
promises;   (but  the  devil  shall  make  them  no  other  than  deceitful  pro- 

"  viz.  The  angels  and  prophets,  who  are  the  servants  of  God  as  well  as  yourselves. 

0  See  chap.  7,  p.  124. 

p  Mohammed's  journey  to  heaven  is  generally  agreed  to  be  intended  in  this  place ;  which 
occasioned  great  heats  and  debates  among  his  followers,  till  they  were  quieted  by  Abu 
Beer's  bearing  testimony  to  the  truth  of  it.^  The  word  vision,  here  used,  is  urged  by 
those  who  take  this  journey  to  have  been  no  more  than  a  dream,  as  a  plain  confirmation 
of  their  opinion.  Some,  however,  suppose  the  vision  meant  in  this  passage  was  not  the 
night  journey,  but  the  dream  Mohammed  saw  at  al  Hodeibiya,  wherein  he  seemed  to  make 
his  entrance  into  Mecca  ;^  or  that  at  Bedr ; '  or  else  a  vision  he  had  relating  to  the  family 
of  Ommeya,  whom  he  saw  mount  his  pulpit,  and  jump  about  in  it  Hke  monkeys ;  upon 
which  he  said.  This  is  their  portion  in  this  world,  which,  they  have  gained  by  their  pro- 
fession of  Islam.'  But  if  any  of  these  latter  expositions  be  true,  the  verse  must  have 
been  revealed  at  Medina. 

">  Called  al  Zakkum,  which  springs  from  the  bottom  of  hell.' 

"  The  Zakkum  is  a  thorny  tree  which  grows  in  Arabia,  and  of  which  the  fruit  is  exces- 
sively bitter.  It  was,  no  doubt,  this  bad  quality  which  induced  Mohammed  to  place  it 
in  hell." — Savary. 

*  "  I  will  enchain  the  posterity  of  him  whom  thou  hast  raised  above  me.  Few  shall 
escape  my  snares." — Savary. 

''  See  chap.  2,  p.  5,  and  chap.  7,  p.  118,  &c. 
'  i.  e.  With  all  thy  forces. 

*  Instigating  them  to  get  wealth  by  unlawful  means,  and  to  spend  it  in  supporting  vice 

5  Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  89,  and  not.  ibid.  Prideaux,  Life  of  Moh.  p.  50,  and  Prelim. 
Disc,  sect  2,  p.  33.  "  See  Kor.  chap.  48.  '  See  chap.  8,  p.  143.  '  Al  Beidawi. 
*  See  chap.  37. 


CHAP.  XVII.  AL  KORAN.  233 

mises  ;*)  as  to  my  servants,  thou  shalt  have  no  power  over  them ;  for  thy 
Lord  is  a  sufficient  protector  of  those  ivho  trust  in  him.  It  is  your  Lord 
who  driveth  forward  the  ships  for  you  in  the  sea,  that  ye  may  seek  to 
enrich  yourselves  of  his  abundance  by  commerce ;  for  he  is  merciful  to- 
wards you.  When  a  misfortune  befulleth  you  at  sea,  the  false  deities 
whom  ye  invoke  are  forgotten  by  you,  except  him  alone  :  yet  when  he 
bringeth  you  safe  to  dry  land,  ye  retire  afar  off  from  him,  and  return  to 
your  idols ;  for  man  is  ungrateful.**  Are  ye  therefore  secure  that  he  will 
not  cause  the  dry  land  to  swallow  you  up,  or  that  he  will  not  send  against 
you  a  whirlwind  driving  the  sands  to  overivhelm  you  f  Then  shall  ye  find 
none  to  protect  you.f  Or  are  ye  secure  that  he  will  not  cause  you  again 
to  commit  yourselves  to  the  sea  another  time,  and  send  against  you  a 
tempestuous  wind,  and  drown  you;  for  that  ye  have  been  ungrateful?  then 
shall  ye  find  none  to  defend  you  against  us,  in  that  distress.  And  now 
have  we  honoured  the  children  of  Adam  by  sundry  peculiar  privileges 
and  endotcments ;  and  we  have  given  them  conveniences  of  carriage  by 
land  and  by  sea,  and  have  provided  food  for  them  of  good  things ;  and 
we  have  preferred  them  before  many  of  our  creatures  which  we  have 
created,  by  granting  them  great  prerogatives.  On  a  certain  day  we  will 
call  all  men  to  judgment  with  their  respective  leader  'J  and  whosoever  shall 
have  his  book  given  him  into  his  right  hand,  they  shall  read  their  book 
with  joy  and  satisfaction  ;  ^  and  they  shall  not  be  wronged  a  hair  J  And 
whoever  hath  been  blind  in  this  life  shall  be  also  blind  in  the  next,  and 
shall  wander  more  widely  from  the  path  of  salvation.  It  wanted  little 
hut  the  unbelievers  had  tempted  thee  to  swerve  from  the  instructions  which 
we  had  revealed  unto  thee,  that  thou  shouldest  devise  concerning  us  a 
different  thing  ;^  and  then  would  they  have  taken  thee  for  their  friend  : 


and  superstition ;  and  tempting  them  to  incestuous  mixtures,  and  to  give  their  children 
names  in  honour  of  their  idols,  as  Abd  Yaghuth,  Abd'  al  Uzza,  &c.'° 

*  "  Render  men  docile  to  thy  voice  ;  attack  them  with  thy  legions ;  increase  their  riches 
and  the  number  of  their  children ;  flatter  them  with  delightful  hopes.  Thy  promises  shall 
be  delusive." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  10,  p.  168. 

t  "  Think  ye  that  ye  have  a  shelter  from  his  wrath  ?  Can  he  not  open  an  abyss  under 
your  feet,  or  cause  a  cloud  laden  with  stones  to  burst  upon  your  heads  ?  Where  would 
ye  find  a  refuge  ?" — Savary. 

'  Some  interpret  this  of  the  prophet  sent  to  every  people ;  others  of  the  heads  of  sects ; 
others,  of  the  various  religions  professed  in  the  world ;  others,  of  the  books  which  shall 
be  given  to  every  man  at  the  resurrection,  containing  a  register  of  their  good  and  bad 
actions.' 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  64. 

y  See  chap.  4,  p.  67,  note  n. 

^  These  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  tribe  of  Thakif,  the  inhabitants  of 
al  Tayef,  who  insisted  on  Mohammed's  granting  them  several  very  extraordinary  pri- 
vileges, as  the  terms  of  their  submission  to  him  ;  for  they  demanded  that  they  might 
be  free  from  the  legal  contribution  of  alms,  and  from  observing  the  appointed  times 
of  prayer ;  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  keep  their  idol  Allat  for  a  certain  time,^  and 
that  their  territory  might  be  declared  a  place  of  security,  and  not  be  violated,  like  that 
of  Mecca,  &c.  And  they  added,  that  if  the  other  Arabs  asked  him  the  reason  of 
these  concessions,  he  should  say,  that  God  had  commanded  him  so  to  do.^    Accord^ 

"  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  »  gee  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  13.  "  Al  Beidawi. 

Jallalo'ddin.     Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  126,  &lc. 
z 


234  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvn. 

and  unless  we  had  confirmed  thee,  thou  hadst  certainly  been  very  near 
inclining  unto  them  a  little.  Then  would  we  surely  have  caused  thee  to 
taste  the  punishment  of  life,  and  the  punishment  of  death;'*  and  thou 
shouldest  not  have  found  any  to  protect  thee  against  us.  The  unbelievers 
had  likewise  almost  caused  thee  to  depart  the  land,  that  they  might  have 
expelled  thee  thence  :^  but  then  should  they  not  have  tarried  therein  after 
thee,  except  a  little  while.'=  This  is  the  method  of  dealing  ivhich  we 
have  prescribed  ourselves  in  respect  to  our  apostles,  whom  we  have 
already  sent  before  thee:  and  thou  shalt  not  find  any  change  in  our 
prescribed  method.  Regularly  perform  thy  prayer  at  the  declension  of 
the  sun,**  at  the  first  darkness  of  the  night,**  and  the  prayer  of  day- 
break ;'  for  the  prayer  of  day-break  is  borne  witness  unto  by  the  angels.^ 
And  watch  some  part  of  the  night  in  the  same  exercise,  as  a  work  of 
supererogation  for  thee:  peradventure  thy  Lord  will  raise  thee  to 
an  honourable  station.'*  And  say,  O  Lord,  cause  me  to  enter  with  a 
favourable  entry,  and  cause  me  to  come  forth  with  a  favourable  coming 
forth  ;•  and  grant  me  from  thee  an  assisting  power.*     And  say.  Truth  is 

ing  to  which  expHcation  it  is  plain  this  verse  must  have  been  revealed  long  after  the 
Hejra. 

Some,  however,  will  have  the  passage  to  have  been  revealed  at  Mecca,  on  occasion  of 
the  Koreish :  who  told  Mohammed  they  would  not  suffer  him  to  kiss  the  black  stone  in 
the  wall  of  Caaba,  unless  he  also  visited  their  idols,  and  touched  them  with  his  hand,  to 
show  his  respect. 

^  viz.  Both  of  this  hfe  and  the  next.  Some  interpret  the  first  of  the  punishment  in  the 
next  world,  and  the  latter  of  the  torture  of  the  sepulchre." 

"  The  commentators  differ  as  to  the  place  where  this  passage  was  delivered,  and  the 
occasion  of  it.  Some  think  it  was  revealed  at  Mecca,  and  that  it  refers  to  the  violent  en- 
mity which  the  Koreish  bore  Mohammed,  and  their  restless  endeavours  to  make  him  leave 
Mecca  ;*  as  he  was  at  length  obliged  to  do.  But  as  the  persons  here  spoken  of  seem  not 
to  have  prevailed  in  their  project,  others  suppose  that  the  verse  was  revealed  at  Medina, 
on  the  following  occasion.  'I'he  Jews,  envious  of  Mohammed's  good  reception  and  stay 
there,  told  him,  by  way  of  counsel,  that  Syria  was  the  land  of  the  prophets,  and  that  if  he 
was  a  prophet  he  ought  to  go  thither.  Mohammed  seriously  reflecting  on  what  they  had 
said,  began  to  think  they  had  advised  him  well;  and  actually  set  out,  and  proceeded  a 
day's  journey  in  his  way  to  Syria  ;  whereupon  God  acquainted  him  with  their  design  by 
the  revelation  of  this  verse ;  and  he  returned  to  Medina.^ 

•-'  This  was  fulfilled,  according  to  the  former  of  the  above-mentioned  explications,  by 
the  loss  of  the  Koreish  at  Bedr ;  and  according  to  the  latter,  by  the  great  slaughter  of  the 
Jews  of  Koreidha  and  al  Nadir.'' 

•1  i.  e.  At  the  time  of  noon  prayer,  when  the  sun  declines  from  the  meridian ;  or,  as 
some  choose  to  translate  the  words,  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  which  is  the  time  of  the  first 
evening  prayer. 

'  The  time  of  the  last  evening  prayer. 

^  Literally,  the  reading  of  the  daybreak  ;  whence  some  suppose  the  reading  of  the  Koran 
at  that  time  is  here  meant. 

'  vin.  The  guardian  angels,  who.  according  to  some,  are  relieved  at  that  time  ;  or  else 
the  angels  appointed  to  make  the  change  of  night  into  day,  &c.* 

^  According  to  a  tradition  of  Abu  Horeira,  the  honourable  station  here  intended  is  that 
of  intercessor  for  others.' 

'  That  is.  Grant  that  I  may  enter  my  grave  with  peace,  and  come  forth  from  it,  at  the 
resurrection,  with  honour  and  satisfaction.  In  which  sense  this  petition  is  the  same  with 
that  of  Balaam,  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  his."^ 

But  as  the  person  here  spoken  to  is  generally  supposed  to  be  Mohammed,  the.  commen- 
tators say  he  was  commanded  to  pray  in  these  words  for  a  safe  departure  from  Mecca,  and 

*  AI  Beidawi.  » Idem.  « Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.         ■•  lidem.         "  Al  Beidawi. 

*  Idem.  '^  Numb,  xxiii.  10. 


CHAP.  XVII.  AL  KORAN.  235 

come,  and  falsehood  is  vanished :  for  falsehood  is  of  short  continuance.'^ 
We  send  down  of  the  Koran  that  which  is  a  medicine  and  mercy  unto  the 
true  believers;  but  it  shall  only  increase  the  perdition  of  the  unjust. 
When  we  bestow  favours  on  man,  he  retireth  and  withdraweth  himself 
ungratefully  from  us  :  but  when  evil  toucheth  him,  he  despaireth  of  our 
mercy.  Say,  Every  one  acteth  after  his  own  manner :  ^  but  your  Lord  best 
knoweth  who  is  most  truly  directed  in  Ids  way.  They  will  ask  thee  con- 
■r.'crning  the  spirit : "  answer,  The  spirit  was  created  at  the  command  of  my 
Lord  :"  but  yc  have  no  knowledge  given  unto  you,  except  a  little."  If  we 
pleased,  we  should  certainly  take  away  that  which  we  have  revealed 
unto  thee ;  ^  in  such  case  thou  couldst  not  find  any  to  assist  thee  therein 
against  us,  unless  through  mercy  from  thy  Lord  ;  for  his  favour  towards 
thee  hath  been  great.  Say,  Verily  if  men  and  genii  were  purposely  assem- 
bled, that  they  might  produce  a  hook  like  this  Koran,  they  could  not  pro- 
duce one  like  unto  it,  although  the  one  of  them  assisted  the  other.  And 
we  have  variously  propounded  unto  men  in  this  Koran  every  k'md  of 
figurative  argument;*  but  the  greater  part  of  nfien  refuse  to  receive  it, 
merely  out  of  infidelity.  And  they  say.  We  will  by  no  means  believe  on 
thee,  until  thou  cause  a  spring  of  water  to  gush  forth  for  us  out  of  the 
earth ;  ^  or  thou  have  a  garden  of  palm-trees  and  vines,  and  thou  cause 

a  good  reception  at  Medina ;  or  for  a  sure  refuge  in  the  cave,  where  he  hid  himself  when 
he  fled  from  Mecca  ;^  or  (which  is  the  more  common  opinion)  for  a  victorious  entrance 
into  Mecca,  and  a  safe  return  thence." 

*  "  Say,  Lord,  cause  the  truth*  to  preside  over  my  entering  in ;  cause  it  to  preside  over 
my  going  out ;  cover  me  with  the  shield  of  thy  power." — Savary. 

"  These  words  Mohammed  repeated,  when  he  entered  the  temple  of  Mecca,  after  the 
taking  of  that  city,  and  cleansed  it  of  the  idols;  a  great  number  of  which  are  said  to  have 
fallen  down  on  his  touching  them  with  the  end  of  the  stick  he  held  in  his  hand.* 

'  1.  e.  According  to  his  judgment  or  opinion,  be  it  true  or  false:  or  according  to  the  bent 
of  his  mind,  and  the  natural  constitution  of  his  body.^ 

"*  Or,  the  soul  of  man.    Some  interpret  it  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  or  of  the  divine  revelation.' 

"  VIZ.  By  the  word  Kiin,  i.  e.  Be  :  consisting  of  an  immaterial  substance,  and  not  gene- 
rated, like  the  body.  But,  according  to  a  different  opinion,  this  passage  should  be  trans- 
lated, The  spirit  is  of  those  things,  the  knowledge  of  which  thy  Lord  hath  reserved  to  himself. 
For  it  is  said  that  the  Jews  bid  the  Koreish  ask  Mohammed  to  relate  the  history  of  those 
who  slept  in  the  cave,^  and  of  Dhu'lkarnein,^  and  to  give  them  an  account  of  the  soul  of 
man  ;  adding,  that  if  he  pretended  to  answer  all  the  three  questions,  or  could  answer  none 
of  them,  they  might  be  sure  he  was  no  prophet ;  but  if  he  gave  an  answer  to  one  or  two 
of  the  questions,  and  was  silent  as  to  the  other,  he  was  really  a  prophet.  Accordingly, 
when  they  propounded  the  questions  to  him,  he  told  them  the  two  histories,  but  acknow- 
ledged his  ignorance  as  to  the  origin  of  the  human  soul.' 

'  All  your  knowledge  being  acquired  from  the  information  of  your  senses,  which  must 
necessarily  fail  you  in  spiritual  speculations,  without  the  assistance  of  divine  revelation.'^ 

"  viz.  The  Koran :  by  razing  it  both  from  the  written  copies,  and  the  memories  of  men. 

*  "  In  it  we  have  given  instructions  to  man  concerning  all  his  duties ;  but,  obstinate  in 
his  unbelief,  he  rejects  the  light.'"— Savary. 

■J  This  and  the  following  miracles  were  demanded  of  Mohammed  by  the  Koreish,  as 
proofs  of  his  mission. 

*  "  When  Mohammed  entered  Mecca  in  triumph,  the  temple  was  surrounded  by  three 
hundred  and  sixty  idols.  He  struck  them  with  a  wand  which  he  had  in  his  hand,  ex- 
claiming, till  they  were  overthrown,  Truth  has  appeared;  falsehood  is  about  to  vanish." 
— Savary. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  36.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  lidem. 
Vide  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Mohammed,  tom.  2,  p.  127.  «  Al  Beidawi.  ■■  Idem. 
'  See  the  next  chapter.           '  See  ibid.           '  Al  Beidawi.           '  Idem. 


286  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvii. 

rivers  to  spring  forth  from  the  midst  thereof  in  abundance  ;  or  thou  cause 
the  heaven  to  fall  down  upon  us,  as  thou  hast  given  out,  in  pieces ;  or  thou 
bring  down  God  and  the  angels  to  vouch /or  thee  ;  or  thou  have  a  house  of 
sold ;  or  thou  ascend  by  a  ladder  to  heaven ;  neither  will  we  believe  thy 
ascending  thither  aloney'^  until  thou  cause  a  book  to  descend  unto  us,  hearing 
witness  of  thee,  which  we  may  read.  Answer,  My  Lord  be  praised  !  Am 
I  other  than  a  man,  sent  as  an  apostle  ?  And  nothing  hindereth  men  from 
believing,  when  a  direction  is  come  unto  them,  except  that  they  say,  Hath 
God  sent  a  man  for  his  apostle  ?  Answer,  If  the  angels  had  walked  on 
earth  as  familiar  inhabitants  thereof  we  had  surely  sent  down  unto  them 
from  heaven  an  angel  for  our  apostle.  Say,  God  is  a  sufficient  witness 
between  me  and  you :  for  he  knoweth  and  regardeth  his  servants.  Whom 
God  shall  direct,  he  shall  be  the  rightly  directed ;  and  whom  he  shall  cause 
to  err,  thou  shalt  find  none  to  assist,  besides  him.  And  we  will  gather 
them  together  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  creeping  on  their  faces,  blind,  and 
dumb,  and  deaf  :^  their  abode  shall  be  hell ;  so  often  as  the  fire  thereof  shdXX 
be  extinguished,  we  will  rekindle  a  burning  flame  to  torment  them.*  This 
shall  be  their  reward,  because  they  disbelieve  in  our  signs,  and  say.  When 
we  shall  have  been  reduced  to  bones  and  dust,  shall  we  surely  be  raised  new 
creatures  1  Do  they  not  perceive  that  God,  who  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  is  able  to  create  other  bodies^  like  their  present  ?  And  he  hath 
appointed  them  a  limited  term ;  '^  there  is  no  doubt  thereof:  but  the  ungodly 
reject  the  truth,  merely  out  of  unbelief  Say,  If  ye  possessed  the  treasures 
of  the  mercy  of  my  Lord,  ye  would  surely  refrain  yVoTw  using  them,  for  fear 
of  spending  them ;  ^  for  man  is  covetous.  We  heretofore  gave  unto  Moses 
the  power  of  working  nine  evident  signs.*  y  And  do  thou  ask  the  children 
of  Israel,  as  to  the  story  of  Moses  ;^  when  he  came  unto  them,  and  Pharaoh 
said  unto  him,  Verily  I  esteemed  thee,  O  Moses,  to  be  deluded  by  sorcery. 

'  As  thou  pretendest  to  have  done  in  thy  night-journey ;  but  of  which  no  man  was 
witness. 

«  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect,  iv,  pp.  60,  61. 

'  i.  e.  When  the  fire  shall  go  out  or  abate  for  want  of  fuel,  after  the  consumption  of  the 
skins  and  flesh  of  the  damned,  we  will  add  fresh  vigour  to  the  flames  by  giving  them  new 
bodies.^ 

"Of  life,  or  resurrection. 

"  That  is,  lest  they  should  be  exhausted. 

*  "  We  gave  to  Moses  the  power  of  working  seven  miracles." — Savary. 

y  These  \vere,  the  changing  his  rod  into  a  serpent,  the  making  his  hand  white  and 
shining,  the  producing  locusts,  hce,  frogs,  and  blood,  the  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea,  the 
bringing  water  out  of  the  rock,  and  the  shaking  of  Mount  Sinai  over  the  children  of  Israel. 
In  lieu  of  the  three  last,  some  reckon  the  inundation  of  the  Nile,  the  blasting  of  the  corn, 
and  scarcity  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth.*  These  words,  however,  are  interpreted  by  others, 
not  of  Time  miracles,  but  of  nine  commandme?its ,  which  Moses  gave  his  people,  and  were 
thus  numbered  up  by  Mohammed  himself  to  a  Jew,  who  asked  him  the  question,  viz. 
That  they  should  not  be  guilty  of  idolatry,  nor  steal,  nor  commit  adultery  or  murder,  nor 
practise  sorcery  or  usury,  nor  accuse  an  innocent  man  to  take  away  his  life,  or  a  modest 
woman  of  whoredom,  nor  desert  the  army  ;  to  which  he  added  the  observing  of  the  sab- 
bath, as  a  tenth  commandment,  but  which  peculiarly  regarded  the  Jews ;  upon  which 
answer,  it  is  said,  the  Jew  kissed  the  prophet's  hands  and  feet." 

'■  Some  think  these  words  are  directed  to  Moses,  who  is  hereby  commanded  to  demaTid 
the  children  q/"  Israel  o/ Pharaoh,  that  he  might  let  them  go  with  him. 

'  Al  Beidawi.    See  chap.  4,  p.  67.  "  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  xvm.  AL  KORAN.  237 

Moses  answered,  Thou  well  knowcst  that  none  hath  sent  down  tliese  evident 
signs  except  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  I  surely  esteem  thee,  O 
Pharaoh,  a  lost  man.  Wherefore  Pharaoh  sought  to  drive  them  out  of  the 
land ;  but  we  drowned  him  and  all  those  who  were  with  him.  And  we 
said  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  after  his  destruction,  Dwell  ye  in  the  land : 
and  when  tlic  promise  of  the  next  life  shall  come  to  be  fulfilled,  we  will 
bring  you  both  promiscuously  to  judgment.  We  have  sent  down  the  Koran 
with  truth,  and  it  hath  descended  with  truth :  and  we  have  not  sent  thee 
otherwise  than  to  be  a  bearer  of  good  tidings,  and  a  denouncer  of  threats. 
And  we  have  divided  the  Koran,  revealing  it  by  parcels,  that  thou  mightest 
read  it  unto  men  with  deliberation :  and  we  have  sent  it  down,  causing  it 
to  descend  as  occasion  required.^  Say,  Whether  ye  believe  therein,  or  do 
not  believe,  verily  those  who  have  been  favoured  with  the  knowledge  of  the 
scriptures  which  were  revealed  before  it,  when  the  same  is  rehearsed  unto 
them,  fall  down  on  their  faces,''  worshipping,  and  say.  Our  Lord  be  praised, 
for  that  the  promise  of  our  Lord  is  surely  fulfilled !  and  they  fall  down  on 
their  faces,  weeping;  and  the  hearing  thereof  mcrcaseth  their  humility. 
Say,  call  upon  God,  or  call  on  the  Merciful :  by  whichsoever  of  the  two 
names  ye  invoke  him,  it  is  equal ;  for  he  hath  most  excellent  names."= 
Pronounce  not  thy  prayer  aloud,  neither  pronounce  it  with  too  low  a  voice,'' 
but  follow  a  middle  way  between  these :  and  say,  Praise  be  unto  God,  who 
hath  not  begotten  any  child ;  who  hath  no  partner  in  the  kingdom,  nor 
hath  any  to  protect  him  from  contempt :  and  magnify  him  by  proclaiming 
his  greatness. 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  CAVE-  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.^ 

IN   THE   NABIE   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Praise  be  unto  God,  who  hath  sent  down  unto  his  servant  the  book  of 
the  Koran,  and  hath  not  inserted  therein  any  crookedness,*  but  hath  made 
it  a  straight  rule  :  that  he  should  threaten  a  grievous  punishment  unto  the 
unbelievers,  from  his  presence ;  and  should  bear  good  tidings  unto  the 
faithful,  who  work  righteousness,  that  they  should  receive  an  excellent 
reward,  namely,  paradise,  wherein  they  shall  remain  for  ever ;  and  that  he 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  46. 
^  Literally^  on  their  chins. 

'  The  infidels  hearing  Mohammed  say,  O  God,  and  0  Merciful,  imagined  the  Merci- 
ful was  the  name  of  a  deity  different  from  God,  and  that  he  preached  the  worship  of 
two,  which  occasioned  this  passage.     See  chap.  7,  p.  136. 

"^  Neither  so  loud,  that  the  infidels  may  overhear  thee,  and  thence  take  occasion  to 
blaspheme  and  scoff;  nor  so  softly  as  not  to  be  heard  by  the  assistants.  Some  suppose 
that  by  the  word  prayer,  in  this  place,  is  meant  the  reading  of  the  Koran. 

^  The  chapter  is  thus  inscribed  because  it  makes  mention  of  the  cave  wherein  the  seven 
sleepers  concealed  themselves. 

f  Some  except  one  verse,  which  begins  thus,  Behave  thyself  with  constancy,  &c. 

*  "  The  book  which  deceives  not." — Savary. 


238  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvni. 

should  warn  those  who  say,  God  hath  begotten  issue  ;  of  which  matter  they 
have  no  knowledge,  neither  had  their  fathers.  A  grievous  saying  it  is^ 
which  procecdcth  from  their  mouths :  they  speak  no  other  than  a  He. 
Peradventure  thou  wilt  kill  thyself  with  grief  after  them,  out  of  thy  earnest 
zeal  for  their  conversion*  if  they  believe  not  in  this  new  revelation  of  the 
Koran.  Verily  we  have  ordained  whatsoever  is  on  the  earth  for  the  orna- 
ment thereof,  that  we  might  make  trial  of  men,  and  see  which  of  them 
excclleth  in  works :  and  we  will  surely  reduce  whatever  is  thereon  to  dry 
dust.  Dost  thou  consider  that  the  companions  of  the  cave,s  and  Al  Rakim,* 
were  one  of  our  signs,  and  a  great  miracle  ?  When  the  young  men  took 
refuge  in  the  cave,  they  said,  O  Lord,  grant  us  mercy  from  before  thee, 
and  dispose  our  business  for  us  to  a  right  issue.'\  Wherefore  we  struck  their 
ears  loith  deafness^  so  that  they  slept  loithout  disturbance  in  the  cave  ^ovd  great 
number  of  years :  then  we  awaked  them,  that  we  might  know  which  of  the 
two  parties'  was  more  exact  in  computing  the  space  which  they  had  remained 
there.  We  will  relate  unto  thee  their  history  with  truth.  Verily  they  were 
young  men  who  had  believed  in  their  Lord  :  and  we  had  abundantly 
directed  them :  and  we  fortified  their  hearts  with  constancy  when  they 
stood  before  the  tyrant ;  and  they  said,  Our  Lord  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and 
earth :  we  will  by  no  means  call  on  any  god  besides  him  ;  for  then  should 
we  surely  utter  an  extravagance. |  These  our  felloio  people  have  taken 
other  gods,  besides  him  ;  although  they  bring  no  demonstrative  argument  for 
them  :  and  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  deviseth  a  lie  concerning  God  ?§ 

*  "  If  they  believe  not  thy  doctrine,  thy  efforts  to  lead  them  to  it  will  be  in  vain,  and 
thy  grief  will  be  fruitless." — Savary. 

^  These  were  certain  Christian  youths,  of  a  good  family  in  Ephesus,  who  to  avoid  the 
persecution  of  the  emperor  Decius,  by  the  Arab  writers  called  Decianus,  hid  themselves 
in  a  cave,  where  they  slept  for  a  great  number  of  years.^ 

This  apocryphal  story  (for  Baronius'  treats  it  as  no  better,  and  Father  Marracci'  ac- 
knowledges it  to  be  partly  false,  or  at  least  doubtful,  though  he  calls  Hottinger  a  monster 
of  impiety,  and  the  off-scum  of  heretics,  for  terming  it  a  fable')  was  borrowed  by  Moham- 
med from  the  Christian  traditions,'  but  has  been  embellished  by  him  and  his  followers 
with  several  additional  circumstances.^ 

^  What  is  meant  by  this  word  the  commentators  cannot  agree.  Some  will  have  it  to  be 
the  name  of  the  mountain  or  the  valley  wherein  the  cave  was ;  some  say  it  was  the  name 
of  their  dog  ;  and  others  (who  seem  to  come  nearest  the  true  signification)  that  it  was  a 
brass  plate,  or  stone  table,  placed  near  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  on  which  the  names  of  the 
young  men  were  written. 

There  are  some,  however,  who  take  the  companions  of  al  Rakim  to  be  different  from 
the  seven  sleepers :  for  they  say  the  former  were  three  men  who  were  driven  by  ill  wea- 
ther into  a  cave  for  shelter,  and  were  shut  in  there  by  the  falling  down  of  a  vast  stone, 
which  stopped  the  cave's  mouth;  but  on  their  begging  God's  mercy,  and  their  relating 
each  of  them  a  meritorious  action  which  they  hoped  might  entitle  them  to  it,  were  mira- 
culously delivered  by  the  rock's  rending  in  sunder  to  give  them  passage.^ 

t  "  Lord,  cover  us  with  the  shade  of  thy  mercy,  and  cause  justice  to  preside  over  our 
enterprise." — Savary. 

'  viz.  Of  the  sleepers  themselves,  or  others,  who  were  divided  in  opinion  as  to  the 
length  of  their  stay  in  the  cave. 

X  "  For  we  should  be  impious." — Savary. 

§  "  People,  worship  your  idols.   We  will  refuse  unto  them  our  incense,  as  long  as  they 

=  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  ■"  In  Martyrol.  ad  27,  Julii.  '  In  Alcor.  p.  425, 

ct  in  Prodr.  part  4,  p.  103.  '  Hotting.  Hist.  Orient,  p.  40.  '  Vide  Greg.  Turon. 

et  Simeon.  Metophrast.         ^  Vide  D'Herbelot,  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  189.  ^  Al  Beidawi, 

ex  trad.  Nooman  Ebn  Bashir. 


CHAr.  xvm.  AL  KORAN.  239 

And  tliey  said  the  one  to  the  other ^  When  ye  shall  separate  yourselves  from 
them,  and  from  the  deities  which  they  worship,  except  God,*"  fly  into  the 
cave :  your  Lord  will  pour  his  mercy  on  you  abundantly,  and  will  dispose 
your  business  for  you  to  advantage.  And  thou  mightest  have  seen  the 
sun,  when  it  had  risen,  to  decline  from  their  cave  towards  the  right  hand ; 
and  when  it  went  down,  to  leave  them  on  the  left  hand :  ^  and  they  were  in 
the  spacious  part  of  the  cave.""  This  icas  one  of  the  signs  of  God.  Whom- 
soever God  shall  direct,  he  shall  be  rightly  directed :  and  whomsoever  he 
shall  cause  to  err,  thou  shalt  not  find  any  to  defend  or  to  direct.  And 
thou  wouldest  have  judged  them  to  have  been  awake,"  while  they  were 
sleeping ;  and  we  caused  them  to  turn  themselves  to  the  right  hand,  and  to 
the  left."  And  their  dogp  stretched  forth  his  fore-legs  in  the  mouth  of  the 
cave:  if  thou  hadst  come  suddenly  upon  them,  verily  thou  wouldest  have 
turned  thy  back  and  fled  from  them,  and  thou  wouldest  have  been  filled 
with  fear  at  the  sight  of  them.i  And  so  we  awaked  them  from  their  sleep, 
that  they  might  ask  questions  of  one  another.  One  of  them  spake  and 
said.  How  long  have  ye  tarried  here  ?  They  answered.  We  have  tarried  a 
day,  or  part  of  a  day.  The  others  said.  Your  Lord  best  knoweth  the  time 
ye  have  tarried  :•"  and  now  send  one  of  you  with  this  your  money  into  the 

give  unto  us  no  eminent  proofs  of  their  power.    What  can  be  more  impious  than  to  attri- 
bute falsehood  to  God?" — Savary. 
^  For  they,  Hke  other  idolaters,  worshipped  the  true  God  and  idols  also.* 
'  Lest  it  should  be  offensive  to  them,  the  cave  opening  towards  the  south.' 
™i.  e.  In  the  midst  of  it,  where  they  were  incommoded  neither  by  the  heat  of  the  sun 
nor  the  closeness  of  the  cave.^ 

"  Because  of  their  having  their  eyes  open,  or  their  frequent  turning  themselves  from 
one  side  to  the  other.' 

°  Lest  their  lying  so  long  on  the  ground  should  consume  their  flesh.* 

p  This  dog  had  followed  them  as  they  passed  by  him  when  they  fled  to  the  cave,  and 
they  drove  him  away  ;  whereupon  God  caused  him  to  speak,  and  he  said,  /  love  those  who 
are  dear  unto  God  ;  go  to  sleep,  therefore,  and  I  will  guard  you.  But  some  say,  it  was  a 
dog  belonging  to  a  shepherd  who  followed  them,  and  that  the  dog  followed  the  shepherd  ; 
which  opinion  is  supported  by  reading,  as  some  do,  calebohom,  their  dog's  master,  instead 
of  calbohom,  their  dog.^  Jallalo'ddin  adds,  that  the  dog  behaved  himself  as  his  masters 
did,  in  turning  himself,  in  sleeping,  and  in  waking. 

The  Mohammedans  have  a  great  respect  for  this  dog,  and  allow  him  a  place  in  paradise 
with  some  other  favourite  brutes ;  and  they  have  a  sort  of  proverb  which  they  use  in 
speaking  of  a  covetous  person,  that  he  would  not  throw  a  hone  to  the  dog  of  the  severe 
sleepers  :  nay  it  i^s  said  that  they  have  the  superstition  to  write  his  name,  which  they  sup- 
pose to  be  Katmir,  (though  some,  as  is  observed  above,  think  he  was  called  al  Rakim) 
on  their  letters  which  go  far,  or  which  pass  the  sea,  as  a  protection,  or  kind  of  talisman, 
to  preserve  them  from  miscarriage.' 

■>  For  that  God  had  given  them  terrible  countenances;  or  else  because  of  the  largeness 
of  their  bodies,  or  the  horror  of  the  place. 

It  is  related  that  the  Khalif  Moawiyah,  in  an  expedition  he  made  against  Natolia, 
passed  by  the  cave  of  the  seven  sleepers,  and  would  needs  send  somebody  into  it,  not- 
withstanding Ebn  Abbas  remonstrated  to  him  the  danger  of  it,  saying.  That  a  better 
man  than  him  (meaning  the  prophet)  had  been  forbidden  to  enter  it,  and  repeated  this 
verse  ;  but  the  men  the  Khalif  sent  in  had  no  sooner  entered  the  cave,  than  they  were 
struck  dead  by  a  burning  wind.* 

'  As  they  entered  the  cave  in  the  morning,  and  waked  about  noon,  they  at  first 
imagined  they  had  slept  half  a  day,  or  a  day  and  a  half  at  most ;  but  when  they  found 
their  nails  and  hair  grown  very  long,  they  used  these  words.' 

*  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem.  « Idem.  ■»  Idem.  « idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  "  Idem. 
•  La  Roque,  Voy.  de  I'Arabie  Heur.  p.  74.     Vide  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup.  *  Al  Beidawi. 

'  Idem. 


240  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xviii. 

city  ;  ^  and  let  him  see  which  of  its  inhabitants  hath  the  best  and  cheapest 
food,  and  let  him  bring  you  provision  from  him ;  and  let  him  behave  cir- 
cumspectly, and  not  discover  you  to  any  one.  Verily  if  they  come  up 
against  you,  they  will  stone  you,  or  force  you  to  return  to  their  religion ; 
and  then  shall  ye  not  prosper  for  ever.  And  so  we  made  their  people 
acquainted  with  ichat  had  happened  to  them ;  that  they  might  know  that 
the  promise  of  God  is  true,  and  that  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  last  hour ;  * 
when  they  disputed  among  themselves  concerning  their  matter.^  And  they 
said,  Erect  a  building  over  them ;  their  Lord  best  knoweth  their  condition. 
Those  who  prevailed  in  their  affair  answered.  We  will  surely  build  a  chapel 
over  them.^  So?ne  say.  The  sleepers  were  three ;  and  their  dog  was  the 
fourth :  "^  and  others  say,  They  were  five ;  and  their  dog  was  the  sixth ;  ^ 
guessing  at  a  secret  matter ;  and  others  say,  They  were  seven ;  and  their 
dog  was  the  eighth.^  Say,  My  Lord  best  knoweth  their  number :  none 
shall  know  them,  except  a  few.  Wherefore  dispute  not  concerning  them, 
except  with  a  clear  disputation,*  according  to  what  hath  been  revealed  unto 
thee  :  and  ask  not  any  of  the  Christians  concerning  them.  Say  not  of  any 
matter,  I  will  surely  do  this  to-morrow ;  unless  thou  add.  If  God  please.* 
And  remember  thy  Lord,  when  thou  forgettest,''  and  say,  My  Lord  is  able 
to  direct  me  with  ease,  that  I  may  draw  near  unto  the  truth  of  this  matter 
rightly.     And  they  remained  in  their  cave  three  hundred  years,  and  nine 

'  Which  some  commentators  suppose  was  Tarsus. 

'  The  long  sleep  of  these  young  men,  and  their  waking  after  so  many  years,  being  a 
representation  of  the  state  of  those  who  die,  and  are  afterwards  raised  to  life. 

"  i.  e.  Concerning  the  resurrection  ;  some  saying  that  the  souls  only  should  be  raised, 
others,  that  they  should  be  raised  with  the  body :  or,  concerning  the  sleepers,  after  they 
were  really  dead;  one  saying,  that  they  were  dead,  and  another,  that  they  were  only 
asleep:  or  else  concerning  the  erecting  a  building  over  them,  as  it  follows  in  the  next 
words  ;  some  advising  a  dwelling-house  to  be  built  there,  and  others  a  temple.* 

"  When  the  yonng  man  who  was  sent  into  the  city  went  to  pay  for  the  provision  he  had 
bought,  his  money  was  so  old,  being  the  coin  of  Decianus,  that  they  imagined  he  had 
found  a  treasure,  and  carried  him  before  the  prince,  who  was  a  Christian,  and  having 
heard  his  story,  sent  some  with  him  to  the  cave,  who  saw  and  spoke  to  the  others :  after 
which  they  fell  asleep  again  and  died:  and  the  prince  ordered  them  to  be  buried  in  the 
same  place,  and  built  a  chapel  over  them. 

^  This  was  the  opinion  of  al  Seyid,  a  Jacobite  Christian  of  Najran. 

y  Which  was  the  opinion  of  certain  Christians,  and  particularly  of  a  Nestorian  prelate. 

'  And  this  is  the  true  opinion.' 

*  "  Speak  not  of  them  but  with  knowledge,  and  relate  not  their  history  to  the  unbe- 
lievers."— Savary. 

^  It  is  said,  that  when  the  Koreish,  by  the  direction  of  the  Jews,  put  the  three  questions 
above-mentioned  to  Mohammed,  he  bid  them  come  to  him  the  next  day,  and  he  would 
give  them  an  answer,  but  added  not,  if  it  please  God  ;  for  which  reason  he  had  the  morti- 
fication to  wait  above  ten  days,  before  any  revelation  was  vouchsafed  him  concerning 
those  matters,  so  that  the  Koreish  triumphed,  and  bitterly  reproached  him  as  a  liar:  but 
at  length  Gabriel  brought  him  directions  what  he  should  say  ;  with  this  admonition,  how- 
ever, that  he  should  not  be  so  confident  for  the  future.* 

("  The  Turks  act  strictly  up  to  this  maxim  of  their  prophet.  They  never  give  a  positive 
answer.  If  they  are  asked,  will  you  come?  Will  you  go?  Shall  you  complete  this 
business?  they  always  end  their  reply  with  en  cha  Allah,  If  God  please." — Savary.) 

^  u  e.  Give  the  glory  to  him,  and  ask  pardon  for  thy  omission,  in  case  thou  forstet  to 
say,  If  it  please  God. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  lidem. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  AL  KORAN.  241 

years  over.*'=  Say,  God  best  knoweth  how  long  they  continued  there : 
unto  him  are  the  secrets  of  heaven  and  earth  known ;  do  thou  make  him  to 
see  and  to  hear.*^  The  inhabitants  thereof  have  no  protector  besides  him  ; 
neither  doth  he  suffer  any  one  to  have  a  share  in  the  esiahlishment  or  know- 
ledge of  his  decree.  Read  that  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee,  of  the 
book  of  thy  Lord,  ivitlwut  presuming  to  make  any  change  therein  :"  there 
is  none  who  hath  power  to  change  his  words ;  and  thou  shalt  not  find  any 
to  fly  to,  besides  him,  if  thou  attempt  it.  Behave  thyself  with  constancy 
towards  those  who  call  upon  their  Lord  morning  and  evening,  and  who 
seek  his  favour ;  and  let  not  thine  eyes  be  turned  away  from  them,  seeking 
the  pomp  of  this  life ;'  neither  obey  him  whose  heart  we  have  caused  to 
neglect  the  remembrance  of  us,s  and  who  followeth  his  lusts,|  and  leaveth 
the  truth  beliind  him.  And  say.  The  truth  is  from  your  Lord  ;  wherefore 
let  him  who  will,  believe,  and  let  him  who  will,  be  incredulous.  We  have 
surely  prepared  for  the  unjust  hell  fire,  the  flame  and  smoke  whereof  shall 
surround  him  like  a  pavilion :  and  if  they  beg  relief,  they  shall  be  relieved 
with  water  like  molten  brass,  which  shall  scald  their  faces ;  0  how  miserable 
a  potion,  and  how  unhappy  a  couch !  As  to  those  who  believe,  and  do 
good  works,  we  will  not  suffer  the  reward  of  him  who  shall  work  righteous- 
ness to  perish  :  for  them  are  prepared  gardens  of  eternal  abode,^  which 
shall  be  watered  by  rivers  ;  they  shall  be  adorned  therein  with  bracelets  of 
gold,  and  they  shall  be  clothed  in  green  garments  of  fine  silk  and  brocades ; 
reposing  themselves  therein  on  thrones.J  O  how  happy  a  reward,  and  how 
easy  a  couch  !  And  propound  unto  them  as  a  parable  two  men :»  on  the 
one  of  whom  we  had  bestowed  two  vineyards,  and  had  surrounded  them 
with  palm-trees,  and  had  caused  corn  to  groiv  between  them.     Each  of  the 

*  "  These  youths  remained  three  hundred  and  seven  years  in  the  cave." — Savary. 

"  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  the  whole  space  was  three  hundred  solar  years,  and  that  the  odd 
nine  are  added  to  reduce  them  to  lunar  years. 

Some  think  these  words  are  introduced  as  spoken  by  the  Christians,  who  differed  among 
themselves  about  the  time;  one  saying  it  was  three  hundred  years,  and  another,  three 
hundred  and  nine  years.''  The  interval  between  the  reign  of  Decius,  and  that  of  Theodosius 
the  younger,  in  whose  time  the  sleepers  are  said  to  have  awaked,  will  not  allow  them  to 
have  slept  quite  two  hundred  years  :  though  Mohammed  is  somewhat  excusable,  since 
the  number  assigned  by  Simeon  Metaphrastes*  is  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  years. 

■^  This  is  an  ironical  expression,  intimating  the  folly  and  madness  of  man's  presuming 
to  instruct  God.* 

"  As  the  unbelievers  would  persuade  thee  to  do.'° 

f  That  is.  Despise  not  the  poor  believers  because  of  their  meanness,  nor  honour  the 
rich  because  of  their  wealth  and  grandeur. 

e  The  person  more  particularly  intended  here,  it  is  said,  was  Ommeya  Ebn  Khalf,  who 
desired  Mohammed  to  discard  his  indigent  companions,  out  of  respect  to  the  Koreish. 
See  chap.  6,  p.  103. 

t  "  Follow  not  him  whose  heart  hath  forgotten  us,  and  who  hath  no  other  guide  than 
his  desires  and  his  unbridled  passions." — Savary. 

^  Literally  of  Eden.     See  chap.  9,  p.  157. 

X  "  Possessor  of  the  garden  of  Eden,  through  which  rivers  flow,  adorned  with  golden 
bracelets,  clothed  in  green  garments  woven  in  silk  and  in  gold,  resplendent  with  glory,  he 
shall  repose  on  the  nuptial  couch,  the  happy  reward  of  the  abode  of  deliiihts. "—.S'avary. 

*  Though  these  seem  to  be  general  characters  only,  designed  to  represent  the  different 
end  of  the  wicked,  and  of  the  good  ;  yet  it  is  supposed  by  some,  that  two  particular  per- 

'  Al  Beidawi.  »  Ubi  sup.  "  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  "  lidem. 


242  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xviti. 

gardens  brought  forth  its  fruit  every  season^  and  failed  not  at  all ;  and  we 
caused  a  river  to  flow  in  the  midst  thereof:  and  he  had  great  abundance. 
And  he  said  unto  his  companion  by  way  of  debate,  I  am  superior  to  thee 
in  wealth,  and  have  a  more  powerful  family.  And  he  went  into  his 
garden,'^  being  guilty  of  injustice  against  his  own  soul,  and  said,  I  do  not 
think  that  this  garden  will  decay  for  ever ;  neither  do  I  think  that  the  last 
hour  will  come  :  and  although  I  should  return  unto  my  Lord,  verily  I  shall 
find  a  better  garden  than  this  in  exchange.^  And  his  companion  said  unto 
him,  by  way  of  debate,  Dost  thou  not  believe  in  him  who  created  thee  of 
the  dust,  and  afterwards  of  seed ;  and  then  fashioned  thee  into  a  perfect 
man?  But  as  for  me,  God  is  my  Lord  ;  and  I  will  not  associate  any  other 
deity  with  my  Lord.  And  when  thou  enterest  thy  garden,  wilt  thou  not 
say,  What  God  pleaseth  shall  come  to  pass ;  there  is  no  power  but  in  God 
alone?  Although  thou  seest  me  to  be  inferior  to  thee  in  wealth  and 
number  of  children,  my  Lord  is  well  able  to  bestow  on  me  a  better  gift 
than  thy  garden,  and  to  shoot  his  arrows  against  the  same  from  heaven,  so 
that  it  shall  become  barren  dust ;  or  its  water  may  sink  deep  into  the  earth, 
that  thou  canst  not  draw  thereof.  And  his  possessions  were  encompassed 
with  destruction,  as  his  companion  had  forewarned  him  ;  wherefore  he  began 
to  turn  down  the  palms  of  his  hands  out  of  sorrow  and  regret  for  that  which 
he  had  expended  thereon ;  for  the  vines  thereof  were  fallen  down  on  their 
trails :  and  he  said.  Would  to  God  that  I  had  not  associated  any  other  deity 
with  my  Lord  !  And  he  had  no  party  to  assist  him  besides  God,*  neither 
was  he  able  to  defend  himseK against  his  vengeance.  In  such  case  protection 
helongeth  of  right  unto  God  alone  ;  he  is  the  best  rewarder,  and  the  best 
giver  of  success.  And  propound  to  them  a  similitude  of  the  present  life. 
It  is  like  water  which  we  send  down  from  heaven ;  and  the  herb  of  the 
earth  is  mixed  therewith,  and  after  it  hath  been  green  and  flourishing,  in 
the  morning  it  becometh  dry  stubble,  which  the  winds  scatter  abroad  :  and 
God  is  able  to  do  all  things.  Wealth  and  children  are  the  ornament  of  this 
present  life :  but  good  works,  which  are  permanent,  are  better  in  the  sight 
of  thy  Lord,  with  respect  to  the  reward,  and  better  with  respect  to  hope. 
On  a  certain  day  we  will  cause  the  mountains  to  pass  away,™  and  thou 
shalt  see  the  earth  appearing  plain  and  even ;  and  we  will  gather  mankind 

sons  are  here  meant.  One  says  they  were  two  Israelites  and  brothers,  who  had  a  consi- 
derable sum  left  them  by  their  father,  which  they  divided  between  them  ;  and  that  one 
of  them,  being  an  unbeliever,  bought  large  fields  and  possessions  with  his  portion,  while 
the  other,  who  was  a  true  believer,  disposed  of  his  to  pious  uses  ;  but  that  in  the  end,  the 
former  was  ruined,  and  the  latter  prospered.  Another  thinks  they  were  two  men  of  the 
tribe  of  Makhziim  ;  the  one  named  al  Aswad  Ebn  Abd'al  Ashadd,  an  infidel;  and  the 
other  Abu  Salma  Ebn  Abd'allah,  the  husband  of  0mm  Salma  (whom  the  prophet  mar- 
ried after  his  death,)  and  a  true  believer.' 

^  Carrying  his  companion  with  him,  out  of  ostentation,  and  to  mortify  him  with  the 
view  of  his  large  possessions.^ 

'  Vainly  imagining  that  his  prosperity  was  not  so  much  the  free  gift  of  God,  as  due  to 
his  merit.^ 

*  "  His  numerous  slaves  stopped  not  the  hand  of  the  Almighty.  He  was  unable  to 
defend  himself." — Savary. 

•"  For  being  torn  up  by  the  roots,  they  shall  fly  in  the  air,  and  be  reduced  to  atoms.* 

*  Al  Beidawi.        "^  Idem.        "  Idem.        *  Idem.    See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  AL  KORAN.  243 

together,  and  we  will  not  leave  any  one  of  them  behind.  And  they  shall 
be  set  before  thy  Lord  in  distinct  order,  and  he  shall  say  unto  them.,  Now 
are  ye  come  unto  us  naked,  as  we  created  you  the  first  time:  but  ye 
thought  that  we  should  not  perform  our  promise  unto  you.  And  the  book 
wherein  every  one'^s  actions  are  recorded  shall  be  put  into  his  hand  ;  and  thou 
shalt  see  the  wicked  in  great  terror,  because  of  that  which  is  written 
therein,  and  they  shall  say,  Alas  for  us!  what  nieaneth  this  book?  it 
omitteth  neither  a  small  action  nor  a  great  owe,  but  it  compriseth  the 
same ;  and  they  shall  find  that  which  they  have  wrought,  present  before 
their  eyes  :  and  thy  Lord  will  not  deal  unjustly  with  any  one.  Remem- 
ber when  we  said  unto  the  angels,  Worship  ye  Adam:  and  they  all 
worshipped  him,  except  Eblis,"  loho  was  one  of  the  genii,"  and  de- 
parted from  the  command  of  his  Lord.  Will  ye  therefore  take  him 
and  his  offspring  for  your  patrons  besides  me,  notwithstanding  they 
are  your  enemies  ?  Miserable  shall  such  a  change  be  to  the  ungodly  ! 
I  called  not  them  to  be  present  at  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  of  the 
earth,  nor  at  the  creation  of  themselves,  neither  did  I  take  those  seducers 
for  7ny  assistants.  On  a  certain  day,  God  shall  say  unto  the  idolaters,  Call 
those  whom  ye  imagined  to  be  my  companions,  to  protect  you  :  and  they 
shall  call  them,  but  they  shall  not  answer  them;  and  we  will  place  a  valley 
of  destruction  between  them:^*  and  the  wicked  shall  see  hell  fire:  and 
they  shall  know  that  they  shall  be  thrown  into  the  same,  and  they 
shall  find  no  way  to  avoid  it.  And  now  have  we  variously  propounded 
unto  men,  in  this  Koran,  a  parable  of  every  kind ;  but  man  cavilleth  at 
most  things  therein.  Yet  nothing  hindereth  men  from  believing,  now  a 
direction  is  come  unto  them,  and  from  asking  pardon  of  their  Lord, 
excepting  that  they  loait  until  the  punishment  of  their  predecessors  come 
to  be  injlicted  on  them,  or  that  the  chastisement  of  the  next  life  come  upon 
them  publicly.!  ^^^  send  not  our  messengers,  but  to  bear  good  tidings, 
and  to  denounce  threats.  Those  who  believe  not  dispute  with  vain  argu- 
ments, that  they  may  thereby  render  the  truth  of  no  efl^ect ;  and  they  hold 
my  signs,  and  the  admonitions  which  have  been  made  them,  in  derision. 
And  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  hath  been  acquainted  with  the  signs 
of  his  Lord,  and  retireth  afar  off"  from  the  same,  and  forgctteth  that  which 
his  hands  have  formerly  committed  ?  Verily  we  have  cast  veils  over  their 
hearts,  lest  they  should  understand  the  Koran,  and  into  their  ears  thickness 

°  See  chap.  2,  p.  5,  and  chap.  7,  p.  118,  &.c. 

°  Hence  some  imagine  the  genii  are  a  species  of  angels :  others  suppose  the  devil  to 
have  been  originally  a  genius,  which  was  the  occasion  of  his  rebellion,  and  call  him  the 
father  of  the  genii,  whom  he  begat  after  his  fall ;  *  it  being  a  constant  opinion,  among  the 
Mohammedans,  that  the  angels  are  impeccable,  and  do  not  propagate  their  species.* 

p  i.  e.  Between  the  idolaters  and  their  false  gods.  Some  suppose  the  meaning  is  no 
more  than  that  God  will  set  them  at  variance  and  division. 

*  "  We  will  place  the  river  of  woe  between  them." — Savary. 

t  "  When  the  truth  appeared,  the  wicked  denied  it.  They  did  not  have  recourse  to 
the  divine  mercy  ;  but  the  sentence  which  was  denounced  against  their  predecessors,  or 
a  signal  punishment,  shall  be  the  reward  of  their  unbelief." — Savary. 

»  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  51,  &c. 


244  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xvm. 

of  hearing:  if  thou  invite  them  to  the  true  direction,  yet  will  they  not 
therefore  be  directed  for  ever.  Thy  Lord  is  gracious,  endued  with  mercy ; 
if  he  would  have  punished  them  for  that  which  they  have  committed,  he 
would  doubtless  have  hastened  their  punishment :  but  a  threat  hath  been 
denounced  against  them,i  and  they  shall  find  no  refuge,  besides  him.  And 
those  former  cities'"  did  we  destroy,  when  they  acted  unjustly;  and  we 
gave  them  previous  warning  of  their  destruction.  And  remember  when 
Moses  said  unto  his  servant  Joshua  the  son  of  JS'un,  I  will  not  cease  to  go 
forward^  until  I  come  to  the  place  where  the  two  seas  meet ;  or  I  will 
travel  for  a  long  space  of  time.^  But  when  they  were  arrived  at  the 
meeting  of  the  two  seas^^  they  forgot  their  fish,  which  they  had  taken  with 
ihem;"^  and  the  fish  took  its  way  freely  "^  in  the  sea.  And  when  they  had 
passed  beyond  that  place,  Moses  said  unto  his  servant,  Bring  us  our  dinner ; 
for  now  are  we  fatigued  with  this  our  journey.  His  servant  answered, 
Dost  thou  know  what  has  lef alien  me  f  When  wo  took  up  our  lodging  at 
the  rock,  verily  I  forgot  the  fish :  and  none  made  me  to  forget  it,  except 
Satan,  that  I  should  not  remind  thee  of  it.  And  the  fish  took  its  way  into 
the  sea,  in  a  wonderful  manner.  Moses  said.  This  is  what  we  sought  afler. 
And  they  both  went  back,  returning  by  the  way  they  came.  And  coming 
to  the  rock  they  found  one  of  our  servants,^  unto  whom  we  had  granted 
mercy  from  us,  and  whom  we  had  taught  wisdom  from  before  us.  Jind 
Moses  said  unto  him.  Shall  I  follow  thee,  that  thou  mayest  teach  me  part 

•»  viz.  Of  their  calamity  at  Bedr  (for  the  Koreish  are  the  infidels  here  intended),  or  their 
punishment  at  the  resurrection.'' 

'  That  is,  the  towns  of  the  Adites,  Thamudites,  Sodomites,  &c. 

'  The  original  word  properly  signifies  the  space  of  eighty  years  and  upwards.  To  ex- 
plain this  long  passage  the  commentators  tell  the  following  story.  They  say  that  Moses 
once  preaching  to  the  people,  they  admired  his  knowledge  and  eloquence  so  much,  that 
they  asked  him  whether  he  knew  any  man  in  the  world  who  was  wiser  than  himself;  to 
which  he  answered  in  the  negative  :  whereupon  God,  in  a  revelation,  having  reprehended 
him  for  his  vanity  (though  some  pretend  that  Moses  asked  God  the  question  of  his  own 
accord),  acquainted  him  that  his  servant  al  Khedr  was  more  knowing  than  he ;  and,  at 
Moses's  request,  told  him  that  he  might  find  that  person  at  a  certain  rock,  where  the  two 
seas  met ;  directing  him  to  take  a  fish  with  him  in  a  basket,  and  that  where  he  missed  the 
fish,  that  was  the  place.  Accordingly,  Moses  set  out,  with  his  servant  Joshua,  in  search 
of  al  Khedr ;  which  expedition  is  here  described.^ 

'  viz.  Those  of  Persia  and  Greece.  Some  fancy  that  the  meeting  of  Moses  and  al 
Khedr  is  here  intended,  as  of  two  seas  of  knowledge.* 

"  Moses  forgot  to  inquire  concerning  it,  and  Joshua  forgot  to  tell  him  when  he  missed 
it.  It  is  said  that  when  they  came  to  the  rock,  Moses  falling  asleep,  the  fish,  which  was 
roasted,  leaped  out  of  the  basket  into  the  sea  ;  some  add,  that  Joshua  making  the  ablu- 
tion at  the  fountain  of  life  (of  which  immediately),  some  of  the  water  happened  to  be 
sprinkled  on  the  fish,  which  immediately  restored  it  to  life.* 

'  The  word  here  translated /reeZy,  signifying  also  a  pipe  or  arched  canal  for  conveyance 
of  water,  some  have  imagined  that  the  water  of  the  sea  was  miraculously  kept  from 
touching  the  body  of  the  fish,  which  passed  through  it  as  under  an  arch.^ 

^  This  person,  according  to  the  general  opinion,  was  the  prophet  al  Khedr  ;  whom  the 
Mohammedans  usually  confound  with  Phineas,  Elias,  and  St.  (5eorge,  saying  that  his  soul 
passed  by  a  metempsychosis  successively  through  all  three.  Some  however  say  his  true 
name  was  Balya  Ebn  Malcan,  and  that  he  lived  in  the  time  of  Afridun,  one  of  the 
ancient  kings  of  Persia,  and  that  he  preceded  Dhu'lkarnein,  and  lived  to  the  time  of 
Moses.     They  suppose  al  Khedr,  having  found  out  the  fountain  of  life,  and  drank  thereof, 

■•  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem,  Al  Zamakhshari,  al  Bokhari,  in  Sonna,  &c.  '  lidem. 

*  lidem.  ^  lidem. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  AL  KORAN.  245 

of  tliat  which  thou  hast  been  tauglit,  for  a  direction  unto  me  ?  He  answered,  , 
Verily  thou  canst  not  bear  with  me ;  for  how  canst  thou  patiently  suffer 
those  things,  the  knowledge  whereof  thou  dost  not  comprehend  ?  Moses 
replied,  Thou  shalt  find  me  patient,  if  God  please ;  neither  will  I  be  dis- 
obedient unto  thee  in  anything.  He  said.  If  thou  follow  me, .  therefore, 
ask  me  not  concerning  any  thing,  until  I  shall  declare  the  meaning  thereof 
unto  thee.  So  they  both  went  on  hy  the  sea-shore,  until  they  went  up  into 
a  ship ;  and  he  made  a  hole  therein. y  And  Moses  said  unto  him,  Hast 
thou  made  a  hole  therein,  that  thou  mightest  drown  those  who  are  on 
board  ?  now  hast  thou  done  a  strange  thing.  He  answered.  Did  I  not  tell 
thee  that  thou  couldst  not  bear  with  me  ?  Moses  said,  Rebuke  me  not, 
because  I  did  forget ;  and  impose  not  on  me  a  difficulty  in  what  I  am  com- 
manded. Wherefore  they  left  the  ship  and  proceeded,  until  they  met  with 
a  youth ;  and  he  slew  him.*  3Ioses  said,  Hast  thou  slain  an  innocent  per- 
son, without  his  having  killed  another?  now  hast  thou  committed  an  unjust 
action.  *[XVL]  He  answered.  Did  I  not  tell  thee  that  thou  couldest  not 
bear  with  me  ?  Moses  said,  If  I  ask  thee  concerning  any  thing  hereafter, 
suffer  me  not  to  accompany  thee :  now  hast  thou  received  an  excuse  from 
me.  They  went  forwards,  therefore,  until  they  came  to  the  inhabitants  of 
a  certain  city :  *  and  they  asked  food  of  the  inhabitants  thereof;  but  they 
refused  to  receive  them.  And  they  found  therein  a  wall,  which  was  ready 
to  fall  down ;  and  he  set  it  upright.^  Whereupon  Moses  said  unto  him,  If 
thou  wouldest,  thou  mightest  doubtless  have  received  a  reward  for  it.  He 
answered,  This  shall  be  a  separation  between  me  and  thee ;  hut  I  will  Jirst 
declare  unto  thee  the  signification  of  that  which  thou  couldest  not  bear  with 
patience.*  The  vessel  belonged  to  certain  poor  men,*'  who  did  their  busi- 
ness in  the  sea  :  and  I  was  minded  to  render  it  unserviceable,  because  there 
was  a  king'i  behind  them,  who  took  every  sound  ship  by  force.  As  to  the 
youth,  his  parents  were  true  believers ;  and  we  feared,  lest  he,  being  an 
unbeliever,  should  oblige  them  to  suffer  his  perverseness  and  ingratitude : 
wherefore  we  desired  that  their  Lord  might  give  them  a  more  righteous 

became  immortal ;  and  that  he  had  therefore  this  name  from  his  floicrishing  and  continual 
youth.' 

Part  of  these  fictions  they  took  from  the  Jews,  some  of  whom  also  fancy  Phineas  was 
Ellas." 

y  For  al  Khedr  took  an  axe,  and  knocked  out  two  of  her  planks.^ 

^  By  twistintr  his  neck  round,  or  dashing  his  head  against  a  wall,  or  else  by  throwing 
him  down  and  cutting  his  throat.^ 

'  This  city  was  Antioch;  or,  as  some  rather  think,  Obollah,  near  Basra,  or  else  Bajir- 
wan  in  Armenia.'' 

"  By  only  stroking  it  with  his  hand  ;  though  others  say  he  threw  it  down  and  rebuilt  it.' 

*  "  Here  we  separate,  replied  the  servant  of  the  Lord  ;  but  before  I  depart  I  will  show 
to  thee  the  meaning  of  these  actions  concerning  which  thou  couldest  not  keep  silence." — 
Savary. 

"  They  were  ten  brothers,  five  of  whom  were  past  their  labour  by  reason  of  their  age.' 

''  Named  Jaland  Ebn  Karkar,  or  Minwar  Ebn  Jaland  al  Azdi,*  who  reigned  in  Oman. 
See  Poc.  Spec.  p.  42. 

'  lidcm.  Vide  D'llerbelot,  Bibl,  Orient.  Art.  Khedher,  Septemcastrens.  de  Turcar. 
Moribus.  Busl.eq.  Epist.  1,  p.  93,  &lc.  Hotting.  Hist.  Orient,  p.  58,  &c.  99,  &c.  293,  &c. 
*  R.  Levi  Ben  Gerson.  in  Append,  lib.  1,  Reg.  1,  27.  '  Al  Beidawi,  *  Idem. 

'  Idem.  5  Idem.  '  Idem.  » Idem. 


246  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xviii. 

child  in  exchange  for  him,  and  one  more  affectionate  towards  ihem.^  And 
the  wall  belonged  to  two  orphan  youths^  in  the  city,  and  under  it  was  a 
treasure  hidden  ichich  belonged  to  them ;  and  their  father  was  a  righteous 
man  :  and  thy  Lord  was  pleased  that  they  should  attain  their  full  age,  and 
take  forth  their  treasure,  through  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord,  and  I  did  not 
what  thou  hast  seen  of  mine  own  will,  but  hy  God''s  direction.  This  is  the 
interpretation  of  that  which  thou  couldest  not  bear  with  patience.  The  Jews 
will  ask  thee  concerning  Dhu'lkarnein.s  Answer,  I  will  rehearse  unto  you 
an  account  of  him.  We  made  him  powerful  in  the  earth,  and  we  gave  him 
means  to  accomplish  every  thing  he  pleased.  And  he  followed  his  way, 
until  he  came  to  the  place  where  the  sun  setteth ;  and  he  found  it  to  set  in 
a  spring  of  black  mud  ;^  and  he  found  near  the  same  a  certain  people.*' 
And  we  said,  O  Dhu'lkarnein,  either  punish  this  people.^  or  use  gentleness 
towards  them. ^  He  answered.  Whosoever  0/ //tern  shall  commit  injustice, 
we  will  surely  punish  him  in  this  world ;  afterwards  shall  he  return  unto 
his  LoKD,  and  he  shall  punish  him  with  a  severe  punishment.  But  who- 
soever believeth,  and  doth  that  which  is  right,  shall  receive  the  most 
excellent  reward,  and  we  will  give  him  in  command  that  which  is  easy. 
Then  he  continued  his  way,  until  he  came  to  the  place  where  the  sun 
riseth  ;^  and  he  found  it  to  rise  on  certain  people,  unto  whom  we  had  not 

"  It  is  said  that  they  had  afterwards  a  daughter,  who  was  the  wife  and  the  mother  of  a 
prophet ;  and  that  her  son  converted  a  whole  nation.'* 

^  The  names  were  Asram  and  Sarim.^ 

^  Or,  The  two-horned.  The  generaUty  of  the  commentators*  suppose  the  person  here 
meant  to  be  Alexander  the  Great,  or,  as  they  call  him,  Iscander  al  Riimi,  king  of  Persia 
and  Greece  ;  but  there  are  very  different  opinions  as  to  the  reason  of  this  surname.  Some 
think  it  was  given  him  because  he  was  king  of  the  East  and  of  the  West,  or  because  he 
had  made  expeditions  to  both  those  extreme  parts  of  the  earth  ;  or  else  because  he  had 
two  horns  on  his  diadem,  or  two  curls  of  hair,  like  horns,  on  his  forehead;  or,  which  is 
most  probable,  by  reason  of  his  great  valour.  Several  modern  writers^  rather  suppose 
the  surname  was  occasioned  by  his  being  represented  in  his  coins  and  statues  with  horns, 
as  the  son  of  Jupiter  Ammon  ;  or  else  by  his  being  compared  by  the  prophet  Daniel  to  a 
he-goat  ;■*  though  he  is  there  represented  with  but  one  horn.'' 

There  are  some  good  writers,  however,  who  believe  the  prince  intended  in  this  passage 
of  the  Koran  was  not  Alexander  the  Grecian,  but  another  great  conqueror,  who  bore  the 
same  name  and  surname,  and  was  much  more  ancient  than  he,  being  contemporary  with 
Abraham,  and  one  of  the  kings  of  Persia  of  the  first  race  f  or,  as  others  suppose,  a  king 
of  Yaman,  named  Asaab  Ebn  al  Rayesh.^ 

They  all  agree  he  was  a  true  behever,  but  whether  he  was  a  prophet  or  no  is  a  disputed 
point. 

"  That  is,  it  seemed  so  to  him,  when  he  came  to  the  ocean,  and  saw  nothing  but  water.' 

'  An  unbelieving  nation,  who  were  clothed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  lived  upon 
what  the  sea  cast  on  shore.' 

*  "  He  saw  the  sun  disappear  in  a  fiery  sea.  These  countries  were  inhabited  by  infi- 
dels."— Savary. 

*  For  God  gave  Dhu'lkarnein  his  choice,  either  to  destroy  them  for  their  infidelity,  or 
to  instruct  them  in  the  true  faith  ;  or,  according  to  others,  either  to  put  them  to  the  sword. 
or  to  take  them  captives:  but  the  words  which  follow  confirm  the  former  interpretation, 
by  which  it  appears  he  chose  to  invite  them  to  the  true  religion,  and  to  punish  only  the 
disobedient  and  incredulous. 

'  i.  e.  That  part  of  the  habitable  world  on  which  the  sun  first  rises. 

-  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Tdcm.  "  Idem,  Zamakhshari,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  '  gcaliger, 
de  Emend,  temp.  L'Empcreur,  not.  in  Jachiad.  Dan.  viii.  5,  Gol.  in  Alfrag.  p.  58,  &c. 
«  Schickard.  Tarikh  Reg.  Pers.  p.  73.  ''  See  Dan.  viii.  «  Abulfeda,  Khondemir, 

Tarikh  Montakhah,  &c.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Escander.     ^  Ex.  trad.  Ebn 
Abbas.     Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  58.        '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.        *  lidem. 


CHAP.  XVIII.  AL  KORAN.  ,    247 

given  any  thing  wherewith  to  sheUer  themselves  therefrom.™  Thus  it  was  ; 
and  we  comprehended  with  our  knowledge  the  forces  which  were  with  him.* 
And  he  prosecuted  his  journey  fro?n  south  to  north,  until  he  came  between 
the  two  mountains;"  beneath  which  he  found  certain  people,  who  could 
scarce  understand  what  was  said."  And  they  said,  O  Dhu'lkarnein,  verily 
Gog  and  Magog  waste  the  land  ;p  shall  we  therefore  pay  thee  tribute,  on 
condition  that  thou  build  a  rampart  between  us  and  them?  He  answered. 
The  poiver  wherewith  my  Lord  has  strengthened  me  is  better  than  your 
tribute  :  but  assist  me  strenuously,  and  I  will  set  a  strong  wall  between 
you  and  them.  Bring  me  iron  in  large  pieces,  until  it  fill  up  the  space 
between  the  two  sides  of  these  mountains.  And  he  said  to  the  workmen, 
Blow  loith  your  hellows^  until  it  make  the  iron  red  hot  as  fire.  And  he 
said  further^  Bring  me  molten  brass,  that  I  may  pour  upon  it.  Wherefore, 
7vhe7i  this  wall  was  finished^  Gog  and  Magog  could  not  scale  it,  neither 
could  they  dig  through  it.i  And  Dhu'lkarnein  said,  This  is  a  mercy  from 
my  Lord  :  but  when  the  prediction  of  my  Lord  shall  come  to  he  fulfilled^'' 
he  shall  reduce  the  wall  to  dust ;  and  the  prediction  of  my  Lord  is  true. 
On  that  day  we  will  suffer  some  of  them  to  press  tumultuously  like 
waves  on  others  :^  and  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded,  and  we  will  gather 
them  in  a  body  together.  And  we  will  set  hell  on  that  day  before  the 
unbelievers;  whose  eyes  have  been  veiled  from  my  remembrance,  and 
who  could  not  hear  my  words.     Do  the  unbelievers  think  that  I  will  not 

^  Who  had  neither  clothes  nor  houses,  their  country  not  bearing  any  buildings,  but 
dwelt  in  holes  under  ground,  into  which  they  retreated  from  the  heat  of  the  sun.^  Jalla- 
lo'ddin  says  they  were  the  Zenj,  a  black  nation  lying  south-west  of  Ethiopia.  They  seem 
to  be  the  Troglodytes  of  the  ancients. 

*  "  This  narrative  is  true.    We  know  all  those  who  were  with  Alexander." — Savary. 
°  Between  which   Dhu'lkarnein  built  the  famous  rampart,  mentioned  immediately, 

against  the  irruptions  of  Gog  and  Magog.  These  mountains  are  situate  in  Armenia  and 
Adherbijan,  or,  according  to  others,  much  more  northwards,  on  the  confines  of  Turkes- 
tan.* The  relation  of  a  journey  taken  to  this  rampart,  by  one  who  was  sent  on  purpose 
to  view  it  by  the  Khalif  al  Wathec,  may  be  seen  in  D'Herbelot.' 

•  By  reason  of  the  strangeness  of  their  speech  and  their  slowness  of  apprehension ; 
wherefore  they  were  obliged  to  make  use  of  an  interpreter.® 

p  The  Arabs  call  them  Yajui  and  Majuj,  and  say  they  are  two  nations  or  tribes  de- 
scended from  Japhet  the  son  of  Noah,  or,  as  others  write,  Gog  are  a  tribe  of  the  Turks, 
and  Magog  of  those  of  Gilnn,''  the  Geli  and  Gelae  of  Ptolemy  and  Strabo.^ 

It  is  said  these  barbarous  people  made  their  irruptions  into  the  neighbouring  countries 
in  the  spring,  and  destroyed  and  carried  off  the  fruits  of  the  earth  ;  and  some  pretend 
they  were  man-eaters. * 

^  The  commentators  say  the  wall  was  built  in  this  manner.  They  dug  till  they  found 
water,  and  having  laid  the  foundation  of  stone  and  melted  brass,  they  built  the  super- 
structure of  large  pieces  of  iron,  between  which  they  laid  wood  and  coals,  till  they  equalled 
the  height  of  the  mountains;  and  then  setting  fire  to  the  combustibles,  by  the  help  of 
large  bellows,  they  made  the  iron  red  hot,  and  over  it  poured  melted  brass,  which  filling 
up  the  vacancies  between  the  pieces  of  iron,  rendered  the  whole  work  as  firm  as  a  rock. 
Some  tell  us  that  the  whole  was  built  of  stones  joined  by  cramps  of  iron,  on  which  they 
poured  melted  brass  to  fasten  them.' 

'  That  is,  when  the  time  shall  come  for  Gog  and  Magog  to  break  forth  from  their  con- 
finement ;  which  shall  happen  some  time  before  the  resurrection.' 

"  These  words  represent  either  the  violent  irruption  of  Gog  and  Magog,  or  the  tumul- 
tuous assembly  of  all  creatures,  men,  genii,  and  brutes,  at  the  resurrection.^ 

»  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  AI  Beidawi.  *  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Jagiouge. 

•=  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.     Vide  D'Herbel.  ubi  sup.  »  Vide  Gol.  in  Alfrag.  p.  207. 

'  Al  Beidawi.       '  Idem,  <Scc.      *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  58.       '  See  ib.  p.  62. 


248  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xix. 

punish  them,  for  that  they  take  my  servants  for  their  protectors  besides 
me  1  Verily  we  have  prepared  hell  for  the  abode  of  the  infidels.  Say, 
Shall  we  declare  unto  you  those  whose  works  are  vain,  whose  endeavour  in 
the  present  life  hath  been  wrongly  directed,  and  who  think  they  do  the  work 
which  is  right  ?  These  are  they  who  believe  not  in  the  signs  of  their  Lord, 
or  that  they  shall  be  assembled  before  him ;  wherefore  their  works  are  vain, 
and  we  will  not  allow  them  any  weight  on  the  day  of  resurrection.  This 
shall  he  their  reward,  namely^  hell ;  for  that  they  have  disbelieved,  and  have 
held  my  signs  and  apostles  in  derision.  But  as  for  those  who  believe  and 
do  good  works,  they  shall  have  the  gardens  of  paradise  for  their  abode ; 
they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever ;  they  shall  wish  for  no  change  therein. 
Say,  If  the  sea  were  ink  to  write  the  words  of  my  Lord,  verily  the  sea 
would  fail,  before  the  words  of  my  Lord  would  fail  ;*  although  we  added 
another  sea  like  unto  it  as  a  farther  supply.  Say,  Verily  I  am  only  a  man 
as  ye  are.  It  is  revealed  unto  me  that  your  God  is  one  only  God  :  let  him 
therefore  who  hopeth  to  meet  his  Lord  work  a  righteous  work ;  and  let 
him  not  make  any  other  to  partake  in  the  worship  of  his  Lord. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 
INTITLED,  MARY  ;*  REVEALED  AT  ME€CA." 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

C.  H.  Y.  A.  S."^  A  commemoration  of  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord  towards 
his  servant  Zacharias,^  When  he  called  upon  his  Lord,  invoking  him  in 
secret,  and  said,  O  Lord,  verily  my  bones  are  weakened,  and  my  head  is 
become  white  with  hoariness,  and  I  have  never  been  unsuccessful  in  my 
prayers  to  thee,  O  Lord.  But  now  I  fear  my  nephews,  who  are  to  suc- 
ceed after  me,^  for  my  wife  is  barren  :  wherefore,  give  me  a  successor  of 
my  own  body  from  before  thee ;  who  may  be  my  heir,  and  may  be  an  heir 
of  the  family  of  Jacob  ;^  and  grant,  O  Lord,  that  he  may  be  acceptable 
unto  thee.    And  the  angel  answered  him,  O  Zacharias,  verily  we  bring  thee 

*  "  Before  all  his  marvels  had  been  celebrated." — Savary. 

»  Several  circumstances  relating  to  the  Virgin  Mary  being  mentioned  in  this  chapter, 
her  name  was  pitched  upon  for  the  title.    ("  Peace  be  with  her." — Savary.) 

"  Except  the  verse  of  Adoration. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42.     ("  K.  H.  I.  A.  S.''— Savary.) 

^  See  chap.  3,  p.  40,  &c. 

y  These  were  his  brother's  sons,  who  were  very  wicked  men,  and  Zacharias  was  ap- 
prehensive, lest,  after  his  death,  instead  of  confirming  the  people  in  the  true  rehgion,  they 
should  seduce  them  to  idolatry.*  And  some  commentators  imagine  that  he  made  this 
prayer  in  private,  lest  his  nephews  should  overhear  him. 

^  viz.  In  holiness  and  knowledge ;  or  in  the  government  and  superintendence  of  the 
Israehtes.  There  are  some  who  suppose  it  is  not  the  patriarch  who  is  here  meant,  but  an- 
other Jacob,  the  brother  of  Zacharias,  or  of  Imran  Ebn  Mathan,  of  the  race  of  Solomon.' 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  » lidem. 


i 


CHAP.  XIX.  AL  KORAN.  249 

tidings  of  a  son,  whose  name  shall  be  John ;  we  have  not  caused  any  to 
bear  the  same  name  before  him.'*  Zacharias  said,  Lord,  how  shall  I  have 
a  son,  seeing  my  wife  is  barren,  and  I  am  now  arrived  at  a  great  age,*" 
and  am  decrepit  ?  The  angel  said,  So  shall  it  be  :  thy  Lord  saith.  This  is 
easy  with  me;  since  I  created  thee •  heretofore,  when  thou  wast  nothing. 
Zacharias  answered,  O  Lord,  give  me  a  sign.  The  angel  replied.  Thy 
sign  shall  be  that  thou  shalt  not  speak  to  men  for  three  nights,|  although 
thou  be  in  perfect  health.  And  he  went  forth  unto  his  people,  from  the 
chamber,  and  he  made  signs  unto  them,"^  as  if  he  should  say^  Praise  ye  God 
in  the  morning  and  in  the  evening.  And  we  said  unto  his  son,  O  John,  re- 
ceive the  book  of  the  law,  with  a  resolution  to  study  and  observe  ?7.J  And 
we  bestowed  on  him  wisdom,  ivhen  he  was  yet  a  child,  and  mercy  from  us, 
and  purity  of  life  /  and  he  was  a  devout  person,  and  dutiful  towards 
his  parents,  and  was  not  proud  or  rebellious.  Peace  be  on  him  the  day 
whereon  he  was  born,  and  the  day  whereon  he  shall  die,  and  the  day 
whereon  he  shall  be  raised  to  life.§  And  remember  in  the  hook  of  the 
Koran  the  story  of  Mary ;  when  she' retired  from  her  family  to  a  place 
towards  the  east,^  and  took  a  veil  to  conceal  herself  from  them;||  and  we 
sent  our  spirit  Gabriel  unto  her,  and  he  appeared  unto  her  in  the  shape  of 
a  perfect  man.'    She  said,  I  fly  for  refuge  unto  the  merciful  God,  that  he 

'  For  he  was  the  first  who  bore  the  name  of  John,  or  Yahya  (as  the  Arabs  pronounce 
it) ;  which  fancy  seems  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the  words  of  St.  Luke  misunderstood, 
that  none  of  Zachariah's  kindred  was  called  by  that  name  ;*=  for  otherwise  John,  or,  as  it  is 
written  in  Hebrew,  Johanan,  was  a  common  name  among  the  Jews. 

Some  expositors  avoid  this  objection,  by  observing  that  the  original  word  samiyyan  sig- 
nifies, not  only  one  who  is  actually  called  by  the  same  name,  but  also  one  who,  by  reason 
of  his  possessing  the  like  qualities  and  privileges,  deserves,  or  may  pretend  to  the  same  name. 

*  "  My  wife  is  barren,  and  I  am  verging  on  decrepitude." — Savary. 

*•  The  Mohammedan  traditions  greatly  differ  as  to  the  age  of  Zacharias  at  this  time  ;  we 
have  mentioned  one  already  :■■  Jallalo'ddin  says,  he  was  an  hundred  and  twenty,  and  his 
wife  ninety-eight ;  and  the  Sonna  takes  notice  of  several  other  opinions. 

t  "  Thou  shalt  be  dumb  during  three  days,  repUed  the  angel." — Savary. 

'  Some  say  he  wrote  the  following  words  on  the  ground. 

X  "  John,  read  the  scriptures  with  fervour." — Savary. 

•*  Or,  as  the  word  also  signifies,  The  love  of  alms-deeds. 

^  "  Peace  was  with  him  at  his  birth,  and  at  his  death,  and  it  shall  accompany  liim  on 
the  day  of  resurrection." — Savary. 

'  To  the  eastern  part  of  the  temple  ;  or  to  a  private  chamber  in  the  house,  which  opened 
to  the  east :  whence,  says  al  Beidawi,  the  Christians  pray  towards  that  quarter. 

There  is  a  tradition,  that  when  the  virgin  was  grown  to  years  of  puberty,  she  used  to 
leave  her  apartment  in  the  temple,  and  retire  to  Zacharias's  house,  to  her  aunt,  when  her 
courses  came  upon  her ;  and  so  soon  as  she  was  clean,  she  returned  again  to  the  temple ; 
and  that  at  the  time  of  the  angel's  visiting  her,  she  was  at  her  aunt's  on  the  like  occasion, 
and  was  sitting  to  wash  herself,  in  an  open  place,  behind  a  veil,  to  prevent  her  being  seen.* 
But  others  more  prudently  suppose  the  design  of  her  retirement  was  to  pray.^ 

II  From  the  remotest  antiquity  the  women  of  eastern  countries  have  been  accustomed 
to  cover  the  face.  At  present  they  never  appear  in  public  without  being  veiled.  These 
veils  are  of  muslin,  and  reach  to  the  waist:  two  small  apertures  are  made  in  them,  that 
the  wearer  may  see  her  way.  Two  causes  may  have  contributed  to  introduce  among  the 
females  of  the  East  the  custom  of  covering  the  face ;  the  excessive  heat,  which  would 
soon  destroy  the  freshness  of  their  complexions ;  and  the  excessive  jealousy  of  the  men, 
which  cannot  bear  that  they  should  be  seen. — Savary. 

'  Like  a  full-grown,  but  beardless  youth.  Al  Beidawi,  not  contented  with  having  given 
one  good  reason  why  he  appeared  in  that  form,  viz.  to  moderate  her  surprise,  that  she 

*  Luke  i.  61.  '  Page  40,  note  h.  «  Yahya,  al  Beidawi.  '  Al  Zamakh. 

2a 


250  AL  KORAN.  .  chap.  xix. 

may  defend  me  from  thee :  if  thou  fearest  lilm,  thou  icilt  not  approach  me. 
He  answered,  Verily  I  am  the  messenger  of  thy  Lord,  and  am  sent  to  give 
thee  a  holy  son.  She  said,  How  shall  I  have  a  son,  seeing  a  man  hath  not 
touched  me,  and  I  am  no  harlot  ?  Gabriel  replied,  So  shall  it  be  :  thy 
Lord  saith,  This  is  easy  with  me ;  and  we  will  perform  it,  that  we  may 
ordain  him  for  a  sign  unto  men,  and  a  mercy  from  us :  for  it  is  a  thing 
which  is  decreed.  Wherefore  she  conceived  him  ;°  and  she  retired  aside 
with  him  in  her  loomb  to  a  distant  place  \'^  and  the  pains  of  childbirth 
came  upon  her  near  the  trunk  of  a  palm-tree.'  She  said,  Would  to  God  I 
had  died  before  this,  and  had  become  a  thing  forgotten,  and  lost  in  obli- 
vion.* And  he  who  was  beneath  her  called  to  her,^  saying,  Be  not  grieved  : 
now  hath  God  provided  a  rivulet  under  thee ;  and  do  thou  shake  the  body 
of  the  palm-tree,  and  it  shall  let  fall  ripe  dates  upon  thee,  ready  gathered.* 
And  eat,  and  drink,  and  calm  thy  mind.""  Moreover,  if  thou  see  any  man, 
and  he  question  thee,  say.  Verily  I  have  vowed  a  fast  unto  the  Merciful : 
wherefore  I  will  by  no  means  speak  to  a  man  this  day.''  So  she  brought 
the  child  to  her  people,  carrying  him  in  her  arms.  And  they  said  unto  her, 
O  Mary,  now  hast  thou  done  a  strange  thing :  O  sister  of  Aaron,"  thy 
father  was  not  a  bad  man,  neither  was  thy  mother  a  harlot.    But  she  made 

might  hear  his  message  with  less  shyness,  adds,  that  perhaps  it  might  be  to  raise  an  emo- 
tion in  her,  and  assist  her  conception. 

s  For  Gabriel  blew  into  the  bosom  of  her  shift,  which  he  opened  with  his  fingers,*  and 
his  breath  reaching  her  womb,  caused  the  conception.^  The  age  of  the  Virgin  Mary  at 
the  lime  of  her  conception  was  thirteen  ;  or,  as  others  say,  ten ;  and  she  went  six,  seven, 
eight,  or  nine  months  with  him,  according  to  different  traditions;  though  some  say  the 
chiid  was  conceived  at  its  full  growth  of  nine  months,  and  that  she  was  delivered  of  him 
within  an  hour  after.^ 

•^  To  conceal  her  delivery  she  went  out  of  the  city  by  night  to  a  certain  mountain. 

'  The  palm  to  which  she  fled,  that  she  might  lean  on  it  in  her  travail,  was  a  withered 
trunk,  without  any  head  or  verdure,  and  this  happened  in  the  winter  season;  notwith- 
standing which,  it  miraculously  supplied  her  with  fruits  for  her  refreshment;*  as  is  men- 
tioned immediately. 

It  has  been  observed,  that  the  Mohammedan  account  of  the  delivery  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
very  much  resembles  that  of  Latona,  as  described  by  the  poets, ^  not  only  in  this  circum- 
stance of  their  laying  hold  on  a  palm-tree^  (though  some  say  Latona  embraced  an  olive- 
tree,  or  an  olive  and  a  palm,  or  else  two  laurels),  but  also  in  that  of  their  infants  speak- 
ing ;  which  Apollo  is  fabled  to  have  done  in  the  womb.' 

*  "  And  she  cried.  Would  to  God  that  I  had  been  dead,  forgotten,  and  abandoned  by 
mortals,  before  that  I  conceived." — Savary. 

"  This  some  imagine  to  have  been  the  child  himself;  but  others  suppose  it  was  Gabriel, 
who  stood  somewhat  lower  than  she  did.^  According  to  a  different  reading,  this  passage 
may  be  rendered.  And  he  called  to  her  from  beneath  her,  &c.  And  some  refer  the  pronoun 
translated  her,  to  the  palm-tree :  and  then  it  should  be  heneathit,  &.c. 

'  And,  accordingly,  she  had  no  sooner  spoken  it,  than  the  dry  trunk  revived,  and  shot 
forth  green  leaves,  and  a  head  laden  with  ripe  fruit. 

"  Literally,  thine  eye. 

"  During  which  she  was  not  to  speak  to  any  body,  unless  to  acquaint  them  with  the 
reason  of  her  silence :  and  some  suppose  she  did  that  by  signs. 

"  Several  Christian  writers  think  the  Koran  stands  convicted  of  a  manifest  falsehood  in 
this  particular,  but  I  am  afraid  the  Mohammedans  may  avoid  the  charge,"  as  they  do  by 
several  answers.  Some  say,  the  Virgin  Mary  had  really  a  brother  named  Aaron,  who  had 
the  same  father,  but  a  different  mother:  others  suppose  Aaron,  the  brother  of  Moses,  is 

'  Yahya.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  =»  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  -  lidem,  A\ 

Zamakh.  "  Vide  Sikii  not.  in  Evang.  Infant,  pp.  9,  21,  &c.  ^  Homer.  Hymn,  m 

ApoU.     CalHmach.  Hymn,  in  Delum.  ■"  Callimach.  ibid.     See  Kor.  chap.  3,  p.  41. 

»  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  chap.  3,  p.  38. 


CHAP.  XIX.  AL  KORAN.  251 

signs  unto  the  child  to  ansioer  them ;  and  they  said,  How  shall  we  speak  to 
him,  who  is  an  infant  in  the  cradle  ?  Whereupon  the  child  said,  Verily  I 
am  the  servant  of  God  ;»*  he  hath  given  me  the  book  of  the  gospel^  and  hath 
appointed  me  a  prophet.  And  lie  hath  made  mc  blessed,  wheresoever  I 
shall  be;  and  hath  commanded  mc  to  observe  prayer,  and  to  give  alms,  so 
long  as  I  shall  live ;  and  he  hath  made  me  dutiful  towards  my  mother,  and 
hath  not  made  me  proud  or  unhappy.*  And  peace  be  on  me  the  day 
whereon  I  was  born,  and  the  day  whereon  I  shall  die,  and  the  day 
whereon  I  shall  be  raised  to  life.  This  icas  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  ;Jlhe 
Word  of  truth,'^  concerning  whom  they  doubt.  It  is  not  meet  for  God, 
that  he  should  have  any  son  :  God  forbid  !  When  he  decreeth  a  thing, 
he  only  saith  unto  it.  Be ;  and  it  is.l  And  verily  God  is  my  Loiin,  and 
your  Lord  ;  wherefore,  serve  him  :  this  is  the  right  way.  Yet  the  sectaries 
differ  among  themselves  concerning  Jesus ;  but  woe  be  unto  those  who  are 
unbelievers,  because  of  their  appearance  at  the  great  day.  Do  thou  cause 
them  to  hear,  and  do  thou  cause  them  to  see,'"  on  the  day  whereon  they 
shall  come  unto  us  to  be  judged  :  but  the  ungodly  are  this  day  in  a  manifest 
error.J  And  do  thou  forewarn  them  of  the  day  of  sighing,  when  the 
matter  shall  be  determined,  while  they  are  nozv  sunk  in  negligence,  and  do 
not  believe.  Verily  we  will  inherit  the  earth,  and  whatever  creatures 
are  therein ; »  and  unto  us  shall  they  all  return.  And  remember 
Abraham  in  the  book  of  the  Koran ;  for  he  was  one  of  great  veracity, 
and  a  prophet.  When  he  said  unto  his  father,*  O  my  father,  why  dost 
thou  worship  that  which  heareth  not,  neither  seeth,  nor  profiteth  thee 
at  all  ?  O  my  father,  verily  a  degree  of  knowledge  hath  been  bestowed 
on   me,  which  hath   not  been  bestowed  on   thee :    wherefore  follow  me ; 

here  meant,  but  say  Mary  is  called  his  sister,  either  because  she  was  of  the  Levitical  race 
(as  by  her  being  related  to  Elizabeth  it  should  seem  she  was),  or  by  way  of  comparison  : 
others  say  that  it  was  a  different  person  ot  that  name  who  was  contemporary  with  her,  and 
conspicuous  for  his  good  or  bad  qualities,  and  that  they  Ukened  her  to  him,  either  by  way 
of  commendation,  or  of  reproach,  &-c.' 

"  These  were  the  first  words  which  were  put  into  the  mouth  of  Jesus,  to  obviate  the 
mia^ination.  of  his  partaking  of  the  divine  nature,  or  having  a  right  to  the  worship  of  man- 
kmd,  on  account  of  his  miraculous  speaking  so  soon  after  his  birth.'^ 

*  "  He  hath  implanted  filial  piety  in  my  heart,  and  has  delivered  me  from  pride,  which 
is  the  companion  of  misery." — Savary. 

'  This  expression  may  be  either  referred  to  Jesus,  as  the  Word  of  God  ;  or  to  the  ac- 
count just  given  of  him. 

t  "  God  cannot  have  a  son.  Praise  be  unto  his  name  I  He  commands,  and  that  which 
existed  not  starts  into  fife  at  his  voice." — Savary. 

"■  These  words  are  variously  expounded:  some  taking  them  to  express  admiration^  at  the 
quickness  of  those  senses  in  the  wicked  at  the  day  of  judgment,  when  they  shall  plainly 
perceive  the  torments  prepared  for  them,  though  they  have  been  deaf  and  blind  in  this  life  ; 
and  others  supposing  the  words  contain  a  threat  to  the  unbehevers,  of  what  they  shall  then 
hear  and  see  ;  or  else  a  command  to  Mohammed  to  lay  before  them  the  terrors  of  that  day.* 

I  "  What  will  they  not  hear,  what  will  they  not  see,  when  they  appear  before  our 
tribunal !     Now  they  are  in  utter  blindness." — Savary. 

'  I.  e.  Alone  surviving,  when  all  creatures  shall  be  dead  and  annihilated.— See  chap. 
1.0,  p.  211. 

'  See  chap.  G,  p.  105,  &,c. 

'  Al  Zamakh.  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Tabva,  &c.  ""  Al  Beidawi,  &c.  '  See 
chap.  18,  p.  241.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


252  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xix. 

I  will  lead  thee  into  an  even  way.  O  my  father,  serve  not  Satan ;  for 
Satan  was  rebellious  unto  the  Merciful.  O  my  father,  verily  I  fear  lest  a 
punishment  be  inflicted  on  thee  from  the  Merciful,  and  thou  become  a 
companion  of  Satan.  His  father  answered,  Dost  thou  reject  my  gods,  O 
Abraham?  If  thou  forbear  not,  I  will  surely  stone  thee:  wherefore  leave 
me  for  a  long  time.  Jlhraham  replied,  Peace  he  on  thee :  I  will  ask  pardon 
for  thee  of  my  Lord  ;  for  he  is  gracious  unto  me.  And  I  will  separate 
myself  from  you,  and  from  the  idols  which  ye  invoke  besides  God  ;  and  I 
will  call  upon  my  Lord:  it  may  be  that  L  shall  not  be  unsuccessful  in 
calling  on  my  Lord,  as  ye  are  in  calling  upon  them.  And  when  he 
had  separated  himself  from  them,  and  from  the  idols  which  they  wor- 
shipped besides  God,'*  we  gave  him  Isaac  and  Jacob  ;  and  we  made  each  of 
them  a  prophet ;  and  we  bestowed  on  them,  through  our  mercy,  the  gift  of 
prophecy,  and  children^  and  wealth ;  and  we  caused  them  to  deserve  the 
highest  commendations.'^  And  remember  Moses  in  the  book  of  the  Koran  : 
for  he  was  sincerely  upright,  and  was  an  apostle  and.  a  prophet.  And  we 
called  unto  him  from  the  right  side  of  mount  Sinai.,  and  caused  him 
to  draw  near,  and  to  discourse  privately  with  us^  And  we  gave  him, 
through  our  mercy,  his  brother  Aaron  a  prophet,  for  his  assistant.  Remem- 
ber also  Ismael  in  the  sarne  book ;  for  he  was  true  to  his  promise,^'  and  was 
an  apostle,  and  a  prophet.  And  he  commanded  his  family  to  observe  prayer, 
and  to  give  alms ;  and  he  was  acceptable  unto  his  Lord.  And  remember 
Edris''  in  the  same  book ;  for  he  was  a  just  person,  and  a  prophet :  and  we 
exalted  him  to  a  high  place.*  These  are  they  unto  whom  God  hath  been 
bounteous,  of  the  prophets  of  the  posterity  of  Adam,  and  of  those  whom  we 
carried  in  the  ark  with  Noah ;  and  of  the  posterity  of  Abraham,  and 
of  Israel,  and  of  those  whom  we  have  directed  and  chosen.  When  the 
signs  of  the  Merciful  were  read  unto  them,  they  fell  down,  worshipping,  and 
wept :    but  a  succeeding   generation  have  come  after  them,  who  neglect 

"  By  flying  to  Harran,  and  thence  to  Palestine. 

"  Literally,  We  granted  them  a  lofty  tongue  of  truth. 

'^  Or,  as  some  expound  it,  A?id  we  raised  him  on  high  ;  for,  say  they,  he  was  raised  to 
so  great  an  elevation,  that  he  heard  the  creaking  of  the  pen  writing  on  the  table  of  God's 
decrees.* 

y  Being  celebrated  on  that  account ;  and  particularly  for  his  behaving  with  that  resigna- 
tion and  constancy  which  he  had  promised  his  father,  on  his  receiving  God's  command  to 
sacrifice  him :  ^  for  the  Mohammedans  say  it  was  Ismael,  and  not  Isaac,  whom  he  was 
commanded  to  offer. 

^  Or  Enoch,  the  great-grandfather  of  Noah,  who  had  that  surname  from  his  great 
knowledge  ;  for  he  was  favoured  with  no  less  than  thirty  books  of  divine  revelations,  and 
was  the  first  who  wrote  with  a  pen,  and  studied  the  sciences  of  astronomy  and  arith- 
metic, (Sec.'' 

The  learned  Bartolocci  endeavours  to  show,  from  the  testimonies  of  the  ancient  Jews, 
that  Enoch,  surnamed  Edris,  was  a  very  different  person  from  the  Enoch  of  Moses,  and 
many  ages  younger." 

^  Some  understand  by  this  the  honour  of  the  prophetic  office,  and  his  familiarity  with 
God  ;  but  others  suppose  his  translation  is  here  meant :  for  they  say  that  he  was  taken  up 
by  God  into  heaven  at  the  age  of  three  hundred  and  fifty,  having  first  suffered  death,  and 
been  restored  to  life  ;  and  that  he  is  now  alive  in  one  of  the  seven  heavens,  or  in  paradise.^ 

»  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem.  "^  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  *  Bartol.  Bibl.  Rab.  part  ii. 
p.  845.  ®  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abu'lfeda. 


CHAP.  XIX.  AL  KORAN.  253 

prayer,  and  follow  their  lusts ;  and  they  shall  surely  fall  into  evil  :*  except 
him  who  rcpcnteth,  and  belicvcth,  and  doth  that  which  is  right ;  these  shall 
enter  paradise,  and  they  shall  not  in  the  least  be  wronged :  gardens  of 
perpetual  abode  shall  he  their  reumrd^  which  the  Merciful  hath  promised 
unto  his  servants,  as  an  object  of  faith ;  for  his  promise  will  surely  come  to 
he  fulfilled.  Therein  shall  they  hear  no  vain  discourse,  but  peace ;''  and 
their  provision  shall  be  prepared  for  them  therein  morning  and  evening. 
This  is  paradise,  which  we  will  give  for  an  inheritance  unto  such  of  our 
servants  as  shall  be  pious.  We  descend  not  from  heaven^  unless  by  the 
command  of  thy  Lord  :  unto  him  helongeth  whatsoever  is  before  us,  and 
whatsoever  is  behind  us,  and  whatsoever  is  in  the  intermediate  space; 
neither  is  thy  Lord  forgetful  of  thee."  He  is  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  of  whatsoever  is  between  them :  wherefore  worship  him,  and  be 
constant  in  his  worship.  Dost  thou  know  any  named  like  him  M  Man 
saith,''  After  I  shall  have  been  dead,  shall  I  really  be  brought  forth  alive 
from  the  grave  ?  Doth  not  man  remember  that  we  created  him  heretofore, 
when  he  was  nothing?  But  by  thy  Lord  we  will  surely  assemble  them 
and  the  devils  to  judgment ;  ^  then  will  we  set  them  round  about  hell 
on  their  knees  :  afterwards  we  will  draw  forth  from  every  sect  such  of  them 
as  shall  have  been  a  more  obstinate  rebel  against  the  Merciful ;  s  and  we 
best  know  which  of  them  are  more  worthy  to  be  burned  therein.'*  There 
shall  be  none  of  you  but  shall  approach  near  the  same : '  this  is  an  estab- 
lished decree  with  thy  Lord.  Afterwards  we  will  deliver  those  who  shall 
have  been  pious,  but  we  will  leave  the  ungodly  therein  on  their  knees. 
When  our  manifest  signs  are  read  unto  them,  the  infidels  say  unto  the  true 
believers.  Which  of  the  two  parties  is  in  the  more  eligible  condition,  and 

*  "  A  corrupt  generation  has  succeeded  to  them.  It  hath  forsaken  prayer,  and  followed 
the  torrent  of  its  passions.     It  shall  be  plunged  into  the  stream  of  hell." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Words  of  peace  and  comfort ;  or  the  salutations  of  the  angels,'  &c. 

*=  These  are  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  words  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  in  answer 
to  Mohammed's  complaint  for  his  long  delay  of  fifteen,  or  according  to  another  tradition, 
of  forty  days,  before  he  brought  him  instructions  what  solution  he  should  give  to  the  ques- 
tions which  had  been  asked  him  concerning  the  sleepers,  Dhu'lkarnein,  and  the  spirit.'^ 

Others,  however,  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  the  words  which  the  godly  will  use  at 
their  entrance  into  paradise  ;  and  that  their  meaning:  is.  We  take  up  our  abode  here  at  the 
command  and  through  the  mercy  of  God  alone,  who  ruleth  all  things,  past,  future,  a7id  pre- 
sent  ;  and  who  is  not  forgetful  of  the  works  of  his  servants.^ 

•^  That  is,  Deserving,  or  having  a  right  to  the  name  and  attributes  of  God. 

"  Some  suppose  a  particular  person  is  here  meant,  namely,  Obba  Ebn  Khalf.* 

^  It  is  said  that  every  infidel  will  appear,  at  the  day  of  judgment,  chained  to  the  devil 
who  seduced  him.' 

«  Hence,  says  al  Beidawi,  it  appears  that  God  will  pardon  some  of  the  rebellious  people. 
But  perhaps  the  distinguishing  the  unbelievers  into  difierent  classes,  in  order  to  consign 
them  to  dilTerent  places  and  degrees  of  torment,  is  here  meant. 

^  viz.  The  more  obstinate  and  perverse,  and  especially  the  heads  of  sects,  who  will 
suffer  a  double  punishment  for  their  own  errors  and  their  seducing  of  others. 

•  For  the  true  believers  must  also  pass  by  or  through  hell,  but  the  fire  will  be  damped, 
and  the  flames  abated,  so  as  not  to  hurt  them,  though  it  will  lay  hold  on  the  others.  Some, 
however,  suppose  that  the  words  intend  no  more  than  the  passage  over  the  narrow  bridge, 
which  is  laid  over  hell.* 

»  See  chap.  10,  p.  27.  »  See  before,  p.  131.  '  Al  Beidawi.  See  chap.  16, 

p.  214.        '  Al  Beidawi.        *  Idem.     See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  G5. 


254  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xix. 

formetk  the  more  excellent  assembly  ?  ^  But  how  many  generations  have 
we  destroyed  before  them,  which  excelled  them  in  wealth,  and  in  outward 
appearance?  Say,  Whosoever  is  in  error,  the  Merciful  will  grant  him 
a  long  and  prosperous  life,  until  they  see  that  with  which  they  are  threat- 
ened, whether  it  be  the  punishment  of  this  life,  or  tJiat  of  the  last  hour ;  and 
hereafter  they  shall  know  who  is  in  the  worse  condition,  and  the  weaker 
in  forces.*  God  shall  more  fully  direct  those  who  receive  direction ;  and 
the  good  works  which  remain  for  ever  are  better  in  the  sight  of  thy  Lord 
than  worldly  possessions,  in  respect  to  the  reward,  and  more  eligible  in 
respect  to  the  lliture  recompense.  Hast  thou  seen  him  who  bclieveth  not 
in  our  signs,  and  saith,  I  shall  surely  have  riches  and  children  bestowed  on 
me?^  Is  he  acquainted  with  the  secrets  of  futurity ;  or  hath  he  received 
a  covenant  from  the  Merciful  that  it  shall  he  so  f  By  no  means.  We  will 
surely  write  down  that  which  he  saith ;  and  increasing  we  will  increase  his 
punishment  j"]"  and  we  will  be  his  heir  as  to  that  which  he  speaketh  of;  "^ 
and  on  the  last  day  he  shall  appear  before  us  alone  and  naked.  They  have 
taken  other  gods,  besides  God,  that  they  may  be  a  glory  unto  them.  By  no 
means.  Hereafter  shall  they  deny  their  worship  ;  °  and  they  shall  become 
adversaries"  unto  them.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  we  send  the  devils  against 
the  infidels,  to  incite  them  to  sin  by  their  instigations?  Wherefore  be  not 
in  haste  to  call  down  destruction  upon  them ;  for  we  number  unto  them  a 
determined  number  of  days  of  respite.  On  a  certain  day  we  will  assemble 
the  pious  before  the  Merciful  in  an  honourable  manner,  as  ambassadors 
come  into  the  presence  of  a  prince  :  but  we  will  drive  the  wicked  into  hell, 
as  cattle  are  driven  to  water :  they  shall  obtain  no  intercession,  except  he 
only  who  hath  received  a  covenant  from  the  Merciful. p     They  say,  The 

^  viz.  Of  us,  or  of  you.  When  the  Koreish  were  unable  to  produce  a  composition  to 
equal  the  Koran,  they  began  to  glory  in  their  wealth  and  nobihty,  valuing  themselves 
highly  on  that  account,  and  despising  the  followers  of  Mohammed. 

*  "  May  the  Merciful  lengthen  the  days  of  those  who  are  plunged  into  error  !  to  the  end 
that  they  may  see  the  fulfilment  of  our  threats,  whether  in  this  world  or  in  the  other.  Then 
will  they  know  who  are  the  most  unhappy,  and  the  most  devoid  of  succour." — Savary. 

'  This  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  al  As  Ebn  Wayel,  who  being  indebted  to 
Khabbab,  when  he  demanded  the  money,  refused  to  pay  it,  unless  he  would  deny  Mo- 
hammed ;  to  which  proposal  Khabbab  answered,  that  he  would  never  deny  that  prophet, 
neither  alive,  nor  dead,  nor  when  he  should  be  raised  to  life  at  the  last  day  ;  therefore 
replied  al  As,  When  thou  art  raised  again,  come  to  me,  for  I  shall  then  have  abundance 
of  riches,  and  children,  and  I  will  pay  you.'' 

t  "  He  flattered  himself  vainly.  We  will  write  down  his  ostentation,  and  will  increase 
his  punishment." — Savary. 

™  i.  e.  He  shall  be  obliged  to  leave  all  his  wealth  and  his  children  behind  him  at  his  death. 

"viz.  At  the  resurrection,  when  the  idolaters  shall  disclaim  their  idols,  and  the  idols 
their  worshippers,  and  shall  mutually  accuse  one  another.^ 

°  Or,  the  contrary ;  that  is  to  say,  a  disgrace  instead  of  an  honour. 

p  That  is,  except  he  who  shall  be  a  subject  properly  disposed  to  receive  that  favour,  by 
having  professed  Islam.  Or,  the  words  may  also  be  translated,  according  to  another 
exposition.  They  shall  not  obtain  the  intercession,  of  any,  except  the  intercession  o/A/w, 
&,c.  Or  else.  None  shall  he  able  to  make  intercession  for  other,  except  they  who  shall  have 
received  a  covenant  (or  permission)  from  God  ;  i.  e.  who  shall  be  qualified  for  that  office 
by  faith,  and  good  works,  according  to  God's  promise,  or  shall  have  special  leave  given 
him  by  God  for  that  purpose.' 

■"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  See  chap.  6,  p.  100,  chap.  10,  p.  169.  '  Al  Beidawi. 
See  chap.  2,  pp.  30,  31,  &c. 


CHAP.  XX.  AL  KORAN.  255 

Merciful  hath  begotten  issue.  Now  have  ye  uttered  an  impious  thing :  it 
vvanteth  little  but  that  on  occasion  thereof  the  heavens  be  rent,  and  the 
earth  cleave  in  sunder,  and  the  mountains  be  overthrown  and  fall,  for  that 
they  attribute  children  unto  the  Merciful ;  whereas  it  becometh  not  God  to 
beget  children.  Verily  there  is  none  in  heaven  or  on  earth  but  shall 
approach  the  Merciful  as  his  servant.  He  encompasseth  them  by  his 
knoicledge  and  power,  and  numbereth  them  with  an  exact  computation :  and 
they  shall  all  come  unto  him  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  destitute  both 
of  helpers  and  followers.  But  as  for  those  who  believe  and  do  good  works, 
the  Merciful  will  bestow  on  them  love.i  Verily  we  have  rendered  the 
Koran  easy  for  thy  tongue,  that  thou  mayest  thereby  declare  our  promises 
unto  the  pious,  and  mayest  thereby  denounce  threats  unto  contentious 
people.  And  how  many  generations  have  we  destroyed  before  them  ?  Dost 
thou  find  one  of  them  remaining  f  Or  dost  thou  hear  so  much  as  a  whisper 
concerning  them  ?* 


CHAPTER    XX. 
INTITLED,  T.  H. ;' REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MEKCIFUL  GOD. 

T.  H.  We  have  not  sent  down  the  Korin  unto  thee,  that  thou 
shouldest  be  unhappy;^  but  for  an  admonition  unto  him  who  feareth 
God :  being  sent  down  from  him  who  created  the  earth,  and  the  lofty 
heavens.  The  Merciful  sitteth  on  his  throne :  unto  him  belongeth  what- 
soever is  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  and  whatsoever  is  between  them, 
and  whatsoever  is  under  the  earth.  If  thou  pronounce  thy  prayers 
with  a  loud  voice,  know  that  it  is  not  necessary  in  respect  to  God ;  for 
he  knoweth  that  which  is  secret,  and  what  is  yet  more  hidden."f     God  ! 

*»  viz.  The  love  of  God  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  heaven.  Some  suppose  this  verse  was 
revealed  to  comfort  the  Moslems  who  were  despised  and  hated  at  Mecca,  on  account  of 
their  faith,  by  the  promise  of  their  gaining  the  love  and  esteem  of  mankind  in  a  short  time. 

*  "  Of  so  many  generations  which  we  have  annihilated,  canst  thou  call  back  even  one 
man  ?     Do  they  make  the  slightest  murmur  heard  ?" — Savary. 

'  The  signification  of  these  letters,  which  being  prefixed  to  the  chapter  are  therefore 
taken  for  the  title,  is  uncertain.'  Some,  however,  imagine  they  stand  for  Ya  rajol,  i.  e.  0 
man  !  which  interpretation,  seeming  not  easily  to  be  accounted  for  from  the  Arabic,  is  by 
a  certain  tradition  deduced  from  the  Ethiopic:^  or  for  Ta,  i.  e.  tread  ;  telling  us  that  Mo- 
hammed, being  employed  in  watching  and  prayer  the  night  this  passage  was  revealed, 
stood  on  one  foot  only,  but  was  hereby  commanded  to  ease  himself  by  setting  both  feet 
to  the  ground.  Others  fancy  the  first  letter  stands  for  Tiiha,  beatitude;  and  the  latter  for 
Hawiyat,  the  name  of  the  lower  apartment  of  hell.  Tah  is  also  an  interjection  command- 
ing silence,  and  may  properly  enough  be  used  in  this  place. 

«  Either  by  reason  of  thy  zealous  solicitude  for  the  conversion  of  the  infidels,  or  thy 
fatiguing  thyself  by  watching  and  other  religious  exercises  ;  for  it  seems  the  Koreish  urged 
the  extraordinary  fatigues  he  underwent  in  those  respects,  as  the  consequence  of  his 
having  left  their  religion.' 

t  "  The  deed  which  thou  dost  in  open  day,  and  that  which  thou  veilest  in  the  shades 
of  mystery,  are  equally  known  to  him." — Savary. 

»  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c.  *  Moham.  Ebn  Abd  al  Baki,  ex  trad. 

Acremae  Ebn  Abi  Sofian.  '  Al  Beiadwi. 


256  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xx. 

there  is  no  God  but  he,  he  hath  most  excellent  names.*  Hast  tliou 
been  informed  of  the  history  of  Moses  7'^  When  he  saw  fire,  and 
said  unto  his  family,  Tarry  ye  here;  for  I  perceive  fire;  peradventure 
I  may  bring  you  a  brand  thereout,  or  may  find  a  direction  in  our 
way  by  the  fire.^  And  when  he  was  come  near  unto  it,  a  voice  called 
unto  him,  saying,  O  Moses,  verily  I  am  thy  Lord  :  wherefore  put  off 
thy  shoes ;  ^  for  thou  art  in  the  sacred  valley  Towa.  And  I  have  chosen 
thee;  therefore  hearken  with  attention  unto  that  which  is  revealed  unto 
ihee.  Verily  I  am  God  ;  there  is  no  god  besides  me ;  wherefore  worship 
me,  and  perform  thy  prayer  in  remembrance  of  me.  Verily  the  hour 
Cometh :  I  will  surely  manifest  the  same,  that  every  soul  may  receive 
its  reward  for  that  which  it  hath  deliberately  done.  Let  not  him  who 
believeth  not  therein,  and  who  followeth  his  lust,  prevent  thee  from 
believing  in  the  same,  lest  thou  perish.  Now  what  is  that  in  thy  right 
hand,  O  Moses  ?  He  answered.  It  is  my  rod  whereon  I  lean,  and  with 
which  I  beat  down  leaves  for  my  flock ;  and  I  have  other  uses  for  it.* 
God  said  unto  him,  Cast  it  down,  O  Moses.  And  he  cast  it  down,  and 
behold,  it  became  a  serpent,^  which  ran  about.  God  said.  Take  hold  on  it, 
and  fear  not :  *  we  will  reduce  it  to  its  former  condition.  And  put  thy 
right  hand  under  thy  left  arm  :  it  shall  come  forth  white,*'  without  any  hurt. 
This  shall  he  another  sign :  that  we  may  show  thee  some  of  our  greatest 
signs.  Go  unto  Pharaoh :  for  he  is  exceedingly  impious.  Moses  an- 
swered. Lord,  enlarge  my  breast,*  and  make  what  thou  hast  commanded 
me  easy  unto  me :  and  loose  the  knot  of  my  tongue,  that  they  may  under- 
stand my  speech."^    And  give  me  a  counsellor «  of  my  family,  namely  Aaron 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  136,  and  chap.  18,  p.  238. 

"  The  rehtion  of  the  story  of  Moses,  which  takes  up  the  greatest  part  of  this  chapter, 
was  designed  to  encourage  Mohammed,  by  his  example,  to  discharge  the  prophetic  office 
with  firmness  of  mind,  as  being  assured  of  receiving  the  Hke  assistance  from  God :  for  it  is 
said  this  chapter  was  one  of  the  first  that  were  revealed.* 

^  The  commentators  say,  that  Moses,  having  obtained  leave  of  Shoaib,  or  Jethro,  his 
father-in-law,  to  visit  his  mother,  departed  with  his  family  from  Midian  towards  Egypt; 
but  coming  to  the  valley  of  Towa,  wherein  mount  Sinai  stands,  his  wife  fell  in  labour,  and 
was  delivered  of  a  son,  in  a  very  dark  and  snowy  night ;  he  had  also  lost  his  way,  and 
his  cattle  were  scattered  from  him,  when  on  a  sudden  he  saw  a  fire  by  the  side  of  a 
mountain,  which  on  his  nearer  approach  he  found  burning  in  a  green  bush.^ 

y  This  was  a  mark  of  humility  and  respect :  though  some  fancy  there  was  some  un- 
cleanness  in  the  shoes  themselves,  because  they  were  made  of  the  skin  of  an  ass  not 
dressed.® 

'  As  to  drive  away  wild  beasts  from  my  flock,  to  carry  my  bottle  of  water  on,  to  stick 
up  and  hang  my  upper  garment  on,  to  shade  me  from  the  sun ;  and  several  other  uses 
enumerated  by  the  commentators. 

"  Which  was  at  first  no  bigger  than  the  rod,  but  afterwards  swelled  to  a  prodigious  size.' 

^  When  Moses  saw  the  serpent  move  about  with  great  nimbleness,  and  swallow  stones 
and  trees,  he  was  grealy  terrified,  and  fled  from  it ;  but  recovering  his  courage  at  these 
words  of  God,  he  had  the  boldness  to  take  the  serpent  by  the  jaws.^ 

*=  See  chap.  7,  p.  127.  (His  hand  was  covered  with  a  white  leprosy,  says  Gelaleddin, 
from  which  he  felt  no  pain. — Savary). 

*  "  Lord,  replied  Moses,  expand  my  heart." — Savary. 

**  For  Moses  had  an  impediment  in  his  speech,  which  was  occasioned  by  the  following 
accident.     Pharaoh  one  day  carrying  him  in  his  arms,  when  a  child,  he  suddenly  laid  hold 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  ^  Idem.  '  Idem  « Idem. 


CHAP.  XX.  AL  KORAN.  257 

my  brother.  Gird  up  my  loins  by  him,  and  make  him  my  colleague  in  the 
business :  that  we  may  praise  thee  greatly,  and  may  remember  thee  often  ; 
for  thou  regardest  us.  God  replied,  Now  hast  thou  obtained  thy  request,  O 
Moses :  and  we  have  heretofore  been  gracious  unto  thee,  another  time ; 
when  we  revealed  unto  thy  mother  that  which  was  revealed  unto  her,^  say- 
ing, Put  him  into  the  ark,  and  cast  him  into  the  river,  and  the  river  shall 
throw  him  on  the  shore;  and  my  enemy  and  his  enemy  shall  take  him  and 
bring  him  up  ;  s  and  I  bestowed  on  thee  love  from  me,''  that  thou  mightest 
be  bred  up  under  my  eye.  When  thy  sister  went  and  said,  Shall  I  bring 
you  unto  one  who  will  nurse  the  child  ?'  So  we  returned  thee  unto  thy 
mother,  that  her  mind  might  be  set  at  ease,  and  that  she  might  not  be 
afflicted.  And  thou  slowest  a  soul,  and  we  delivered  thee  from  trouble;'' 
and  we  proved  thee  by  several  trials:^  and  afterwards  thou  didst  dwell 
some  years  ">  among  the  inhabitants  of  Madian.  Then  thou  camest  hither 
according  to  our  decree,  O  Moses ;  and  I  have  chosen  thee  for  myself; 
wherefore  go  thou  and  thy  brother "  with  my  signs ;  and  be  not  negligent 
in  remembering  me.  Go  ye  unto  Pharaoh,  for  he  is  excessively  impious  : 
and  speak  mildly  unto  him;  peradventure  he  will  consider,  or  will  fear  our 

of  his  beard,  and  plucked  it  in  a  very  rough  manner,  which  put  Pharaoh  into  such  a 
passion,  that  he  ordered  him  to  be  put  to  death :  but  Asia,  his  wife,  representing  to  him 
that  he  was  but  a  child,  who  could  not  distinguish  between  a  burning  coal  and  a  ruby,  he 
ordered  the  experiment  to  be  made;  and  a  live  coal  and  a  ruby  being  set  before  Moses, 
he  took  the  coal  and  put  it  into  his  mouth,  and  burnt  his  tongue :  and  thereupon  he  was 
pardoned.     This  is  a  Jewish  story  a  little  altered.® 

*  The  Arabic  word  is  Wazir,  which  signifies  one  who  has  the  chief  administration  of 
affairs  under  a  prince. 

'  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  by  what  means  this  revelation  was  made  ;  whether 
by  private  inspiration,  by  a  dream,  by  a  prophet,  or  by  an  angel. 

8  The  commentators  say,  that  his  mother  accordingly  made  an  ark  of  the  papyrus,  and 
pitched  it,  and  put  in  some  cotton  ;  and  having  laid  the  child  therein,  committed  it  to  the 
river,  a  branch  of  which  went  into  Pharaoh's  garden:  that  the  stream  carried  the  ark 
thither  into  a  fishpond,  at  the  head  of  which  Pharaoh  was  then  sitting,  with  his  wife  Asia, 
the  daughter  of  Mozahem  ;  and  that  the  king,  having  commanded  it  to  be  taken  up  and 
opened,  and  finding  in  it  a  beautiful  child,  took  a  fancy  to  it,  and  ordered  it  to  be  brought, 
up.' 

Some  writers  mention  a  miraculous  preservation  of  Moses  before  he  was  put  into  the 
ark;  and  tell  us,  that  his  mother  having  hid  him  from  Pharaoh's  officers  in  an  oven,  his 
sister,  in  her  mother's  absence,  kindled  a  large  fire  in  the  oven  to  heat  it,  not  knowing 
the  child  was  there,  but  that  he  was  afterwards  taken  out  unhurt.' 

■^  That  is,  I  inspired  the  love  of  thee  into  the  hearts  of  those  who  saw  thee,  and  par- 
ticularly into  the  heart  of  Pharaoh. 

'  The  Mohammedans  pretend  that  several  nurses  were  brought,  but  the  child  refused 
to  take  the  breast  of  any,  till  his  sister  Miriam,  who  went  to  learn  news  of  him,  told  them 
she  would  find  a  nurse,  and  brought  his  mother.^ 

^  Moses  killed  an  Egyptian,  in  defence  of  an  Israehte,  and  escaped  the  danger  of  being 
punished  for  it,  by  flying  to  Midian,  which  was  eight  days'  journey  distant  from  Mesr.* 

The  Jews  pretend  he  was  actually  imprisoned  for  the  fact,  and  condemned  to  be  be- 
headed, but  that,  when  he  should  have  suflfered,  hia  neck  became  as  hard  as  ivory,  and 
the  sword  rebounded  on  the  executioner.' 

'  For  he  was  obliged  to  abandon  his  country  and  his  friends,  and  to  travel  several  days, 
in  great  terror  and  want  of  necessary  provisions,  to  seek  a  refuge  among  strangers ;  and 
was  afterwards  forced  to  serve  for  hire,  to  gain  a  livehhood. 

""  I.  e.  Ten.« 

"  Aaron  being  by  this  time  come  out  to  rheet  his  brother,  either  by  divine  inspiration, 
or  having  notice  of  his  design  to  return  to  Egypt."" 

»  Vide  Shalsh.  Hakkab.  p.  11.  '  Al  Beidawi.  »  Abulfeda,  &c.  "  Al  Beidawi. 
*Idem.  *Shaish.  Hakkab.  p.  11.  «  Al  Beidawi.  Mdem. 


258  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xx. 

threats.^  They  answered,  O  Lord,  verily  we  fear  lest  he  be  precipitately 
violent  against  us,  or  lest  he  transgress  7nore  exorbitantly.  God  replied, 
Fear  not ;  for  I  am  with  you :  I  will  hear  and  will  see.  Go  ye  therefore 
unto  him,  and  say.  Verily  we  are  the  messengers  of  thy  Lord  :  wherefore 
send  the  children  of  Israel  with  us,  and  do  not  afflict  them.  Now  are  we 
come  unto  thee  with  a  sign  from  thy  Lord  :  and  peace  be  upon  him  who 
shall  follow  the  true  direction.  Verily  it  hath  been  revealed  unto  us,  that 
a  punishment  shall  be  inflicted  on  him  who  shall  charge  us  with  imposture, 
and  shall  turn  back.  And  when  they  had  delivered  their  message,  Pharaoh 
said.  Who  is  your  Lord,  O  Moses?  He  answered.  Our  Lord  is  he  who 
giveth  all  things :  he  hath  created  them,  and  directeth  them  by  his  pro- 
vidence. Pharaoh  said,  What  therefore  is  the  condition  of  the  former  gene- 
rations ?""f  Moses  answered,  The  knowledge  thereof  is  with  my  Lord, 
in  the  book  of  his  decrees  :  my  Lord  erreth  not,  neither  doth  he  forget.  It 
is  he  who  hath  spread  the  earth  as  a  bed  for  you,  and  hath  made  you  paths 
therein ;  and  who  sendeth  down  rain  from  heaven,  whereby  we  cause  va- 
rious kinds  of  vegetables  to  spring  forth  ;  saying,  Eat  of  part,  and  feed  your 
cattle  ivith  other  part  thereof  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  those  who  are 
endued  with  understanding.  Out  of  the  ground  have  we  created  you  ;  and 
to  the  same  will  we  cause  you  to  return,  and  we  will  bring  you  forth  from 
thence  another  time.  And  we  showed  Pharaoh  all  our  signs  which  ive  had 
empowered  Moses  to  perform  :  but  he  accused  him  of  imposture,  and  refused 
to  believe  ;  and  he  said,  Art  thou  come  unto  us  that  thou  mayest  dispossess 
us  of  our  land  by  thy  enchantments,  O  Moses?  Verily  we  will  meet  thee 
with  the  like  enchantments;  wherefore  fix  an  appointment  between  us 
and  thee ;  we  will  not  fail  it,  neither  shalt  thou,  in  an  equal  place.  Moses 
answered.  Let  your  appointment  be  on  the  day  of  your  solemn  feast  ;p  and 
let  the  people  be  assembled  in  open  day.J  And  Pharaoh  turned  away/rom 
Moses,  and  gathered  together  the  most  expert  magicians  to  execute  his 
stratagem ;  and  then  came  to  the  appointment.  Moses  said  unto  them,  Woe 
be  unto  you !  do  not  devise  a  lie  against  God,i  lest  he  utterly  destroy  you 
by  some  judgment:  for  he  shall  not  prosper  who  deviseth  lies.  And  the 
magicians  disputed  concerning  their  affair  among  themselves,  and  discoursed 
in  private :  and  they  said,  These  two  are  certainly  magicians  :  they  seek  to 
dispossess  you  of  your  land  by  their  sorcery ;  and  to  lead  away  with  them 
your  chiefest  and  most  considerable  men.  Wherefore  collect  all  your  cun- 
ning, and  then  come  in  order :  for  he  shall  prosper  this  day,  who  shall  be 

*  "  Go  unto  Pharaoh.  His  heart  is  hardened  in  crime.  Speak  mildly  unto  him,  that 
he  may  open  his  eyes,  and  may  fear." — Savary. 

"  viz.  As  to  happiness  or  misery  after  death. 

t  "  What,  then,  was  the  design  of  the  ancient  people  ?*  continued  the  prince." — Savary. 

p  Which  was  probably  the  first  day  of  their  new  year. 

t  "  Let  the  assemblage  take  place  on  a  feast  day,  replied  Moses,  It  will  be  rendered 
more  solemn  by  the  concourse  of  the  people." — Savary. 

•^  By  saying  the  miracles  performed  in  his  name  are  the  effects  of  magic. 

*  In  worshipping  idols. — Savary. 


CHAP.  XX.  AL  KORAN.  259 

superior.*  They  said,  O  Moses,  whether  wilt  thou  cast  down  thy  rod  firsts 
or  shall  we  be  the  first  who  cast  down  our  rods  ?  He  answered,  Do  ye 
cast  down  your  rods  first.  And  behold,  their  cords  and  their  rods  appeared 
unto  him,  by  their  enchantment,  to  run  about  like  serpents;''  wherefore 
Moses  conceived  fear  in  his  heart.  But  we  said  unto  him,  Fear  not ;  for 
thou  shalt  be  superior :  therefore  cast  down  the  rod  which  is  in  thy  right 
hand  ;  and  it  shall  swallow  up  the  seeming  serpents  which  they  have  made : 
for  what  they  have  made  is  only  the  deceit  of  an  enchanter;  and  an 
enchanter  shall  not  prosper,  whithersoever  he  cometh.  And  the  magicians, 
when  they  saw  the  viiracle  which  Moses  performed,  fell  down  and  wor- 
shipped, saying,  We  believe  in  the  Lord  of  Aaron  and  of  Moses.  Pharaoh 
said  unto  them,  Do  ye  believe  in  him  before  I  give  you  permission  1  Verily 
this  is  your  master,  who  hath  taught  you  magic.  But  I  will  surely  cut  off 
your  hands  and  your  feet  on  the  opposite  sides;  and  I  will  crucify 
you  on  trunks  of  palm-trees:*  and  ye  shall  know  which  of  us  is  more 
severe  in  punishing,  and  can  longer  protract  2jour  pains.1[  They  answered, 
We  will  by  no  means  have  greater  regard  unto  thee  than  unto  those  evident 
miracles  which  have  been  shown  us,  or  than  unto  him  who  hath  created 
us.  Pronounce  therefore  that  sentence  against  us  which  thou  art  about  to 
pronounce  :  for  thou  canst  only  give  sentence  as  to  this  present  life.  Verily 
we  believe  in  our  Lord,  that  he  may  forgive  us  our  sins,  and  the  sorcery 
which  thou  hast  forced  us  to  exercise  :  for  God  is  better  to  reward,  and 
more  able  to  prolong  punishment  than  thou.  Verily  whosoever  shall  appear 
before  his  Lord  on  the  day  of  judgment,  polluted  with  crimes,  shall  have 
hell  for  his  reward  ;  he  shall  not  die  therein,  neither  shall  he  live.  But 
whoever  shall  appear  before  him,  having  been  a  true  believer,  and  shall  have 
worked  righteousness,  for  these  are  prepared  the  highest  degrees  of  happi- 
ness ;  namely,  gardens  of  perpetual  abode/  which  shall  be  watered  by 
rivers ;  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever :  and  this  shall  be  the  reward 
of  him  who  shall  be  pure.  And  we  spake  by  revelation  unto  Moses,  say- 
ing. Go  forth  with  my  servants  out  of  Egypt  by  night ;  and  smite  the  waters 
icith  thy  rod.,  and  make  them  a  dry  path  through  the  sea  :  ^  be  not  appre- 
hensive of  Pharaoh's  overtaking  thee  ;  neither  be  thou  afraid.  And  when 
Moses  had  done  so,  Pharaoh  followed  them  with  his  forces ;  and  the  waters 
of  the  sea  overwhelmed  them.  And  Pharaoh  caused  his  people  to  err, 
neither  did  he  direct  them  aright.  Thus,  O  children  of  Israel,  we  delivered 
you  from  your  enemy ;  and  we  appointed  you  the  right  side  of  mount 

*  ''  Unite,  added  Moses,  the  secrets  of  your  art.  Come  in  order,  and  let  this  day  crown 
the  victors  with  glory." — Savary. 

'  They  rubbed  them  over  with  quicksilver,  which  being  wrought  upon  by  the  heat  of 
the  sun,  caused  them  to  move.^     See  chap.  7,  p.  128. 

•  See  ibid. 

t  "  You  shall  know  whether  your  God  or  I  can  be  most  persevering  and  rigorous  in 
punishing." — Savary. 

'  Literally,  pardcns  o/Eden  ;  see  chap.  9,  p.  157. 

°  The  expositors  add,  that  the  sea  was  divided  into  twelve  separate  paths,  one  for  each 
tribe:*  a  fable  borrowed  from  the  Jews.' 

8  Al  Beiddwi.        "  Al  Beidawi,  Abulfed.  in  Hist.        '  Vide  R.  Ehezer,  Pirke,  c.  42. 


260  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XX. 


Sinai  to  discourse  with  Moses  and  to  give  him  the  law ;  and  we  caused 
manna  and  quails  to  descend  upon  you/  saying,  Eat  of  the  good  thinf^s 
which  we  have  given  you  for  food;  and  transgress  not  therein/  lest 
my  indignation  fall  on  you;  and  on  whomsoever  my  indignation  shall 
fall,  he  shall  go  down  headlong  into  perdition.  But  I  will  he  gra- 
cious unto  him  who  shall  repent  and  believe,  and  shall  do  that  which 
is  right ;  and  who  shall  be  rightly  directed.  What  hath  caused  thee  to 
hasten  from  thy  people,  O  Moses,  to  receive  the  law?''  He  answered. 
These  follow  close  on  my  footsteps ;  but  I  have  hastened  unto  thee, 
O  Lord,  that  thou  mightest  be  well  pleased  ivith  me.  God  said,  We  have 
already  made  a  trial  of  thy  people,  since  thy  departure  ^"^  and  al  Sameri" 
hath  seduced  them  to  idolatry.  Wherefore  Moses  returned  unto  his  people' 
in  great  wrath,  and  exceedingly  afflicted,  ^nd  he  said,  O  my  people, 
had  not  your  Lord  promised  you  a  most  excellent  promise '?'i  Did  the 
time  of  my  absence  seem  long  unto  you?*  Or  did  ye  desire  that  indigna- 
tion from  your  Lord  should  fall  on  you,  and  therefore  failed  to  keep  the 
promise  which  ye  made  me?  They  answered,  We  have  not  failed  in  what 
we  promised  thee  of  our  own  authority;  but  we  were  made  to  carry  in 
several  loads  of  gold  and  silver,  of  the  ornaments  of  the  people,^  and  we 

'  See  chap.  2,  p.  7. 

y  By  ingratitude,  excess,  or  insolent  behaviour. 

*  For  Moses,  it  seems,  outwent  the  seventy  elders,  who  had  been  chosen,  in  obedience 
to  the  divine  command,  to  accompany  him  to  the  mount,^and  appeared  before  God  while 
they  were  at  some,  though  no  great,  distance  behind  him. 

*  They  continued  in  the  worship  of  the  true  God  for  the  first  twenty  days  of  Moses's 
absence,  which,  by  taking  the  nights  also  into  their  reckoning,  they  computed  to  be  forty, 
and  at  their  expiration  concluded  they  had  stayed  the  full  time  which  Moses  had  com- 
manded them,  and  so  fell  into  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf 

"  This  was  not  his  proper  name,  but  he  had  this  appellation  because  he  was  of  a  cer- 
tain tribe  among  the  Jews,  called  Samaritans  (wherein  the  Mohammedans  strangely  be- 
tray their  ignorance  in  history);  though  some  say  he  was  a  proselyte,  but  a  hypocritical 
one,  and  originally  of  Kirman,  or  some  other  country.  His  true  name  was  Moses,  or 
Musa,  Ebn  Dhafar." 

Selden  is  of  opinion  that  this  person  was  no  other  than  Aaron  himself  (who  was  really 
the  maker  of  the  calf),  and  he  is  here  called  al  Sameri,  from  the  Hebrew  verb  shamar  to 
"keep  ;  '  because  he  was  the  keeper  or  guardia7i  of  the  children  of  Israel  during  his  brother's 
absence  in  the  mount ;  which  is  a  very  ingenious  conjecture,  not  absolutely  inconsistent 
with  the  text  of  the  Koran  (though  Mohammed  seems  to  have  mistaken  al  Sameri  for  the 
name  of  a  different  person),  and  offers  a  much  more  probable  origin  of  that  appellation, 
than  to  derive  it,  as  the  Mohammedans  do,  from  the  Samaritans,  who  were  not  formed 
into  a  people,  nor  bore  that  name,  till  many  ages  after. 

•=  viz.  After  he  had  completed  his  forty  days'  stay  in  the  mount,  and  had  received  the 
law.^ 

^  i.  e.  The  law,  containing  a  light  and  certain  direction  to  guide  you  in  the  right  way. 

*  "  O  my  people,  said  he,  did  not  God  make  unto  you  a  glorious  promise  ?  Did  it 
seem  to  be  too  long  deferred  ? — Savary. 

*  These  ornaments  were  rings,  bracelets,  and  the  like,  which  the  Israelites  had  bor- 
rowed of  the  Egyptians,  under  pretence  of  decking  themselves  out  for  some  feast,  and 
had  not  returned  to  them  ;  or  as  some  think,  what  they  had  stripped  from  the  dead  bodies 
of  the  Egyptians,  cast  on  shore  by  the  sea:  and  al  Sameri,  conceiving  them  unlawful  to 
be  kept,  and  the  occasion  of  much  wickedness,  persuaded  A.aron  to  let  him  collect  them 
from  the  people ;  which  being  done,  he  threw  them  all  into  the  fire,  to  melt  them  down 
into  one  mass.'' 

It  is  observable,  that  the  Mohammedans  generally  suppose  the  cast  metal's  coming  forth 
in  the  shape  of  a  calf  was  beside  the  expectation  of  al  Sameri,  who  had  not  made  a  mould 

'  See  chap.  2,  p.  9,  chap.  7,  p.  132,  &c.  »  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  *  Selden, 

de  Diis  Syris,  Synt.  1.  c.  4.  "  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient, 
p.  650,  and  Kor.  chap.  2,  p.  7,  &c. 


CHAP.  XX.  AL  KORAN.  261 

cast  them  into  the  fire ;  and  in  like  manner  al  Samcri  also  cast  in  what  he 
had  collected^  and  he  produced  unto  them  a  corporeal  calf/  which  lowed. 
And  al  Sameri  and  his  companions  said,  This  is  your  god,  and  the  god  of 
Moses ;  but  he  hath  forgotten  him,  and  is  gone  to  seek  some  other.  Did 
they  not  therefore  see  that  their  idol  returned  them  no  answer,  and  was  not 
able  to  cause  them  either  hurt  or  profit  ?  And  Aaron  had  said  unto  them 
before,  O  my  people,  verily  ye  are  only  proved  by  this  calf ;  for  your  Lord 
is  the  Merciful :  wherefore,  follow  me,  and  obey  my  command.  They  an- 
swered, We  will  by  no  means  cease  to  be  devoted  to  its  worship^  until 
Moses  return  unto  us.  And  when  Moses  was  returned,  he  said,  O  Aaron, 
what  hindered  thee,  when  thou  sawest  that  they  went  astray,  that  thou 
didst  not  follow  me  ?  s  Hast  thou,  therefore,  been  disobedient  to  my  com- 
mand ?  Aaron  answered,  O  son  of  my  mother,  drag  me  not  by  the  beard, 
nor  by  the  hair  of  my  head.  Verily  I  feared  lest  thou  shouldest  say, 
Thou  hast  made  a  division  among  the  children  of  Israel,  and  thou  hast  not 
observed  my  saying.^*  Moses  said  unto  al  Sameri,  What  ivas  thy  design, 
O  Sameri  ?  He  answered,  I  saw  that  which  they  saw  not ; '  wherefore  I 
took  a  handful  of  dust  from  the  footsteps  of  the  messenger  of  God,  and  I 
cast  it  into  the  molten  calf ;  ^  for  so  did  my  mind  direct  me.  Moses  said, 
Get  thee  gone ;  for  thy  punishment  in  this  life  shall  be,  that  thou  shalt  say 
unto  those  icho  shall  meet  thee,  Touch  me  not ;  ^  and  a  threat  is  denounced 
against  thee  of  more  terrible  pains,  in  the  life  to  come,  which  thou  shalt  by 
no  means  escape.  And  behold  now  thy  god,  to  whose  ivorship  thou  hast 
continued  assiduously  devoted;  verily  we  will  burn  it;™  and  we  will  re- 

of  that  figure  :  and  that  when  Aaron  excuses  himself  to  his  brother,  in  the  pentateuch, 
he  seems  as  if  he  would  persuade  him  it  was  an  accident.^ 

f  See  chap.  7,  p.  132,  note  k. 

8  By  these  words  Moses  reprehends  Aaron  for  not  seconding  his  zeal  in  taking  arms 
against  the  idolaters ;  or  for  not  coming  after  him  to  the  mountain,  to  acquaint  him  with 
their  rebellion. 

•■  i.  e.  Lest,  if  I  had  taken  arms  against  the  worshippers  of  the  calf,  thou  shouldest  say 
that  1  had  raised  a  sedition  ;  or  if  I  had  gone  after  thee,  thou  shouldest  blame  me  for 
abandoning  my  charge,  and  not  waiting  thy  return  to  rectify  what  was  amiss. 

'  viz.  That  the  messenger  sent  to  thee  from  God  was  a  pure  spirit,  and  that  his  foot- 
steps gave  life  to  whatever  they  touched  ;  being  no  other  than  the  aivj,c\  Gabriel,  mounted 
on  the  horse  of  life  ;  and  therefore  I  made  use  of  the  dust  of  his  feet  to  animate  the 
molten  calf  It  is  said,  al  Sameri  knew  the  angel,  because  he  had  saved  and  taken  care 
of  him  when  a  child,  and  exposed  by  his  mother  for  fear  of  Pharaoh.' 

*  See  chap.  2,  p.  7. 

'  Lest  they  infect  thee  with  a  burning  fever:  for  that  was  the  consequence  of  any  man's 
touching  him,  and  the  same  happened  to  the  persons  he  touched;  ibr  which  reason  he 
was  ohliL't'd  to  avoid  all  communication  with  others,  and  was  also  shunned  by  them, 
wandering  in  the  desert  like  a  wild  beast.* 

Hence  it  is  concluded  that  a  tribe  of  Samaritan  Jews,  said  to  inhabit  a  certain  isle  in 
the  Red  Sea,  are  the  descendants  of  our  al  Sameri ;  because  it  is  their  peculiar  mark  of 
distinction,  at  this  day,  to  use  the  same  words,  viz.  La  Mesas,  i.  e.  Touch  me  not,  to  those 
they  meet.^  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  story  may  owe  its  rise  to  the  known  hatred 
borne  by  the  Samaritans  to  the  Jews,  and  their  superstitious  avoiding  to  have  any  com- 
merce with  them  or  any  other  strangers.' 

■  Or,  as  the  word  may  also  be  translated,  We  will  file  it  dawn  ,•  but  the  other  is  the 
more  received  interpretation. 

"  See  Exod.  xxxii.  24.  »  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  lidem.  ^  Vide  Geogr, 

Nub.  p.  45.  '  Vide  Selden.  ubi  sup. 


262  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xx. 

duce  it  to  powder,  and  scatter  it  in  the  sea.  Your  God  is  the  true  God, 
besides  whom  there  is  no  other  god :  he  comprehendeth  all  things  by  his 
knowledge.  Thus  do  we  recite  unto  thee,  O  Mohammed^  relations  of  what 
hath  passed  heretofore ;  and  we  have  given  thee  an  admonition  from  us. 
He  who  shall  turn  aside  from  it  shall  surely  carry  a  load  of  guilt  on  the 
day  of  resurrection  :  they  shall  continue  thereunder  for  ever  ;  and  a 
grievous  burden  shall  it  be  unto  them  on  the  day  of  resurrection."  On 
that  day  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded;  and  we  will  gather  the  wicked 
together  on  that  day,*  having  grey  eyes.°  They  shall  speak  with  a  low 
voice  to  one  another,  saijing,  Ye  have  not  tarried  ^  above  ten  days.  We 
well  know  what  they  will  say ;  when  the  most  conspicuous  among  them 
for  behaviour  shall  say,  Ye  have  not  tarried  above  one  day.  They  will  ask 
thee  concerning  the  mountains  :  Answer,  My  Lord  will  reduce  them  to 
dust,  and  scatter  them  abroad ;  ^  and  he  will  leave  them  a  plain  equally  ex- 
tended :  thou  shalt  see  no  part  of  them  higher  or  lower  than  another.  On 
that  day  mankind  shall  follow  the  angel  who  will  call  them-  to  judgment^'' 
none  shall  have  power  to  turn  aside  from  him ;  and  their  voices  shall  be  low 
before  the  Merciful,  neither  shalt  thou  hear  any  more  than  the  hollow 
sound  of  their  feet.  On  that  day,  the  intercession  of  none  shall  be  of 
advantage  unto  another,  except  the  intercession  of  him  to  whom  the 
Merciful  shall  grant  permission,^  and  who  shall  be  acceptable  unto  him 
in  what  he  sailh.y  God  knoweth  that  which  is  before  them,  and  that 
which  is  behind  them ;  but  they  comprehend  not  the  same  by  their  know- 
ledge :J  and  their  faces  shall  be  humbled*  before  the  living,  the  self-subsist- 
ing God;  and  he  shall  be  wretched  who  shall  bear  Ids  iniquity.  But 
whosoever  shall  do  good  works,  being  a  true  believer,  shall  not  fear  any 
injustice,  or  any  diminution  of  his  reward  from  God.  And  thus  have  we 
sent  down  this  book,  being  a  Koran  in  the  Arabic  tongue ;  and  we  have 
inserted  various  threats  and  promises  therein,  that  men  may  fear  God,  or 
that  it  may  awaken  some  consideration  in  them :  wherefore,  let  God  be 

"See  chap.  6,  p.  101. 

*  "  And  their  eyes  shall  be  covered  with  darkness." — Savary. 

°  For  this,  with  the  Arabs,  is  one  mark  of  an  enemy,  or  a  person  they  abominate  ;  to 
say  a  man  has  a  black  liver  (though  I  think  we  express  our  aversion  by  the  term  white- 
Hvered),  reddish  whiskers,  and  grey  eyes,  being  a  periphrasis  for  a  foe,  and  particularly  a 
Greek,  which  nation  were  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of  the  Arabs,  and  have  usually 
hair  and  eyes  of  those  colours.''  The  original  word,  however,  signifies  also  those  who 
are  squint-eyed,  or  even  blind  of  a  suffusion. 

p  viz.  In  the  world  ;  or  in  the  grave. 

1  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59. 

'  See  ibid. 

"  Or,  Except  unto  him,  &c.     See  chap.  19,  p.  104, 

t  *•  Intercession  shall  benefit  none  but  those  to  whom  God  shall  grant  this  favour,  and 
who  shall  have  pronounced  the  profession  of  faith  which  he  loveth."* — Savary. 

t  "He  knoweth  the  past  and  the  future.  Human  knowledge  extends  not  thus  far."— 
Savary. 

'  The  original  word  properly  expresses  the  humility  and  dejected  looks  of  captives  in 
the  presence  of  their  conqueror. 

*  AI  Beidawi,  .Tawhari,  in  Lex.  '  "  This  profession  of  faith  consists  in  the  words, 
There  is  no  God  but  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his  prophet.  These  words  ought  never  to  be 
repeated  before  Turks,  unless  the  speaker  have  an  inclination  to  be  circumcised." — Savary. 

\ 


CHAP.  XX.  AL  KORAN.  263 

highly  exalted,  the  King,  the  Truth !  Be  not  overhasty  in  receiving  or 
repeatbig  the  Koran  before  the  revelation  thereof  be  completed  unto  thee ; " 
and  say.  Lord,  increase  my  knowledge.  We  heretofore  gave  a  command 
unto  Adam ;  but  he  forgot  the  same^^  and  ate  of  the  forbidden  fruit ;  and 
we  found  not  in  him  a  firm  resolution.  And  rememher  when  we  said  unto 
the  angels.  Worship  ye  Adam;  and  they  worshipped  him:  but  Eblis. 
refused.'^  And  we  said,  O  Adam,  verily  this  is  an  enemy  unto  thee,  and 
thy  wife:  wherefore,  beware  lest  he  turn  you  out  of  paradise;  for  then 
shalt  thou  be  miserable.  Verily  we  have  made  a  provision  for  thee,  that 
thou  shalt  not  hunger  therein,  neither  shalt  thou  be  naked :  and  there  is 
also  a  provision  made  for  thee,  that  thou  shalt  not  thirst  therein,  neither 
shalt  thou  be  incommoded  by  heat.  But  Satan  whispered  evil  suggestions 
unto  him,  saying,  O  Adam,  shall  I  guide  thee  to  the  tree  of  eternity,  and 
a  kingdom  which  faileth  not?*  And  they  both  ate  thereof:  and  their 
nakedness  appeared  unto  them ;  and  thqy  began  to  sew  together  the  leaves 
of  paradise,  to  cover  themselves.^  And  thus  Adam  became  disobedient 
unto  his  Lord,  and  was  seduced.  Afterwards  his  Lord  accepted  him,  on 
his  repentance,  and  was  turned  unto  him,  and  directed  him.  Jlnd  God 
said.  Get  ye  down  hence,  all  of  you  :  the  one  of  you  shall  be  an  enemy 
unto  the  other.  But  hereafter  shall  a  direction  come  unto  you  from  me :  ^ 
and  whosoever  shall  follow  my  direction  shall  not  err,  neither  shall  he  be 
unhappy ;  but  whosoever  shall  turn  aside  from  my  admonition,  verily  he 
shall  lead  a  miserable  life,  and  we  will  cause  him  to  appear  before  us  on  the 
day  of  resurrection,  blind. ^  And  he  shall  say,  O  Lord,  why  hast  thou 
brought  me  hefore  thee  blind,  whereas  before  I  saw  clearly  ?  God  shall 
answer.  Thus  have  we  done,  because  our  signs  came  unto  thee,  and  thou 
didst  forget  them ;  and  in  the  same  manner  shalt  thou  be  forgotten  this 
day.  And  thus  will  we  reward  him  who  shall  be  negligent,  and  shall  not 
believe  in  the  signs  of  his  Lord  :  and  the  punishment  of  the  life  to  come 
shall  be  more  severe,  and  more  lasting,  than  the  punishment  of  this  life. 
Are  not  the  Meccans,  therefore,  acquainted  how  many  generations  we  have 
destroyed  before  them;  in  whose  dwellings  they  walk?*  Verily  herein 
are  signs  unto  those  who  are  endued  with  understanding.  And  unless  a 
decree  had  previously  gone  forth  from  thy  Lord  for  their  respite^  verily 

"  Mohammed  is  here  commanded  not  to  be  impatient  at  any  delay  in  Gabriel's  bringing 
the  divine  revelations,  or  not  to  repeat  it  too  fast  after  the  angel,  so  as  to  overtake  him 
before  he  had  finished  the  passage.  But  some  suppose  the  prohibition  relates  to  the 
pubhshing  any  verse  before  the  same  was  perfectly  explained  to  him.* 

'  Adam's  so  soon  forgetting  the  divine  command  has  occasioned  some  Arab  etymolo- 
gists to  derive  the  word  Insan,  i.  e.  man,  from  nasiya,  to  forget,  and  has  also  given  rise 
to  the  following  proverbial  saying,  Awwalo  nasin  awwallo' miasi.  That  is,  The  first  for' 
getful  "persoiL  was  the  first  of  men  ;  alluding  to  the  like  sound  of  the  words. 

*  See  chap.  2,  p.  5,  &c. ;  chap.  7,  p.  117,  &c. 

*  "  The  tree  which  giveth  endless  sovereignty." — Savary. 
"See  chap.  7,  pp.  117,  118. 

''  See  chap.  2. 

»  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect,  iv,  p.  61. 

•*  Seeing  the  footsteps  of  their  destruction ;  as  of  the  tribes  of  Ad  and  Thamud. 

•  Al  Beidavvi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


264  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxi. 

their  destruction  had  necessarily  followed :  but  there  is  a  certain  time  de- 
termined by  God  for  their  punishment.  Wherefore,  do  thou,  O  Mohammed, 
patiently  bear  that  which  they  say ;  and. celebrate  the  praise  of  thy  Lord 
before  the  rising  of  the  sun,  and  before  the  setting  thereof,  and  praise  him  m 
the  hours  of  the  night,  and  in  the  extremities  of  the  day,"  that  thou  mayest 
be  well-pleased  with  the  prospect  of  receiving  favour  from  God.  And  cast 
not  thine  eyes  on  that  which  we  have  granted  divers  of  the  unbelievers  to 
enjoy,  namely,  the  splendour  of  this  present  life,*"  that  we  may  prove  them 
thereby ;  for  the  provision  of  thy  Lord  **  is  better,  and  more  permanent. 
Command  thy  family  to  observe  prayer ;  and  do  thou  persevere  therein.  We 
require  not  of  thee  that  thou  labour  to  gain  necessary  provisions /or  thyself 
and  family  ;  we  will  provide  for  thee ;  for  the  prosperous  issue  shall  attend 
on  piety.''  The  unbelievers  say.  Unless  he  come  unto  us  with  a  sign  from 
his  Lord,  we  will  not  believe  on  him.  Hath  not  a  plain  declaration  come 
unto  them,  of  that  which  is  contained  in  the  former  volumes  of  scripture., 
by  the  revelation  of  the  Koran?  If  we  had  destroyed  them  by  a  judgment 
before  the  same  had  been  revealed,  they  would  have  said,  at  the  resurrection, 
O  Lord,  how  could  we  believe  since  thou  didst  not  send  unto  us  an  apostle, 
that  we  might  follow  thy  signs,  before  we  were  humbled  and  covered  with 
shame?  Say,  Each  of  us  wait  the  issue:  wait,  therefore;  for  ye  shall 
surely  know  hereafter  who  have  been  the  followers  of  the  even  way,  and 
who  hath  been  rightly  directed. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

INTITLED,  THE  PROPHETS;'    REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

*  [XVII.]  The  time  of  giving  up  their  account  draweth  nigh  unto  the 
people  of  Mecca ;  while  they  are  sunk  in  negligence,  turning  aside  from  the 
consideration  thereof.     No  admonition  cometh  unto  them  from  their  Lord, 

•^  i.  e.  Evening  and  morning  ;  which  times  are  repeated  as  the  principal  hours  of  prayer. 
But  some  suppose  these  words  intend  the  prayer  of  noon  ;  the  first  half  of  the  day  ending, 
and  the  second  half  beginning,  at  that  time.' 

'  That  is,  Do  not  envy  or  covet  their  pomp  and  prosperity  in  this  world.^ 

**  viz.  The  reward  laid  up  for  thee  in  the  next  life :  or  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and  the 
revelations  with  which  God  has  favoured  thee. 

^  It  is  said,  that  when  Mohammed's  family  were  in  any  strait  or  affliction,  he  used  to 
order  them  to  go  to  prayers,  and  to  repeat  this  verse.* 

*  "  The  unbelievers  have  said,  We  will  not  believe  on  him,  unless  he  work  miracles. 
Have  they  not  heard  the  history  of  the  nations  which  came  before  them  ?" — Savary. 

'  The  chapter  bears  this  title,  because  some  particulars  relating  to  several  of  the  ancient 
prophets  are  here  recited. 

Savary  adds,  after  the  word  prophets,  "  Peace  be  with  them." 

(He  who  shall  read  this  chapter,  says  Zamakhshari,  shall  be  favourably  judged  on  the 
day  of  resurrection.  The  prophets  who  are  mentioned  in  the  Koran  shall  stretch  out  their 
hands  to  him,  and  salute  him. — Savary.) 

■"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  See  chap.  15,  p.  213.  •  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXI.  AL  KORAN.  265 

being  lately  revealed  in  the  Koran,  but  when  they  hear  it,  they  turn  it  to 
sport :  their  hearts  are  taken  up  with  delights.  And  they  who  act  unjustly 
discourse  privately  together,  saying,  Is  this  Mohammed  any  more  than  a 
man  like  yourselves?  Will  ye  therefore  come  to  hear  a  piece  of  sorcery, 
when  ye  plainly  perceive  it  to  be  so?*  Say,  My  Lord  knoweth  whatever 
is  spoken  in  heaven  and  on  earth  :  it  is  he  who  heareth  and  knoweth.  But 
they  say,  The  Koran  is  a  confused  heap  of  dreams  :  nay,  he  hath  forged  it ; 
nay,  he  is  a  poet :  let  him  come  unto  us  therefore  with  some  miracle,  in 
like  manner  as  the  former  prophets  were  sent.  None  of  the  cities  which  we 
have  destroyed  believed  the  miracles  which  they  saw  performed  before  them  : 
will  these  therefore  believe,  if  they  see  a  miracle  ?  We  sent  none  as  our 
apostles  before  them,  other  than  men,  unto  whom  we  revealed  our  will. 
Ask  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  scripture,  if  ye  know  not  this.  We 
gave  them  not  a  body  which  could  be  supported  without  their  eating  food  ; 
neither  were  they  immortal.  But  we  made  good  our  promise  unto  them : 
wherefore  we  delivered  them,  and  those  whom  we  pleased;  but  we 
destroyed  the  exorbitant  transgressors.  Now  have  we  sent  down  unto  you, 
O  Koreish,  the  book  of  the  Koran ;  wherein  there  is  honourable  mention  of 
you :  will  ye  not  therefore  understand  1  And  how  many  cities  have  we 
overthrown,  which  were  ungodly ;  and  caused  other  nations  to  rise  up  after 
them?  And  when  they  felt  our  severe  vengeance,  behold,  they  fled  swiftly 
from  those  cities.  Jind  the  angels  said  scojingly  unto  them,  Do  not  fly ;  but 
return  to  that  wherein  ye  delighted,  and  to  your  habitations ;  peradventure 
ye  will  be  asked. s|  They  answered,  Alas  for  us !  verily  we  have  been 
unjust.'^  And  this  their  lamentation  ceased  not,  until  we  had  rendered 
them  like  corn  which  is  mowen  down  and  utterly  extinct.  We  created  not 
the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  that  which  is  between  them,  by  way  of 
sport.'l  If  we  had  pleased  to  take  diversion,  verily  we  had  taken  it  with 
that  which  beseemeth  us ;  '^  if  we  had  resolved  to  have  done  this.  But  we 
will  oppose  truth  to  vanity,  and  it  shall  confound  the  same ;  and  behold,  it 

*  "  Will  you  listen  unto  an  impostor  ?     You  will  know  him  soon." — Savary. 

K  t.  e.  Concerning  the  present  posture  of  affairs,  by  way  of  consultation :  or,  that  ye 
may  be  examined  as  to  your  deeds,  that  ye  may  receive  the  reward  thereof.* 

t  "  VVhiiher  fly  you?  the  angels  will  exclaim.  Return  to  enjoy  your  pleasures.  Re- 
turn to  the  abode  in  which  you  dwelt.     You  are  about  to  be  questioned." — Savary. 

^  It  is  related  that  a  prophet  was  sent  to  the  inhabitants  of  certain  towns  in  Yaman,  but 
instead  of  hearkening  to  his  remonstrances,  they  killed  him  :  upon  which  God  delivered 
them  into  the  hands  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  who  put  them  to  the  sword  ;  a  voice  at  the  same 
time  crying  from  heaven.  Vengeance  for  the  blood  of  the  prophets !  Upon  which  they 
repented,  and  used  the  words  of  this  passage. 

'  But  for  the  manifestation  of  our  power  and  wisdom  to  people  of  understanding,  that 
they  may  seriously  consider  the  wonders  of  the  creation,  and  direct  their  actions  to  the 
attainment  of  luture  happiness,  neglecting  the  vain  pomp  and  fleeting  pleasures  of  this  world. 

t  "  If  we  had  formed  the  universe  for  a  sport,  we  should  have  been  the  first  objects  of 
mockery" — Savary. 

*  viz.  VVe  had  sought  our  pleasure  in  our  own  perfections ;  or,  in  the  spiritual  beings 
which  are  in  our  immediate  presence  ;  and  not  in  raising  of  material  buildings,  with  painted 
roofs,  and  line  floors,  which  is  the  diversion  of  man. 

Some  think  the  original  word,  translated  diversion,  signifies  in  this  place  a  wife,  or  a 
child ;  and  that  the  passage  is  particularly  levelled  against  the  Christians.'* 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Zamakh.  '  lidem. 

2b 


26Q  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxi. 

shall  vanish  away.  Woe  be  unto  you,  for  that  which  ye  impiously  utter 
concerning  God  !  since  whoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  is  subject  unto 
him ;  and  the  angels  who  are  in  his  presence  do  not  insolently  disdain  his 
service,  neither  are  they  tired  therewith.  They  praise  him  night  and  day  ; 
they  faint  not.  Have  they  taken  gods  from  the  earth?  Shall  they  raise 
the  dead  to  life?  If  there  were  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth  gods  besides 
God,  verily  both  would  be  corrupted.^  But  far  be  that  which  they  utter 
from  God,  the  Lord  of  the  throne  !  No  account  shall  be  demanded  of  him 
ibr  what  he  shall  do ;  but  an  account  shall  be  demanded  of  them.  Have 
they  taken  other  gods  besides  him  ?*  Say,  Produce  your  proof  thereof. 
This  is  the  admonition  of  those  who  are  contemporary  with  me,  and  the 
admonition  of  those  who  have  been  before  me,™  but  the  greater  part  of 
them  know  not  the  truth,  and  turn  aside  from  the  same.  We  have  sent  no 
apostle  before  thee,  but  we  revealed  unto  him  that  there  is  no  god  beside 
myself,  wherefore  serve  me.  They  say,  The  Merciful  hath  begotten  issue  ; 
and  the  angels  are  his  daughter s.'^'\  God  forbid !  They  are  his  honoured 
servants,  they  prevent  him  not  in  any  thing  which  they  say ; »  and  they 
execute  his  command.  He  knoweth  that  which  is  before  them,  and  that 
which  is  behind  them  ;  they  shall  not  intercede  for  any.,  except  for  whom 
it  shall  please  him  ;  and  they  tremble  for  fear  of  him.  Whoever  of  them 
shall  say,  I  am  a  god  besides  him ;  that  angel  will  we  reward  with  hell : 
for  so  will  we  reward  the  unjust.  Do  not  the  unbelievers  therefore  know, 
that  the  heavens  and  the  earth  were  solid,  and  we  clave  the  same  in 
sunder  ;P  and  made  every  living  thing  of  water  ?J  Will  they  not  therefore 
believe?  And  we  placed  stable  mountains  on  the  earth,  lest  it  should 
move  with  them ;  ^  and  we  made  broad  passages  between  them  for  paths, 
that  they  might  be  directed  in  their  journeys  :  and  we  made  the  heaven  a 
roof  well  supported.  Yet  they  turn  aside  from  the  signs  thereof,  not  con- 
sidering that  they  are  the  workmanship  of  God.  It  is  he  who  hath  created 
the  night,  and  the  day,  and  the  sun,  and  the  moon ;  all  the  celestial  bodies 

'  That  is,  the  whole  creation  would  necessarily  fall  into  confusion  and  be  overturned, 
by  the  competition  of  such  mighty  antagonists. 

*  "Do  the  angels  worship  any  other  divinities  than  God?  Produce  your  proof." — 
^avary. 

""■  i.  e.  This  is  the  constant  doctrine  of  all  the  sacred  books  ;  not  only  of  the  Koran,  but 
of  those  which  were  revealed  in  former  ages ;  all  of  them  bearing  witness  to  the  great 
and  fundamental  truth  of  the  unity  of  God. 

"  This  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  the  Khozaites,  who  held  the  angels  to  be  the 
daughters  of  God. 

t  "  The  unbelievers  have  said,  God  has  had  a  son  by  intercourse  with  the  angels.  Far 
from  him  be  this  blasphemy  !     The  angels  are  his  honoured  servants." — Savary. 

°  i.  e.  They  presume  not  to  say  any  thing,  until  he  hath  spoken  it ;  behaving  as  servants 
who  know  their  duty. 

p  That  is,  They  were  one  continued  mass  of  matter,  till  we  separated  them,  and  divided 
the  heaven  into  seven  heavens,  and  the  earth  into  as  many  stories  ;  and  distinguished  the 
various  orbs  of  the  one,  and  the  different  climates  of  the  other,  &c.  Or,  as  some  choose 
to  translate  the  words,  The  heavens  and  the  earth  were  shut  up,  and  we  opened  the  same  : 
their  meaning  being,  that  the  heavens  did  not  rain,  nor  the  earth  produce  vegetables,  till 
God  interposed  his  power.^ 

t  "  That  we  caused  the  rain  to  descend,  which  giveih  life  to  all  the  plants." — Savary. 

'See  chap.  16,  p.  215. 

^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XXI.  AL  KORAN.  267 

move  swiftly,  each  in  Us  respective  orb.  We  have  not  granted  unto  any  man 
before  thee  eternal  permanency  in  this  world ;  if  thou  die,  therefore,  will 
they  be  immortal?'"  Every  soul  shall  taste  of  death:  and  we  will  prove 
you  with  evil,  and  with  good,  for  a  trial  of  you ;  and  unto  us  shall  ye 
return.  When  the  unbelievers  see  thee,  they  receive  thee  only  with 
scoffing,  saying,  Is  this  he  who  mentioneth  your  gods  with  contempt  ?  Yet 
themselves  believe  not  what  is  mentioned  to  them  of  the  Merciful.'*  Man 
is  created  of  precipitation.*  Hereafter  will  I  show  you  my  signs,  so  that 
ye  shall  not  wish  them  to  be  hastened.  They  say.  When  will  this  threat 
be  accomplished,  if  ye  speak  truth?  If  they  who  believe  not  knew  that  the 
time  will  surely  come,  when  they  shall  not  be  able  to  drive  back  the  fire  of 
hell  from  their  faces,  nor  from  their  backs,  neither  shall  they  be  helped,  they 
would  not  hasten  it.  But  the  day  of  vengeance  shall  come  upon  them  sud- 
denly, and  shall  strike  them  with  astonishment :  they  shall  not  be  able  to 
avert  it,  neither  shall  they  be  respited.  Other  apostles  have  been  mocked 
before  thee ;  but  the  punishment  which  they  scoffed  at  fell  upon  such  of 
them  as  mocked.  Say  unto  the  scoffers,  Who  shall  save  you  by  night  and 
by  day  from  the  Merciful  ?  Yet  they  utterly  neglect  the  remembrance  of 
their  Lord.  Have  they  gods  who  will  defend  them,  besides  us  ?  They  are 
not  able  to  help  themselves ;  neither  shall  they  be  assisted  against  us  by 
their  companions.  But  we  have  permitted  these  men  and  their  fathers  to 
enjoy  worldly  prosperity,  so  long  as  life  was  continued  unto  them.  Do  they 
not  perceive  that  we  come  unto  the  land  of  the  unbelievers,  and  straiten  the 
borders  thereof?  Shall  they  therefore  be  the  conquerors  ?  Say,  I  only 
preach  unto  you  the  revelation  of  God  :  but  the  deaf  will  not  hear  thy  call, 
whenever  they  are  preached  unto.  Yet  if  the  least  breath  of  the  punish- 
ment of  thy  Lord  touch  them,  they  will  surely  say,  Alas  for  us  !  verily  we 
have  been  unjust.  We  will  appoint  just  balances  for  the  day  of  resur- 
rection ;  neither  shall  any  soul  be  injured  at  all :  although  the  merit  or  guilt 
of  an  action  be  of  the  weight  of  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  only,  we  will  pro- 
duce it  publicly ;  and  there  will  be  sufficient  accountants  with  us.  We 
formerly  gave  unto  Moses  and  Aaron  the  law,  being  a  distinction"  between 
good  and  evil,  and  a  light  and  admonition  unto  the  pious ;  who  fear  their 
Lord  in  secret,  and  who  dread  the  hour  of  judgment.  And  this  book  also  is 
a  blessed  admonition,  which  we  have  sent  down  from  heaven  :  will  ye 
therefore  deny  it?     And  we  gave  unto  Abraham  his  direction^  heretofore, 

'  This  passage  was  revealed  when  the  infidels  said,  We  expect  to  see  Mohammed  die, 
like  the  rest  oi  mankind. 

"  Denying  his  unity  ;  or  rejecting  his  apostles  and  the  scriptures  which  were  given  for 
their  instruction,  and  particularly  the  Koran. 

*  "  And  they  dare  to  insult  the  Merciful  !" — Savanj. 

'  Being  hasty  and  inconsiderate.*  It  is  said  this  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  al 
Nodar  Ebn  al  Hareth,  when  he  desired  Mohammed  to  hasten  the  divine  vengeance  with 
which  he  threatened  the  unbelievers.' 

"  Arab,  al  Forkan.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  40. 

="  viz.  The  ten  books  of  divine  revelations  which  were  given  him.' 

'  See  chap.  17,  p.  228,  &c.        '  Al  Beidawi.        «  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect  iv.  p.  52, 


268  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxi. 

and  we  knew  him  to  he  worthy  of  the  revelations  loherewith  he  was  favoured. 
Remember  when  he  said  unto  his  father,  and  his  people,  What  ore  these 
images,  to  which  ye  are  so  entirely  devoted  ?y  They  answered,  We  found 
our  fathers  worshipping  them.  He  said,  Verily  both  ye  and  your  fathers 
have  been  in  a  manifest  error.  They  said,  Dost  thou  seriously  tell  us  the 
truth,  or  art  thou  one  who  jestest  with  us?  He  replied,  Verily  your  Lord 
is  the  Lord  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth ;  it  is  he  who  hath  created  them : 
and  I  am  one  of  those  who  bear  witness  thereof.  By  God,  I  will  surely 
devise  a  plot  against  your  idols,  after  ye  shall  have  retired  from  them,  and 
shall  have  turned  your  backs.  And  in  the  peopWs  absence  he  ivent  into  the 
temple  tchere  the  idols  stood,  and  he  brake  them  all  in  pieces,  except  the 
biggest  of  them;  that  they  might  lay  the  blame  upon  that.'-  ^nd 
when  they  were  returned,  and  saw  the  havoc  which  had  been  made^ 
they  said.  Who  hath  done  this  to  our  gods?  He  is  certainly  an 
impious  person.  And  certain  of  them  answered,  We  heard  a  young 
man  speak  reproachfully  of  them :  he  is  named  Abraham.  They  said, 
Bring  him  therefore  before  the  people,  that  they  may  bear  witness  against 
him,  And  when  he  was  brought  before  the  assembly,  they  said  unto 
him,  Hast  thou  done  this  unto  our  gods,  O  Abraham  ?  He  answered.  Nay, 
that  biggest  of  them  hath  done  it :  but  ask  them,  if  they  can  speak.  And 
they  returned  unto  themselves,^  and  said  the  one  to  the  other,  Verily  ye  are 
the  impious  persons*  Afterwards  they  relapsed  into  their  former  obstinacy,' 
and  said,  Verily  thou  knowest  that  these  speak  not.  Abraham  answered. 
Do  ye  therefore  worship,  besides  God,  that  which  cannot  profit  you  at  all, 
neither  can  it  hurt  you '?  Fie  on  you :  and  upon  that  which  ye  worship 
besides  God  !  Do  ye  not  understand  1  They  said,  Burn  him,  and  avenge 
your  gods  :  if  ye  do  this  it  will  be  ivell.^     And  when  Abraham  was  cast  into 

y  See  chap.  6,  p.  105,  &c.,  chap.  19,  p.  251,  and  chap.  2,  p.  31. 

*  Abraham  took  his  opportunity  to  do  this  while  the  Chaldeans  were  abroad  in  the 
fields,  celebrating  a  great  festival ;  and  some  say  he  hid  himself  in  the  temple  ;  and  when 
he  had  accomplished  his  design,  that  he  might  the  more  evidently  convince  them  of  their 
folly  in  worshipping  them,  he  hung  the  axe,  with  which  he  had  hewn  and  broken  down 
the  images,  on  the  neck  of  the  chief  idol,  named  by  some  writers  Baal,  as  if  he  had  been 
the  author  of  all  the  mischief.''  For  this  story,  which,  though  it  be  false,  is  not  ill  invented, 
Mohammed  stands  indebted  to  the  Jews,  who  tell  it  with  a  little  variation  :  for  they  say 
Abraham  performed  this  exploit  in  his  father's  shop,  during  his  absence  ;  that  Terah,  on 
his  return,  demanding  the  occasion  of  the  disorder,  his  son  told  him  that  the  idols  had 
quarrelled  and  fallen  together  by  the  ears  about  an  offering  of  fine  flour,  which  had  been 
brought  them  by  an  old  woman ;  and  that  the  father,  finding  he  could  not  insist  on  the 
impossibility  of  what  Abraham  pretended,  without  confessing  the  impotence  of  his  gods, 
fell  into  a  violent  passion,  and  carried  him  to  Nimrod,  that  he  might  be  exemplarily 
punished  for  his  insolence.* 

»  That  is,  They  became  sensible  of  their  folly. 

*  "  Having  awoke  to  a  sense  of  their  error,  they  exclaimed,  We  were  unjust." — Savary. 
"  Literally,  They  were  turned  down  upo7i  their  heads. 

"  Perceiving  they  could  not  prevail  against  Abraham  by  dint  of  argument,  says  al 
Beidawi,  they  had  recourse  to  persecution  and  torments.  The  same  commentator  telle 
us  the  person  who  gave  this  counsel  was  a  Persian  Curd,'  named  Heyyun,  and  that  the 
earth  opened  and  swallowed  him  up  alive :  some,  however,  say  it  was  Andeshan,  a 
Magian  priest ;'  and  others,  that  it  was  Nimrod  himself. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.     Vide  Hyde  de  Rel.  vet.  Pers.  c.  2.  «  R.  Gedal. 

in  Shalshel.  hakkab.  p.  8.  Vide  Maimon.  Yad  hazzaka,  c.  1,  deidol.  '  Vide  D'Herbel. 
Bibl.  Orient.  Art  Dhokak.  et  SchuUens,  Indie.  Geogr.  in  Vit.  Saladini,  voce  Curdi. 
'Vide  D'Herbel.  p.  115. 


CHAP.  XXI.  AL  KORAN.  269 

the  burning  pile,  we  said,  O  fire,  be  thou  cold,  and  a  preservation  unto 
Abraham.**  And  they  sought  to  lay  a  plot  against  him :  but  we  caused 
them  to  be  the  sufTerers.^  And  we  delivered  him,  and  Lot,  by  bringing 
ihem  into  the  land  wherein  we  have  blessed  all  creatures.'  And  we 
bestowed  on  him  Isaac  and  Jacob,  as  an  additional  gift  :  and  we  made  all 
of  them  righteous  persons.  We  also  made  them  models  of  religion,^*  that 
they  might  direct  others  by  our  command:  and  we  inspired  into  them  the 
doing  of  good  works,  and  the  observance  of  prayer,  and  the  giving  of  alms  ; 

^  The  commentators  relate  that,  by  Nimrod's  order,  a  large  space  was  inclosed  at 
Cutha,  and  lillod  svith  a  vast  quantity  of  wood,  which  being  set  on  fire,  buriu  d  so  fiercely, 
that  none  dared  to  venture  near  it:  then  they  bound  Abraham,  and  putting  him  into  an 
engine  (which  some  suppose  to  have  been  of  the  devil's  invention),  shot  him  into  the 
midst  of  the  lire,  from  which  he  was  preserved  by  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  was  sent  to 
his  assistance;  the  fire  burning  only  the  cords  with  which  he  was  bound. ^  They  add 
that  the  fire  having  miraculously  lost  its  heat,  in  respect  to  Abraham,  became  an 
odoriferous  air,  and  that  the  pile  changed  to  a  pleasant  meadow ;  though  it  raged  so 
furiously  oiherwise.  that  according  to  some  writers,  about  two  thousand  of  the  idolaters 
were  consumed  by  it.* 

This  story  seems  to  have  no  other  foundation  than  that  passage  of  Moses,  where  God 
is  said  to  have  brought  Abraham  out  of  Ur  o_f  the  Chaldees,'  misunderstood  :  which  words 
the  Jews,  the  most  trifling  interpreters  of  scripture,  and  some  moderns  who  have  followed 
them,  have  translated,  out  of  the  fire  of  the  Chaldees;  taking  the  word  Ur,  not  for  the 
proper  name  of  a  city,  as  it  really  is,  but  for  an  appellative,  signifying  fire.'^  However, 
it  is  a  fable  of  some  antiquity,  and  credited,  not  only  by  the  Jews,  but  by  several  of  the 
eastern  Christians;  the  twenty-fifth  of  the  second  Canun,  or  January,  being  set  apart  in 
the  Syrian  calendar,  for  the  commemoration  of  Abraham's  being  cast  into  the  fire.'' 

The  Jews  also  mention  some  other  persecutions  which  Abraham  underwent  on 
account  of  his  religion,  particularly  a  ten  years'  imprisonment:^  some  saying  he  was  im- 
prisoned by  Nimrod;*  and  others,  by  his  father  Terah.'° 

^  Some  tell  us  that  Nimrod,  on  seeing  this  miraculous  deliverance  from  his  palace,  cried 
out,  that  he  would  make  an  offering  to  the  God  of  Abraham  ;  and  that  he  accordingly 
sacrificed  lour  thousand  kine.'  But,  if  he  ever  relented,  he  soon  relapsed  into  his 
former  infidelity :  for  he  built  a  tower  that  he  might  ascend  to  heaven  to  see  Abraham's 
God;  which  being  overthrown,^  still  persisting  in  his  design,  he  would  be  carried  to  hea- 
ven in  a  chest  borne  by  four  monstrous  birds  ;  but  after  wandering  for  some  lime  through 
the  air,  he  fell  down  on  a  mountain  with  such  a  force,  that  he  made  it  shake,  whereto  (as 
some  fancy)  a  passage  in  the  Koran  ^  alludes,  which  may  be  translated,  although  their 
contrivances  be  such,  as  to  make  the  mountains  tremble. 

Nimrod,  disappointed  in  his  design  of  making  war  with  God,  turned  his  arms  against 
Abraham,  w^ho,  being  a  great  prince,  raised  forces  to  defend  himself;  but  God,  dividing 
Nimrod's  subjects,  and  confounding  their  language,  deprived  him  of  the  greater  part  oi 
his  people,  and  plagued  those  who  adhered  to  him  by  swarms  of  gnats,  which  destroyed 
almost  all  of  them  :  and  one  of  those  gnats  having  entered  into  the  nostril,  or  ear,  of 
Nimrod,  penetrated  to  one  of  the  membranes  of  his  brain,  where,  growing  bigger  every 
day,  it  gave  him  such  intolerable  pain,  that  he  was  obliged  to  cause  his  head  to  be  beaten 
with  a  mallet,  in  order  to  procure  some  ease,  which  torture  he  suffered  four  hundred 
years;  God  being  willing  to  punish,  by  one  of  the  smallest  of  his  creatures,  him  who 
insolently  boasted  himself  to  be  lord  of  all."  A  Syrian  calendar  places  the  death  of  Nim- 
rod, as  if  the  time  were  well  known,  on  the  8th  of  Thamuz,  or  July.' 

^  t.  e.  Palestine ;  in  which  country  the  greater  part  of  the  prophets  appeared. 

e  See  chap.  2,  p.  16. 

*  "  We  established  them  as  our  vicars,  to  lead  the  people  according  to  the  divine  law." 
— Savary. 

^  A\  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  «fec.  Vide  Morgan's  Mohammedism  Expl.  v.  i.  chap.  4. 
*  The  MS.  Gospel  of  Barnabas,  chap.  23.  »  Gen.  xv.  7.  *=  Vide  Targ.  Jonath.  et 

Hierosol.  in  Genes,  c.  11  et  15,  et  Hyde,  de  Rel.  vet.  Pers.  p.  74,  &c.  ■"  Vide  Hyde, 

ibid.  p.  73.  «  R.  Eliez.  Pirke,  c.  26,  &c.     Vide  Maim.  More  Nev.  fib.  ni.  c^2y. 

»  Glossa  Talmud,  in  Gemar.  Bava  bathra,  91,  1.  "'  In  Aggada.  *  Al  Beidawi. 

2  See  chap.  16,  p.  216.  ^  See  chap.  14,  p.  209.  *  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art. 
Nemrod.     Hyde,  ubi  supra.  '^  Vide  Hyde,  ibid.  p.  74. 


270  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxi. 

and  they  served  us.  And  unto  Lot  we  gave  wisdom  and  knowledge,  and 
we  delivered  him  out  of  the  city  which  committed  filthy  crimes;  for  they 
were  a  wicked  and  insolent  people;^  and  we  led  him  into  our  mercy;  for 
he  was  an  upright  person.  And  rememher  Noah,  when  he  called  for 
destruction  on  hispeoplej'  before  the  prophets  above-mentioned  :  and  we  heard 
him,  and  delivered  him  and  his  family  from  a  great  strait :  and  we  protected 
him  from  the  people  who  accused  our  signs  of  falsehood ;  for  they  were  a 
wicked  people,  wherefore  we  drowned  them  all.  And  rememlcr  David 
and  Solomon,  when  they  pronounced  judgment  concerning  a  field,  when 
the  sheep  of  certain  people  had  fed  therein  by  night,  having  no  shepherd ; 
and  we  were  witnesses  of  their  judgment :  and  we  gave  the  understanding 
thereof  unto  Solomon.^  And  on  all  of  them  we  bestowed  wisdom,  and 
knowledge.  And  we  compelled  the  mountains  to  praise  us,  with  David ; 
and  the  birds  also :  ^  and  we  did  this.  And  we  taught  him  the  art 
of  making  coats  of  mail  for  you,™  that  they  may  defend  you  in  your  wars : 
will  ye  therefore  be  thankful  ?  And  unto  Solomon  we  subjected  a  strong 
wind:*"  it  ran  at  his  command  to  the  land  whereon  we  had  bestowed  our 
blessing:**  and  we  knew  all  things.  And  ive  also  subjected  unto  his 
command  divers  of  the  devils,  who  might  dive  to  get  pearls  for  him,  and  per- 
form other  work  besides  this  ;p  and  we  watched  over  them.i     And  remember 

^  See  chap.  7,  p.  125,  &c.,  and  chap.  11,  p.  183. 

•  See  chap.  8,  p.  146,  note  r. 

^  Some  sheep,  in  their  shepherd's  absence,  having  broken  into  another  man's  field  (or 
vineyard,  say  others)  by  night,  and  eaten  up  the  corn,  a  dispute  arose  thereupon:  and 
the  cause  being  brought  before  David  and  Solomon,  the  former  said  that  the  owner  of  the 
land  should  take  the  sheep,  in  compensation  of  the  damage  which  he  had  sustained:  but 
Solomon,  who  was  then  but  eleven  years  old,  was  of  opinion  that  it  would  be  more  just 
for  the  owner  of  the  field  to  take  only  the  profit  of  the  sheep,  viz.  their  milk,  lambs,  and 
wool,  till  the  shepherd  should,  by  his  own  labour  and  his  own  expense,  put  the  field  into 
as  good  condition  as  when  the  sheep  entered  it ;  after  which  the  sheep  might  be  returned 
to  their  master.  And  this  judgment  of  Solomon  was  approved  by  David  himself,  as  better 
than  his  own.^ 

'  Mohammed,  it  seems,  taking  the  visions  of  the  Talmudists  for  truth,  believed  that 
when  David  was  fatigued  with  singing  psalms,  the  mountains,  birds,  and  other  parts  of 
the  creation,  both  animate  and  inanimate,  relieved  him  in  chanting  the  divine  praises. 
This  consequence  the  Jews  draw  from  the  words  of  the  psalmist,  when  he  calls  on  the 
several  parts  of  nature  to  join  with  him  in  celebrating  the  praise  of  God  ;  ■"  it  being  their 
perverse  custom  to  expound  passages  in  the  most  literal  manner,  which  cannot  bear  a 
literal  sense  without  a  manifest  absurdity ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  to  turn  the  plainest  pas- 
sages into  allegorical  fancies. 

™  Men,  before  his  inventing  them,  using  to  arm  themselves  with  broad  plates  of  metal. 
Lest  this  fable  should  want  something  of  the  marvellous,  one  writer  tells  us,  that  the  iron 
which  David  used  became  soft  in  his  hands  hke  wax.* 

*  "  Solomon  received  from  heaven  the  power  of  commanding  the  winds.  He  caused 
them  to  blow  at  his  will  on  the  blessed  land.     Our  knowledge  has  no  bounds." — Savary. 

"  Which  transported  his  throne  with  prodigious  swiftness.  Some  say,  this  wind  was 
violent  or  gentle,  just  as  Solomon  pleased.' 

"  viz.  Palestine,  whither  the  wind  brought  back  Solomon's  throne  in  the  evening,  after 
having  carried  it  to  a  distant  country  in  the  morning. 

p  Such  as  the  building  of  cities  and  palaces,  the  fetching  of  rare  pieces  of  art  from 
foreign  countries,  and  the  like. 

■5  Lest  they  should  swerve  from  his  orders,  or  do  mischief  according  to  their  natural 

"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &.c.  '  See  Psalm  cxlviii.  «  Tarikh  Montakkab.  Vide 
D'Herbel.  p.  284.  "  See  chap.  27. 


CHAP.  XXI.  AL  KORAN.  271 

Job ;  •■  when  he  cried  unto  his  Lord,  saying,  Verily  evil  hath  afflicted  me : 
but  thou  art  the  most  merciful  of  those  who  show  mercy.  Wherefore  we 
heard  him,  and  relieved  him  from  the  evil  which  was  upon  him :  and  we 
restored  unto  him  his  family,  and  as  many  more  with  them,  through  our 
mercy,  and  for  an  admonition  unto  those  who  serve  God.  And  remember 
Ismael,  and  Edris,«  and  Dhu'lkefl.*  All  these  were  patient  persons ;  where- 
fore we  led  them  into  our  mercy ;  for  they  were  righteous  doers.  And 
remember  Dhu'lnun,"  when  he  departed*  in  wrath,''  and  thought  that  we 
could  not  exercise  our  power  over  him.  And  he  cried  out  in  the  darkness,?" 
saying,  There  is  no  God,  besides  thee :  praise  be  unto  thee !  Verily  I  have 
been  one  of  the  unjust.     Wherefore  we  heard  him,  and  delivered  him  from 

inclinations.  Jallalo'ddin  says,  that  when  they  had  finished  any  piece  of  building,  they 
pulled  it  down  before  night,  if  they  were  not  employed  in  something  new, 

"•  The  Mohammedan  writers  tell  us  that  Job  was  of  the  race  of  Esau,  and  was  blessed 
with  a  numerous  family,  and  abundant  riches :  but  that  God  proved  him,  by  taking  away 
all  that  he  had,  even  his  children,  who  were  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  house  ;  notwithstand- 
ing which  he  continued  to  serve  God,  and  to  return  him  thanks,  as  usual :  that  he  was 
then  struck  with  a  filthy  disease,  his  body  being  full  of  worms,  and  so  offensive,  that  as 
he  lay  on  the  dunghill  none  could  bear  to  come  near  him :  that  his  wife,  however  (whom 
some  call  Rahmat  the  daughter  of  Ephraim  the  son  of  Joseph,  and  others  Makhir  the 
daughter  of  Manasses),  attended  him  with  great  patience,  supporting  him  with  what  she 
earned  by  her  labour ;  but  that  the  devil  appearing  to  her  one  day,  after  having  reminded 
her  of  her  past  prosperity,  promised  her  that  if  she  would  worship  him,  he  would  restore 
all  they  had  lost ;  whereupon  she  asked  her  husband's  consent,  who  was  so  angry  at  the 
proposal,  that  he  swore,  if  he  recovered,  to  give  his  wife  a  hundred  stripes :  that  Job 
having  pronounced  the  prayer  recorded  in  this  passage,  God  sent  Gabriel,  who,  taking 
him  by  the  hand,  raised  him  up  ;  and  at  the  same  time  a  fountain  sprang  up  at  his  feet, 
of  which  having  drunk,  the  worms  fell  oflf  his  body,  and  washing  therein  he  recovered 
his  former  health  and  beauty:  that  God  then  restored  all  to  him  double  ;  his  wife  also 
becoming  young  and  handsome  again,  and  bearing  him  twenty-six  sons:  and  that  Job, 
to  satisfy  his  oath,  was  directed  by  God  to  strike  her  one  blow  with  a  palm-branch 
having  a  hundred  leaves.^  Some,  to  express  the  great  riches  that  were  bestowed  on  Job 
after  his  sufferings,  say  he  had  two  threshing-floors,  one  for  wheat,  and  the  other  for 
barley,  and  that  God  sent  two  clouds  v/hich  rained  gold  on  the  one,  and  silver  on  the 
other,  till  they  ran  over.^  The  traditions  differ  as  to  the  continuance  of  Job's  calamities ; 
one  will  have  it  to  be  eighteen  years,  another  thirteen,  another  three,  and  another 
exactly  seven  years,  seven  months,  and  seven  hours. 

»  See  chap.  19,  p.  252. 

'  Who  this  prophet  was  is  very  uncertain.  One  commentator  will  have  him  to  be 
Elias,  or  Joshua,  or  Zacharias  :  ^  another  supposes  him  to  have  been  the  son  of  Job,  and 
to  have  dwelt  in  Syria;  to  which  some  add,  that  he  was  first  a  very  wicked  man,  but 
afterwards  repenting,  died ;  upon  which  these  words  appeared  miraculously  written  over 
his  door.  Now  hath  God  been  merciful  unto  Dhu'lkefl:*  and  a  third  tells  us  he  was  a  person 
of  great  strictness  of  life,  and  one  who  used  to  decide  causes  to  the  satisfaction  of  all 
parties,  because  he  was  never  in  a  passion;  and  that  he  was  called  Dhu'lkefl  from  his 
continual  fasting,  and  other  religious  exercises.* 

"  This  is  the  surname  of  Jonas ;  which  was  given  him  because  he  was  swallowed  by  the 
Jish.     See  chap.  10,  p.  173. 

*  "  Remember  Jonas,  when  he  departed  with  regret,  and  believed  himself  to  be  shel- 
tered from  our  power." — Savary. 

^  Some  suppose  Jonas's  anger  was  against  the  Ninevites,  being  tired  with  preaching 
to  them  for  so  long  a  time,  and  greatly  disgusted  at  their  obstinacy  and  ill  usage  of  him ; 
but  others,  more  agreeably  to  scripture,  say  the  reason  of  his  ill  humour  was  God's 
pardoning  of  that  people  on  their  repentance,  and  averting  the  judgment  which  Jonas  had 
threatened  them  with,  so  that  he  thought  he  had  been  made  a  liar.*^ 

'  i.  e.  Out  of  the  belly  of  the  fish. 

Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abu'lfeda,  &c.     See  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Aioub. 
=  Jallalo'ddin.        =*  Al  Beidawi.        *  Abu'lfeda.        »  Jallalo'ddin.        «  Al  Beidawi. 


272  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxi. 

affliction;*  lor  so  do  we  deliver  the  true  believers.  And  remember 
Zacharias,  when  he  called  upon  his  Lord,  saying,  O  Lord,  leave  me  not 
childless :  yet  thou  art  the  best  heir.  Wherefore  we  heard  him,  and  we 
gave  him  John;  and  we  rendered  his  wife  ^ifor  hearing  a  child  unto  him. 
These  strove  to  excel  in  good  works,  and  called  upon  us  with  love,  and 
with  fear;  and  humbled  themselves  before  us.  And  remember  her  who 
preserved  her  virginity,*  and  into  whom  we  breathed  of  our  spirit;  ordain- 
ing her  and  her  son  for  a  sign  unto  all  creatures.  Verily  this  your  religion 
is  one  religion,''  and  I  am  your  Lord  ;  wherefore  serve  me.  But  the  Jews 
and  Christians  have  made  schisms  in  the  affair  of  their  religion  among 
themselves ;  hut  all  of  them  shall  appear  before  us.  Whosoever  shall 
do  good  works,  being  a  true  believer,  there  shall  be  no  denial  of  the  reward 
due  to  his  endeavours ;  and  we  will  surely  write  it  down  unto  him.  An 
inviolable  prohibition  is  laid  on  every  city  which  we  shall  have  destroyed ; 
for  that  they  shall  not  return  any  more  into  the  world,  until  Gog  and 
Magog  shall  have  a  passage  opened  for  them,*=  and  they  shall  hasten  from 
every  high  hill,^  and  the  certain  promise  shall  draw  near  to  he  fulfilled  :  and 
behold,  the  eyes  of  the  infidels  shall  be  fixed  with  astonishment,  and  they 
shall  say,  Alas  for  us !  we  were  formerly  regardless  of  this  day ;  yea,  we 
were  wicked  doers.  Verily  hoth  ye,  O  men  of  Mecca,  and  the  idols  which  ye 
worship  besides  God,  shall  he  cast  as  fuel  into  hell^re  :  ye  shall  go  down 
into  the  same.  If  these  were  really  gods,  they  would  not  go  down  into  the 
same  :  and  all  of  them  shall  remain  therein  for  ever.  In  that  place  shall 
they  groan  for  anguish ;  and  they  shall  not  hear  aught  therein.*  As  for 
those  unto  whom  the  most  excellent  reward  of  paradise  hath  been  pre- 
destinated by  us,  they  shall  be  transported  far  off  from  the  same ;  ^  they 
shall  not  hear  the  least  sound  thereof:  and  they  shall  continue  for  ever  in 
the  felicity  which  their  souls  desire.  The  greatest  terror  shall  not  trouble 
them ;  and  the  angels  shall  meet  them  to  congratulate  them,  saying,  This  is 
your  day  which  ye  were  promised.  On  that  day  we  will  roll  up  the 
heavens,  as  the  angel  al  Sijils  roUeth  up  the  book  wherein  every  man'^s  actions 

^  See  chap.  37.  "^  Namely,  the  virgin  Mary. 

"  Being  the  same  which  was  professed  by  all  the  prophets,  and  holy  men  and  women, 
without  any  fundamental  difference  or  variation. 

"  i.  e.  Until  the  resurrection ;  one  sign  of  the  approach  whereof  will  be  the  irruption  of 
those  barbarians.'' 

•*  In  this  passage  some  copies,  instead  of  hadabin,  i.  e.  an  elevated  part  of  the  earth,  have 
jadathin,  which  signifies,  a  grave ;  and  if  we  follow  the  latter  reading,  the  pronoun  they 
must  not  refer  to  Gog  and  Magog,  but  to  mankind  in  general. 

*  Because  of  their  astonishment  and  the  insupportable  torments  they  shall  endure ;  or, 
as  others  expound  the  words,  They  shall  not  hear  therein  any  thing  which  may  give  them 
the  least  comfort. 

f  One  Ebn  al  Zabari  objected  to  the  preceding  words.  Both  ye  and  that  which  ye  wor- 
sJiip  besides  God  shall  be  cast  into  hell,  because,  being  general,  they  asserted  an  absolute 
falsehood ;  some  of  the  objects  of  idolatrous  worship  being  so  far  from  any  danger  of 
damnation,  that  they  were  in  the  highest  favour  with  God,  as  Jesus,  Ezra,  and  the  angels : 
wherefore  this  passage  was  revealed,  excepting  those  who  were  predestined  to  salvation.' 

5  Whose  office  is  to  write  down  the  actions  of  every  man's  life,  which  at  his  death, 
he  rolls  up,  as  completed.     Some  pretend  one  of  Mohammed's  scribes  is  here  meant :  and 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  58.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  xxn. 


AL  KORAN.  273 


are  recorded.  As  we  made  the  first  creature  out  of  nothing,  so  we  will  also 
reproduce  it  at  the  resurrection.  This  is  a  promise  which  it  lieth  on  us  to 
fulfil:  we  will  surely  perform  it.  And  now  have  we  written  in  the 
psalms,  after  the  j)romulgation  of  the  law,  that  my  servants  the  righteous 
shall  inherit  the  earth.''  Verily  in  this  hook  are  contained  sufficient  means 
of  salvation,  unto  people  who  serve  God.  We  have  not  sent  thee,  0 
Mohammed,  but  as  a  mercy  unto  all  creatures.*  Say,  No  other  hath 
been  revealed  unto  me,  than  that  your  God  is  one  God  :  will  ye  therefore 
he  resigned  unto  him?  But  if  they  turn  their  backs  to  the  confession 
of  God^s  unity.,  say,  I  proclaim  war  against  you  all  equally :  ^  but  I  know 
not  whether  that  which  ye  are  threatened  with'^  he  nigh,  or  whether  it  he 
far  distant.-f  Verily  God  knoweth  the  discourse  which  is  spoken  in  public ; 
and  he  also  knoweth  that  which  ye  hold  in  private.  I  know  not  hut  per- 
adventure  the  respite  granted  you  is  for  a  trial  of  you ;  and  that  ye  may 
enjoy  the  prosperity  of  this  world  for  a  time.  Say,  Lord,  judge  between  me 
and  my  adversaries  with  truth.  Our  Lord  is  the  Merciful ;  whose  assist- 
ance is  to  be  implored  against  the  blasphemies  and  calu?nnies  which  ye  utter. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

INTITLED,  THE  PILGRIMAGE;'  REVEALED  AT  MECCA."" 

IN   THE   NAME  OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  MEN  of  Mecca,  fear  your  Lord.  Verily  the  shock  of  the  last  hour" 
will  be  a  terrible  thing.  On  the  day  whereon  ye  shall  see  it,  every 
woman  who  giveth  suck  shall  forget  the  infant  which  she  suckleth,"  and 
every  female  that  is  with  young  shall  cast  her  burden ;  and  thou  shalt 
see  men  seemingly  drunk,  yet  they  shall  not  be  really  drunk:  but  the 
punishment  of  God  will  be  severe.  There  is  a  man  who  disputeth  concern- 
ing God  without  knowledge,^  and  followeth  every  rebellious  devil :  against 

Others  take  the  word  Sijil,  or,  as  it  is  also  written,  Sijjill,  for  an  appellative,  signifying  a 
hook  or  wrilten  scroll  ;  and  accordingly  render  the  passage  as  a  written  scroll  is  rolled  up.' 

^  These  words  are  taken  from  Psalm  xxxvii.  29. 

*  "  We  have  sent  thee  only  to  announce  unto  all  men  the  divine  mercy." — Savary. 

'  Or,  /  have  publicly  declared  unto  you  what  I  was  commanded. 

"  viz.  The  losses  and  disgraces  which  ye  shall  suffer  by  the  future  successes  of  the 
Moslems  ;  or,  the  day  of  judgment. 

t  "  If  ye  persist  in  your  unbelief,  I  announce  calamities  unto  you.  I  know  not  whether 
they  are  at  hand,  or  as  yet  at  a  distance." — Savary. 

'  Some  ceremonies  used  at  the  pilgrimage  of  Mecca  being  mentioned  in  this  chapter, 
gave  occasion  to  the  inscription. 

"Some'  except  two  verses,  beginning  at  these  words.  There  are  some  men  who  serve 
God  in  a  wavering  manner,  &,c.  And  others^  six  verses,  beginning  at.  These  are  two 
opposite  parties,  &.c. 

°  Or,  the  earthquake  which,  some  say,  is  to  happen  a  little  before  the  sun  rises  from 
the  west ;  one  sign  of  the  near  approach  of  the  day  of  judgment.' 

°  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  59. 

p  This  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  al  Nodar  Ebn  al  Ilareth,  who  maintained 

»  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  »  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ="  See  the  Prelim. 
Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  56,  &c. 


274  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxii. 

whom  it  is  written,  that  whoever  shall  take  him  for  his  patron,  he  shall 
surely  seduce  him^  and  shall  lead  him  into  the  torment  of  hell.*  O  men, 
if  ye  be  in  doubt  concerning  the  resurrection,  consider  that  we  first  created 
you  of  the  dust  of  the  ground ;  afterwards,  of  seed  ;  afterwards,  of  a  little 
coagulated  blood  ;  ^  afterwards,  of  a  piece  of  flesh,  perfectly  formed  in  j^art, 
and  in  part  imperfectly  formed ;  that  we  might  make  our  jjower  manifest 
unto  you  :  and  we  caused  that  which  we  please  to  rest  in  the  wombs,  until 
the  appointed  time  of  delivery.  Then  we  bring  you  forth  infants ;  and 
afterwards  we  permit  you  to  attain  your  age  of  full  strength :  and  one  of 
you  dieth  in  his  youth,  and  another  of  you  is  postponed  to  a  decrepid  age, 
so  that  he  forgetteth  whatever  he  knew.  Thou  seest  the  earth  sometimes 
dried  up  and  barren :  but  when  we  send  down  rain  thereon,  it  is  put  in 
motion  and  swelleth,  and  produceth  every  kind  of  luxuriant  vegetables.  This 
showeth  that  God  is  the  truth,  and  that  he  raiseth  the  dead  to  life,  and  that 
he  is  almighty;  and  that  the  hour  of  judgment  will  surely  come  (there 
is  no  doubt  thereof),  and  that  God  will  raise  again  those  who  are  in 
the  graves.  There  is  a  man  who  disputeth  concerning  God  without  either 
knowledge,  or  a  direction,  or  an  enlightening  book;""  proudly  turning  his 
side,  that  he  may  seduce  men  from  the  way  of  God.  Ignominy  shall  attend 
him  in  this  world ;  and  on  the  day  of  resurrection  we  will  make  him  taste 
the  torment  of  burning,  when  it  shall  be  said  unto  him,  This  thou  sufferest 
because  of  that  which  thy  hands  have  formerly  committed ;  for  God  is  not 
unjust  towards  mankind.|  There  are  some  men  who  serve  God  in  a 
wavering  manner,  standing,  as  it  were,  on  the  verge*  of  the  true  religion. 
If  good  befall  one  of  them,  he  resteth  satisfied  therein;  but  if  any  tribulation 

that  the  angels  were  the  daughters  of  God,  and  that  the  Koran  was  a  fardel  of  old  fables, 
and  denied  the  resurrection.* 

*  "The  greatest  part  of  men  dispute  concerning  God,  without  being  guided  by  the 
light.  They  follow  rebellious  Satan.  It  is  written  that  he  shall  lead  astray,  and  shall 
draw  down  into  hell,  whoever  shall  have  taken  him  as  his  patron." — Savary. 

« See  chap.  96. 

^  The  person  here  meant,  it  is  said,  was  Abu  Jahl,^  a  principal  man  among  the  Koreish, 
and  a  most  inveterate  enemy  of  Mohammed  and  his  religion.  His  true  name  was  Amru 
Ebn  Hesham,  of  the  family  of  Makhzum;  and  he  was  surnamed  Abu'lhocm,  i.  e.  the 
father  of  wisdom,  which  was  afterwards  changed  into  Abu  Jahl,  or  the  father  of  folly. 
He  was  slain  in  the  battle  of  Bedr.* 

t  "  The  greatest  part  dispute  concerning  God,  without  being  enlightened  by  the  torch 
of  knowledge,  and  without  the  authority  of  any  famous  book.  They  haughtily  turn 
aside  the  head,  that  they  may  mislead  their  fellow-creatures  from  the  right  path.  In  this 
world  they  shall  be  covered  with  ignominy,  and  at  the  day  of  resurrection  we  will  make 
them  to  undergo  the  torment  of  fire.  Such  shall  be  the  reward  of  their  crimes.  God 
never  deceiveth  his  servants." — Savary. 

'  This  expression  alludes  to  one  who,  being  posted  in  the  skirts  of  an  armv,  if  he  sees 
the  victory  inclining  to  his  own  side,  stands  his  ground,  but  if  the  enemy  is  likely  to  pre- 
vail, takes  to  his  heels. 

The  passage,  they  say,  was  revealed  on  account  of  certain  Arabs  of  the  desert,  who 
came  to  Medina,  and  having  professed  Mohammedism,  were  well  enough  pleased  with 
it,  so  long  as  their  affairs  prospered,  but  if  they  met  with  any  adversity,  were  sure  to  lay 
the  blame  on  their  new  religion.  A  tradition  of  Abu  Said  mentions  another  accident  as 
the  occasion  of  this  passage,  viz.  that  a  certain  Jew  embraced  Islam,  but  afterwards 
taking  a  disUke  to  it,  on  account  of  some  misfortunes  which  had  befallen  him,  went  to 
Mohammed,  and  desired  he  might  renounce  it,  and  be  freed  from  the  obligations  of  it; 
but  the  prophet  told  him  that  no  such  thing  was  allowed  in  his  religion.'' 

Al  Beidawi.  »  Jallalo'ddin.  «  See  chap.  8,  p.  145.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXII.  AL  KORAN.  275 

befall  him,  he  turneth  himself  round,  with  the  loss  hoth  of  this  world,  and  of 
the  life  to  come.  This  is  manifest  perdition.  He  will  call  upon  that, 
besides  God,  which  can  neither  hurt  him,  nor  profit  him.  This  is  an  error 
remote  fro7n  truth.  He  will  invoke  him  who  will  sooner  be  of  hurt  to  his 
worshipper  than  of  advantage.  Such  is  surely  a  miserable  patron,  and 
a  miserable  companion.*  But  God  will  introduce  those  who  shall  believe, 
and  do  righteous  works,  into  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow ;  for  God 
doth  that  which  he  pleaseth.  Whoso  thinketh  that  God  will  not  assist  his 
apostle  in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come,  let  him  strain  a  rope 
towards  heaven,  then  let  him  put  an  end  to  his  life,  and  see  whether 
his  devices  can  render  that  ineffectual,  for  which  he  was  angry.*  Thus  do 
we  send  down  the  Koran,  being  evident  signs :  for  God  directeth  whom  he 
pleaseth.  As  to  the  true  believers,  and  those  who  Judaize,  and  the  Sabians, 
and  the  Christians,  and  the  Magians,  and  the  idolaters ;  verily  God  shall 
judge  between  them  on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  for  God  is  witness  of  all 
things.  Dost  thou  not  perceive  that  all  creatures  both  in.  heaven  and 
on  earth  adore  God;^  and  the  sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  and 
the  mountains,  and  the  trees,  and  the  beasts,  and  many  men  1  but  many 
are  worthy  of  chastisement :  and  whosoever  God  shall  render  despicable, 
there  shall  be  none  to  honour;  for  God  doth  that  which  he  pleaseth. 
These  are  two  opposite  parties,  who  dispute  concerning  their  Lord.^  And 
they  who  believe  not  shall  have  garments  of  fire  fitted  unto  them  :  boiling 
water  shall  be  poured  on  their  heads ;  their  bowels  shall  be  dissolved  there- 
by, and  also  their  skins;  and  they  shall  he  heaten  with  maces  of  iron.  So 
oflen  as  they  shall  endeavour  to  get  out  of  hell,  because  of  the  anguish 
of  their  torments,  they  shall  be  dragged  back  into  the  same ;  and  their  tor- 
mentors shall  say  unto  them,  Taste  ye  the  pain  of  burning.  God  will 
introduce  those  who  shall  believe,  and  act  righteously,  into  gardens  through 
which  rivers  flow :  they  shall  be  adorned  therein  with  bracelets  of  gold,  and 
pearls ;  and  their  vestures  therein  shall  be  silk.  They  are  directed  unto  a 
good  saying ;  ^  and  are  directed  into  the  honourable  way."!"  But  they  who 
shall  disbelieve,  and  obstruct  the  way  of  God,  and  hinder  men  from  visiting 

*  "  Woe  unto  the  patron !  woe  unto  the  worshipper  !" — Savary. 

'  Or,  Let  him  tie  a  rope  to  the  roof  of  his  house,  and  hang  himself :  that  is,  let  him  carry 
his  anger  and  resentment  to  ever  so  great  a  height,  even  to  be  driven  to  the  most  des- 
perate extremities,  and  see  whether  with  all  his  endeavours  he  will  be  able  to  intercept 
the  divine  assistance.® 

^  Confessing  his  power,  and  obeying  his  supreme  command. 

y  viz.  The  true  believers,  and  the  infidels.  The  passage  is  said  to  have  been  revealed 
on  occasion  of  a  dispute  between  the  Jews  and  the  Mohammedans ;  the  former  insisting 
that  they  were  in  greater  favour  with  God,  their  prophet  and  revelations  being  prior  to 
those  of  the  latter  ;  and  these  replying,  that  they  were  more  in  God's  favour,  for  that  they 
believed  not  only  in  Moses,  but  also  in  Mohammed,  and  in  all  the  scriptures  without  ex- 
ception ;  whereas  the  Jews  rejected  Mohammed,  though  they  knew  him  to  be  a  prophet, 
out  of  envy.« 

^  viz.  The  profession  of  God's  unity  ;  or  these  words,  which  they  shall  use  at  their 
entrance  into  paradise,  Praisebe  unto  God,  who  hath  fulfilled  his  promise  unto  Jis.^" 

t  "  Because  that  they  have  made  their  profession  of  faith,  and  have  walked  in  the  way 
of  salvation." — Savary. 

^  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  '"  Idem. 


276  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxii. 

the  holy  temple  of  Mecca,  which  we  have  appointed  ybr  a  place  of  worship 
unto  all  men  :  the  inhabitant  thereof,  and  the  stranger  have  an  equal  right 
to  visit  it :  and  whosoever  shall  seek  impiously  to  profane  it,  we  will  cause 
him  to  taste  a  grievous  torment.  Call  to  mind  when  we  gave  the  site  of  the 
house  of  the  Caaba  for  an  abode  unto  Abraham,*  saying,  Do  not  associate 
any  thing  with  me ;  and  cleanse  my  house  for  those  who  compass  it,  and 
who  stand  up,  and  who  bow  down  to  worship.  And  proclaim  unto  the 
people  a  solemn  pilgrimage;*"  let  them  come  unto  thee  on  foot,  and  on 
every  lean  camel,  arriving  from  every  distant  road ;  that  they  may  be  wit- 
nesses of  the  advantages  which  accrue  to  them  from  the  visiting  this  holy 
place,"  and  may  commemorate  the  name  of  God  on  the  appointed  days,*^  in 
gratitude  for  the  brute  cattle  which  he  hath  bestowed  on  them.  Where- 
fore eat  thereof,  and  feed  the  needy,  and  the  poor.  Afterwards  let  them 
put  an  end  to  the  neglect  of  their  persons ; "  and  let  them  pay  their  vows/ 
and  compass  the  ancient  house.^s  This  let  them  do.  And  whoever  shall  regard 
the  sacred  ordinances  of  God,^  this  will  be  better  for  him  in  the  sight 
of  his  Lord.     All  sorts  of  cattle  are  allowed  you  to  eat,  except  what  hath 

■  i.  e.  For  a  place  of  religious  worship  ;  showing  him  the  spot  where  he  stood,  and  also 
the  model  of  the  old  building,  which  had  been  taken  up  to  heaven  at  the  flood/ 

"It  is  related  that  Abraham,  in  obedience  to  this  command,  went  up  to  mount  Abu 
kobeis,  near  Mecca,  and  cried  from  thence,  0  men,  perform  the  pilgrimage  to  the  house  of 
your  Lord  ;  and  that  God  caused  those  who  were  then  in  the  loins  of  their  fathers,  and 
the  wombs  of  their  mothers,  from  east  to  west,  and  who,  he  knew  beforehand,  would 
perform  the  pilgrimage,  to  hear  his  voice.  Some  say,  however,  that  these  words  were 
directed  to  Mohammed,  commanding  him  to  proclaim  the  pilgrimage  of  valediction : '^ 
according  to  which  exposition  the  passage  must  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

(Before  the  time  of  Mohammed,  the  Arabians  went  in  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  They 
went  there  to  celebrate  the  memory  of  Abraham  and  of  Ishmael.  This  was  only  a  cus- 
tom. Mohammed  consecrated  it  by  religious  ceremonies,  and  enjoined  it  by  a  precept. 
Under  religious  motives  he  hid  political  views.  He  wished  that  Mecca  should  become  a 
point  of  union  for  all  the  Mohammedans ;  that  they  should  resort  there  to  exchange  the 
gold  and  the  productions  of  their  own  countries  for  the  aromatics  of  Arabia  Felix.  The 
great  caravans  which  travel  every  year  from  Persia,  Damascus,  Morocco,  and  Cairo, 
unite  at  Mecca.  During  the  time  of  the  pilgrimage,  an  immense  commerce  is  carried  on 
in  that  city,  and  at  Jidda,  which  is  the  port  of  it. — Savary.) 

"  viz.  The  temporal  advantage  made  by  the  great  trade  driven  at  Mecca  during  the  pil- 
grimage,' and  the  spiritual  advantage  of  having  performed  so  meritorious  a  work. 

^  Namely,  The  ten  first  days  of  Dhu'lhajja;  or  the  tenth  day  of  the  same  month,  on 
which  they  slay  the  sacrifices,  and  the  three  following  days.* 

*  By  shaving  their  heads,  and  other  parts  of  their  bodies,  and  cutting  their  beards  and 
nails  in  the  valley  of  Mina ;  which  the  pilgrims  are  not  allowed  to  do  from  the  time  they 
become  Mohrims,  and  have  solemnly  dedicated  themselves  to  the  performance  of  the 
pilgrimage,  till  they  have  finished  the  ceremonies,  and  slain  their  victims." 

'  By  doing  the  good  works  which  they  have  vowed  to  do  in  their  pilgrimage.  Some 
understand  the  words  only  of  the  performance  of  the  requisite  ceremonies. 

*  "  Let  them  put  away  all  leaven  of  unbelief ;  let  them  accomplish  their  vows ;  and  let 
them  make  the  circuit  of  the  holy  house.'' — Savary. 

« I.  e.  The  Caaba  ;  which  the  Mohammedans  pretend  was  the  first  edifice  built  and 
appointed  for  the  worship  of  God.'  The  going  round  this  chapel  is  a  principal  ceremony 
of  the  pilgrimage,  and  is  often  repeated  ;  but  the  last  time  of  their  doing  it,  when  they 
take  their  farewell  of  the  temple,  seems  to  be  more  particularly  meant  in  this  place. 

''  By  observing  what  he  has  commanded,  and  avoiding  what  is  forbidden,  or,  as  the 
words  also  signify.  Whoever  shall  honour  what  God  hath  sanctified,  or  commanded  not  to 
be  profaned;  as  the  temple  and  territory  of  Mecca,  and  the  sacred  months,  &c. 

»  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  82,  ^  Al  Beidawi,  =*  Idem.     Jallalo'ddin. 

•  lidem.  See  chap.  2,  p.  16,  chap.  5,  p.  94.  and  Bobov.  de  Peregr.  Meccana,  p.  15,  &lc. 
» See  chap.  3,  p.  47,  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


CHAP.  XXII.  AL  KORAN.  277 

been  read  unto  you,  in  former  passages  of  the  Koran,  to  he  forhidden. 
But  depart  from  the  abomination  of  idols,  and  avoid  speaking  that  which 
is  false  : '  being  orthodox  in  respect  to  God,  associating  no  other  god  with 
him;  for  whoever  associateth  any  other  with  God  is  like  that  which 
falleth  from  heaven,  and  which  the  birds  snatch  away,  or  the  wind  bloweth 
to  a  far  distant  place.^  This  is  so.  And  whoso  makcth  valuable  ofTerings 
unto  GoD,^  verily  they  proceed  from  the  piety  of  7?icn'.'j  hearts.  Ye  receive 
various  advantages  from  the  cattle  designed  for  sacrifices,  until  a  determined 
time  for  slaying  them  :  then  the  place  of  sacrificing  them  is  at  the  ancient 
house.  Unto  the  professors  of  every  religion™  have  we  appointed  certain 
rites,  that  they  may  commemorate  the  name  of  God  on  slaying  the  brute 
cattle  which  he  hath  provided  for  them.  Your  God  is  one  God  :  wherefore 
resign  yourselves  icholly  unto  him.  And  do  thou  bear  good  tidings  unto 
those  who  humble  themselves ;  whose  hearts,  when  mention  is  made  of 
God,  are  struck  with  fear;  and  unto  those  who  patiently  endure  that  which 
befalleth  them ;  and  who  duly  perform  their  prayers,  and  give  alms  out  of 
what  we  have  bestowed  on  them.  The  camels  slain  for  sacrifice  have  we 
appointed  for  you  as  symbols  of  your  obedience  unto  God  :  ye  also  receive 
other  advantages  from  them.  Wherefore  commemorate  the  name  of  God 
over  them,  when  ye  slay  them,  standing  on  their  feet  disposed  in  right  order  : " 
and  when  they  are  fallen  down  dead,  eat  of  them ;  and  give  to  eat  thereof 
hath  unto  him  who  is  content  with  what  is  given  him,  without  asking,  and 
unto  him  who  asketh."  Thus  have  we  given  you  dominion  over  them,  that 
ye  might  return  us  thanks.  Their  flesh  is  not  accepted  of  God,  neither 
their  blood ;  but  your  piety  is  accepted  of  him.  Thus  have  we  given  you 
dominion  over  them,  that  ye  might  magnify  God,  for  the  revelations  whereby 
he  hath  directed  jrou.  And  bear  good  tidings  unto  the  righteous,  that  God 
will  repel  the  ill  designs  of  the  infidels  from  the  true  believers;  for  God  loveth 
not  every  perfidious  unbeliever.*     Permission  is  granted  unto  those  who 

*  Either  by  asserting  wrong  and  innpious  things  of  the  Deity ;  or  bearing  false  witness 
against  your  neighbours. 

^  Because  he  who  falls  into  idolatry,  sinketh  from  the  height  of  faith  into  the  depth  of 
infidelity,  has  his  thoughts  distracted  by  wicked  lusts,  and  is  hurried  by  the  devil  into  the 
most  absurd  errors.^ 

'  By  choosing  a  well-favoured  and  costly  victim  in  honour  of  him  to  whom  it  is  destined. 
They  say  Mohammed  once  offered  a  hundred  fat  camels,  and  among  them  one  which  had 
belonged  to  Abu  Jahl,  having  in  his  nose  a  ring  of  gold:  and  that  Omar  offered  a  noble 
camel,  for  which  he  had  been  bid  three  hundred  dinars.'' 

The  ori2;inal  may  also  be  translated  generally.  Whoso  regardeth  the  riles  of  the  pil- 
grimage, &c.     But  the  victims  seem  to  be  more  particularly  intended  in  this  place. 

■"  Jallalo'ddin  understands  this  passage  in  a  restrained  sense,  of  the  former  nations  who 
were  true  believers ;  to  whom  God  appointed  a  sacrifice,  and  a  fixed  place  and  proper 
ceremonies  for  the  offering  of  it. 

"  That  is,  as  some  expound  the  word,  standing  on  three  feet,  having  one  of  their  fore 
feet  tied  up,  which  is  the  manner  of  tying  camels  to  prevent  their  moving  from  the  place. 
Some  copies  instead  of  sawafa  read  sawdffena,  from  the  verb  safana,  which  properly  sig- 
nifies the  posture  of  a  horse,  when  he  stands  on  three  feet,  the  edge  of  the  fourth  only 
touching  the  irround. 

°  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  be  rendered.  Unto  him  who  asketh  in  a  modest  and  humble 
manner,  and  mito  him  who  wantelh  hut  dareth  not  ask. 

*  "  Announce  happiness  to  those  who  exercise  beneficence.     God  will  destroy  the 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ■•  Idem. 


278  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxii. 

take  arms  against  the  unbelievers,  for  that  they  have  been  unjustly  perse- 
cuted hy  them  (and  God  is  certainly  able  to  assist  them) :  who  have  been 
turned  out  of  their  habitations  injuriously,  and  for  no  other  reason  than 
because  they  say,  Our  Lord  is  God.p  And  if  God  did  not  repel  the 
violence  of  some  men  by  others,  verily  monasteries,  and  churches,  and 
synagogues,  and  the  temples  of  the  Moslems,  wherein  the  name  of  God  is 
frequently  commemorated,  would  be  utterly  demolished. "^  And  God  will 
certainly  assist  him  who  shall  be  on  his  side  :  for  God  is  strong  and  mighty. 
^nd  he  will  assist  those  who,  if  we  establish  them  in  the  earth,  will  observe 
prayer,  and  give  alms,  and  command  that  which  is  just,  and  forbid  that 
which  is  unjust.  And  unto  God  shall  be  the  end  of  all  things.  If  they 
accuse  thee,  O  Mohammed,  of  imposture ;  consider  that,  before  them,  the 
people  of  Noah,  and  the  tribes  of  Ad  and  Thamud,  and  the  people  of 
Abraham,  and  the  people  of  Lot,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Madian,  accused 
their  prophets  of  imposture :  and  Moses  was  also  charged  with  falsehood. 
And  I  granted  a  long  respite  unto  the  unbelievers :  but  afterwards  I 
chastised  them ;  and  how  different  was  the  change  I  made  in  their  con- 
dition !  How  many  cities  have  we  destroyed,  which  were  ungodly,  and 
which  are  now  fallen  to  ruin  on  their  roofs  ?*  And  how  many  wells  have 
been  abandoned,'"  and  lofly  castles  ?  Do  they  not  therefore  journey  through 
the  land  ?  And  have  they  not  hearts  to  understand  with,  or  ears  to  hear 
with  ?  Surely  as  to  these  things  their  eyes  are  not  blind,  but  the  hearts 
are  blind  which  are  in  their  breasts.  They  will  urge  thee  to  hasten  the 
threatened  punishment;  but  God  will  not  fail  to  perform  what  he  hath 
threatened :  and  verily  one  day  with  thy  Lord  is  as  a  thousand  years,  of 
those  which  ye  compute.*  Unto  how  many  cities  have  I  granted  respite, 
though  they  were  wicked  ?  Yet  afterwards  I  chastised  them :  and  unto 
me  shall  they  come  to  be  judged  at  the  last  day.  Say,  O  men,  verily  I  am 
only  a  public  preacher  unto  you.  And  they  who  believe,  and  do  good 
works,  shall  obtain  forgiveness  and  an  honourable  provision.     But  those 

snares  which  are  spread  for  the  believers.  He  hateth  the  deceiver  and  the  infidel  "— 
Savary. 

^  This  was  the  first  passage  of  the  Koran  which  allowed  Mohammed  and  his  followers 
to  defend  themselves  against  their  enemies  by  force,  and  was  revealed  a  httle  before  the 
flight  to  Medina ;  till  which  time  the  prophet  had  exhorted  his  Moslems  to  suffer  the 
injuries  offered  them  with  patience,  which  is  also  commanded  in  above  seventy  different 
places  of  the  Koran.* 

^  That  is,  The  public  exercise  of  any  religion,  whether  true  or  false,  is  supported  only 
by  force  ;  and  therefore,  as  Mohammed  would  argue,  the  true  religion  must  be  established 
by  the  same  means. 

*  "  How  many  guilty  cities  have  we  overthrown !  They  are  now  buried  under  their 
own  ruins." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  How  many  spots  in  the  deserts,  which  were  formerly  inhabited,  are  now 
abandoned  ?  a  neglected  well  being  the  proper  sign  of  such  a  deserted  dwelUng  in  those 
parts,  as  ruins  are  of  a  demolished  town. 

Some  imagine  that  this  passage  intends  more  particularly  a  well  at  the  foot  of  a  certain 
hill  in  the  province  of  Hadramaut,  and  a  castle  built  on  the  top  of  the  same  hill,  both 
belonging  to  the  people  of  HandhaEbn  Safwan,  a  remnant  of  the  Thamudites,  who,  having 
killed  their  prophet,  were  utterly  destroyed  by  God,  and  their  dwelling  abandoned.^ 

'  See  2  Pet.  iii.  8. 

^  Al  Beidawi,  &c.     Vide  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  34,  &.c.  '  lidem. 


CHAP.  XXII.  AL  KORAN.  279 

who  endeavour  to  make  our  signs  of  none  efTcet  shall  he  the  inhabitants  of 
hell.  We  have  sent  no  apostle,  or  prophet,  before  thee,  but,  when  he  road, 
Satan  suggested  some  error  in  his  reading.*  But  God  shall  make  void  that 
which  Satan  hath  suggested :  then  shall  God  confirm  his  signs ;  for  God  is 
knowing  and  wise.  But  this  he  permitteth,  that  he  may  make  that  which 
Satan  hath  suggested,  a  temptation  unto  those  in  whose  hearts  there  is  an 
infirmity,  and  whose  hearts  are  hardened  (for  the  ungodly  are  certainly  in  a 
wide  disagreement  from  the  truth) :  and  that  they  on  whom  knowledge 
hath  been  bestowed  may  know  that  this  hook  is  the  truth  from  thy  Lord, 
and  may  believe  therein ;  and  that  their  hearts  may  acquiesce  in  the  same : 
for  God  is  surely  the  director  of  those  who  believe,  into  the  right  way.  But 
the  infidels  will  not  cease  to  doubt  concerning  it,  until  the  hour  of  judg- 
ment Cometh  suddenly  upon  them ;  or  until  the  punishment  of  a  grievous 
day^  overtake  them.  On  that  day  the  kingdom  shall  be  God's:  he  shall 
judge  between  them.*  And  they  who  shall  have  believed,  and  shall  have 
wrought  righteousness,  shall  he  in  gardens  of  pleasure ;  but  they  who  shall 
have  disbelieved,  and  shall  have  charged  our  signs  with  falsehood,  those 
shall  suffer  a  shameful  punishment.  And  as  to  those  who  shall  have  fled 
their  country  for  the  sake  of  God's  true  religion,  and  afterwards  shall  have 
been  slain,  or  shall  have  died;  on  them  will  God  bestow  an  excellent 
provision ;  and  God  is  the  best  provider.  He  will  surely  introduce  them 
with  an  introduction  with  which  they  shall  be  well  pleased  ;|  for  God  is 
knowing  aud  gracious.  This  is  so.  Whoever  shall  take  a  vengeance  equal 
to  the  injury  which  hath  been  done  him,^  and  shall  afterwards  be  unjustly 
treated ;  "^  verily  God  will  assist  him :  for  God  is  merciful,  and  ready  to 
forgive.     This  shall  he  done,  for  that  God  causeth  the  night  to  succeed  the 

'  The  occasion  of  the  passage  is  thus  related.  Mohammed  one  day  reading  the  53d 
chapter  of  the  Koran,  when  he  came  to  this  verse,  What  think  ye  0/ AUat,  and  al  Uzza, 
and  of  Manah  the  other  third  goddess  ?  the  devil  put  the  following  words  into  his  mouth, 
which  he  pronounced  through  inadvertence,  or,  as  some  tell  us,  because  he  was  then  half 
asleep,'  viz.  These  arc  the  most  high  and  beauteous  damsels,  whose  intercession  is  to  be  hoped 
for.  The  Koreish,  who  were  sitting  near  Mohammed,  greatly  rejoiced  at  what  they  had 
heard,  and  when  he  had  finished  the  chapter,  joined  with  him  and  his  followers  in  making 
their  adoration :  but  the  prophet  being  acquainted  by  the  angel  Gabriel  with  the  reason 
of  their  compliance,  and  with  what  he  had  uttered,  was  deeply  concerned  at  his  mistake, 
till  this  verse  was  revealed  for  his  consolation.^ 

We  are  told  however  by  al  Beidawi,  that  the  more  intelligent  and  accurate  persons 
reject  the  aforesaid  story ;  and  the  verb,  here  translated  read,  signifying  also  to  wish  for 
any  thing,  they  interpret  the  passage  of  the  suggestions  of  the  devil  to  debauch  the  aflfec- 
tions  of  these  holy  persons,  or  to  employ  their  minds  in  vain  wishes  and  desires. 

"  Or,  a  day  which  maJceth  childless  ;  by  which  some  great  misfortune  in  war  is  expressed  : 
as  the  overthrow  the  infidels  received  at  Bedr.  Some  suppose  the  resurrection  is  here 
intended. 

*  "  Then  will  the  balance  be  in  the  hand  of  God.  He  will  judge  between  mortals."— 
Savary. 

t  ^'  He  will  introduce  them  into  an  abode  that  shall  enchant  them.  He  is  wise  and 
gracious." — Savary. 

^  And  shall  not  take  a  more  severe  revenge  than  the  fact  deserves. 
^  By  the  aggressor's  seeking  to  revenge  himself  again  of  the  person  injured,  by  offering 
him  some  further  violence. 

The  passage  seems  to  relate  to  the  vengeance  which  the  Moslems  should  take  of  the 
infidels,  for  their  unjust  persecution  of  them. 

»  Yahya.  ^  Al  Beiddwi,  Jallalo'ddm,  Yahya,  &c.    See  chap.  16,  p.  223. 


280  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxii. 

day,  and  he  causeth  the  day  to  succeed  the  night ;  and  for  that  God  hoth 
heareth  and  secth.  This,  because  God  is  truth,  and  because  what  they 
invoke  besides  him  is  vanity ;  and  for  that  God  is  the  high,  the  mighty. 
Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  sendeth  down  water  from  heaven,  and  the  earth 
becometh  green?  for  God  is  gracious  and  wise.  Unto  him  belongeth  what- 
soever is  in  heaven  and  on  earth :  and  God  is  self-sufficient,  worthy  to  be 
praised.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  hath  subjected  whatever  is  in  the 
earth  to  your  service,  and  also  the  ships  which  sail  in  the  sea,  by  his 
command  ?  And  he  withholdeth  the  heaven  that  it  fall  not  on  the  earth, 
unless  by  his  permission  :  ^  for  God  is  gracious  unto  mankind,  and  merciful. 
It  is  he  M'ho  hath  given  you  life,  and  will  hereafter  cause  you  to  die ;  after- 
wards he  will  again  raise  you  to  life,  at  the  resurrection :  but  man  is  surely 
ungrateful.  Unto  the  professors  of  every  religion  have  we  appointed  certain 
rites,  which  they  observe.  Let  them  not  therefore  dispute  with  thee  con- 
cerning this  matter :  but  invite  them  unto  thy  Lord  :  for  thou  followest 
the  right  direction.  But  if  they  enter  into  debate  with  thee,  answer,  God 
well  knoweth  that  which  ye  do :  God  will  judge  between  you  on  the  day 
of  resurrection,  concerning  that  wherein  ye  now  disagree.  Dost  thou  not 
know  that  God  knoweth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  ?  Verily  this 
is  written  in  the  book  of  his  decrees  :  this  is  easy  wath  God.  They  worship, 
besides  God,  that  concerning  which  he  hath  sent  down  no  convincing  proof, 
and  concerning  which  they  have  no  knowledge :  but  the  unjust  doers  shall 
have  none  to  assist  them.  And  when  our  evident  signs  are  rehearsed  unto 
them,  thou  mayest  perceive,  m  the  countenances  of  the  unbelievers,  a 
disdain  thereof:  it  wanteth  little  but  that  they  rush  with  violence  on  those 
who  rehearse  our  signs  unto  them.  Say,  Shall  I  declare  unto  you  a  worse 
thing  than  this?  The  fire  of  hell,  which  God  hath  threatened  unto  those 
who  believe  not,  is  worse  ;  and  an  unhappy  journey  shall  it  he  thither.  O 
men,  a  parable  is  propounded  unto  you ;  wherefore  hearken  unto  it.  Verily 
the  idols  which  ye  invoke,  besides  God,  can  never  create  a  single  fly,  although 
they  were  all  assembled  for  that  purpose  :  and  if  the  fly  snatch  any  thing 
from  them,  they  cannot  recover  the  same  from  it.'*  Weak  is  the  petitioner, 
and  the  petitioned.  They  judge  not  of  God  according  to  his  due  estimation : 
for  God  is  powerful  and  mighty.  God  chooseth  messengers  from  among 
the  angels,-'^  and  from  among  men :  for  God  is  he  who  heareth  and  seeth. 
He  knoweth  that  which  is  before  them,  and  that  which  is  behind  them : 
and  unto  God  shall  all  things  return.     O  true  believers,  bow  down,  and 

y  Which  it  will  do  at  the  last  day. 

'  The  commentators  say,  that  the  Arabs  used  to  anoint  the  images  of  their  gods  with 
some  odoriferous  composition,  and  with  honey,  which  the  flies  ate,  though  the  doors  of  the 
temple  were  carefully  shut,  getting  in  at  the  windows  or  crevices. 

Perhaps  Mohammed  took  this  argument  from  the  Jews,  who  pretend  that  the  temple 
of  Jerusalem,  and  the  sacrifices  there  offered  to  the  true  God,  were  never  annoyed  by 
flies  ;=*  whereas  swarms  of  those  insects  infested  the  heathen  temples,  being  drawn 
thhher  by  the  steam  of  the  sacrifices.* 

'  Who  are  the  bearers  of  the  divine  revelations  to  the  prophets ;  but  ought  not  to  be 
the  objects  of  worship. 

'  Pirke  Aboth,  c.  5,  sect.  vi.  vii.  *  Vide  Selden.  de  Diis  Syris,  Synt.  2,  c.  6. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  AL  KORAN.  281 

prostrate  yourselves,  and  worship  your  Lord  ;  and  work  righteousness, 
that  ye  may  be  happy :  and  fight  in  defence  of  God's  true  religion,  as  it 
behoveth  you  to  fight  for  the  same.  He  hath  chosen  you,  and  hath  not 
imposed  on  you  any  difficulty  in  the  rehgion  which  he  hath  given  you^  the 
religion  of  your  father  Abraham  :  he  hath  named  you  Moslems  heretofore, 
and  in  this  look ;  that  our  apostle  may  be  a  witness  against  you  at  the  day 
of  judgment,  and  that  ye  may  be  witnesses  against  the  rest  of  mankind. 
Wherefore  be  ye  constant  at  prayer ;  and  give  alms :  and  adhere  firmly 
unto  God.  He  is  your  master ;  and  he  is  the  best  master,  and  the  best 
protector.* 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 
INTITLED,  THE  TRUE  BELIEVERS;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

*  [XVIII.]  Now  are  the  true  believers  happy :  who  humble  themselves 
in  their  prayer,  and  who  eschew  all  vain  discourse,  and  who  are  doers  of 
alms-deeds ;  and  who  keep  themselves  from  carnal  knowledge  of  any  women 
except  their  wives,  or  the  captives  which  their  right  hands  possess  (for  as  to 
them  they  shall  be  blameless :  but  whosoever  coveteth  any  ivoman  beyond 
these,  they  are  transgressors) :  and  who  acquit  themselves  faithfully  of  their 
trust,  and  justly  perform  their  covenant ;  and  who  observe  their  appointed 
times  of  prayer :  these  shall  be  the  heirs,  who  shall  inherit  paradise ;  they 
shall  continue  therein  for  ever.  We  formerly  created  man  in  a  finer  sort 
of  clay  ;  afterwards  we  placed  him  in  the  form  of  seed  in  a  sure  receptacle :  * 
afterwards  we  made  the  seed  coagulated  blood ;  and  we  formed  the  coagu- 
lated blood  into  a  piece  of  flesh :  then  we  formed  the  piece  of  flesh  into 
bones:  and  we  clothed  those  bones  with  flesh:  then  we  produced  the 
same  by  another  creation.'=|  Wherefore  blessed  be  God,  the  most  excellent 
Creator!"*  After  this  shall  ye  die:  and  afterwards  shall  ye  be  restored 
to  life,  on  the  day  of  resurrection.  And  we  have  created  over  you  seven 
heavens :  *  and  we  are  not  negligent  of  what  we  have  created.  And  we 
send  down  rain  from  heaven,  by  measure ;  and  we  cause  it  to  remain  on 
the  earth  :  we  are  also  certainly  able  to  deprive  you  of  the  same.  And  we 
cause  gardens  of  palm-trees,  and  vineyards,  to  spring  forth  for  you  by 
means  thereof;  wherein  ye  have  many  fruits,  and  whereof  ye  eat.     And 

*  "  Be  immovable  in  the  faith,  God  is  your  master.  Courage  unto  the  servant,  and 
praise  unto  the  patron!" — Savary. 

"  viz.  The  womb. 

"  i.  e.  Producing  a  perfect  man,  composed  of  soul  and  body. 

t  "  We  accomplished  our  creation  by  animating  it  with  life." — Savary. 

•^  See  cap.  6,  p.  108,  note  c. 

*  Literally,  seven  paths  ;  by  which  the  heavens  are  meant,  because,  according  to  some 
expositors,  they  are  the  paths  of  the  angels  and  of  the  celestial  bodies :  though  the 
original  word  also  signifies  things  which  are  folded  or  placed  like  stories  one  above 
another,  as  the  Mohammedans  suppose  the  heavens  to  be. 

2c 


282  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxiil 

we  also  raise  for  you  a  tree  springing  from  Mount  Sinai  ;^  which  produceth 
oil,  and  a  sauce  for  those  who  eat.  Ye  have  likewise  an  instruction  in  the 
cattle ;  we  give  you  to  drink  of  the  7nilk  whicli  is  in  their  bellies,  and  ye 
receive  many  advantages  from  them  ;  and  of  them  do  ye  eat :  and  on  them, 
and  on  ships,  are  ye  carried. «*  We  sent  Noah  heretofore  unto  his  people, 
and  he  said,  O  my  people,  serve  God  :  ye  have  no  God  besides  him ;  will 
ye  therefore  not  tear  the  consequence  of  your  worsliipping  other  gods  ?  And 
the  chiefs  of  his  people,  who  believed  not,  said,  This  is  no  other  than  a 
man,  as  ye  are :  he  seeketh  to  raise  himself  to  a  superiority  over  you.  If 
God  had  pleased  to  have  sent  a  messenger  unto  you,  he  would  surely  have 
sent  angels :  we  have  not  heard  this  of  our  forefathers.  Verily  he  is  no 
other  than  a  man  disturbed  with  frenzy :  wherefore  wait  concerning  him 
for  a  time.|  JVoah  said,  O  Lord,  do  thou  protect  me ;  for  that  they 
accuse  me  of  falsehood.  And  we  revealed  our  orders  unto  him,  saying, 
Make  the  ark  in  our  sight ;  and  according  to  our  revelation.  And  when 
our  decree  cometh  to  be  executed,  and  the  oven  shall  boil  and  pour  forth 
wafer,  carry  into  it  of  every  species  of  animals  one  pair ;  and  also  thy  family, 
except  such  of  them  on  whom  a  previous  sentence  of  destruction  hath 
passed:''  and  speak  not  unto  me  in  behalf  of  those  who  have  been  unjust; 
for  they  shall  be  drowned.  And  when  thou  and  they  who  shall  be  with 
thee  shall  go  up  into  the  ark,  say.  Praise  be  unto  God,  who  hath  delivered 
us  from  the  ungodly  people !  And  say,  O  Lord,  cause  me  to  come  down 
from  this  ark  with  a  blessed  descent  ;|  for  thou  art  the  best  able  to  bring 
me  down  from  the  same  with  safety.  Verily  herein  icere  signs  of  our 
omnipotence ;  and  we  proved  mankind  thereby.  Afterwards  we  raised  up 
another  generation  *  after  them;  and  we  sent  unto  them  an  apostle  from 
among  them,^  icho  said,  Worship  God  :  ye  have  no  God  besides  him  ;  will 
ye  therefore  not  fear  his  vengeance  ?  And  the  chiefs  of  his  people,  who 
believed  not,  and  who  denied  the  meeting  of  the  life  to  come,  and  on  whom 
we  had  bestowed  affluence  in  this  present  life,  said.  This  is  no  other  than  a 
man,  as  ye  are ;  he  eateth  of  that  whereof  ye  eat,  and  he  drinketh  of  that 
whereof  ye  drink  :  and  if  ye  obey  a  man  like  unto  yourselves,  ye  will  surely 
be  sufferers.  Doth  he  threaten  you  that  after  ye  shall  be  dead,  and  shall 
become  dust  and  bones,  ye  shall  be  brought  forth  alive  from  your  graves  f 
Away,  away  with  that  ye  are  threatened  with !  There  is  no  other  life 
besides  our  present  life :  we  die,  and  we  live  ;  and  we  shall  not  be  raised 

f  viz.  The  olive.  The  gardens  near  this  mountain  are  yet  famous  for  the  excellent  fruit- 
trees,  of  almost  all  sorts,  which  grow  there.' 

«  The  beast  more  particularly  meant  in  this  place  is  the  camel,  which  is  chiefly  used  for 
carriage  in  the  East ;  being  called  by  the  Arabs,  the  landship,  on  which  they  pass  those 
seas  of  sand,  the  deserts. 

*  "  They  carry  you  on  the  earth,  as  the  ships  bear  you  on  the  sea." — Savary. 

X  "  Let  us  shut  him  up  for  a  time." — Savary. 

^  See  chap.  11,  p.  177,  &c. 

t  "  When  thou  shalt  descend  from  it,  put  up  to  him  this  prayer ;  Lord !  0  thou  who 
art  the  best  of  guides,  deign  to  bless  our  outgoing  I" — Savary. 

'  Namely,  the  tribe  of  Ad,  or  of  Thamud. 

^  viz.  The  prophet  of  Hud,  or  Saleh. 

'  Vide  Voyages  de  Thevenot,  liv.  2,  ch.  9. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  AL  KORAN.  283 

again.  This  is  no  other  than  a  man,  who  dcviscth  a  lie  concerning  God  : 
but  we  will  not  believe  him.  Their  apostle  said,  O  Lord,  defend  me ;  for 
that  they  have  accused  me  oj  imposture.  God  answered.  After  a  little  while 
they  shall  surely  repent  their  obstinacy.  Wherefore  a  severe  punishment 
was  justly  inflicted  on  them,  and  we  rendered  them  like  the  refuse  ivhich  is 
carried  down  by  a  stream*  Away  therefore  with  the  ungodly  people ! 
Afterwards  wc  raised  up  other  generations  ^  after  them.  No  nation  shall 
be  punished  before  their  determined  time ;  neither  shall  they  be  respited 
after.  Afterwards  we  sent  our  apostles,  one  after  another.  So  often  as 
their  apostle  came  unto  any  nation,  they  charged  him  with  imposture :  and 
we  caused  them  successively  to  follow  one  another  to  destruction ;  and  we 
made  them  only  subjects  of  traditional  storics.|  Away  therefore  with  the 
unbelieving  nations!  Afterwards  we  sent  Moses,  and  Aaron  his  brother, 
with  our  signs  and  manifest  power,  unto  Pharaoh  and  his  princes  :  but  they 
proudly  refused  to  believe  on  him  ;  for  they  were  a  haughty  people.  And 
they  said.  Shall  we  believe  on  two  men  like  unto  ourselves ;  whose  people 
are  our  servants  ?  And  they  accused  them  of  imposture  :  wherefore  they 
became  of  the  number  of  those  who  were  destroyed.  And  we  heretofore 
gave  the  book  of  the  lav)  unto  Moses,  that  the  children  of  Israel  might  be 
directed  thereby.  And  we  appointed  the  son  of  Mary,  and  his  mother,  for 
a  sign :  and  we  prepared  an  abode  for  them  in  an  elevated  part  of  the 
earth,"  being  a  place  of  quiet  and  security,  and  watered  with  running 
springs.  O  apostles,  eat  of  those  things  which  are  good;"*  and  work 
righteousness:  for  I  well  know  that  which  ye  do.  This  your  religion  is 
one  religion ;  °  and  I  am  your  Lord  :  wherefore  fear  me.  But  men  have 
rent  the  affair  of  their  religion  into  various  sects :  every  party  rejoiceth  in 
that  which  they  follow.  Wherefore  leave  them  in  their  confusion,  until 
a  certain  time.p  Do  they  think  that  we  hasten  unto  them  the  wealth 
and  children  which  we  have  abundantly  bestowed  on  them,  for  their 
good  1  But  they  do  not  understand.  Verily  they  who  stand  in  awe,  for 
fear  of  their  Lord,  and  who  believe  in  the  signs  of  their  Lord,  and  who 

*  "  The  cry  of  the  exterminating  angel  was  heard,  and,  like  withered  buds,  the  unbe- 
lievers were  destroyed." — Savary. 

'  As  the  Sodomites,  Midianites,  &c. 

t  "  We  have  brought  a  new  Scripture.  Far  from  us  be  those  who  will  not  believe  in 
it." — Savary. 

°  The  commentators  tell  us  the  place  here  intended  is  Jerusalem,  or  Damascus,  or 
Ramlah,  or  Palestine,  or  Egypt.* 

But  perhaps  the  passage  means  the  hill  to  which  the  virgin  Mary  retired  to  be  delivered, 
according  to  the  Mohammedan  tradition.'' 

"  These  words  are  addressed  to  the  apostles  in  general,  to  whom  it  was  permitted  to  eat 
of  all  clean  and  wholesome  food  ;  and  were  spoken  to  them  severally  at  the  time  of  their 
respective  mission.  Some,  however,  think  them  directed  particularly  to  the  virgin  Mary 
and  Jesus,  or  singly  to  the  latter  (in  which  case  the  plural  number  must  be  used  out  of 
respect  only),  proposing  the  practice  of  the  prophets  for  their  imitation.  Mohammed 
probably  designed  in  this  passage  to  condemn  the  abstinence  observed  by  the  Christian 
monks.' 

"See  chap.  21,  p.  272. 

p  i.  e.  Till  they  shall  be  slain,  or  shall  die  a  natural  death. 

•  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  chap.  19,  p.  249.  ^  Al  BeidawL 


284  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxiii. 

attribute  not  companions  unto  their  Lord  ;  and  who  give  that  which  they 
give  in  alms,  their  hearts  being  struck  with  dread,  for  that  they  must 
return  unto  tlicir  Lord  :  these  hasten  unto  good,  and  are  foremost  to  obtain 
the  same.  We  will  not  impose  any  difficulty  on  a  soul,  except  according 
to  its  ability  ;  with  us  is  a  book,  which  speaketh  the  truth  ;  and  they  shall 
not  be  injured.  But  their  hearts  are  drowned  in  negligence,  as  to  this 
matter ;  and  they  have  works  different  from  those  we  have  mentioned ;  which 
they  will  continue  to  do,  until,  when  we  chastise  such  of  them  as  enjoy  an 
affluence  of  fortune,  by  a  severe  punishment,*!  behold,  they  cry  aloud  for 
help  :  *  hut  it  shall  he  answered  them,  Cry  not  for  help  to-day  :  for  ye  shall 
not  be  assisted  by  us.  My  signs  were  read  unto  you,  but  ye  turned  back 
on  your  heels :  proudly  elating  yourselves  because  of  your  possessing  the 
holy  temple ;  discoursing  together  by  night,  and  talking  foolishly.  Do  they 
not  therefore  attentively  consider  that  which  is  spoken  unto  them ;  whether 
a  revelation  is  come  unto  them  which  came  not  unto  their  forefathers?  Or 
do  they  not  know  their  apostle ;  and  therefore  reject  him  ?  Or  do  they 
say,  He  is  a  madman  1  Nay,  he  hath  come  unto  them  with  the  truth ;  but 
the  greater  part  of  them  detest  the  truth.  If  the  truth  had  followed  their 
desires,  verily  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  whoever  therein  is,  had  been 
corrupted/  But  we  have  brought  them  their  admonition ;  and  they  turn 
aside  from  their  admonition.  Dost  thou  ask  of  them  any  maintenance  for 
thy  preaching  ?  since  the  maintenance  of  thy  Lord  is  better ;  for  he  is  the 
most  bounteous  provider.  Thou  certainly  invitest  them  to  the  right  way  : 
and  they  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come,  do  surely  deviate  from  that 
way.  If  we  had  had  compassion  on  them,  and  taken  off  from  them  the 
calamity  which  had  befallen  them,*  they  would  surely  have  more  obstinately 
persisted  in  their  error,  wandering  in  confusion.'f  We  formerly  chastised 
them  with  a  punishment :  ^  yet  they  did  not  humble  themselves  before  their 
Lord,  neither  did  they  make  supplications  unto  him ;  until,  when  we  have 
opened  upon  them  a  door,  from  which  a  severe  punishment  "^  hath  issued^ 

'i  By  which  is  intended  either  the  overthrow  at  Bedr,  where  several  of  the  chief  Korash- 
ites  lost  their  lives  ;  or  the  famine  with  which  the  Meccans  were  afflicted,  at  the  prayer 
of  the  prophet,  conceived  in  these  words,  0  God,  set  thy  foot  strongly  on  Modar  (an  ancestor 
of  the  Koreish),  a7id  give  them  years  like  the  years  of  Joseph :  whereupon  so  great  a  dearth 
ensued,  that  they  were  obliaed  to  feed  on  dogs,  carrion,  and  burnt  bones.^ 

*  "  Those  who  are  in  ignorance  of  this  doctrine,  those  who  in  their  works  have  not 
virtue  for  their  object,  shall  remain  in  their  blindness,  till  the  hour  when  the  most  powerful 
of  them,  feeling  our  vengeance,  shall  cry  out  tumultuously." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  If  there  had  been  a  plurality  of  gods  as  the  idolaters  contend  : '  or,  if  the  doc- 
trine tausht  by  Mohammed  had  been  agreeable  to  their  inclinations,  &c. 

*  viz.  The  famine.  It  is  said  that  the  Meccans  being  reduced  to  eat  ilhiz,  which  is  a 
sort  of  miserable  food,  made  of  blood  and  camel's  hair,  used  by  the  Arabs  in  time  of 
scarcity,  Abu  Sofian  came  to  Mohammed,  and  said.  Tell  me,  I  adjure  thee  by  God,  and  the 
relation  that  is  hetv)eenus,  dost  thou  think  thou  art  sent  asamercyunto  all  creatures;  since 
thou  hast  slain  the  fathers  v)ith  the  sword,  and  the  children  with  hunger  f^ 

t  "  If  pity  had  caused  us  to  predict  unto  them  the  calamities  which  they  were  about  to 
suffer,  they  would  have  been  only  the  more  obstinate  in  their  error." — Savary. 

'  Namely,  the  slaughter  at  Bedr. 

"  viz.  Famine  ;  which  is  more  terrible  than  the  calamities  of  war,' 

According  to  these  explications,  the  passage  must  have  been  revealed  at  Medina ;  unless 
it  be  taken  in  a  prophetical  sense. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  chap.  21,  p.  266.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  xxni.  AL  KORAN.  285 

behold,  they  are  driven  to  aespair  thereat.  It  is  God  who  hath  created  in 
you  the  senses  of  heaving  und  of  sight,  that  ye  may  perceive  our  judgments ; 
and  hearts,  that  ye  may  seriously  consider  thejn  :  yet  how  few  of  you  give 
thanks !  It  is  he  who  hath  produced  you  in  the  earth ;  and  before  him 
shall  ye  be  assembled.  It  is  he  who  giveth  life,  and  putteth  to  death ;  and 
to  him  is  to  he  attributed  the  vicissitude  of  night  and  day  :  do  ye  not 
therefore  understand?  But  the  unbelieving  Me ccans  say  as  their  prede- 
cessors said .  they  say,  When  we  shall  be  dead,  and  shall  have  become 
dust  and  bones,  shall  we  really  be  raised  to  life  ?  We  have  already  been 
threatened  with  this,  and  our  fathers  also  heretofore :  this  is  nothing  but 
fables  of  the  ancients.  Say,  Whose  is  the  earth,  and  whoever  therein  is ; 
if  ye  know?  They  will  answer,  God's.  Say,  Will  ye  not  therefore  con- 
sider? Say,  Who  is  the  Lord  of  the  seven  heavens,  and  the  Lord  of  the 
magnificent  throne?  They  will  answer,  They  are  God's.  Say,  Will  ye  not 
therefore  fear/iim.^  Say,  In  whose  hand  is  the  kingdom  of  all  things; 
who  protecteth  whom  he  pleaseth,  but  is  himself  protected  of  none;  if  ye 
know?  They  will  answer.  In  God's.  Say,  How  therefore  are  ye  be- 
witched?* Yea,  we  have  brought  them  the  truth ;  and  they  are  certainly 
liars  in  denying  the  same.  God  hath  not  begotten  issue ;  neither  is  there 
any  other  god  with  him :  otherwise  every  god  had  surely  taken  away  that 
which  he  had  created ;  ^  and  some  of  them  had  exalted  themselves  above 
the  others.y  Far  be  that  from  God,  which  they  affirm  of  him !  He 
knoweth  that  which  is  concealed,  and  that  which  is  made  public :  wherefore 
far  be  it  from  him  to  have  those  sharers  in  his  honour  which  they  attribute 
to  him !  Say,  O  Lord,  If  thou  wilt  surely  cause  me  to  see  the  vengeance 
with  which  they  have  been  threatened ;  O  Lord,  set  me  not  among  the 
ungodly  people :  for  we  are  surely  able  to  make  thee  see  that  with  which 
we  have  threatened  them.  Turn  aside  evil  with  that  which  is  better :  ^  we 
well  know  the  calumnies  which  they  utter  against  thee.  And  say,  O  Lord, 
I  fly  unto  thee  for  refuge,  against  the  suggestions  of  the  devils :  and  I  have 
recourse  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  to  drive  them  away,  that  they  be  not  present 
with  me.*  The  gainsaying  of  the  unbelievers  ceaseth  not  until,  when  death 
overtake^h  any  of  them,  he  saith,  O  Lord,  suffer  me  to  return  to  life,  that 
I  may  do  that  which  is  right ;  in  professing  the  true  faith  which  I  have 
neglected.''  By  no  means.  Verily  these  are  the  words  which  ye  shall 
speak :  but  behind  them  there  shall  be  a  bar,°  until  the  day  of  resurrection. 

*  "  Will,  then,  your  eyes  be  always  closed  against  the  light?" — Savary. 

^  And  set  up  a  distinct  creation  and  kingdom  of  his  own. 

J-See  chap.  17,  p.  231. 

^  That  is,  By  forgiving  injuries,  and  returning  of  good  for  them  :  which  rule  is  to  be 
qualified,  however,  with  this  proviso,  that  the  true  religion  receive  no  prejudice  by  such 
mildness  and  clemency.* 

a  To  besiege  me  :  or,  as  it  may  also  be  translated.  That  they  hurt  me  not. 

"  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  import.  In  the  world  which  I  have  left ;  that  is,  during  the 
further  term  of  life  which  shall  be  granted  me,  and  from  which  I  have  been  cut  off.' 

■=  The  original  word  barzakh,  here  translated  bar,  primarily  signifies  any  partition,  or  in- 
terstice, which  divides  one  thing  from  another;  but  is  used  by  tiie  Arabs  not  always  in  the 
same,  and  sometimes  in  an  obscure  sense.     They  seem  generally  to  express  by  it  what  the 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


286  AL  KOEAN.  chap,  xxiii. 

When  therefore  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded,  there  shall  be  no  relation 
between  them  whicli  shall  he  regarded  on  that  day ;  neither  shall  they  ask 
assistance  of  each  other.  They  whose  balances  shall  be  heavy  icuh  good 
works  shall  be  happy ;  but  they  whose  balances  shall  be  light  are  those 
who  shall  lose  their  souls,  and  shall  remain  in  hell  for  ever.'^  The  fire 
shall  scorch  their  faces,  and  they  shall  writhe  their  mouths  therein  for 
anguish :  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  tliem,  Were  not  my  signs  rehearsed  unto 
you;  and  did  ye  not  charge  them  with  falsehood?     They  shall  answer, 

0  Lord,  our  unhappiness  prevailed  over  us,  and  we  were  people  who  went 
astray.  O  Lord,  take  us  forth  from  this  Jire :  if  we  return  to  our  former 
wickedness,  we  shall  surely  be  unjust.  God  will  say  unto  them^  Be  ye 
driven  away  with  ignominy  thereinto :  and  speak  not  unto  me  to  deliver 
you.  Verily  there  were  a  party  of  my  servants,  who  said,  O  Lord,  we 
believe  :  wherefore  forgive  us,  and  be  merciful  unto  us ;  for  thou  art  the 
best  of  those  who  show  mercy.  But  ye  received  them  with  scoffs,  so  that 
they  suffered  you  to  forget  my  admonition,^  and  ye  laughed  them  to  scorn. 

1  have  this  day  rewarded  them,  for  that  they  suffered  the  injuries  ye  offered 
them  with  patience  :  verily  they  enjoy  great  felicity.  God  will  say.  What 
number  of  years  have  ye  continued  on  earth?  They  will  answer,  We  have 
continued  there  a  day,  or  part  of  a  day :  ^  but  ask  those  who  keep  account.^ 
God  will  say.  Ye  have  tarried  but  a  while,  if  ye  knew  it.  Did  ye  think 
that  we  had  created  you  in  sport,  and  that  ye  should  not  be  brought  again 
before  us  ?  Wherefore  let  God  be  exalted,  the  King,  the  Truth !  There 
is  no  God  besides  him,  the  Lord  of  the  honourable  throne.  Whoever 
together  with  the  true  God  shall  invoke  another  god,  concerning  whom  he 
hath  no  demonstrative  proof,  shall  surely  be  brought  to  an  account  for  the 
same  before  his  Lord.  Verily  the  infidels  shall  not  prosper.  Say,  O  Lord, 
pardon,  and  show  mercy ;  for  thou  art  the  best  of  those  who  show  mercy.* 

Greeks  did  by  the  word  Hades ;  one  while  using  it  for  the  place  of  the  dead,  another  while 
for  the  time  of  their  continuance  in  that  state,  and  another  while  for  the  state  itself.  It  is 
defined  by  their  critics  to  be  the  interval  or  space  between  this  world  and  the  next,  or 
between  death  and  the  resurrection ;  every  person  who  dies  being  said  to  enter  into  al 
barzakh  ;  or,  as  the  Greek  expresses  it,  Karafirivai  cis  aSov.^  One  lexicographer''  tells  us 
that  in  the  Koran  it  denotes  the  grave  :  but  the  commentators  on  this  passage  expound  it 
a  bar,  or  invincible  obstacle,  cutting  off  all  possibility  of  return  into  the  world,  after  death. 
See  chap.  25,  where  the  word  again  occurs. 

Some  interpreters  understand  the  words  we  have  rendered  behind  them,  to  mean  before 
them,  (it  being  one  of  those  words,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the  Arabic  tongue,  that 
have  direct  contrary  significations,)  considering  al  Barzakh  as  a  future  space,  and  lying 
before,  and  not  behind  them. 

■^  See  the  PreUm.  Disc,  sect,  iv.  p.  63. 

^  Being  unable  to  prevail  on  you  by  their  remonstrances,  because  of  the  contempt 
wherein  ye  held  them. 

f  The  time  will  seem  thus  short  to  them  in  comparison  to  the  eternal  duration  of  their 
torments,  or  because  the  time  of  their  living  in  the  world  was  the  time  of  their  joy  and 
pleasure  :  it  being  usual  for  the  Arabs  to  describe  what  they  like  as  of  short,  and  what 
they  dislike  of  long  continuance. 

e  That  is,  the  angels,  who  keep  account  of  the  length  of  men's  lives  and  of  their  works, 
or  any  other  who  may  have  leisure  to  compute  ;  and  not  us,  whose  torments  distract  our 
thoughts  and  attention. 

*  "  Thy  mercy  is  unbounded." — Savory. 

«  Vide  Pocock.  not.  in  Port.  Mosis,  p.  248,  &c,  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  55. 
"  Ebn  Maruf,  apud  Gol.  Lex.  Arab.  col.  254. 


CHAP.  XXIII.  AL  KORAN.  287 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 

INTITLED,  LIGHT;"  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

This  Sura  have  we  sent  down  from  heaven;  and  have  ratified  the  same ; 
and  we  have  revealed  evident  signs,  that  ye  may  be  warned.  The  whore, 
and  the  whoremonger,  shall  ye  scourge  with  a  hundred  stripes.'  And  let 
not  compassion  towards  them  prevent  you  from  executing  the  judgment  of 
God  ;^  if  ye  believe  in  God  and  the  last  day:  and  let  some  of  the  true 
believers  be  witnesses  of  their  punishment.^  *  The  whoremonger  shall  not 
marry  amj  other  than  a  harlot,  or  an  idolatress.  And  a  harlot  shall  no  man 
take  in  marriage,  except  a  whoremonger,  or  an  idolater.  And  this  kind  of 
marriage  is  forbidden  the  true  believers.™  But  as  to  those  who  accuse 
women  of  reputation  of  whoredom,^""  and  produce  not  four  witnesses  of  the 
fact,"  scourge  them  with  fourscore  stripes,  and  receive  not  their  testimony 
forever;  for  such  are  infamous  prevaricators:  excepting  those  who  shall 
afterwards  repent,  and  amend ;  for  unto  such  will  God  be  gracious 
and   merciful.      They   who   shall    accuse   their   wives   of  adultery,  and 

^  This  title  is  taken  from  an  allegorical  comparison  made  between  light  and  God,  or 
faith  in  him,  about  the  middle  of  the  chapter. 

'  This  law  is  not  to  be  understood  to  relate  to  married  people,  who  are  of  free  condition  . 
because  adultery  in  such,  according  to  the  Sonna,  is  to  be  punished  by  stoning.^ 

^  I.  e.  Be  not  moved  by  pity,  either  to  forgive  the  offenders,  or  to  mitigate  their  punish- 
ment. Mohammed  was  for  so  strict  and  impartial  an  execution  of  the  laws,  that  he  is 
reported  to  have  said,  If  Fatema  the  daughter  of  Mohammed  steal,  let  her  hand  be 
struck  off.^ 

'  That  is,  let  the  punishment  be  inflicted  in  public,  and  not  in  private ;  because  the 
ignominy  of  it  is  more  intolerable  than  the  smart,  and  more  Hkely  to  work  a  reformation 
on  the  oifender.  Some  say  there  ought  to  be  three  persons  present  at  the  least ;  but  others 
think  two,  or  even  one,  to  be  sufficient.'" 

*  "  The  immodest  of  both  sexes  shall  be  punished  by  a  hundred  stripes.  This  is  the 
judgment  of  God.  You  shall  have  no  pity  on  them,  if  you  believe  in  God,  and  in  the  last 
day.     Let  some  of  the  believers  be  witness  of  their  chastisement." — Savary. 

™  The  preceding  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  the  meaner  and  more  indigent 
Mohajerins,  or  refugees,  who  sought  to  marry  the  whores  of  the  infidels,  taken  captives 
in  war,  for  the  sake  of  the  gain  which  they  made  by  prostituting  themselves.  Some  think 
the  prohibition  was  special,  and  regarded  only  the  Mohajerins  before-mentioned ;  and 
others  were  of  opinion  it  was  general ;  but  it  is  agreed  to  have  been  abrogated  by  the  words 
which  follow  in  this  chapter,  Marry  the  single  women  among  you;  harlots  being  comprised 
under  the  appellation  oi  single  women. 

It  is  supposed  by  some  that  not  marriage,  but  unlawful  commerce  with  such  women  is 
here  forbidden. 

"  The  Arabic  word  mohsindt  properly  signifies  women  of  vnblameable  conduct;  but  to 
bring  the  chastisement  after-mentioned  on  the  calumniator,  it  is  also  requisite  that  they 
be  free  women,  of  ripe  age,  having  their  understandings  perfect,  and  of  the  Mohammedan 
religion.  Though  the  word  be  of  the  feminine  gender,  yet  men  are  also  supposed  to  be 
comprised  in  this  law. 

Abu  Haniia  was  of  opinion  that  the  slanderer  ought  to  be  scourged  in  public,  as  well 
as  the  fornicator ;  but  the  generahty  are  against  him.^ 

»  See  chap.  4,  p.  61. 

"  See  chap.  4,  pp.  61 ,  63.  » Al  Beidawi.  "  Idem.  *  Al  Beidawi, 

Jallalo'ddin.  ^  lidem. 


288  AL  KORAN.  ohap.  xxiv. 

shall  have  no  witnesses  thereof^  besides  themselves ;  the  testimony  which 
shall  he  required  of  one  of  them  shall  5e,  that  he  swear  four  times  by- 
Goo  that  he  speaketh  the  truth:  and  the  fifth  time  that  he  imprecate 
the  curse  of  God  on  him  if  he  be  a  liar.  And  it  shall  avert  the  punish- 
ment from  the  wife^  if  she  swear  four  times  by  God  that  he  is  a  liar ;  and 
if  the  fifth  time  she  imprecate  the  wrath  of  God  on  her,  if  he  speaketh  the 
truth. p  If  it  loere  not  for  the  indulgence  of  God  towards  you,  and  his 
mercy,  and  that  God  is  easy  to  be  reconciled,  and  wise,  he  would  imme- 
diately discover  your  crimes."^  As  to  the  party  among  you  who  have 
published  the  falsehood  concerning  Ayesha^"^  think  it  not  to  be  an  evil  unto 
you :  on  the  contrary,  it  is  better  for  you/  Every  man  of  them  shall  he 
punished  according  to  the  injustice  of  which  he  hath  been  guilty ; »  and  he 

p  In  case  both  swear,  the  man's  oath  discharges  him  from  the  imputation  and  penahy 
of  slander,  and  the  woman's  oath  frees  her  from  the  imputation  and  penaUy  of  aduUery : 
but  though  the  woman  do  swear  to  her  innocence,  yet  the  marriage  is  actually  void,  or 
ought  to  be  declared  void  by  the  judge  ;  because  it  is  not  fit  they  should  continue  together 
after  they  have  come  to  these  extremities.' 

*  "If  the  wise  and  merciful  God  did  not  extend  his  clemency  unto  you,  he  would  in- 
flict instant  punishment  upon  perjury." — Savary. 

'^  For  the  understanding  of  this  passage,  it  is  necessary  to  relate  the  following  story. 

Mohammed  having  undertaken  an  expedition  against  the  tribe  of  Mostalek,  in  the  sixth 
year  of  the  Hejra,  took  his  wife  Ayesha  with  him,  to  accompany  him.  In  their  return, 
when  they  were  not  far  from  Medina,  the  army  removing  by  night,  Ayesha,  on  the  road, 
ahghted  from  her  camel,  and  stepped  aside  on  a  private  occasion :  but,  on  her  return, 
perceiving  she  had  dropped  her  necklace,  which  was  of  onyxes  of  Dhafar,  she  went  back 
to  look  for  it ;  and  in  the  mean  time  her  attendants,  taking  it  for  granted  that  she  was  got 
into  her  pavilion,  (or  httle  tent  surrounded  with  curtains,  wherein  women  are  carried  in 
the  East,)  set  it  again  on  the  camel,  and  led  it  away.  When  she  came  back  to  the  road, 
and  saw  her  camel  was  gone,  she  sat  down  there,  expecting  that  when  she  was  missed 
some  one  would  be  sent  back  to  fetch  her ;  and  in  a  little  time  she  fell  asleep.  Early  in 
the  morning,  Safwan  Ebn  al  Moattel,  who  had  staid  behind  to  rest  himself,  coming  by, 
and  perceiving  somebody  asleep,  went  to  see  who  it  was,  and  knew  her  to  be  Ayesha ; 
upon  which  he  waked  her,  by  twice  pronouncing  with  a  low  voice  these  words,  We  are 
God's,  and  untoi  him  we  must  return.  Then  Ayesha  immediately  covered  herself  with  a 
veil ;  and  Safwan  set  her  on  his  own  camel,  and  led  her  after  the  army,  which  they  over- 
took by  noon,  as  they  were  resting. 

This  accident  had  like  to  have  ruined  Ayesha,  whose  reputation  was  publicly  called  in 
question,  as  if  she  had  been  guilty  of  adultery  whh  Safwan:  and  Mohammed  knew  not 
what  to  think,  when  he  reflected  on  the  circumstances  of  the  affair,  which  were  improved 
by  some  malicious  people  very  much  to  Ayesha's  dishonour ;  and  notwithstanding  his 
wife's  protestations  of  her  innocence,  he  could  not  get  rid  of  his  perplexity,  nor  stop  tlae 
mouths  of  the  censorious,  till  about  a  month  after,  when  this  passage  was  revealed,  de- 
claring the  accusation  to  be  unjust." 

"■  The  words  are  directed  to  the  prophet,  and  to  Abu  Beer,  Ayesha,  and  Safwan,  the 
persons  concerned  in  this  false  report ;  since,  besides  the  amends  they  might  expect  in  the 
next  world,  God  had  done  them  the  honour  to  clear  their  reputations  by  revealing  eighteen 
verses  expressly  for  that  purpose. ' 

'  The  persons  concerned  in  spreading  the  scandal,  were  Abd'allah  Ebn  Obba,  (who  first 
raised  it,  and  inflamed  the  matter  to  the  utmost,  out  of  hatred  to  Mohammed,)  2eid  Ebn 
Refaa,  Hassan  Ebn  Thabet,  Mestab  Ebn  Othatha,  a  great-grandson  of  Abd'almotalleb's, 
and  Hamna  Bint  Jahash :  and  every  one  of  them  received  fourscore  stripes,  pursuant  to 
the  law  ordained  in  this  chapter,  except  only  Abd'allah,  who  was  exempted,  being  a  man 
of  great  consideration.^ 

It  is  said  that,  as  a  farther  punishment,  Hassan  and  Mestab  became  blind,  and  that  the 
former  of  them  also  lost  the  use  of  both  his  hands.' 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Bokhari  in  Sonna,  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 
Vide  Abu'lf.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  82,  &c.  et  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Moham.  lib.  4,  c.  7.  '  Al 
Beidawi.           « Abulfeda,  Vit.  Moh.  p.  83.           ■"  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  AL  KORAN.  289 

among  them  who  hath  undertaken  to  aggravate  the  same*  shall  suffer  a 
grievous  punishment.  Did  not  the  faithful  men,  and  the  faithful  women, 
when  ye  heard  this,  judge  in  their  own  minds  for  the  best ;  and  say,  This 
is  a  manifest  falsehood?  Have  they  produced  four  witnesses  thereof? 
wherefore  since  they  have  not  produced  the  witnesses,  they  are  surely  liars 
in  the  sight  of  God.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  indulgence  of  God  towards 
you,  and  his  mercy,  in  this  world  and  in  that  which  is  to  come,  verily  a 
grievous  punishment  had  been  inflicted  on  you,  for  the  calumny  which  ye 
have  spread :  when  ye  published  that  with  your  tongues,  and  spoke 
that  with  your  mouths,  of  which  ye  had  no  knowledge;  and  esteemed 
it  to  be  light,  whereas  it  was  a  matter  of  importance  in  the  sight  of  God.* 
When  ye  heard  it,  did  ye  say,  It  belongeth  not  unto  us,  that  we  should  talk 
of  this  matter  :  God  forbid !  this  is  a  grievous  calumny.  God  warneth  you, 
that  ye  return  not  to  the  like  crime  for  ever ;  if  ye  be  true  believers.  And 
God  declareth  unto  you  his  signs ;  for  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  Verily 
they  who  love  that  scandal  be  published  of  those  who  believe,  shall  receive 
a  severe  punishment  both  in  this  world  and  in  the  next.  God  knoweth, 
but  ye  know  not.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  indulgence  of  God  towards  you 
and  his  mercy,  and  that  God  is  gracious  and  merciful,  ye  had  felt  his 
vengeance.  O  true  believers,  Ibllow  not  the  steps  of  the  devil :  for  whoso- 
ever shall  follow  the  steps  of  the  devil,  he  will  command  them  filthy  crimes, 
and  that  which  is  unlawful.  Uit  were  not  for  the  indulgence  of  God,  and 
his  mercy  towards  you,  there  had  not  been  so  much  as  one  of  you  cleansed 
from  his  guilt  for  ever :  but  God  cleanseth  whom  he  pleaseth ;  for  God 
both  heareth  and  knoweth.  Let  not  those  among  you,  who  possess  abun- 
dance of  ivealth  and  have  ability,  swear  that  they  will  not  give  unto  their 
kindred,  and  the  poor,  and  those  who  have  fled  their  country  for  the  sake 
of  God's  true  religion :  but  let  them  forgive,  and  act  with  benevolence 
towards  them.  Do  ye  not  desire  that  God  should  pardon  you?"^  And  God 
is  gracious  and  merciful.  Moreover  they  who  falsely  accuse  modest  women, 
who  behave  in  a  negligent  manner,"^  and  are  true  believers,  shall  be  cursed 
in  this  world,  and  in  the  world  to  come ;  and  they  shall  suffer  a  severe 
punishment.'^  One  day  their  own  tongues  shall  bear  witness  against  them, 
and  their  hands,  and  their  feet,  concerning  that  which  they  have  done.    On 

'  viz.  Abd'allah  Ebn  Obba,  who  had  not  the  grace  to  become  a  true  believer,  but  died 
an  infidel.' 

*  "  Had  the  divine  goodness  and  clemency  not  watched  over  you,  this  falsehood  would 
have  drawn  down  upon  your  heads  a  terrible  chastisement.  It  has  passed  from  mouth  to 
mouth.  You  have  repeated  that  of  which  you  had  no  knowledge,  and  have  regarded  a 
slander  as  a  trivial  fault :  and  it  is  a  crime  in  the  eyes  of  the  Eternal." — Savary. 

°  This  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  Abu  Beer,  who  swore  that  he  would  not  for 
the  future  bestow  any  thing  on  Mestab,  though  he  was  his  mother's  sister's  son,  and  a 
poor  Mohajer,  or  refugee,  because  he  had  joined  in  scandalizing  his  daughter  Ayesha. 
But  on  Mohammed's  reading  this  verse  to  him,  he  continued  Mestab's  pension,' 

^  i.  e.  Who  may  be  less  careful  in  their  conduct,  and  more  free  in  their  behavious,  as 
being  conscious  of  no  ill. 

''Though  the  words  be  general,  yet  they  principally  regard  those  who  should  calum- 
niate the  prophet's  wives.  According  to  a  saying  of  Ebn  Abbas,  if  the  threats  contained 
in  the  whole  Koran  be  examined,  there  are  none  so  severe  as  those  occasioned  by  the 

8  See  chap.  9,  p.  159.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


290  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxiv. 

that  oay  shall  God  render  unto  them  their  just  due ;  and  they  shall  know 
that  God  is  the  evident  truth.  The  wicked  women  should' be  joined  to  the 
wicked  men,  and  the  wicked  men  to  the  wicked  women ;  but  the  good 
women  should  he  married  to  the  good  men,  and  the  good  men  to  the  good 
women.  These  shall  be  cleared  from  the  calumnies  which  slanderers  speak 
of  them;^  they  shall  obtain  pardon,  and  an  honourable  provision.  O 
true  believers,  enter  not  any  houses,  besides  your  own  houses,  until  ye 
have  asked  leave,  and  have  saluted  the  family  thereof: ^  this  is  better 
for  you ;  peradventure  ye  will  be  admonished.  And  if  ye  shall  find  no 
person  in  the  houses,  yet  do  not  enter  them,  until  leave  be  granted 
you :  and  if  it  be  said  unto  you.  Return  back,  do  ye  return  back.  This 
will  be  more  decent  for  you :  *  and  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  do.  It 
shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  that  ye  enter  uninhabited  houses,'*  wherein  ye 
may  meet  with  a  convenience.  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  discover,  and 
that  which  ye  conceal.  Speak  unto  the  true  believers,  that  they  restrain 
their  eyes,  and  keep  themselves  from  immodest  actions :  this  will  be  more 
pure  for  them ;  for  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  they  do.  And 
speak  unto  the  believing  women,  tliat  they  restrain  their  <^yes,  and  pre- 
serve their  modesty,  and  discover  not  their  ornaments,^  except  what 
necessarily  appeareth  thereof; "  and  let  them  throw  their  veils  over  their 
bosoms,*  and  not  show  their  ornaments,  unless  to  their  husbands,^  or  their 

false  accusation  of  Ayesha;  wherefore  he  thought  even  repentance  would  stand  her 
slanderers  in  no  stead.' 

^  Al  Beidawi  observes,  on  this  passage,  that  God  cleared  four  persons,  by  four  extra- 
ordinary testimonies:  for  he  cleared  Joseph  by  the  testimony  of  a  child  in  his  mistress's 
family ;  2  Moses,  by  means  of  the  stone  which  fled  away  with  his  garments  ;*  Mary,  by 
the  testimony  of  her  infant ;  *  and  Ayesha,  by  these  verses  of  the  Koran. 

^  To  enter  suddenly  or  abruptly  into  any  man's  house  or  apartment  is  reckoned  a  great 
incivihty  in  the  East ;  because  a  person  may  possibly  be  surprised  in  an  indecent  action 
or  posture,  or  may  have  something  discovered  which  he  would  conceal.  It  is  said,  that  a 
man  came  to  Mohammed,  and  wanted  to  know  whether  he  must  ask  leave  to  go  in  to 
his  sister ;  which  being  answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  told  the  prophet  that  his  sister  had 
nobody  else  to  attend  upon  her,  and  it  would  be  troublesome  to  ask  leave  every  time  he 
went  in  to  her:  What,  replied  Mohammed,  wouldst  thou  see  her  naked?  * 

^  Than  to  be  importunate  for  admission,  or  to  wait  at  the  door. 

=  i.  e.  Which  are  not  the  private  habitation  of  a  family ;  such  as  public  inns,  shops, 
sheds,  &c. 

"  As  their  clothes,  jewels,  and  the  furniture  of  their  toilet ;  much  less  such  parts  of 
their  bodies  as  ought  not  to  be  sf  en. 

■=  Some  think  their  outer  garments  are  here  meant ;  and  others  their  hands  and  faces  : 
it  is  generally  held,  however,  that  a  free  woman  ought  not  to  discover  even  those  parts, 
unless  to  the  persons  after  excepted,  or  on  some  unavoidable  occasion,  as  their  giving  evi- 
dence in  public,  taking  advice  or  medicines  in  case  of  sickness,  &c. 

^  Taking  care  to  cover  their  heads,  necks,  and  breasts. 

(The  Turkish  women,  as  we  have  already  stated,  never  go  out  without  being  veiled. 
In  Egypt  the  women  wrap  themselves  up  in  a  long  mantle  of  black  silk,  which  covers 
the  whole  body.  On  their  feet  they  wear  slippers  of  a  very  thin  yellow  leather.  Long 
trowsers,  and  robes  which  trail  on  the  ground,  prevent  their  legs  from  being  seen  ;  but, 
as  they  wear  no  stockings,  Mohammed  forbids  them  to  move  their  feet  about  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  expose  the  charms  which  ought  to  be  concealed.  In  public  they  are  always 
dressed  with  the  utmost  decency :  but  in  their  own  houses  they  lay  aside  all  this  accumu- 
lation of  covering,  and  are  dressed  as  slightly  as  possible.) — Savory. 

^  For  whose  sake  it  is  that  they  adorn  themselves,  and  who  alone  have  the  privilege  to 
see  their  whole  body. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  =  See  chap.  12,  p.  191.  ^  See  chap.  2,  p.  8,  and  chap.  33. 

*  See  chap.  19,  p.  251.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  AL  KOKAN.  291 

fathers,  or  their  husbands'  fathers,  or  their  sons,  or  their  husbands'  sons,  or 
their  brothers,  or  their  brothers'  sons,  or  their  sisters'  sons,*"  or  their  women,5 
or  the  captives  which  their  right  hands  shall  possess,^  or  unto  such  men  as 
attend  them,  and  have  no  need  of  ivomen,'  or  unto  children,  who  distinguish 
not  the  nakedness  of  women.  And  let  them  not  make  a  noise  with  their 
feet,*  that  theii  ornaments  which  they  hide  may  therehy  be  discovered.*^ 
And  be  ye  all  turned  unto  God,  O  true  believers,  that  ye  may  be  happy. 
Marry  those  who  are  single^  among  you,  and  such  as  are  honest  of  your 
men-servants  and  your  maid-servants :  if  they  be  poor,  God  will  enrich 
them  of  his  abundance ;  for  God  is  bounteous  and  wise.  And  let  those 
who  find  not  a  match,  keep  themselves  from  fornication,  until  God  shall 
enrich  them  of  his  abundance.  And  unto  such  of  your  slaves™  as  desire  a 
written  instrument  alloiving  them  to  redeem  themselves  on  paying  a  certain 
swm,"  write  one,  if  ye  know  good  in  them ;  «=  and  give  them  of  the  riches  of 
God,  which  he  hath  given  you.p  And  compel  not  your  maid-servants 
to  prostitute  themselves,  if  they  be  willing  to  live  chastely ;  that  ye  may 

^  These  near  relations  are  also  excepted,  because  they  cannot  avoid  seeing  them  fre- 
quently ;  and  there  is  no  great  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  them.  They  are  allowed, 
therefore,  to  see  what  cannot  well  be  concealed  in  so  familiar  an  intercourse,'  but  no  other 
part  of  their  body,  particularly  whatever  is  between  the  navel  and  the  knees/ 

Uncles  not  being  here  particularly  mentioned,  it  is  a  doubt  w^hether  they  may  be 
admitted  to  see  their  nieces.  Some  think  they  are  included  under  the  appellation 
of  brothers:  but  others  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  not  comprised  in  this  exception:  and 
gives  this  reason  for  it,  viz.  lest  they  should  describe  the  persons  of  their  nieces  to 
their  sons.^ 

"  That  is,  such  as  are  of  the  Mohammedan  religion ;  it  being  reckoned  by  some 
unlawful,  or,  at  least,  indecent,  for  a  woman,  who  is  a  true  believer,  to  uncover  herself 
before  one  who  is  an  infidel,  because  she  will  hardly  refrain  describing  her  to  the  men: 
but  others  supposed  all  women  in  general  are  here  excepted;  for,  in  this  particular, 
doctors  differ.^ 

^  Slaves  of  either  sex  are  included  in  this  exemption,  and,  as  some  think,  domestic  ser- 
vants who  are  not  slaves;  as  those  of  a  different  nation.  It  is  related,  that  Mohammed 
once  made  a  present  of  a  man-slave  to  his  daughter  Fatema;  and  when  he  brought  him 
to  her  she  had  on  a  garment  which  was  so  scanty  that  she  was  obliged  to  leave  either 
her  head  or  her  feet  uncovered :  and  that  the  prophet,  seeing  her  in  great  confusion  on 
that  account,  told  her,  she  need  be  under  no  concern,  for  that  there  was  none  present 
besides  her  father  and  her  slave.' 

'  Or  have  no  desire  to  enjoy  them  ;  such  as  decrepid  old  men,  and  deformed  or  silly 
persons,  who  follow  people  as  hangers  on,  for  their  spare  victuals,  being  too  despicable 
to  raise  either  a  woman's  passion  or  a  man's  jealousy.  Whether  eunuchs  are  compre- 
hended under  this  general  designation,  is  a  question  among  the  learned.^ 

*  "  Let  them  not  move  about  their  feet  so  as  to  allow  those  charms  to  be  seen  which 
ought  to  be  veiled." — Savanj. 

^  By  shaking  the  rings,  which  the  women  in  the  East  wear  about  their  ancles,  and  are 
usually  of  gold  or  silver.^  The  pride  which  the  Jewish  ladies  of  old  took  in  making 
a  tinkling  with  these  ornamerits  of  their  feet,  is  (among  other  things  of  that  nature)  severely 
reproved  by  the  prophet  Isaiah." 

'  I.  e.  Those  who  are  unmarried  of  either  sex  ;  whether  they  have  been  married  before 
or  not. 

°  Of  either  sex. 

"  Whereby  the  master  obliges  himself  to  set  his  slave  at  liberty,  on  receiving  a  certain 
sum  of  money,  which  the  slave  undertakes  to  pay. 

°  That  is,  If  ye  have  found  them  faithful,  and  have  reason  to  believe  they  will  perform 
their  engagement. 

^  Either  by  bestowing  something  on  them  of  your  own  substance,  or  by  abating  them 

Al  Beidawi.  '  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Al  Beidawi.  » Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 

lidera.  '^  lidem,  Yahya,  &,c.  ^  lidem.  *  Isaiah  iii.  16,  18. 


292  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxiv. 

seek  the  casual  advantage  of  this  present  life  :  but  whoever  shall  compel  them 
thereto^  verily  God  will  he  gracious  and  merciful  unlo  such  women  after  their 
compulsion.  And  now  have  we  revealed  unto  you  evident  signs,  and  a 
history  like  unto  some  of  the  histories  of  those  who  have  gone  before  you/ 
and  an  admonition  untb  the  pious.  God  is  the  light  of  heaven  and  earth  : 
the  similitude  of  his  light  is  as  a  niche  in  a  wall,  wherein  a  lamp  is  placed, 
and  the  lamp  inclosed  in  a  case  of  glass ;  the  glass  appears  as  it  were  a 
shining  star.  It  is  lighted  with  the  oil  of  a  blessed  tree,  an  olive  neither 
of  the  east,  nor  of  the  west:^  it  wanteth  little  but  that  the  oil  thereof 
■would  give  light,  although  no  fire  touched  it.*  This  is  light  added  unto 
light.*  God  will  direct  unto  his  light  whom  he  pleaseth.  God  pro- 
poundeth  parables  unto  men ;  for  God  knoweth  all  things.  In  the  houses 
which  God  hath  permitted  to  be  raised,'^  and  that  his  name  be  comme- 
morated therein !  men  celebrate  his  praise  in  the  same,  morning  and 
evening,  whom  neither  merchandizing  nor  selling  diverteth  from  the 
remembering  of  God,  and  the  observance  of  prayer,  and  the  giving  of 
alms ;  fearing  the  day  whereon  men's  hearts  and  eyes  shall  be  troubled  ; 
that  God  may  recompense  them  according  to  the  utmost  merit  of  what  they 
shall  have  wrought,  and  may  add  unto  them  of  his  abundance  a  more  excel- 
lent reward ;  for  God  bestoweth  on  whom  he  pleaseth  without  measure. 
But  as  to  the  unbelievers,  their  works  are  like  the  vapour  in  a  plain, ^  which 
the  thirsty  traveller  thinketh  to  be  water,  until,  when  he  cometh  thereto, 

a  part  of  their  ransom.  Some  suppose  these  words  are  directed,  not  to  the  masters  only, 
but  to  all  Moslems  in  general ;  recommending  it  to  them  to  assist  those  who  have  obtained 
their  freedom,  and  paid  their  ransom,  either  out  of  their  own  stock,  or  by  admitting  them 
to  have  a  share  in  the  public  alms.' 

1 1t  seems  Abd'allah  Ebn  Obba  had  six  women  slaves,  on  whom  he  had  laid  a  certain 
tax,  which  he  obliged  them  to  earn  by  the  prostitution  of  their  bodies :  and  one  of  them 
made  her  complaint  to  Mohammed,  which  occasioned  the  revelation  of  this  passage.* 

"■  i.  e.  The  story  of  the  false  accusation  of  Ayesha,  which  resembles  those  of  Joseph  and 
the  virgin  Mary.'' 

*  But  of  a  more  excellent  kind.  Some  think  the  meaning  to  be  that  the  tree  grows 
neither  in  the  eastern  parts  nor  the  western  parts,  but  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  namely 
in  Syria,  where  the  best  olives  grow.^ 

*  "  The  oil  of  which  is  lighted  up  at  the  slightest  approach  of  fire,  and  produces  rays 
which  are  incessantly  renewed." — Savary. 

'  Or  a  light  whose  brightness  is  doubly  increased  by  the  circumstances  above-mentioned. 

The  commentators  explain  this  allegory,  and  every  particular  of  it,  with  great  subtlety  ; 
interpreting  the  lipht  here  described,  to  be  the  ligJd  revealed  in  the  Koran,  or  God's 
enlightening  grace  in  the  heart  of  man,  and  in  divers  other  manners. 

"  The  connexion  of  these  words  is  not  very  obvious.  Some  suppose  they  ought  to  be 
joined  with  the  preceding  words.  Like  a  niche,  or.  It  is  lighted  in  the  houses,  &c.  and  that 
the  comparison  is  more  strong  and  just,  by  being  made  to  the  lamps  in  Mosques,  which 
are  larger  than  those  in  private  houses.  Some  think  they  are  rather  to  be  connected  with 
the  following  words,  Men  praise,  &c.  And  others  are  of  opinion  they  are  an  imperfect 
beginning  of  a  sentence,  and  that  the  words,  Praise  ye  God,  or  the  like,  are  to  be  under- 
stood. However,  the  houses  here  intended  are  those  set  apart  for  divine  worship ;  or 
particularly  the  three  principal  temples  of  Mecca,  Medina,  and  Jerusalem.' 

^The  Arabic  word  Serab  signifies  that  false  appearance  which,  in  the  eastern  countries, 
is  often  seen  in  sandy  plains  about  noon,  resembling  a  large  lake  of  water  in  motion,  and 
is  occasioned  by  the  reverberation  of  the  sunbeams.    It  sometimes  tempts  thirsty  travellers 

^  AI  Beidavvi.         « Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.         « lidem.         "  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  AL  KORAN.  293 

he  lindeth  it  to  he  nothing ;  but  he  findeth  God  with  him,y  and  he  will 
fully  pay  him  his  account ;  and  God  is  swift  in  taking  an  account :  or,  as 
the  darkness  in  a  deep  sea,  covered  by  waves  riding  on  waves,  above  which 
are  clouds,  being  additions  of  darkness  one  over  the  other  j  when  one 
stretcheth  forth  his  hand,  he  is  far  from  seeing  it.  And  unto  whomsoever 
God  shall  not  grant  his  light,  he  shall  enjoy  no  light  at  all.  Dost  thou  not 
perceive'  that  all  creatures  both  in  heaven  and  earth  praise  God  :  and  the 
birds  also,  extending  their  wings  ?  Every  one  knoweth  his  prayer,  and  his 
praise :  and  God  knoweth  that  which  they  do.  Unto  God  belongeth  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  unto  God  shall  be  the  return  at  the  last 
day.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  gently  driveth  forward  the  clouds,  and 
gathereth  them  together,  and  then  layeth  them  on  heaps  1  Thou  also  seest 
the  rain,  which  falleth  from  the  midst  thereof;  and  God  sendeth  down 
from  heaven  as  it  ivere  mountains,  wherein  there  is  hail ;  he  striketh  there- 
with whom  he  pleaseth,  and  turneth  the  same  away  from  whom  he  pleaseth : 
the  brightness  of  his  lightning  wantelh  but  little  of  taking  away  the  sight.* 
God  shifteth  the  night,  and  the  day :  verily  herein  is  an  instruction  unto 
those  who  have  sight.  And  God  hath  created  every  animal  of  water ;  ^  one 
of  them  goeth  on  his  belly,  and  another  of  them  walketh  upon  two  feet,  and 
another  of  them  walketh  upon  four  feet :  God  createth  that  which  he 
pleaseth ;  for  God  is  almighty.  Now  have  we  sent  down  evident  signs  ; 
and  God  directeth  whom  he  pleaseth  into  the  right  way.  The  hypocrites 
say,  We  believe  in  God,  and  on  his  apostle ;  and  we  obey  them  :  yet  a  part 
of  them  turneth  back,  after  this ;  but  these  are  not  really  believers.  And 
when  they  are  summoned  before  God  and  his  apostle,  that  he  may  judge 
between  them;  behold,  a  part  of  them  retire :  but  if  the  right  had  been  on 
their  side,  they  would  have  come  and  submitted  themselves  unto  him.  Is 
there  an  infirmity  in  their  hearts  ?  Do  they  doubt  ?  Or  do  they  fear  lest 
God  and  his  apostle  act  unjustly  towards  them  ?  But  themselves  are  the 
unjust  doers.*  The  saying  of  the  true  believers,  when  they  are  summoned 
before  God  and  his  apostle,  that  he  may  judge  between  them,  is  no  other 
than  that  they  say.  We  have  heard,  and  do  obey :  and  these  are  they  who 
shall  prosper.  Whoever  shall  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  and  shall  fear  God, 
and  shall  be  devout  towards  him  ;  these  shall  enjoy  great  felicity.  They 
swear  by  God,  with  a  most  solemn  oath,  that  if  thou  commandest  them, 

out  of  their  way,  but  deceives  them  when  they  come  near,  either  going  forward  (for  it 
always  appears  at  the  same  distance),  or  quite  vanishing.' 

'  That  is,  He  will  not  escape  the  notice  or  vengeance  of  God. 

*  "  The  refulgence  of  his  lightning  dazzleth  the  feeble  eyes  of  mortals."-— ^at'ary, 

'  This  assertion,  which  has  already  occurred  in  another  place,*  being  not  true  in  strict- 
ness, the  commentators  suppose  that  by  water  is  meant  seed ;  or  else,  that  water  is  men- 
tioned only  as  the  chief  cause  of  the  growth  of  animals,  and  a  considerable  and  necessary 
constituent  part  of  their  bodies. 

*  This  passage  was  occasioned  by  Bashir  the  hypocrite,. who,  having  a  controversy  with 
a  Jew,  appealed  to  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf,  whereas  the  Jew  appealed  to  Mohammed  ;^  or, 
as  others  tell  us,  by  Mogheira  Ebn  Wayel,  who  refused  to  submit  a  dispute  he  had  with 
Ali  to  the  prophet's  decision.* 

'  Vide  Q.  Curt,  de  rebus  Alex.  lib.  vii.  et  Gol.  in  Alfrag.  p.  111.  I.  et  in  Adag.  Arab, 
ad  calcem  Gram.  Erb.  p.  93.  »  Chap.  21,  p.  266.  '  See  chap.  4,  p.  68.  *  Al 

Beidawi. 


294  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxiv. 

they  will  go  forth  from  their  houses  and  possessions.  Say,  Swear  not  to  a 
falsehood  :  obedience  is  more  requisite :  and  God  is  well  acquainted  with 
that  which  ye  do.*  Say,  Obey  God,  and  obey  the  apostle :  but  if  ye  turn 
back,  verily  it  is  expected  of  him  that  he  perform  his  duty,  and  of  you  that 
ye  perform  your  duty ;  and  if  ye  obey  him,  ye  shall  be  directed ;  but  the 
duty  of  our  apostle  is  only  public  preaching.  God  promiseth  unto  such  of 
you  as  believe,  and  do  good  works,  that  he  will  cause  them  to  succeed  the 
unbelievers  in  the  earth,  as  he  caused  those  who  were  before  you  to  succeed 
the  infidels  of  their  time  ;^  and  that  he  will  establish  for  them  their  religion 
w^hich  pleaseth  them,  and  will  change  their  fear  into  security.  They  shall 
w^orship  me ;  and  shall  not  associate  any  other  with  me.  But  whoever  shall 
disbelieve  after  this,  they  will  be  the  wicked  doers.  Observe  prayer,  and 
give  alms,  and  obey  the  apostle ;  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy.  Think  not 
that  the  unbelievers  shall  frustrate  the  designs  of  God  on  earth  :  and  their 
abode  hereafter  shall  be  hell  fire ;  a  miserable  journey  shall  it  he  thither  ! 
O  true  believers,  let  your  slaves  and  those  among  you  who  shall  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  puberty,  ask  leave  of  you,  before  they  come  into  your 
presence,  three  times  in  the  day ;  "=  namely,  before  the  morning  prayer,*  and 
when  ye  lay  aside  your  garments  at  noon,*  and  after  the  evening  prayer.' 
These  are  the  three  times  for  you  to  be  private  :  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you, 
or  in  them,  if  they  go  in  to  you  without  asking  permission  after  these  times, 
while  ye  are  in  frequent  attendance,  the  one  of  you  on  the  other.  Thus 
God  declareth  his  signs  unto  you ;  for  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  And 
when  your  children  attain  the  age  of  puberty,  let  them  ask  leave  to  come  into 
your  presence  at  all  times,  in  the  same  manner  as  those  who  have  attained 
that  age  before  them,  ask  leave.     Thus  God  declareth  his  signs  unto  you ; 

*  "  Your  obedience  is  just.    The  Omnipotent  weigheth  all  your  actions." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  As  he  caused  the  Israelites  to  dispossess  the  Canaanites,  &c. 

*=  Because  there  are  certain  times  when  it  is  not  convenient,  even  for  a  domestic,  or  a 
child,  to  come  in  to  one  without  notice.  It  is  said  this  passage  was  revealed  on  account 
of  Asma  Bint  Morthed,  whose  servant  entered  suddenly  upon  her,  at  an  improper  time  ; 
but  others  say,  it  was  occasioned  by  Modraj  Ebn  Amru,  then  a  boy,  who,  being  sent  by 
Mohammed  to  call  Omar  to  him,  went  directly  into  the  room  where  he  was,  without 
giving  notice,  and  found  him  taking  his  noon's  nap,  and  in  no  very  decent  posture  ;  at 
which  Omar  was  so  ruffled,  that  he  wished  God  would  forbid  even  their  fathers,  and 
children,  to  come  in  to  them  abruptly,  at  such  times.* 

(The  ancient  authority  of  the  father  of  a  family,  the  first  which  was  known  to  man,  is 
still  preserved  entire  in  the  East.  The  Koran  did  not  establish  it.  It  only  rendered  it 
more  sacred.  There,  a  father  of  a  family  still  enjoys  all  the  rights  conferred  on  him  by 
nature.  He  is  the  judge  and  high  priest.  His  servants,  his  children,  do  not  come  into  his 
presence  without  his  permission.  They  are  bound  to  go  at  morning,  noon,  and  at  evening, 
to  offer  their  services  to  him,  and  receive  his  blessing.  He  decides  on  the  disputes  which 
arise  between  them,  and  sacrifices  the  victims  of  the  Beiram  (the  festival  of  the  Turks). 
It  is  there  that  objects  capable  of  exciting  affecting  emotions  may  be  seen.  Under  the 
same  roof  often  reside  four  generations.  Extreme  old  age,  robust  manhood,  and  tender 
infancy,  may  there  be  seen  united  together  by  sacred  and  cherished  ties.) — Savary. 

'^  Which  is  the  time  of  people  rising  from  their  beds,  and  dressing  themselves  for  the  day. 

"  That  is,  when  ye  take  off  your  upper  garments  to  sleep  at  noon  ;  which  is  a  common 
custom  in  the  East,  and  all  warm  countries. 

^  When  you  undress  yourselves  to  prepare  for  bed.  Al  Beidawi  adds  a  fourth  season, 
when  permission  to  enter  must  be  asked,  viz.  at  night :  but  this  follows  of  course. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXIV.  AL  KORAN.  295 

and  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  As  to  such  women  as  are  past  child-bearing, 
who  hope  not  to  marry  again^  because  of  their  advanced  age;  it  shall  be  no 
crime  in  them,  if  they  lay  aside  their  outer  garments,  not  showing  their 
ornaments ;  s  *  but  if  they  abstain  from  this,  it  will  be  better  for  them, 
God  both  hcareth  and  knoweth.  It  shall  be  no  crime  in  the  blind,  nor  shall 
it  be  any  crime  in  the  lame,  neither  shall  it  be  any  crime  in  the  sick,  or  in 
yourselves,  that  ye  eat  in  your  houses,**  or  in  the  houses  of  your  fathers,  or 
the  houses  of  your  mothers,  or  in  the  houses  of  your  brothers,  or  the  houses 
of  your  sisters,  or  the  houses  of  your  uncles  on  the  father's  side,  or  the 
houses  of  your  aunts  on  the  father's  side,  or  the  houses  of  your  uncles  on 
the  mother's  side,  the  houses  of  your  aunts  on  the  mother's  side,  or  in  those 
houses  the  keys  whereof  ye  have  in  your  possession,  or  in  the  house  of  your 
friend.  It  shall  not  be  any  crime  in  you  whether  ye  eat  together,  or 
separately.'  And  when  ye  enter  any  houses,  salute  one  another  ^  on  the 
part  of  God,  with  a  blessed  and  a  welcome  salutation.  Thus  God  declareth 
his  signs  unto  you,  that  ye  may  understand.  Verily  they  only  are  true 
believers,  who  believe  in  God  and  his  apostle,  and  when  they  are  assembled 
with  him  on  any  affair/  depart  not,  until  they  have  obtained  leave  of  him. 
Verily  they  who  ask  leave  of  thee  are  those  who  believe  in  God  and  his 
apostle.  When  therefore  they  ask  leave  of  thee  to  depart,  on  account  of  any 
business  of  their  own,  grant  leave  unto  such  of  them  as  thou  shalt  think  fit, 
and  ask  pardon  for  them  of  God  ;  ™  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Let  not 
the  calling  of  the  apostle  be  esteemed  among  you,  as  your  calling  the  one  to 
the  other.*  •*     God  knoweth  such  of  you  as  privately  withdraw  themselves 

s  See  before,  p.  291. 

*  "  Aged  women  who  are  passed  the  time  of  marriage,  may  lay  aside  their  veils,  pro- 
vided that  they  do  not  affect  to  show  themselves." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Where  your  wives  or  families  are ;  or  in  the  houses  of  your  sons,  which  may  be 
looked  on  as  your  own. 

This  passage  was  designed  to  remove  some  scruples  or  superstitions  of  the  Arabs  in 
Mohammed's  time;  some  of  whom  thought  their  eating  with  maimed  or  sick  people  de- 
filed them  ;  others  imagined  they  ought  not  to  eat  in  the  house  of  another,  though  ever  so 
nearly  related  to  them,  or  though  they  were  intrusted  with  the  key  and  care  of  the  house 
in  the  master's  absence,  and  might  therefore  conclude  it  would  be  no  offence;  and  others 
declined  eating  with  their  friends  though  invited,  lest  they  should  be  burdensome.*  The 
whole  passage  seems  to  be  no  more  than  a  declaration  that  the  things  scrupled  were  per- 
fectly innocent;  however,  the  commentators  say  it  is  now  abrogated,  and  that  it  related 
only  to  the  old  Arabs,  in  the  infancy  of  Mohammedism. 

'  As  the  tribe  of  Leith  thought  it  unlawful  for  a  man  to  eat  alone ;  and  some  of  the 
Ansars,  if  they  had  a  guest  with  them,  never  ate  but  in  his  company  ;  so  there  were  others 
who  refused  to  eat  with  any,  out  of  a  superstitious  caution  lest  they  should  be  defiled,  or 
out  of  a  hoggish  greediness.'' 

*■  Literally  yourselves ;  that  is,  according  to  al  Beidawi,  the  people  of  the  house,  to  whom 
ye  are  united  by  the  ties  of  blood,  and  by  the  common  bond  of  religion.  And  if  there  be 
nobody  in  the  house,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  salute  yourselves,  and  say,  Peace  be  on  us,  and  on 
the  righteous  servants  of  God:  for  the  angels  will  return  your  salutation. 

'  As,  at  public  prayers,  or  a  solemn  feast,  or  at  council,  or  on  a  military  expedition. 

^  Because  such  departure,  though  with  leave,  and  on  a  reasonable  excuse,  is  a  kind  of 
failure  in  the  exact  performance  ot  their  duty ;  seeing  they  prefer  their  temporal  affairs  to 
the  advancement  of  the  true  religion.^ 

*  "  Speak  not  to  the  prophet  with  that  familiarity  which  ye  use  unto  each  other." — 
Savary. 

■  These  words  are  variously  interpreted;  for  their  meaning  may  be,  either,  Make  not 

"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


296  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxv. 

from  the  assembly^  taking  shelter  behind  one  another.  But  let  those  who 
withstand  his  command  take  heed,  lest  some  calamity  befall  them  in  this 
world,  or  a  grievous  punishment  be  inflicted  on  them  in  the  life  to  come. 
Doth  not  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  belong  unto  God?  He  well 
know^eth  what  ye  are  about :  and  on  a  certain  day  they  shall  be  assembled 
before  him ;  and  he  shall  declare  unto  them  that  which  they  have  done ; 
for  God  knoweth  all  things. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 
INTITLED,  AL  FORKAN;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

m  THE  NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Blessed  be  he  who  hath  revealed  the  Forkan  °  unto  his  servant,  that  he 
may  be  a  preacher  to  all  creatures :  unto  whom  helongeth  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  and  of  earth :  who  hath  begotten  no  issue ;  and  hath  no  partner  in 
his  kingdom  :  ivho  hath  created  all  things,  and  disposed  the  same  according 
to  his  determinate  will.*  Yet  have  they  taken  other  gods  besides  him  ; 
which  have  created  nothing,  but  are  themselves  created :  p  and  are  able 
neither  to  avert  evil  from,  nor  to  procure  good  unto  themselves ;  and  have 
not  the  power  of  death,  or  of  life,  or  of  raising  the  dead.  And  the 
unbelievers  say.  This  Koran  is  no  other  than  a  forgery  which  he  hath  con- 
trived ;  and  other  people  have  assisted  him  therein :  i  but  they  utter  an 
unjust  thing,  and  a  falsehood.  They  also  say,  These  are  fables  of  the 
ancients,  which  he  hath  caused  to  be  written  down ;  and  they  are  dictated 
unto  him  morning  and  evening.  Say,  He  hath  revealed  it,  who  knoweth 
the  secrets  in  heaven  and  earth  :  verily  he  is  gracious  and  merciful.  And 
they  say.  What  kind  of  apostle  is  this  ?  He  eateth  food,  and  walketh 
in   the  streets,"*  as  we  do :   unless   an   angel  be   sent   down   unto   him, 

light  of  the  apostle's  summons,  as  ye  would  of  another  person's  of  equal  condition  with 
yourselves,  by  not  obeying  it,  or  by  departing  out  of,  or  coming  into  his  presence,  with- 
out leave  first  obtained  ;  or,  Think  not  that  when  the  apostle  calls  upon  God  in  prayer, 
it  is  with  him,  as  with  you,  when  ye  prefer  a  petition  to  a  superior,  who  sometimes  grants, 
but  as  often  denies  your  suit ;  or.  Call  not  to  the  apostle,  as  ye  do  to  one  another,  that 
is,  by  name,  or  familiarly  and  with  a  loud  voice  ;  but  make  use  of  some  honourable  com- 
pellation,  as,  O  apostle  of  God,  or,  O  prophet  of  God,  and  speak  in  an  humble  modest 
manner.^ 

"  Which  is  one  of  the  names  of  the  Koran.     See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  40. 
*  "By  Him  all  that  existeth  was  drawn  from  nothing,  and  he  preserveth  it  in  harmo- 
nious order." — Savary. 

p  Being  either  the  heavenly  bodies,  or  idols,  the  works  of  men's  hands. 

'^  See  chap.  16,  p.  223.  It  is  supposed  the  Jews  are  particularly  intended  in  this  place; 
because  they  used  to  repeat  passages  of  ancient  history  to  Mohammed,  on  which  he  used 
to  discourse  and  make  observations.* 

'  Being  subject  to  the  same  wants  and  infirmities  of  nature,  and  obliged  to  submit  to  the 
same  low  means  of  supporting  himself  and  his  family,  with  ourselves.  The  Meccans 
were  acquainted  with  Mohammed,  and  with  his  circumstances  and  way  of  life,  too  well 
to  change  their  old  familiarity  into  the  reverence  due  to  the  messenger  of  God :  for  a  pro- 
phet hath  no  honour  in  his  own  country. 

®  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXV.  AL  KORAN.  297 

and  become  a  fellow  preacher  with  him ;  or  unless  a  treasure  be  cast 
down  unto  him ;  or  he  have  a  garden,  of  the  fruit  whereof  he  may  eat ; 
we  will  not  believe.  The  ungodly  also  say,  Ye  follow  no  other  than  a  man 
who  is  distracted.  Behold  what  they  liken  thee  unto.  But  they  are 
deceived;  neither  can  they  fnd  Sijust  occasion  to  reproach  thee*  Blessed 
be  he,  who,  if  he  pleascth,  will  make  for  thee  a  better  provision  than  this 
which  they  speak  of;  namely^  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow ;  and  he 
will  provide  thee  palaces.  But  they  reject  the  belief  of  the  hour  of  judg- 
ment.) as  a  falsehood :  and  we  have  prepared  for  him,  who  shall  reject  the 
belief  of  that  hour,  burning  fire ;  when  it  shall  see  them  from  a  distant 
place,  they  shall  hear  it  furiously  raging  and  roaring.  And  when  they 
shall  be  cast,  bound  together,  into  a  strait  place  thereof,  they  shall  there 
call  for  death ;  hut  it  shall  he  answered  them.,  Call  not  this  day  for  one 
death,  but  call  for  many  deaths.  Say,  Is  this  better,  or  a  garden  of  eternal 
duration,  which  is  promised  unto  the  pious  ?  It  shall  be  given  unto  them 
for  a  reward,  and  a  retreat :  therein  shall  they  have  whatever  they  please, 
continuing  in  the  same  for  ever.  This  is  a  promise  to  be  demanded  at  the 
hands  of  thy  Lord.  On  a  certain  day  he  shall  assemble  them,  and  what- 
ever they  worship,  besides  God  ;  and  shall  say  unto  the  worshipped.,  Did  ye 
seduce  these  my  servants  ;  or  did  they  wander  of  themselves  from  the  right 
way  1  They  shall  answer,  God  forbid  !  It  was  not  fitting  for  us,  that  we 
should  take  any  protectors  besides  thee :  but  thou  didst  permit  them  and 
their  fathers  to  enjoy  abundance ;  so  that  they  forgot  thy  admonition,  and 
became  lost  people.  Jlnd  God  shall  say  unto  their  worshippers^  Now  have 
these  convinced  you  of  falsehood,  in  that  which  ye  say :  they  can  neither 
avert  your  punishment^  nor  give  you  any  assistance.  And  whoever  of  you 
shall  be  guilty  of  injustice,  him  will  we  cause  to  taste  a  grievous  torment.| 
We  have  sent  no  messengers  before  thee,  but  they  ate  food,  and  walked 
through  the  streets :  and  we  make  some  of  you  an  occasion  of  trial  unto 
others.*  Will  ye  persevere  with  patience  ?  since  the  Lord  regardeth  your 
perseverance.  *[XIX.]  They  who  hope  not  to  meet  us  at  the  resurrection 
say.  Unless  the  angels  be  sent  down  unto  us,  or  we  see  our  Lord  himself 
we  icill  not  believe.  Verily  they  behave  themselves  arrogantly ;  and  have 
transgressed  with  an  enormous  transgression.  The  day  whereon  they  shall 
see  the  angels,*  there  shall  be  no  glad  tidings  on  that  day  for  the  wicked ; 
and  they  shall  say,  Be  this  removed  far  from  us?  and  we  will  come  unto 
the  work  which  they  shall  have  wrought,  and  we  will  make  it  as  dust 
scattered  abroad.  On  that  day  shall  they  who  are  destined  to  paradise  be 
more   happy  in   an   abode,  and   have   a   preferable   place  of  repose   at 

*  "  They  are  in  blindness.     They  no  more  shall  find  the  light." — Savary. 

t  "  Whosoever  of  you  hath  lived  in  impiety  shall  undergo  a  grievous  punishment." — 
Savary. 

'  Giving  occasion  of  envy,  repining, "and  malice  ;  to  the  poor,  mean,  and  sick,  for  exam- 
ple, when  they  compare  their  own  condition  with  that  of  the  rich,  the  noble,  and  those 
who  are  in  health :  and  trying  the  people  to  whom  prophets  are  sent,  by  those  prophets.' 

'  viz.  At  their  death,  or  at  the  resurrection, 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 
2d 


298  AL  KORAN*  chap.  xxv. 

noon.*"  On  that  day  the  heaven  shall  be  cloven  m  sunder  by  the  clouds, 
and  the  angels  shall  be  sent  down,  descending  visibly  therein.^  On 
that  day  the  kingdom  shall  of  right  belong  wholly  unto  the  Merciful ; 
and  that  day  shall  be  grievous  for  the  unbelievers.  On  that  day  the 
unjust  person^  shall  bite  his  hand  for  anguish  and  despair^  and  shall  say, 
Oh  that  I  had  taken  the  way  of  truth  with  the  apostle  !  Alas  for  me !  Oh 
that  I  had  not  taken  such  a  one^  for  my  friend !  He  seduced  me  from  the 
admonition  of  God,  after  it  had  come  unto  me  :  for  the  devil  is  the  betrayer 
of  man.  And  the  apostle  shall  say,  O  Lord,  verily  my  people  esteemed 
this  Koran  to  be  a  vain  composition.  In  like  manner  did  we  ordain  unto 
every  prophet  an  enemy  from  among  the  wicked :  but  thy  Lord  is  a  suffi- 
cient director  and  defender.  The  unbelievers  say,  Unless  the  Koran  be 
sent  down  unto  him  entire  at  once,y  we  will  not  believe.  But  in  this 
manner  have  loe  revealed  it,  that  we  might  confirm  thy  heart  thereby,*  and 
we  have  dictated  it  gradually,  by  distinct  parcels.  They  shall  not  come 
unto  thee  with  any  strange  question  ;  but  we  will  bring  thee  the  truth  in 
answer^  and  a  most  excellent  interpretation.  They  who  shall  be  dragged 
on  their  faces  into  hell  shall  be  in  the  worst  condition,  and  shall  stray  most 

*  "  The  gaests  of  paradise  shall  enjoy  the  sweets  of  repose,  and  shall  have  a  delicious 
place  in  which  to  slumber  at  noon."  ^ — Savary. 

°  For  the  business  of  the  day  of  judgment  will  be  over  by  that  time  ;  and  the  blessed 
-will  pass  their  noon  in  paradise,  and  the  damned  in  hell." 

'  i.  e.  They  shall  part  and  make  way  for  the  clouds  which  shall  descend  with  the  angels, 
bearing  the  books  wherein  every  man's  actions  are  recorded. 

"^  It  is  supposed  by  some  that  these  words  particularly  relate  to  Okba  Ebn  Abi  Moait, 
who  used  to  be  much  in  Mohammed's  company,  and  having  once  invited  him  to  an  enter- 
tainment, the  prophet  refused  to  taste  of  his  meat  unless  he  would  profess  Islam ;  which, 
accordingly,  he  did.  Soon  after,  Okba,  meeting  ObbaEbn  Khalf,  his  intimate  friend,  and 
being  reproached  by  him  for  changing  his  religion,  assured  him  that  he  had  not,  but  had 
only  pronounced  the  profession  of  faith  to  engage  Mohammed  to  eat  with  him,  because 
he  could  not  for  shame  let  him  go  out  of  his  house  without  eating.  However,  Obba  pro- 
tested that  he  would  not  be  satisfied,  unless  he  went  to  Mohammed  and  set  his  foot  on 
his  neck,  and  spit  in  his  face:  which  Okba,  rather  than  break  with  his  friend,  performed 
in  the  public  hall,  where  he  found  Mohammed  sitting;  whereupon  the  prophet  told  him 
that  if  ever  he  met  him  out  of  Mecca,  he  would  cut  off  his  head.  And  he  was  as  good  as 
his  word  ;  for  Okba,  being  afterwards  taken  prisoner  at  the  battle  of  Bedr,  had  his  head 
struck  off  by  Ali,  at  Mohammed's  command.  As  for  Obba,  he  received  a  wound  from  the 
prophet's  own  hand,  at  the  battle  of  Ohod,  of  which  he  died  on  his  return  to  Mecca.* 

^  According  to  the  preceding  note,  this  was  Obba  Ebn  Khalf. 

''  As  were  the  Pentateuch,  Psalms,  and  Gospel,  according  to  the  Mohammedan  notion; 
whereas  it  was  twenty-three  years  before  the  Koran  was  completely  revealed.^ 

*  Both  to  infuse  courage  and  constancy  into  thy  mind,  and  to  strengthen  thy  memory 
and  understanding.  For,  say  the  commentators,  the  prophet's  receiving  the  divine  direc- 
tion, from  time  to  time,  how  to  behave,  and  to  speak  on  any  emergency,  and  the  frequent 
visits  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  greatly  encouraged  and  supported  him  under  all  his  difficulties  ; 
and  the  revealing  of  the  Koran  by  degrees  was  a  great,  and,  to  him,  a  necessary  help  for 
his  retaining  and  understanding  it ;  which  it  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  have 
done  with  any  exactness,  had  it  been  revealed  at  once  ;  Mohammed's  case  being  entirely 
different  from  that  of  Moses,  David,  and  Jesus,  who  could  all  read  and  write,  whereas 
he  was  perfectly  illiterate.' 

'  "  The  orientals  are  accustomed  to  sleep  at  noon.  They  get  through  their  business  in 
the  morning,  make  a  slight  meal  about  eleven  o'clock,  and  pass  in  the  arms  of  sleep  those 
hours  in  which  the  heal  is  the  most  intense.  This  relaxation  from  labour  is  rendered  ne- 
cessary by  a  burning  climate.  Europeans  at  length  become  habituated  to  it.  A  Turk,  who 
ran  thus  recline  by  a  rivulet,  under  the  shade  of  orange-trees,  believes  himself  to  be  already 
in  possession  of  the  garden  of  delights  which  is  promised  by  Mohammed." — Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  <■  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Moham.  vol.  1, 
p.  362.           «  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  46,  &c.  '  Al  Beidawi,  &c. 


CHAP.  XXV.  AL  KORAN.  299 

widely  from  the  way  of  salvation.  We  heretofore  delivered  unto  Moses  the 
book  of  the  law  ;  and  we  appointed  him  Aaron  his  brother  for  a  counsellor. 
And  we  said  unto  thern^  Go  ye  to  the  people  who  charge  our  signs  with 
falsehood.  And  we  destroyed  them  with  a  signal  destruction.  Jlnd 
remember  the  people  of  Noah,  when  they  accused  our  apostles  of  im- 
posture :  we  drowned  them,  and  made  them  a  sign  unto  mankind.  And 
we  have  prepared  for  the  unjust  a  painful  torment.  Remember  also  Ad, 
and  Thamud,  and  those  who  dwelt  at  al  Rass ;  *  and  many  other  generations 
within  this  period.  Unto  each  of  them  did  we  propound  examples /or  their 
admonition ;  and  each  of  them  did  we  destroy  with  an  utter  destruction. 
The  Koreish  have  ^passed  frequently  near  the  city  which  was  rained  on  by 
a  fatal  rain  ;*  have  they  not  seen  where  it  once  stood?  Yet  have  they  not 
dreaded  the  resurrection.  When  they  see  thee,  they  will  receive  thee  only 
with  scoffing,  saying,  Is  this  he  whom  God  hath  sent  as  his  apostle? 
Verily  he  had  almost  drawn  us  aside  from  the  worship  of  our  gods,  if  we 
had  not  firmly  persevered  in  our  devotion  towards  them.  But  they  shall 
know  hereafter,  when  they  shall  see  the  punishment  prepared  for  them, 
who  hath  strayed  more  widely  from  the  right  path.  What  thinkesi  thou? 
He  who  taketh  his  lust  for  his  god;  canst  thou  be  his  guardian ?<=  Dost 
thou  imagine  that  the  greater  part  of  them  hear,  or  understand  ?  They  are 
no  other  than  like  the  brute  cattle ;  yea,  they  stray  more  widely  from  the 
true  path.  Dost  thou  not  consider  the  works  of  thy  Lord,  how  he  stretcheth 
forth  the  shadow  before  sunrise  ?  If  he  had  pleased,  he  would  have  made 
it  immovable  for  ever.  Then  we  cause  the  sun  to  rise,  and  to  show  the 
same;  and  afterwards  we  contract  it  by  an  easy  and  gradual  contraction. 
It  is  he  who  hath  ordained  the  night  to  cover  you  as  a  garment ;  and  sleep 
to  give  you  rest ;  and  hath  ordained  the  day  for  waking.  It  is  he  who 
sendeth  the  winds,  driving  abroad  the  pregnant  clouds,  as  the  forerunners 
of  his  mercy  :  ^  and  we  send  down  pure  water  ^  from  heaven,  that  we  may 

•  The  commentators  arc  at  a  loss  where  to  place  al  Rass.  According  to  one  opinion, 
it  was  the  name  of  a  well  (as  the  word  signifies)  near  Midian,  about  which  some  idolaters 
having  fixed  their  habitations,  the  prophet  Shoaib  was  sent  to  preach  to  them  ;  but  they 
not  beUeving  on  him,  the  well  fell  in,  and  they  and  their  houses  were  all  swallowed  up. 
Another  supposes  it  to  have  been  a  town  in  Yamama,  where  a  remnant  of  the  Thamudiies 
settled,  to  whom  a  prophet  was  also  sent;  but  they,  slaying  him,  were  utterly  destroyed. 
Another  thinks  it  was  a  well  near  Antioch,  where  Habib  al  Najjar  (whose  tomb  is  still  to 
be  seen  there,  being  frequently  visited  by  the  Mohammedan's")  was  martyred.'  And  a 
fourth  takes  al  Rass  to  be  a  well  in  Hadramaut,  by  which  dwelt  some  idolatrous  Tha- 
mudites,  whose  prophet  was  Handha,  or  Khantala  (for  I  find  the  name  written  both  ways) 
Ebn  Safwan.'  These  people  were  first  annoyed  by  certain  monstrous  birds,  called  Anka, 
which  lodged  in  the  mountain  above  them,  and  used  to  snatch  away  their  children,  when 
they  wanted  other  prey:  but  this  calamity  was  so  far  from  humbling  them,  that  on  their 
prophet's  calling  down  a  judgment  upon  them,  they  killed  him,  and  were  all  destroyed.^ 

"  viz.  Sodom :  for  the  Koreish  often  passed  by  the  place  where  it  once  stood,  in  the 
journeys  they  took  to  Syria  for  the  sake  of  trade. 

•  i.  e.  Dost  thou  expect  to  reclaim  such  a  one  from  idolatry  and  infidelity  ? 

'"See  chap.  7,  p.  121.  There  is  the  same  various  reading  here  as  is  mentioned  in 
the  notes  to  that  passage. 

'  Properly,  purifying  water ;  which  epithet  may  probably  refer  to  the  cleansing  quality 
of  that  element  of  so  great  use  both  on  religious  and  on  common  occasions. 

•  See  chap.  36.  "  Ahu'lf.  Georg.  Vide  Vit.  Saladini,  p.  86.  '  See  chap.  22,  p. 
278,  note  r.            ^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallaio'ddin. 


300  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxv. 

thereby  revive  a  dead  country,  and  give  to  drink  thereof  unto  what  v^^e  have 
created,  both  of  cattle  and  men,  in  great  numbers,^  and  we  distribute  the 
same  among  them  at  various  times,  that  they  may  consider;  but  the 
greater  part  of  men  refuse  to  consider,  only  out  of  ingratitude.^  If  we  had 
pleased,  we  had  sent  a  preacher  unto  every  city  :^  wherefore,  do  not  thou 
^>obey  the  unbelievers;  but  oppose  them  herewith,  with  a  strong  opposition. 
It  is  he  who  hath  let  loose  the  two  seas ;  this  fresh  and  sweet,  and  that  salt 
and  bitter ;  and  hath  placed  between  them  a  bar,'  and  a  bound  which  cannot 
be  passed.  It  is  he  who  hath  created  man  of  water,'^  and  hath  made  him 
to  hear  the  double  relation  of  consanguinity  and  affinity ;  for  thy  Lord  is 
powerful.  They  worship,  besides  God,  that  which  can  neither  profit  them 
nor  hurt  them :  and  the  unbeliever  is  an  assistant  of  the  devil  against  his 
LoRD.^  We  have  sent  thee  to  he  no  other  than  a  bearer  of  good  tidings, 
and  a  denouncer  of  threats.  Say,  I  ask  not  of  you  any  reward  for  this  my 
preaching ;  besides  the  conversion  of  him  who  shall  desire  to  take  the  way 
unto  his  Lord."  And  do  thou  trust  in  him  who  liveth,  and  dieth  not;  and 
celebrate  his  praise:  (he  is  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  faults  of  his 
servants) :  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  whatever  is 
between  them,  in  six  days ;  and  then  ascended  his  throne :  the  Merciful. 
Ask  now  the  knowing  concerning  him.  When  it  is  said  unto  the  un- 
believers, Adore  the  Merciful;  they  reply.  And  who  is  the  Merciful?"^ 
Shall  we  adore  that  which  thou  commandest  us?  And  this  precept  causeth 
them  to  fly  the  faster  from  the  faith.  Blessed  be  he  who  hath  placed  the 
twelve  signs  in  the  heavens ;  and  hath  placed  therein  a  lamp"*  by  day,  and 
the  moon  which  shineth  by  night  !  It  is  he  who  hath  ordained  the  night 
and  the  day  to  succeed  each  other,  for  the  observation  of  him  who  will  con- 
sider, or  desireth  to  show  his  gratitude.  The  servants  of  the  Merciful  are 
those  who  walk  meekly  on  the  earth,  and  when  the  ignorant  speak  unto  them, 
anawer,  Peace :  p  and  who  pass  the  night  adoring  their  Lord,  and  standing  up 
to  pray  unto  him;  and  who  say,  O  Lord,  avert  from  us  the  torment  of  hell, 

f  That  is,  to  such  as  live  in  the  dry  deserts,  and  are  obliged  to  drink  rain-water ;  which 
the  inhabitants  of  towns,  and  places  well-watered,  have  no  occasion  to  do. 

«  Or,  out  of  infidelity:  for  the  old  Arabs  used  to  think  themselves  indebted  for  their 
rains,  not  to  God,  but  to  the  influence  of  some  particular  stars.' 

^  And  had  not  given  thee,  O  Mohammed,  the  honour  and  trouble  of  being  a  preacher 
to  the  whole  world  in  general. 

'  To  keep  them  asunder,  and  prevent  their  mixing  with  each  other.  The  original  word 
is  barzakh  ;  which  has  been  already  explained.* 

"  With  which  Adam's  primitive  clay  was  mixed  ;  or,  oi  seed.     See  chap.  24,  p.  293. 

'  Joining  with  him  in  his  rebellion  and  infidelity.  Some  think  Abu  Jahl  is  particularly 
struck  at  in  this  passage.  The  words  may  also  be  translated.  The  unbeliever  is  conlemptible 
in  the  si^ht  of  his  Lord. 

•"  Seeking  to  draw  near  unto  him,  by  embracing  the  religion  taught  by  me  his  apostle  ; 
which  is  the  best  return  I  expect  from  you  for  my  labours.'  The  passage,  however,  is 
capable  of  another  meaning,  viz.  That  Mohammed  desires  none  to  give,  but  him  who  shall 
contribute  freely  and  voluntarily  towards  the  advancement  of  God's  true  religion. 

"See  chap.  17,  p.  237. 

"  i.  e.  The  sun. 

p  This  is  intended  here,  not  as  a  salutation,  but  a^  a  waiving  all  farther  discourse  and 
communication  with  the  idolaters. 

'  See  the  Prelira.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  23.         *  In  note  ad  cap.  23,  p.  285.        *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  AL  KOKAN.  301 

for  the  torment  thereof  is  perpetual ;  verily  the  same  is  a  miserable  abode 
and  a  wretched  station :  and  who,  when  they  bestow,  are  neither  profuse 
nor  niggardly ;  hut  observe  a  just  medium  between  these  ;i  and  who  invoke 
not  anotiier  god  together  with  the  true  God  ;  neither  slay  the  soul  which 
God  hath  forbidden  to  he  slain,  unless  for  a  just  cause :  and  who  are  not 
guilty  of  fornication.  But  he  who  shall  do  this  shall  meet  the  reward  of 
his  wickedness  :  his  punishment  shall  be  doubled  unto  him  on  the  day  of 
resurrection ;  and  he  shall  remain  therein,  covered  with  ignominy,  for 
ever :  except  him  who  shall  repent  and  believe,  and  shall  work  a  righteous 
work;  unto  them  will  God  change  theirybrmer  evils  into  good;""  for  God 
is  ready  to  forgive,  and  merciful.  And  whoever  repenteth,  and  doth  that 
which  is  right ;  verily  he  turneth  unto  God  with  an  acceptable  conversion. 
And  they  who  do  not  bear  false  witness ;  and  when  they  pass  by  vain  dis- 
course, pass  by  the  same  with  decency;*  and  who,  when  they  are  admo- 
nished by  the  signs  of  their  Lord,  fall  not  down  as  if  they  were  deaf  and 
blind,  hit  stand  up  and  are  attentive  thereto :  and  who  say,  O  Lord,  grant 
us  of  our  wives  and  our  offspring  such  as  may  be  the  satisfaction  of  our 
eyes  ;  and  make  us  patterns  unto  those  who  fear  thee.  These  shall  be  re- 
warded with  the  highest  apartments  in  paradise,  because  they  have  perse- 
vered with  constancy;  and  they  shall  meet  therein  with  greeting  and  saluta- 
tion; they  shall  remain  in  the  same  for  ever:  it  shall  be  an  excellent  abode, 
and  a  delightful  station."}"  Say,  My  Lord  is  not  solicitous  on  your  account, 
if  ye  do  not  invoke  him :  ye  have  already  charged  his  apostle  with  impos- 
ture ,'  but  hereafter  shall  there  be  a  lasting  punishment  inflicted  on  you. 


CHAPTER    XXYI. 

INTITLED,  THE  POETS-  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.^ 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

T.  S.  M.^  These  are  the  signs  of  the  perspicuous  book.  Peradventure 
thou  afflictest  thyself  unto  death,  lest  the  Meccans  become  not  believers.  If 
we  pleased,  we  could  send  down  unto  them  a  convincing  sign  from  heaven, 
unto  which  their  necks  would  humbly  submit.     But  there  cometh  unto 

<•  See  chap.  17,  p.  229. 

'  Blotting  out  their  former  rebellion,  on  their  repentance,  and  confirming  and  increasing 
their  faith  and  obedience.^ 

*  "  Those  who  preserve  their  purity  amidst  obscene  discourse." — Savary. 

t  "  They  shall  dwell  eternally  in  the  abode  of  delight,  which  is  equally  pleasant  for  rest 
or  for  motion." — Savary. 

«  This  chapter  bears  this  inscription,  because  at  the  conclusion  of  it,  the  Arabian  poets 
are  severely  censured. 

'  The  last  five  verses,  beginning  at  these  words,  And  those  who  err  follow  the  poets,  &c. 
some  take  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

""  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  3,  p.  42,  &c. 

"  Al  Beidawi. 


302  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxvi. 

them  no  admonition  from  the  Merciful,  being  newly  revealed  as  occasions 
require,^  but  they  turn  aside  from  the  same ;  and  they  have  charged  it  with 
falsehood  :  but  a  message  shall  come  unto  them,  which  they  shall  not 
laugh  to  scorn.  Do  they  not  behold  the  earth,  how  many  vegetables  we 
cause  to  spring  up  therein,  of  every  noble  species  ?  Verily  herein  is  a  sign : 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  believe.  Verily  thy  Lord  is  the  mighty, 
the  merciful  God.  Remember  when  thy  Lord  called  Moses,  saying,  Go  to 
the  unjust  people,  the  people  of  Pharaoh  ;  will  they  not  dread  me  ?  Moses 
answered,  O  Lord,  verily  I  fear  lest  they  accuse  me  of  falsehood,  and  lest 
my  breast  become  straitened,  and  my  tongue  be  not  ready  in  speaking:^'  send 
therefore  unto  Aaron,  to  be  my  assistant.  Also  they  have  a  crime  to  object 
against  me ;  '^  and  I  fear  they  will  put  me  to  death.  God  said.  They  shall 
by  no  means  put  thee  to  death :  wherefore  go  ye  with  our  signs;  for  we  will 
be  with  you,  and  will  hear  what  passes  between  you  and  them.  Go  ye  there- 
fore unto  Pharaoh,  and  say.  Verily  we  are  the  apostle*  of  the  Lord  of  all 
creatures  :  send  away  with  us  the  children  of  Israel,  ^nd  when  they  had 
delivered  their  message,  Pharaoh  answered,  Have  we  not  brought  thee  up 
among  us,  when  a  child ;  and  hast  thou  not  dwelt  among  us  for  several 
years  of  thy  life  .?"  Yet  hast  thou  done  thy  deed  which  thou  hast  done,* 
and  thou  art  an  ungrateful  person.  Moses  replied,  I  did  it  indeed,  and  I 
was  one  of  those  who  erred;''  wherefore  I  fled  from  you,  because  I  feared 
you  :  but  my  Lord  hath  bestowed  on  me  wisdom,  and  hath  appointed  me 
one  of  his  apostles.  And  this  is  the  favour  which  thou  hast  bestowed  on 
me,  that  thou  hast  enslaved  the  children  of  Israel.  Pharaoh  said.  And 
who  is  the  Lord  of  all  creatures  ?  Moses  answered.  The  Lord  of  heaven 
and  earth,  and  whatever  is  between  them :  if  ye  are  men  of  sagacity .7 
Pharaoh  said  unto  those  who  were  about  him.  Do  ye  not  hear  ?  Moses 
said.  Your  Lord,  and  the  Lord  of  your  forefathers.  Pharaoh  said  unto 
those  who  were  present,  Your  apostle,  who  is  sent  unto  you,  is  certainly 
distracted."*     Moses  said,  The  Lord  of  the  east,  and  of  the  west,  and  of 

whatever  is  between  them;    if  ye  are  men  of  understanding.     Pharaoh 

I 

y  See  chap.  20,  p.  256. 

^  viz.  The  having  killed  an  Egyptian."' 

*  The  word  is  in  the  singular  number  in  the  original ;  for  which  the  commentators  give 
several  reasons. 

^  It  is  said  that  Moses  dwelt  among  the  Egyptians  thirty  years,  and  then  went  to  Midian, 
where  he  staid  ten  years ;  after  which  he  returned  to  Egypt,  and  spent  thirty  years  in  en- 
deavouring to  convert  them  ;  and  that  he  lived  after  the  drowning  of  Pharaoh  fifty  years.* 

*  "  Hast  thou  not  committed  a  murder?     Verily  thou  art  an  ingrate." — Savary. 
"  Having  killed  the  Egyptian  undesignedly. 

t  *'  It  is,"  replied  Moses,  "  he  who  governeth  the  heavens  and  the  earth.  He  ruleth 
in  the  immensity  of  space.     Will  ye  believe  these  truths?" — Savary. 

^  Pharaoh,  it  seems,  thought  Moses  had  given  but  wild  answers  to  his  question ;  for  he 
wanted  to  know  the  person  and  true  nature  of  the  God  whose  messenger  Moses  pretended 
to  be  ;  whereas  he  spoke  of  his  works  only.  And  because  this  answer  gave  so  little  satis- 
faction to  the  king,  he  is  therefore  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  a  Dahrite,  or  one  who 
believed  the  eternity  of  the  world." 

'  See  chap.  28.  » Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  AL  KORAN.  303 

said  unto  him.  Verily  if  thou  take  any  god  besides  me,*  I  will  make  thee 
one  of  those  who  are  imprisoned/  Moses  answered,  What,  although 
1  come  unto  you  with  a  convincing  miracle  f  Pharaoh  replied.  Produce 
it  therefore,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  And  he  cast  down  his  rod,  and  be- 
hold, it  became  a  visible  serpent :  and  he  drew  forth  his  hand  out  of  Jiis 
bosom  ;  and  behold,  it  appeared  white  unto  the  spectators.  Pharaoh  said 
unto  the  princes  who  were  about  him,  Verily  this  man  is  a  skilful  magician  : 
he  seeketh  to  dispossess  you  of  your  land  by  his  sorcery  ;  what  therefore  do 
ye  direct  ?  They  answered,  Delay  him  and  his  brother  by  good  words  for  a 
time  ;  and  send  through  the  cities  men  to  assemble  and  bring  unto  thee 
every  skilful  magician.  So  the  magicians  were  assembled  at  an  appointed 
time,  on  a  solemn  day.  And  it  was  said  unto  the  people.  Are  ye  assembled 
together  ?  Perhaps  we  may  follow  the  magicians,  if  they  do  get  the 
victory.*  And  when  the  magicians  were  come,  they  said  unto  Pharaoh, 
Shall  we  certainly  receive  a  reward,  if  we  do  get  the  victory  ^  He  answered, 
Yea ;  and  ye  shall  surely  be  of  those  who  approach  my  person.  Moses 
said  unto  them,  Cast  down  what  ye  are  about  to  cast  down.  Wherefore 
they  cast  down  their  ropes  and  their  rods,  and  said.  By  the  might  of 
Pharaoh,  verily  we  shall  be  the  conquerors.  And  Moses  cast  down  his  rod, 
and  behold,  it  swallowed  up  that  which  they  had  caused  falsely  to  appear 
changed  into  serpents.  Whereupon  the  magicians  prostrated  themselves, 
worshipping,  and  said.  We  believe  in  the  Lord  of  all  creatures,  the  Lord  of 
Moses  and  of  Aaron.  Pharaoh  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  believed  on  him, 
before  I  have  given  you  permission  ?  Verily  he  is  your  chief  who  hath 
taught  you  magic  :  s  but  hereafter  ye  shall  surely  know  my  power.  I  will 
cut  off  your  hands  and  your  feet,  on  the  opposite  sides,  and  I  will  crucify 
you  all.  They  answered,  It  will  be  no  harm  unto  us ;  for  we  shall  return 
unto  our  Lord.  We  hope  that  our  Lord  will  forgive  us  our  sins,  since  we 
are  the  first  who  have  believed. •»  And  we  spake  by  revelation  unto  Moses, 
saying,  March  forth  with  my  servants  by  night ;  for  ye  will  be  pursued. 
And  Pharaoh  sent  officers  through  the  cities  to  assembleybrces,  saying,  Verily 
these  are  a  small  company  ;  and  they  are  enraged  against  us  :  but  we  are  a 
multitude  well  provided.  So  we  caused  them  to  quit  their  gardens,  and 
fountains,  and  treasures,  and  fair  dwellings  :  thus  did  we  do ;  and  we  made 
the  children  of  Israel  to  inherit  the  same.»  And  they  pursued  them  at  sun- 
rise.    And  when  the  two  armies  were  come  in  sight  of  each  other,  the 

*  From  this  and  a  parallel  expression  in  the  28th  chapter,  it  is  inferred  that  Pharaoh 
claimed  the  worship  of  his  subjects,  as  due  to  his  supreme  power. 

f  These  words,  says  al  Beidawi,  were  a  more  terrible  menace  than  if  he  had  said  I  will 
imprison  thee  ;  and  gave  Moses  to  understand  that  he  must  expect  to  keep  company  with 
those  wretches  whom  the  tyrant  had  thrown,  as  was  his  custom,  into  a  deep  dungeon, 
where  they  remained  till  they  died. 

*  ''A  herald  having  proclaimed.  Is  the  assembly  gathered  together  with  due  solemnity? 
The  people  replied.  We  will  espouse  the  victorious  party." — Savary. 

e  But  has  reserved  the  most  efficacious  secrets  to  himself.* 

•»  See  chap.  7,  p.  128,  &,c. 

'  Hence  some  suppose  the  Israelites,  after  the  destruction  of  Pharaoh  and  his  host, 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


304  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxvi. 

companions  of  Moses  said,  We  shall  surely  be  overtaken.*  Moses  answered, 
By  no  means  ;  for  my  Lord  is  with  me,  who  will  surely  direct  me.  And 
we  commanded  Moses  by  revelation,  saying,  Smite  the  sea  with  thy  rod. 
And  when  he  had  smitten  it,  it  became  divided  into  twelve  parts,  letioeen 
which  2vere  as  many  paths,  and  every  part  was  like  a  vast  mountain.  And 
we  drew  thither  the  others ;  and  we  delivered  Moses  and  all  those  who 
were  with  him  :  then  we  drowned  the  others.  Verily  herein  was  a  sign  ; 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  did  not  believe.  Verily  thy  Lord  is  the 
mighty  and  the  merciful.  And  rehearse  unto  them  the  story  of  Abraham  : 
when  he  said  unto  his  father,  and  his  people,  What  do  ye  worship  ?  They 
answered,  We  worship  idols ;  and  we  constantly  serve  them  all  the  day 
long.  Abraham  said.  Do  they  hear  you,  when  ye  invoke  them  ?  Or  do 
they  either  profit  you,  or  hurt  you .''  They  answered.  But  we  found  our 
fathers  do  the  same.  He  said,  What  think  ye  ?  The  gods  which  ye  wor- 
ship, and  your  forefathers  worshipped,  are  my  enemy  :  except  only  the  Lord 
of  all  creatures,  who  hath  created  me,  and  directeth  me ;  and  who  giveth 
me  to  eat,  and  to  drink,  and  when  I  am  sick,  healeth  me ;  and  who  will 
cause  me  to  die,  and  will  afterwards  restore  me  to  life ;  and  who,  I  hope, 
will  forgive  my  sins  on  the  day  of  judgment.  O  Lord,  grant  me  wisdom ; 
and  join  me  with  the  righteous :  and  grant  that  I  may  be  spoken  of  with 
honour^  among  the  latest  posterity  ;'\  and  make  me  an  heir  of  the  garden 
of  delight :  and  forgive  my  father,  for  that  he  hath  been  one  of  those  who  go 
astray .1  And  cover  me  not  with  shame  on  the  day  of  resurrection  ;  on  the 
day  in  which  neither  riches  nor  children  shall  avail,  unless  unto  him 
who  shall  come  unto  God  with  a  sincere  heart :  when  paradise  shall 
be  brought  near  to  the  view  of  the  pious,  and  hell  shall  appear  plainly 
to  those  who  shall  have  erred :  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them.  Where  are 
your  deities  which  ye  served  besides  God  ?  will  they  deliver  you  from 
punishment,  or  will  they  deliver  themselves  ?  And  they  shall  be  cast  into 
the  same,  both  they,™  and  those  who  have  been  seduced  to  their  worship  ; 
and  all  the  host  of  Eblis.  The  seduced  shall  dispute  therein  with  their  false 
gods,  saying.  By  God,  we  were  in  a  manifest  error,  when  we  equalled  you 
with  the  Lord  of  all  creatures :  and  none  seduced  us  but  the  wicked.  We 
have  now  no  intercessors,  nor  any  friend  who  careth  for  us.     If  we  were 

returned  to  Egypt,  and  possessed  themselves  of  the  riches  of  that  country.'^  But  others 
are  of  opinion  that  the  meaning  is  no  more  than  that  God  gave  them  the  hke  possessions 
and  dwellings  in  another  country.' 

*  "  The  Hebrews  said  unto  Moses,  We  are  surely  undone." — Savary. 

^  Literally,  Grant  me  a  tongue  of  truth;  that  is,  a  high  encomium.  The  same  expres- 
sion is  used  in  chap.  19,  p.  252. 

t  "  Lord,  give  unto  me  wisdom  and  justice.  Cause  my  voice  to  make  known  the  truth 
to  posterity." — Savary. 

'  By  disposing  him  to  repentance,  and  the  receiving  of  the  true  faith.  Some  suppose 
Abraham  pronounced  this  prayer  after  his  father's  death,  thinking  that  possibly  he  might 
have  been  inwardly  a  true  behever,  but  have  concealed  his  conversion  for  fear  of  Nimrod, 
and  before  he  was  forbidden  to  pray  for  him.* 

"'See  chap.  21,  p.  272. 

^  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.  =•  Al  Zamakh.    See  chap.  7,  p.  130. 

*  See  chap.  9,  p.  163,  and  chap.  14,  p.  208. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  AL  KORAN.  305 

allowed  to  return  once  more  into  the  world,  we  would  certainly  become 
true  believers.  Verily  herein  was  a  sign ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
believed  not.  The  Lord  is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  The  people  of 
Noah  accused  God's  messengers  of  imposture  :  when  their  brother  Noah 
said  unto  them,  Will  ye  not  fear  God  f  Verily  I  am  a  faithful  messenger 
unto  you ;  wherefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me.  I  ask  no  reward  of  you 
for  my  preachmg  unto  you ;  I  expect  my  reward  from  no  other  than  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures:  wherefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me.  They  answered. 
Shall  we  believe  on  thee,  when  only  the  most  abject  persons  have  followed 
thee  .^  JVortA  said,  I  have  no  knowledge  of  that  which  they  did;"*  it 
appertaineih  unto  my  Lord  alone  to  bring  them  to  account,  if  ye  under- 
stand;  wherefore  I  will  not  drive  away  the  believers:"  I  am  no  more  than 
a  public  preacher.  They  replied,  Assuredly,  unless  thou  desist,  O  Noah, 
thou  shalt  be  stoned.  He  said,  O  Lord,  verily  my  people  take  me  for  a 
liar ;  wherefore  judge  publicly  between  me  and  them  ;  and  deliver  me  and 
the  true  believers  who  are  with  me.  Wherefore  we  delivered  him,  and 
those  who  were  with  him,  in  the  ark  filled  with  men  and  animals ;  and 
afterwards  we  drowned  the  rest.  Verily  herein  was  a  sign ;  but  the  greater 
part  of  them  believed  not.  Thy  Lord  is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  The 
tribe  of  Ad  charged  God's  messengers  with  falsehood:  when  their  brother 
Hud  said  unto  them.  Will  ye  not  fear  God  ?  Verily  I  am  a  faithful  mes- 
senger unto  you  ;  wherefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me.  [I  demand  not  of 
you  any  reward  for  my  preaching  unto  you  :  I  expect  my  reward  from  no 
other  than  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.  Do  ye  build  a  land-mark  on  every 
high  place,  to  divert  yourselves  .?p  And  do  ye  erect  magnificent  works, 
hoping  that  ye  may  continue  in  their  possession  for  ever .''  And  when  ye 
exercise  your  power,  do  ye  exercise  it  with  cruelty  and  rigour.''*  Fear 
God,  by  leaving  these  things ;  and  obey  me.|]  And  fear  him  who  hath 
bestowed  on  you  that  which  ye  know  :  he  hath  bestowed  on  you  cattle, 
and  children,  and  gardens,  and  springs  of  water.  Verily  I  fear  for  you  the 
punishment  of  a  grievous  day.  They  answered.  It  is  equal  unto  us  whether 
thou  admonish  us,  or  dost  not  admonish  us  :  this  which  thou  preachest  is 
only  a  device  of  the  ancients ;  neither  shall  we  be  punished  for  what  we 
have  done.  And  they  accused  him  of  imposture  :  wherefore  we  destroyed 
them.  Verily  herein  was  a  sign :  but  the  greater  part  of  them  believed 
not.  Thy  Lord  is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  The  tribe  of  Thamud  also 
charged  the  messengers  of  God  with  falsehood.    When  their  brother  Saleh 

°  i.  e  Whether  they  have  embraced  the  faifh  which  I  have  preached,  out  of  the  sincerity 
of  their  hearts,  or  in  prospect  of  some  worldly  advantage. 

*  "  I  know  not,  replied  Noah,  what  they  are.  It  belongeth  to  God  alone  to  fathom  the 
heart." — Savory. 

•See  chap.  11,  p.  177. 

p  Or  to  mock  the  passengers  ;  who  direct  themselves  in  their  journeys  by  the  stars,  and 
have  no  need  of  such  buildings?' 

■»  Putting  to  death,  and  inflicting  other  corporal  punishments  without  mercy,  and  rather 
for  the  satisfaction  of  your  passion  than  the  amendment  of  the  sufferer." 

t  The  sentences  which  are  between  brackets  []  are  omitted  in  Savary's  translation. 

•  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem. 


306  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxvi. 

said  unto  them,  Will  ye  not  fear  God  f  Verily  I  am  a  faithful  messenger 
unto  you  :  wherefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me.  I  demand  no  reward  of  you 
for  my  preaching  unto  you  :  I  expect  my  reward  from  no  other  than  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures.  Shall  ye  be  left /or  ever  secure  in  the  possession  of 
the  things  which  are  here ;  among  gardens,  and  fountains,  and  corn,  and 
palm-trees,  whose  branches  sheathe  their  flowers  *  And  will  ye  continue 
to  cut  habitations  for  yourselves  out  of  the  mountains,  behaving  with  in- 
solence }  "■  Fear  God,  and  obey  me ;  and  obey  not  the  command  of  the 
transgressors,  who  act  corruptly  in  the  earth,  and  reform  not  the  same. 
They  answered.  Verily  thou  art  distracted  :  thou  art  no  other  than  a  man 
like  unto  us  :  produce  now  some  sign,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  Saleh  said, 
This  she-camel  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you  :  she  shall  have  her  portion  of 
water,  and  ye  shall  have  your  portion  of  water  alternately,  on  a  several  day 
appointed  for  you ;^  and  do  her  no  hurt,  lest  the  punishment  of  a  terrible 
day  be  inflicted  on  you.|  But  they  slew  her;  and  were  made  to  repent  of 
their  impiety :  for  the  punishment  which  had  been  threatened  overtook  them. 
Verily  herein  was  a  sign ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  did  not  believe. 
Thy  Lord  is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  The  people  of  Lot  likezcise  ac- 
cused God's  messengers  of  imposture.  When  their  brother  Lot  said  unto 
them.  Will  ye  not  fear  Godf  Verily  I  am  a  faithful  messenger  unto 
you  :  wherefore  fear  God,  and  obey  me.  I  demand  no  reward  of  you  for 
my  preaching  :  I  expect  my  reward  from  no  other  than  the  Lord  of  all 
creatures.  Do  ye  approach  unto  the  males  among  mankind,  and  leave 
your  wives  which  your  Lord  hath  created  for  you.  Surely  ye  are  people 
who  transgress.  They  answered.  Unless  thou  desist,  O  Lot,  thou  shalt 
certainly  be  expelled  our  city.  He  said.  Verily  I  am  one  of  those  who 
abhor  your  doings  :  O  Lord,  deliver  me,  and  my  family,  from  that  which 
they  act.  Wherefore  we  delivered  him,  and  all  his  family,  except  an  old 
woman,  his  ivife,  who  perished  among  those  who  remained  behind;  then  we 
destroyed  the  rest;  and  we  rained  on  them  a  shower  of  stones ;  and  terrible 
was  the  shower  which  fell  on  those  who  had  been  warned  in  vain.  Verily 
herein  was  a  sign ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  did  not  believe.  Thy  Lord 
is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  The  inhabitants  of  the  wood  *  J  also  accused 
God's  messengers  of  imposture.  When  Shoaib  said  unto  him.  Will  ye  not 
fear  God  ?  Verily  I  am  a  faithful  messenger  unto  you  :  wherefore  fear 
God,  and  obey  me.     I  ask  no  reward  of  you  for  my  preaching  :  I  expect 

*  "  Your  palm-trees,  of  which  the  fruit  is  delicious." — Savary. 

'  Or,  as  the  original  word  may  also  be  rendered,  showing  art  and  ingenuity  in  your  work. 

»  That  is,  They  were  to  have  the  use  of  the  water  by  turns,  the  camel  drinking  one 
day,  and  the  Thamudites  drawing  the  other  day  ;  for  when  this  camel  drank,  she  emptied 
the  wells  or  brooks  for  that  day.     See  chap.  7,  p.  124. 

t  "  And  do  unto  her  no  hurt,  if  ye  dread  the  punishment  of  the  great  day." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  15,  p.  212.  Shoaib  being  not  called  the  brother  of  these  people,  which  would 
have  preserved  the  conformity  between  this  passage  and  the  preceding,  it  has  been  thought 
they  were  not  Midianites,  but  of  another  race  :  however,  we  find  the  prophet  taxes  them 
with  the  same  crimes  aKf  he  did  those  of  Midian.'' 

X  "  The  inhabitants  of  Aleica." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  125. 


CHAP.  XXVI.  AL  KORAN.  307 

my  reward  from  no  other  than  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.  Give  just 
measure,  and  be  not  defrauders ;  and  weigh  with  an  equal  balance ;  and 
diminish  not  unto  men  aught  of  their  matters ;  neither  commit  violence  in 
the  earth,  acting  corruptly.  And  fear  him  who  hath  created  you,  and  also 
the  former  generations.*  They  answered.  Certainly  thou  art  distracted  : 
thou  art  no  more  than  a  man,  like  unto  us :  and  we  do  surely  esteem  thee 
to  be  a  liar.  Cause  now  a  part  of  the  heaven  to  fall  upon  us,  if  thou 
speakest  truth.  Shoaib  said.  My  Lord  best  knoweth  tliat  which  ye  do. 
And  they  charged  him  with  falsehood :  wherefore  the  punishment  of  the 
day  of  the  shadowing  cloud"  overtook  them  ;  and  this  was  the  punishment 
of  a  grievous  day.  Verily  herein  was  a  sign  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
did  not  believe.  Thy  Lord  is  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  This  book  is 
certainly  a  revelation  from  the  Lord  of  all  creatures,  which  the  faithful 
spirit  ^  iiath  caused  to  descend  upon  thy  heart,  that  thou  mightest  be  a 
preacher  to  iliy  people,  in  the  perspicuous  Arabic  tongue;!  and  it  is  borne 
ivitness  to  in  the  scriptures  of  former  ages.  Was  it  not  a  sign  unto  them, 
that  the  wise  men  among  the  children  of  Israel  knew  it  ?  Had  we  revealed 
it  unto  any  of  the  foreigners,  and  he  had  read  the  same  unto  them,  yet  they 
would  not  have  believed  therein.  Thus  have  we  caused  obstinate  infidelity 
to  enter  the  hearts  of  the  wicked  :  they  shall  not  believe  therein,  until  they 
see  a  painful  punishment.  It  shall  come  suddenly  upon  them,  and  they 
shall  not  foresee  it :  and  they  shall  say,  Shall  we  be  respited .''  Do  they 
therefore  desire  our  punishment  to  be  hastened  }  ^  What  thinkest  thou  ? 
If  we  suffer  them  to  enjoy  the  advantage  of  this  life  for  several  years,  and 
afterwards  that  with  which  they  are  threatened  come  upon  them;  what 
will  that  which  they  have  enjoyed  profit  them  .''  We  have  destroyed  no  city, 
but  preachers  were  first  sent  unto  it,  to  admonish  the  inhabitants  thereof ; 
neither  did  we  treat  them  unjustly.  The  devils  did  not  descend  with  the 
Koran,  as  the  infidels  give  out  :  it  is  not  for  their  purpose,  neither  are  they 
able  to  produce  such  a  book ;  for  they  are  far  removed  from  hearing  the 
discourse  of  the  angels  in  heavenJ-  Invoke  no  other  god  with  the  true  God, 
lest  thou  become  one  of  those  who  are  doomed  to  punishment.  And 
admonish  thy  more  near  relations.*     And  behave  thyself  with  meekness" 

*  "  Fear  him  who  created  you,  and  who  created  the  first  man." — Savary. 

»  God  first  plagued  them  with  such  intolerable  heat  for  seven  days,  that  all  their  waters 
were  dried  up  ;  and  then  brought  a  cloud  over  them,  under  whose  shade  they  ran,  and 
were  all  destroyed  by  a  hot  wind  and  fire  which  proceeded  from  it.^ 

'  i.  e.  Gabriel ;  who  is  entrusted  with  the  divine  secrets  and  revelations. 

t  "  It  is  written  in  Arabic,  and  the  style  of  it  is  pure." — Savary. 

y  The  infidels  were  continually  defying  Mohammed  to  bring  some  signal  and  miraculous 
destruction  on  them,  as  a  shower  of  stones,  &-c. 

»  See  chap.  15,  p.  210. 

'  The  commentators  suppose  the  same  command  to  have  been  virtually  contained  in  the 
seventy-fourth  chapter,  which  is  prior  to  this  in  point  of  time.'  It  is  said  that  Mohammed. 
on  receiving  the  passage  before  us,  went  up  immediately  to  Mount  Safa,  and  having  called 
the  several  families  to  him,  one  by  one,  when  they  were  all  assembled,  asked  thorn,  whether 
if  he  should  tell  them  that  mountain  would  bring  forth  a  smaller  mountain,  they  would 
believe  him  ;  to  which  they  answering  in  the  affirmative,  Verily,  says  he,  lama  warner 
sent  unto  you  before  a  severe  chastisement.^ 

^  Literally,  Lower  thy  wing. 

•  Al  Beidawi.    *  See  the  notes  thereon,  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  31.    *  Al  Beidawi. 


308  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxvr. 

towards  the  true  believers  who  follow  thee  :  and  if  they  be  disobedient  unto 
thee,  say,  Verily,  I  am  clear  of  that  which  ye  do.  And  trust  in  the  most 
mighty,  the  merciful  God ;  who  seeth  thee  when  thou  risest  up,  and  thy 
behaviour  among  those  who  worship ;  <=  for  he  both  heareth  and  knoweth. 
Shall  I  declare  unto  you  upon  whom  the  devils  descend  ?  They  descend 
upon  every  lying  and  wicked  person  :  "^  they  learn  what  is  heard  ;  ^  but  the 
greater  part  of  them  are  liars.  And  those  who  err  follow  the  steps  of  the 
poets :  dost  thou  not  see  that  they  rove  as  bereft  of  their  senses  through 
every  valley ;  and  that  they  say  that  which  they  do  not }  ^  *  except  those 
who  believe,  and  do  good  works,  and  remember  God  frequently ;  and  who 
defend  themselves,  after  they  have  been  unjustly  treated. ^  And  they  who 
act  unjustly  shall  know  hereafter  with  what  treatment  they  shall  be 
treated. 

■=  i.  e.  Who  seeth  thee  when  thou  risest  up  to  watch  and  spend  the  night  in  rehgious 
exercises,  and  observeth  thy  anxious  care  for  the  Moslems'  exact  performance  of  their  duty. 
It  is  said  that  the  night  on  which  the  precept  of  watching  was  abrogated,  Mohammed  went 
privately  from  one  house  to  another,  to  see  how  his  companions  spent  the  time ;  and  that 
he  found  them  so  intent  in  reading  the  Koran,  and  repeating  their  prayers,  that  their 
houses,  by  reason  of  the  humming  noise  they  made,  seemed  to  be  so  many  nests  of  hor- 
nets.^ Some  commentators,  however,  suppose  that  by  the  prophet's  behaviour,  in  this 
place,  is  meant  the  various  postures  he  used  in  praying  at  the  head  of  his  companions ; 
as  standing,  bowing,  prostration,  and  sitting." 

^  The  prophet,  having  vindicated  himself  from  the  charge  of  having  communication  with 
the  devils,  by  the  opposition  between  his  doctrine  and  their  designs,  and  their  inability  to 
compose  so  consistent  a  book  as  the  Koran,  proceeds  to  show  that  the  persons  most  likely 
to  a  correspondence  with  those  evil  spirits  were  liars  and  slanderers,  that  is,  his  enemies 
and  opposers. 

*  i.  e.  They  are  taught  by  the  secret  inspiration  of  the  devils,  and  receive  their  idle  and 
inconsistent  suggestions  for  truth.  It  being  uncertain  whether  the  slanderers  or  the  devils 
be  the  nominative  case  to  the  verb,  the  words  may  also  be  rendered.  They  impart  what  they 
hear;  that  is,  The  devils  acquaint  their  correspondents  on  earth  with  such  incoherent 
scraps  of  the  angels'  discourse  as  they  can  hear  by  stealth.* 

^  Their  compositions  being  as  wild  as  the  actions  of  a  distracted  man  :  for  most  of  the 
ancient  poetry  was  full  of  vain  imaginations  ;  as  fabulous  stories  and  descriptions,  love- 
verses,  flattery,  excessive  commendations  of  their  patrons,  and  as  excessive  reproaches 
of  their  enemies,  incitements  to  vicious  actions,  vain-glorious  vauntings,  and  the  like.* 

*  "  Shall  I  tell  unto  you  who  is  the  mortal  whom  Satan  inspireth?  It  is  the  liar  and 
the  impious  man.  Deceived  by  his  illusions,  the  poets  follow  him.  Hast  thou  not  seen 
them  wander  in  the  valleys  ?     They  say,  but  they  do  not." — Savary. 

s  That  is.  Such  poets  as  had  embraced  Mohammedism  ;  whose  works,  free  from  the 
profaneness  of  the  former,  run  chiefly  on  the  praises  of  God,  and  the  establishing  his  unity, 
and  contain  exhortations  to  obedience  and  other  religious  and  moral  virtues  ;  without  any 
satirical  invectives,  unless  against  such  as  have  given  just  provocations,  by  having  first 
attacked  them,  or  some  others  of  the  true  believers,  with  the  same  weapons.  In  this  last 
case,  Mohammed  saw  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  borrow  assistance  from  the  poets  of  his 
party,  to  defend  himself  and  religion  from  the  insults  and  ridicule  of  the  others  ;  for  which 
purpose  he  employed  the  pens  of  Labid  Ebn  Rabia,''  Abda'llah  Ebn  Rahawa,  Hassan 
Ebn  Thabet,  and  the  two  Caabs.  It  is  related  that  Mohammed  once  said  to  Caab  Ebn 
Malec,  Ply  them  with  satires;  for,  by  him  in  whose  hands  my  soul  is,  they  wound  more 
deeply  than  arrows.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  lidem.  ^  lidem.  ■"  See  the  Prelim. 
Disc.  p.  44.  *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  AL  KORAN.  309 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

INTITLED,  THE  ANT;"  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

T.  S.  These  are  the  signs  of  the  Koran,  and  of  the  perspicuous  book  : 
a  direction,  and  good  tidings  unto  the  true  believers  ?  who  regularly  per- 
form their  prayer,  and  give  alms,  and  firmly  believe  in  the  life  to  come. 
As  to  those  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come,  we  have  prepared  their 
works  for  them ;  •  and  they  shall  be  struck  with  astonishment  at  their 
disappointment .f  tchen  they  shall  he  raised  again  :  these  are  they  whom 
an  evil  punishment  awaiteth  in  this  life ;  and  in  that  which  is  to  come 
they  shall  be  the  greatest  losers.  Thou  hast  certainly  received  the  Koran 
from  the  presence  of  a  wise,  a  knowing  God.  Remember  when  Moses 
said  unto  his  family,  Verily  I  perceive  fire :  I  will  bring  you  tidings 
thereof,  or  I  will  bring  you  a  lighted  brand,  that  ye  may  be  warmed.''  And 
when  he  was  come  near  unto  it,  a  voice  cried  unto  him,  saying.  Blessed  be 
he  who  is  in  the  fire,  and  whoever  is  about  it;^  and  praise  be  unto  God, 
the  Lord  of  all  creatures  !  O  Moses,  verily  I  am  God,  the  mighty,  the 
wise :  cast  down  now  thy  rod.  And  when  he  saw  it,  that  it  moved,  as 
though  it  had  been  a  serpent,  he  retreated,  and  fled,  and  returned  not.  ^nd 
God  said,  O  Moses,  fear  not;  for  my  messengers  are  not  disturbed  with  fear 
in  my  sight :  except  he  who  shall  have  done  amiss,  and  shall  have  after- 
wards substituted  good  in  lieu  of  evil ;  for  I  am  gracious  and  merciful."^ 
Moreover  put  thy  hand  into  thy  bosom;  it  shall  come  forth  white,  without 
hurt:  this  shall  be  one  among  the  nine  signs '"*  unto  Pharaoh  and  his  people: 
for  they  are  a  wicked  people.  And  when  our  visible  signs  had  come  unto 
them,  they  said,  This  is  a  manifest  sorcery.  And  they  denied  them,  although 
their  souls  certainly  knew  them  to  be  from  God,  out  of  iniquity  and  pride: 
but  behold  what  was  the  end  of  the  corrupt  doers.  We  heretofore  bestowed 
knowledge  on  David  and  Solomon ;  and  they  said.  Praise  be  unto  God, 
_ ^ — 

''  In  this  chapter  is  related,  among  other  strange  things,  an  odd  story  of  the  ant,  which 
has  therefore  been  pitched  on  for  the  title. 
'  By  rendering  them  pleasing  and  agreeable  to  their  corrupt  natures  and  inclinations. 

*  See  chap.  20,  p.  256. 

'  Some  suppose  God  to  be  intended  by  the  former  words,  and  by  the  latter,  the  angels 
who  were  present ; '  others  think  Moses  and  the  angels  are  here  meant,  or  all  persons  in 
general  in  this  holy  plain,  and  the  country  round  it.^ 

°  This  exception  was  designed  to  qualify  the  preceding  assertion,  which  seemed  too 
general :  for  several  of  the  prophets  have  been  subject  to  sins,  though  not  great  ones,  be- 
fore their  mission  ;  for  which  they  had  reason  to  apprehend  God's  anger,  though  they  are 
here  assured  that  their  subsequent  merits  entitle  them  to  his  pardon.  It  is  supposed  that 
Moses's  killing  the  Egyptian  undesignedly  is  hinted  at.^ 

»See  chap.  17,  p.  236. 

*  "  The  nine  miracles." — Savary. 

'  Yahya.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  » lidem. 


310  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxvii. 

who  hath  made  us  more  excellent  than  many  of  his  faithful  servants!  And 
Solomon  was  David's  heir;"  and  he  said,  O  men,  we  have  been  taught  the 
speech  of  birds,?  and  have  had  all  things  bestowed  on  us ;  this  is  manifest 
excellence.*  And  his  armies  were  gathered  together  unto  Solomon,  con- 
sisting of  genii,'!  and  men,  and  birds  ;  and  they  were  led  in  distinct  bands, 
until  they  came  unto  the  valley  of  ants.*"  And  an  ant,  seeing  the  hosts  ap- 
proaching,, said,  O  ants,  enter  ye  into  your  habitations,  lest  Solomon  and 
his  army  tread  you  under  foot,  and  perceive  it  not.  And  Solomon  smiled, 
laughing  at  her  words,  and  said,  O  Lord,  excite  me  that  I  may  be  thankful 
for  thy  favour,  wherewith  thou  hast  favoured  me,  and  my  parents ;  and 
that  I  may  do  that  which  is  right,  and  well-pleasing  unto  thee :  and 
introduce  me,  through  thy  mercy,  into  paradise,  among  thy  servants  the 
righteous.  And  he  viewed  the  birds,  and  said.  What  is  the  reason  that  1 
see  not  the  lapwing.''*  Is  she  absent?  Verily  I  will  chastise  her  with  a 
severe  chastisement,*  or  I  will  put  her  to  death;  unless  she  bring  me  a  just 
excuse.  And  she  tarried  not  long  before  she  presented  herself  unto  Solomon, 
and  said,  I  have  viewed  a  country  which  thou  hast  not  viewed ;  and  I  come 

=■  Inheriting  not  only  his  kingdom,  but  also  the  prophetical  office,  preferably  to  his  other 
sons,  who  were  no  less  than  nineteen.* 

p  That  is.  The  meaning  of  their  several  voices,  though  not  articulate  ;  of  Solomon's  in- 
terpretation whereof  the  commentators  give  several  instances,* 

*  "  Solomon  was  the  heir  of  David.  Mortals,  said  he,  I  understand  the  song  of  the 
birds ;  I  possess  every  kind  of  knowledge  ;  I  have  been  raised  to  the  sublime  height." — 
Savary. 

*>  For  this  fancy,  as  well  as  the  former,  Mohammed  was  obhged  to  the  Talmudists,* 
who,  according  to  their  manner,  have  interpreted  the  Hebrew  words  of  Solomon,''  which 
the  English  version  renders,  I  get  men-singers  and  women-singers,  as  if  that  prince  had 
forced  demons  or  spirits  to  serve  him  at  his  table,  and  in  other  capacities ;  and  particu- 
larly in  his  vast  and  magnificent  buildings,  which  they  could  not  conceive  he  could  other- 
wise have  performed. 

'  The  valley  seems  to  be  so  called  from  the  great  numbers  of  ants  which  are  found 
there.     Some  place  it  in  Syria,  and  others  in  Tayef.* 

'  The  Arab  historians  tell  us,  that  Solomon,  having  finished  the  temple  of  Jerusalem, 
went  in  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  where  having  staid  as  long  as  he  pleased,  he  proceeded 
towards  Yaman ;  and  leaving  Mecca  in  the  morning,  he  arrived  by  noon  at  Sanaa,  and 
being  extremely  delighted  with  the  country,  rested  there ;  but  wanting  water  to  make 
the  ablution,  he  looked  among  the  birds  for  the  lapwing,  called  by  the  Arabs  al  Hudbud, 
whose  business  it  was  to  find  it ;  for  it  is  pretended  she  was  sagacious  or  sharp-sighted 
enough  to  discover  water  under  ground,  which  the  devils  used  to  draw,  after  she  had 
marked  the  place  by  digging  with  her  bill :  they  add,  that  this  bird  was  then  taking  a 
tour  in  the  air,  whence  seeing  one  of  her  companions  alighting,  she  descended  also,  and 
having  had  a  description  given  her  by  the  other  of  the  city  of  Saba,  whence  she  was  just 
arrived,  they  both  went  together  to  take  a  view  of  the  place,  and  returned  soon  after 
Solomon  had  made  the  inquiry  which  occasioned  what  follows.^ 

It  may  be  proper  to  mention  here  what  the  eastern  writers  fable  of  the  manner  of  Solo- 
mon's travelling.  They  say  that  he  had  a  carpet  of  green  silk,  on  which  his  throne  was 
placed,  being  of  a  prodigious  length  and  breadth,  and  sufficient  for  all  his  forces  to  stand 
on,  the  men  placing  themselves  on  his  right  hand,  and  the  spirits  on  his  left:  and  that 
when  all  were  in  order,  the  wind,  at  his  command,  took  up  the  carpet,  and  transported 
it,  with  all  that  were  upon  it,  wherever  he  pleased ;  '*•  the  army  of  birds  at  the  same  time 
flying  over  their  heads,  and  forming  a  kind  of  canopy,  to  shade  them  from  the  sun. 

'  By  plucking  ofl^  her  feathers,  and  setting  her  in  the  sun,  to  be  tormented  by  the  in- 
sects ;  or  by  shutting  her  up  in  a  cage.' 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  »  See  Marracc.  not.  in  loc.  p.  511.  ^  Vide  Midrash, 
Yalkut  Shemuni,  p.  11,  f.  29;  and  Millium  de  Mohammedismo  ante  Mohammed,  p.  232. 
'  Eccles.  ii.  8.  «  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  Midem.  »»  See  chap.  21,  p,  270. 
*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  xxvn.  AL  KORAN.  311 

unto  thee  from  Saba,  with  a  certain  piece  of  news.  I  found  a  woman  ^  to 
reign  over  them,  who  is  provided  with  every  thing  requisite  for  a  prince, 
and  hath  a  magnificent  throne.^^  I  found  her  and  her  people  to  worship 
the  sun,  besides  God  :  and  Satan  hath  prepared  their  works  for  them,  and 
hath  turned  them  aside  from  the  way  of  truth  (wherefore  they  are  not 
rightly  directed),  lest  they  should  worship  God,  who  bringelh  to  light  that 
which  is  hidden  in  heaven  and  earth,  and  knoweth  whatever  they  conceal, 
and  whatever  they  discover.  God  !  there  is  no  God  but  he ;  the  Lord  of 
the  magnificent  throne.  Solomon  said,  We  shall  see  whether  thou  hast 
spoken  the  truth,  or  whether  thou  art  a  liar.  Go  with  this  my  letter,  and 
cast  it  down  unto  them ;  then  turn  aside  from  them,  and  wait  to  know  what 
answer  they  will  return.  And  when  the  queen  of  Saba  had  received  the 
letter^'^  she  said,  O  nobles,  verily  an  honourable  letter  hath  been  delivered 
unto  me;  it  is  from  Solomon,  and  this  is  the  tenor  thereof :  In  the  name  of 
the  most  merciful  God,  Rise  not  up  against  me :  but  come,  and  surrender 
yourselves  unto  me.**  She  said,  O  nobles,  advise  me  in  my  business: 
T  will  not  resolve  on  any  thing,  until  ye  be  witnesses  and  approve  thereof 
The  nobles  answered.  We  are  endued  with  strength,  and  are  endued  with 
great  prowess  in  war ;  but  the  command  appertaineth  unto  thee  :  see  there- 
fore what  thou  wilt  command."!  ^^e  said,  Verily  kings,  when  they  enter  a 
city  hy  force ^  waste  the  same,  and  abase  the  most  powerful  of  the  inhabitants 
hereof:  and  so  will  these  do  with,  us.  But  I  will  send  gifts  unto  them ;  and 
will  wait  for  what  further  information  those  who  shall  be  sent  shall  bring 
back.     And  when  the  queen's  ambassador  came  unto  Solomon,*^  that  prince 

"  This  queen  the  Arabs  call  Balkis ;  some  make  her  the  daughter  of  al  Hodhad  Ebn 
Sharhabil,^  and  others  of  Sharahtl  Ebn  Malec  ;  ^  but  they  all  agree  she  was  a  descendant 
of  Yarab  Ebn  Kahtan.  She  is  placed  the  twenty-second  in  Dr.  Pocock's  list  of  the  kings 
of  Yaman.* 

'  Which  the  commentators  say  was  made  of  gold  and  silver,  and  crowned  with  precious 
stones.  But  they  differ  as  to  the  size  of  it ;  one  making  it  fourscore  cubits  long,  forty  bread, 
aud  thirty  high ;  while  some  say  it  was  fourscore,  and  others,  thirty  cubits  every  way. 

'  Jallalo'ddin  says  that  the  queen  was  surrounded  by  her  army,  when  the  lapwing  threw 
the  letter  into  her  bosom  ;  but  al  Beidawi  supposes  she  was  in  an  apartment  oi  her  palace, 
the  doors  of  which  were  shut,  and  that  the  bird  flew  in  at  the  window.  The  former  com- 
mentator gives  a  copy  of  the  epistle  somewhat  more  full  than  that  in  the  text ;  viz.  From 
the  servant  of  God,  Solomon,  the  son  of  David,  unto  Balkis  queen  of  Saha.  In  the  name  of 
the  most  merciful  God.  Feace  be  on  him  who  followeth  the  true  direction.  Rise  not  up  against 
me,  but  come  and  surrender  yourselves  unto  me.  He  adds  that  Solomon  perfumed  this  letter 
with  musk,  and  sealed  it  with  his  signet. 

'  Or,  Come  unto  me  and  resign  yourselves  unto  the  divine  direction,  and  profess  the  true 
religion  which  I  preach. 

*  "  Rise  not  up  against  me,  but  come  unto  me  and  believe." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Whether  thou  wilt  obey  the  summons  of  Solomon,  or  give  us  orders  to  make  head 
against  him. 

t  "  We  have  courage  and  troops,  replied  the  nobles ;  but  thou  art  our  queen  ;  princess, 
what  dost  thou  command  ?" — Savary. 

"-  Bearing  the  presents,  which  they  say  were  five  hundred  young  slaves  of  each  sex,  all 
habited  in  the  same  manner,  five  hundred  bricks  of  gold,  a  crown  enriched  with  precious 
stones,  besides  a  large  quantity  of  musk,  amber,  and  other  things  of  value.*  Some  add, 
that  Balkis,  to  try  whether  Solomon  was  a  prophet  or  no,  dressed  the  boys  like  girls,  and 
the  girls  like  boys,  and  sent  him,  in  a  casket,  a  pearl  not  drilled,  and  an  onyx  drilled  with 
a  crooked  hole  ;  and  that  Solomon  distinguished  the  boys  from  the  girls  by  the  different 

»  Vide  Pocock.  Spec.  p.  59.  =«  Al  Beidawi,  &c.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  182. 
*  Ubi  sup.        '  Jallalo'ddin. 


312  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxvii. 

said,  Will  ye  present  me  with  riches  ?  Verily  that  which  God  hath  given 
me  is  better  than  what  he  hath  given  you :  but  ye  do  glory  in  your  gifts.* 
Return  unto  tlie  people  of  Saha.  We  will  surely  come  unto  them  with 
forces,  which  they  shall  not  be  able  to  withstand ;  and  we  will  drive  them 
out  from  their  city,  humbled ;  and  they  shall  become  contemptible.  And 
Solomon  said,  O  nobles,  which  of  you  will  bring  unto  me  her  throne,  before 
they  come  and  surrender  themselves  unto  me.'*  A  terrible  genius^  an- 
swered, I  will  bring  it  unto  thee,  before  thou  arise  from  thy  place :"  for  I 
am  able  to  perform  it,  and  may  be  trusted,  ^nd  one  with  whom  was  the 
knowledge  of  the  scriptures^  said,  I  will  bring  it  unto  thee,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye.s  And  when  Solomon  saw  the  throne  placed  before  him,  he  said. 
This  is  a  favour  of  my  Lord,  that  he  may  make  trial  of  me,  whether  I  will 
be  grateful,  or  whether  I  w^ill  be  ungrateful ;  and  he  who  is  grateful  is 
grateful  to  his  own  advantage,  but  if  any  shall  be  ungrateful,  verily  my 
Lord  is  self-sufficient  and  munificent,  ^nd  Solomon  said  unto  his  servants^ 
Alter  her  throne,  that  she  may  not  know  it,  to  the  end  we  may  see  whether 
she  be  rightly  directed,  or  whether  she  be  one  of  those  who  are  not  rightly 
directed.  And  when  she  was  come  unto  Solomon,^  it  was  said  unto  her,  Is 
thy  throne  like  this }  She  answered.  As  though  it  were  the  same.  And 
we  have  had  knowledge  bestowed  on  us  before  this,  and  have  been  resigned 
unto  God.'  But  that  which  she  worshipped,  besides  God,  had  turned  her 
aside  from  the  truth ;  for  she  was  of  an  unbelieving  people.  It  was  said 
unto  her,  Enter  the  palace.''  And  when  she  saw  it,  she  imagined  it  to  be  a 
great  water ;  and  she  discovered  her  legs,  by  lifting  up  her  robe  to  pass 

manner  of  their  taking  water,  and  ordered  one  worm  to  bore  the  pearl,  and  another  to  pass 
a  thread  through  the  onyx.^  They  also  tell  us,  that  Solomon,  having  notice  of  this  em- 
bassy, by  means  of  the  lapwing,  even  before  they  set  out,  ordered  a  large  square  to  be 
enclosed  with  a  wall  built  of  gold  and  silver  bricks,  wherein  he  ranged  his  forces  and 
attendants  to  receive  them.'' 

*  "Keep  your  gifts." — Savary. 

•^  This  was  an  Ifrit,  or  one  of  the  wicked  and  rebellious  genii;  and  his  name,  says  al 
Beidawi,  was  Dhacwan  or  Sakhr. 

*  i.  e.  From  thy  seat  of  justice.  For  Solomon  used  to  sit  in  judgment  every  day 
till  noon.* 

'  This  person,  as  is  generally  supposed,  was  Asaf  thesonof  Barachia,  Solomon's  wazir 
(or  visir),  who  knew  the  great  or  ineffable  name  of  God,  by  pronouncing  of  which  he  per- 
formed this  wonderful  exploit.'  Others,  however,  suppose  it  was  al  Khedr,  or  else 
Gabriel,  or  some  other  angel ;  and  some  imagine  it  to  have  been  Solomon  himself.' 

^  The  original  is,  Before  iJiou  canst  look  at  any  object,  and  take  thy  eye  off  it.  It  is  said 
that  Solomon,  at  Asaf's  desire,  looked  up  to  heaven,  and  before  he  cast  his  eye  down- 
wards, the  throne  made  its  way  under  ground,  and  appeared  before  him. 

"  For,  on  the  return  of  her  ambassador,  she  determined  to  go  and  submit  herself  to  that 
prince,  but  before  her  departure  she  secured  her  throne,  as  she  thought,  by  locking  it  up 
in  a  strong  castle,  and  setting  a  guard  to  defend  it ;  after  which  she  set  out,  attended  by 
a  vast  army.^ 

'  It  is  uncertain  whether  these  be  the  words  of  Balkis,  acknowledging  her  conviction  by 
the  wonders  she  had  already  seen ;  or  of  l^olomon  and  his  people,  acknowledging  the 
favour  of  God,  in  calling  them  to  the  true  faith  before  her. 

^  Or,  as  some  understand  the  word,  the  court  before  the  palace,  which  Solomon  had 
commanded  to  be  built  against  the  arrival  of  Balkis  ;  the  floor  or  pavement  being  of  trans- 
parent glass,  laid  over  running  water,  in  which  fish  were  swimming.  Fronting  this  pave- 
ment was  placed  the  royal  throne,  on  which  Solomon  sat  to  receive  the  queen.' 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ■"  Jallalo'ddin.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  interp.  » Jallalo'ddin. 
*  Al  Beidawi.       "^  Jallalo'ddin.        '  Idem,  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXVII.  AL  KORAN.  313 

through  it.^  Whereupon  Solomon  said  unto  her,  Verily  this  is  a  palace 
evenly  floored  with  glass.*  Then  said  the  queen,  O  Lord,  verily  I  have 
dealt  unjustly  with  my  own  soul ;  and  I  resign  myself,  together  with  Solo- 
mon, unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.""  Also  we  heretofore  sent  unto 
ike  tribe  of  Thamud  their  brother  Saleh ;  who  said  unto  them,  Serve  ye 
God.  And  behold,  they  were  divided  into  two  parties,  who  disputed 
among  themselves."  Saleh  said,  O  my  people  why  do  ye  hasten  evil 
rather  than  good .''  °  Unless  ye  ask  pardon  of  God,  that  ye  may  obtain 
mercy,  ije  arc  lost.  They  answered.  We  presage  evil  from  thee,  and  from 
those  wlio  are  with  thee.  Saleh  replied.  The  evil  which  ye  presage  is 
with  God  :  p  but  ye  are  a  people  who  are  proved  by  a  vicissitude  of  pros- 
perity and  adversity.  And  there  were  nine  men  in  the  city,  who  acted 
corruptly  in  the  earth,  and  behaved  not  with  integrity.  And  they  said 
unto  one  another,  Swear  ye  reciprocally  by  God,  that  we  will  fall  upon 
Saleh  and  his  family  by  night :  and  afterwards  we  will  say  unto  him 
who  hath  right  to  avenge  his  blood,  We  were  not  so  much  as  present  at 
the  destruction  of  his  family ;  and  we  certainly  speak  the  truth.  And 
they  devised  a  plot  against  him:  but  we  devised  a  plot  against  them ;'f 
and  they  perceived  it  not.  And  see  what  was  the  issue  of  their  plot,*  we 
utterly  destroyed  them  and  their  whole  people ;  and  these  their  habitations 
remain  empty,  because  of  the  injustice  which  they  committed.  Verily 
herein  is  a  sign  unto  people  who  understand.  And  we  delivered  those 
who  believed,  and  feared  God.  And  remember  Lot;  when  he  said  unto  his 
people.  Do  ye  commit  a  wickedness,  though  ye  see  the  heinousness  thereof?- 
Do  ye  approach  lustfully  unto  men,  leaving  the  women  .''  Ye  are  surely 
an  ignorant  people.  *[XX.]  But  the  answer  of  his  people  was  no  other 
than  that  they  said,  Cast  the  family  of  Lot  out  of  your  city :  for  they  are 
men  who  preserve  themselves  pure  from  the  crimes  of  which  ye  are  guilty. 

'  Some  Arab  writers  tell  us,  Solomon  had  been  informed  that  Balkis's  legs  and  feet 
were  covered  with  hair,  like  those  of  an  ass,  of  the  truth  of  which  he  had  hereby  an  op- 
portunity of  being  satisfied  by  ocular  demonstration. 

*  "It  is  a  solid  edifice  built  of  glass,  said  Solomon  unto  her." — Savary. 

™  The  queen  of  Saba  having  by  these  words  professed  Islam,  and  renounced  idolatry, 
Solomon  had  thoughts  of  making  her  his  wife  ;  but  could  not  resolve  to  do  it,  till  the  devils 
had,  by  a  depilatory,  taken  oflfthe  hair  from  her  legs.*  Some,'  however,  will  have  it  that 
she  did  not  marry  Solomon,  but  a  prince  of  the  tribe  of  Hamdan. 

"Concerning  the  doctrine  preached  by  Saleh;  one  party  believing  on  him,  and  the 
other  treating  him  as  an  impostor, 

"  i.  e.  Why  do  ye  urge  and  defy  the  divine  vengeance  with  which  ye  are  threatened, 
instead  of  averting  it  by  repentance  ? 

p  See  chap.  7,  p.  129,  where  the  Egyptians  in  the  same  manner  accuse  Moses  as  the 
cause  of  their  calamities. 

t  "  While  they  were  devising  their  plot,  we  decreed  the  moment  of  their  ruin,  and  they 
knew  it  not." — Savary. 

t  It  is  related  that  Saleh,  and  those  who  believed  on  him,  usually  meeting  to  pray  in  a 
certain  narrow  place  between  the  mountains,  the  infidels  said,  He  thinks  to  make  an  end 
of  us  after  three  days,^  but  we  will  be  beforehand  with  him  :  and  that  a  party  of  them  went 
directly  to  the  straits  above-mentioned,  thinking  to  execute  their  design,  but  were  terribly 
disappointed  ;  for,  instead  of  catching  the  prophet,  they  were  caught  themselves,  their 
retreat  being  cut  off  by  a  large  piece  of  rock,  which  fell  down  at  the  mouth  of  the  straits, 
80  that  they  perished  there  in  a  miserable  manner. 

•  Jallalo'ddin.  » Apud  Al  Beidawi.  •  See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  note  k. 

2e 


314  AL  KOHAN.  chap,  xxvii. 

Wherefore  we  delivered  him  and  his  family,  except  his  wife,  whom  we 
decreed  to  he  one  of  those  who  remained  behind  to  be  destroyed.  And  we 
rained  on  them  a  shower  of  stones  :  and  dreadful  was  the  shower  which 
fell  on  those  who  had  been  warned  in  vain  /«■  Say,  Praise  be  unto  God; 
and  peace  be  upon  his  servants  whom  he  hath  chosen!  Is  God  more 
worthy,  or  the  false  gods  which  they  associate  with  him?  Is  not  he  to  be 
preferred,  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  sendeth  down 
rain  for  you  from  heaven,  whereby  we  cause  delicious  groves  to  spring  up? 
It  is  not  in  your  power  to  cause  the  trees  thereof  to  shoot  forth.  Is  there 
any  other  god  partner  with  the  true  God  ?  Verily  these  are  a  people  who 
deviate  from  the  truth*  Is  not  he  more  worthy  to  be  adored,  who  hath 
established  the  earth,  and  hath  caused  rivers  to  flow  through  the  midst 
thereof,  and  placed  thereon  immoveable  mountains,  and  set  a  bar  between 
the  two  seas  .^*  Is  there  any  other  god  equal  with  the  true  God  ?  Yet  the 
greater  part  of  them  know  it  not.  Is  not  he  more  worthy  who  heareth  the 
afflicted,^  when  he  calleth  upon  him,  and  taketh  off  the  evil  ichich  distressed 
him  :  and  who  hath  made  you  the  successors  of  your  forefathers  in  the 
earth  ?  Is  there  any  other  god  ivho  can  be  equalled  with  the  true  God  ? 
How  few  consider  these  things  !  Is  not  he  more  worthy  who  directeth  you 
in  the  dark  paths  of  the  land  and  of  the  sea ;  and  who  sendeth  the  winds 
driving  abroad  the  clouds,  as  the  forerunners  of  his  mercy !  "^  Is  there  any 
other  god  who  can  be  equalled  with  the  true  God  f  Far  be  God  from  having 
those  partners  in  his  power,  which  ye  associate  with  him.  Is  not  he  more 
worthy,  who  produceth  a  creature,  and  after  it  hath  been  dead  restoreth  it  to 
life ;  and  who  giveth  you  food  from  heaven  and  earth }  Is  there  any  other 
god  with  the  true  God,  who  doth  this  ?  Say,  Produce  your  proof  thereof, 
if  ye  speak  truth.  Say,  None  either  in  heaven  or  earth  knoweth  that 
which  is  hidden,  besides  God  :  neither  do  they  understand  when  they  shall 
he  raised.  However,  their  knowledge  attaineth  some  notion  of  the  life  to 
come  :^  yet  they  are  in  an  uncertainty  concerning  the  same;  yea,  they  are 
blind  as  to  the  real  circumstances  thereof.  And  the  unbelievers  say.  When 
we  and  our  fathers  shall  have  been  reduced  to  dust,  shall  we  be  taken  forth 
from  the  grave  f  Verily  we  have  been  threatened  with  this,  both  we  and 
our  fathers,  heretofore.  This  is  no  other  than  fables  of  the  ancients,  j 
Say  unto  them,  Pass  through  the  earth,  and  see  what  hath  been  the  end 
of  the  wicked.  And  be  not  thou  grieved  for  them ;  neither  be  thou  in 
any  concern  on  account  of  the  plots  which  they  are  contriving  against 
thee.     And  they  say.  When  ^vill  this  threat  be  accomplished,  if  ye  speak 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  125,  and  chap.  11,  p.  183. 

*  "Hath  God  an  equal!  Nevertheless,  they  associate  divinities  in  his  worship." — Savory. 

*  See  chap.  25,  p.  300.  The  word  harzakh  is  not  used  here,  but  another  of  equivalent 
import. 

'  Literally,  Him  xoho  is  driven  by  distress  to  implore  God's  assistance. 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  121,  and  chap.  25,  p.  300. 

'  Or  the  words  may  be  translated  thus :  Yea,  their  knowledge  faileth  as  to  the  life  to 
come  ;  yea,  &c. 

t  "This  promise  with  which  we  are  flattered,  and  with  which  our  fathers  were  de- 
luded, is  but  one  of  the  fables  of  antiquity." — Savary. 


CHAP.  xxvn.  AL  KORAN.  315 

true  ?  *  Answer,  Peratlventure  some  part  of  that  punishment,  which  ye  desire 
to  be  hastened,  may  follow  close  behind  you  :  verily  thy  Lord  is  endued  with 
indulgence  towards  mankind  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them  are  not  thank- 
ful. Verily  thy  Lord  knoweth  what  their  breasts  conceal,  and  what  they 
discover :  and  there  is  nothing  hidden  in  heaven  or  on  earth,  but  it  is 
written  in  a  clear  book.  Verily  this  Koran  declareth  unto  the  children  of 
Israel  most  of  those  points  concerning  which  they  disagree  :*  and  it  is  cer- 
tainly a  direction,  and  a  mercy  unto  the  true  believers.  Thy  Lord  will 
decide  the  controversy  between  them,  by  his  definitive  sentence  :  and  he  is 
the  mighty,  the  wise.  Therefore,  put  thy  trust  in  God  ;  for  thou  art  in  the 
manifest  truth.  Verily  thou  shalt  not  make  the  dead  to  hear,  neither  shalt 
thou  make  the  deaf  to  hear  thy  call  to  the  true  faith,  when  they  retire  and 
turn  their  backs :  neither  shalt  thou  direct  the  blind  to  extricate  themselves 
out  of  their  error.  Thou  shalt  make  none  to  hear  thee,  except  him  who 
shall  believe  in  our  signs  :  and  they  are  wholly  resigned  unto  us.  When 
the  sentence  shall  be  ready  to  fall  upon  them,  we  will  cause  a  beast  y  to 
come  forth  unto  them  from  out  of  the  earth,  which  shall  speak  unto  them  :^ 
verily  men  do  not  firmly  believe  in  our  signs.|  On  the  day  of  resurrection 
we  will  assemble,  out  of  every  nation,  a  company  of  those  who  shall  have 
charged  our  signs  with  falsehood ;  and  they  shall  be  prevented  from  mixing 
together,  until  they  shall  arrive  at  the  place  of  judgment.  And  God  shall 
say  unto  them,  Have  ye  charged  my  signs  with  falsehood,  although  ye  com- 
prehended them  not  with  your  knowledge.  Or  what  is  it  that  ye  were 
doing  }  And  the  sentence  of  damnation  shall  fall  on  them,  for  that  they 
have  acted  unjustly :  and  they  shall  not  speak  in  their  own  excuse.  Do 
they  not  see  that  we  have  ordained  the  night,  that  they  may  rest  therein, 
and  the  day  giving  open  light  ?J  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who 
believe.  On  that  day  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded  ;  and  whoever  are  in 
heaven  and  on  earth  shall  be  struck  with  terror,  except  those  whom  Gor 
shall  please  to  exempt  therefrom  :  ^  and  all  shall  come  before  him  in  humble 

*  "  When  will  thy  promises  be  accomplished  ?  Tell  us,  if  the  truth  enlighteneth  thee." 
— Savary. 

^  Such  as  the  comparing  of  God  to  sensible  things,  or  to  created  beings ;  the  removing 
all  imperfections  from  the  description  of  the  divine  Being;  the  state  of  paradise  and  hell ; 
the  stories  of  Ezra  and  Jesus  Christ,  &C.'' 

''  The  Mohammedans  call  this  beast,  whose  appearance  will  be  one  sign  of  the  approach 
of  the  day  of  judgment,  al  Jassasa,  or  the  Spy.  I  have  given  the  description  of  her  else- 
where f  to  which  should  be  added,  that  she  is  to  have  two  wings. 

'  Or,  according  to  a  different  reading,  (viz.  tadimohom  instead  oi  tocallimohom)  who  shall 
iround  them.^ 

i"  "  When  the  sentence  of  their  perdition  shall  be  pronounced,  we  will  cause  to  arise 
from  the  earth  a  monster,  who  shall  exclaim.  Men  have  not  helieved  in  Islamism.^^ — Savary. 

t  "  See  they  not,  that  we  have  established  the  night  for  rest,  and  the  day  for  action  ?" — 
Savary. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59,  &c.  Some  say  the  persons  exempted  from  this 
general  consternation  will  be  the  angels  Gabriel,  Michael,  Israfil,  and  Izrael ; '  others  sup- 
pose them  to  be  the  virgins  of  paradise,  and  the  angels  who  guard  that  place,  and  carry 
God's  throne  ;  '^  and  others  will  have  them  to  be  the  martyrs.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.  «  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  57,  &c.  '  Vide  ibid.  p.  57- 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  Al  Beidawi.  *  lidem.  ^  Ebn  Abbas. 


316  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XXVIII. 


guise.*  And  thou  shalt  see  the  mountains,  and  shalt  think  them  firmly 
fixed  ;  but  they  shall  pass  away,  even  as  the  clouds  pass  away.|  This  will 
he  the  work  of  God,  who  hath  rightly  disposed  all  things  :  and  he  is  well 
acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  Whoever  shall  have  wrought  righteous- 
ness, shall  receive  a  reward  beyond  the  desert  thereof;  and  they  shall  be 
secure  from  the  terror  of  that  day:''  but  whoever  shall  have  wrought 
evil,  shall  be  thrown  on  their  faces  into  hell  fire.  Shall  ye  receive  the 
reward  of  any  other  than  of  that  which  ye  shall  have  wrought .?  Verily  1 
am  commanded  to  worship  the  Lord  of  this  territory  of  Mecca,  who  hath 
sanctified  the  same :  unto  him  belong  all  things.  And  I  am  commanded 
to  be  a  Moslem,  and  to  rehearse  the  Koran :  he  who  shall  be  directed 
thereby  will  be  directed  to  his  own  advantage ;  and  to  him  who  shall  go 
astray,  say,  Verily  I  am  a  warner  only.  And  say,  Praise  be  unto  God  !  he 
will  show  you  his  signs,<^  and  ye  shall  know  them  :  and  thy  Lord  is  not 
regardless  of  that  which  they  do. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  STORY;''  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.' 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL    SOD. 

T.  S.  M.'  These  are  the  signs  of  the  perspicuous  book.  We  will  dictate 
unto  thee,  0  Mohammed,  some  parts  of  the  history  of  Moses  and  Pharaoh, 
with  truth ;  for  the  sake  of  people  who  believe.  Now  Pharaoh  lifted  him- 
self up  in  the  land  of  Egypt ;  and  he  caused  his  subjects  to  be  divided  into 
parties  :s  he  weakened  one  party  of  them,*'  by  slaying  their  male  children, 
and  preserving  their  females  alive ;  for  he  was  an  oppressor.  And  we  were 
minded  to  be  gracious  unto  those  who  were  weakened  in  the  land,  and  to 

*  "  When  the  blast  of  the  trumpet  shall  resound,  all  that  is  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth 
shall  be  smitten  with  terror,  except  the  chosen  of  the  Lord.  All  men  shall  appear  before 
him,  humbly  prostrate." — Savary. 

t  "  Thou  shalt  see  the  mountains,  hke  unto  congealed  water,  disappear  as  a  cloud,  at 
the  voice  of  God,  who  hath  wisely  disposed  all  things,  and  who  knoweth  the  actions  of 
mortals.' ' — Savary. 

"  That  is,  from  the  fear  of  damnation,  and  the  other  terrors  which  will  disturb  the 
wicked  ;  not  from  the  general  terror  or  consternation  before-mentioned. 

•=  viz.  The  successes  of  the  true  believers  against  the  infidels ;  and  particularly  the 
victory  of  Bedr. 

"*  The  title  is  taken  from  the  twenty-sixth  verse,  where  Moses  is  said  to  have  related 
the  story  of  his  adventures  to  Shoaib. 

=  Some  except  a  verse  towards  the  latter  end,  beginning  with  these  words,  He  who  hath 
given  the  Koran  for  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  &,c. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42. 

s  i.  e.  Either  into  companies,  that  they  might  the  better  attend  his  order,  and  perform 
the  services  he  exacted  of  them  ;  or  into  opposite  factions,  to  prevent  their  attempting  any 
thing  against  him,  to  deliver  themselves  from  his  tyranny.* 

"  viz.  The  IsraeUtes. 

•Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP,  xxvrn.  AL  KORAN.  317 

make  them  models  of  religion  ;  and  to  make  them  the  heirs  of  the  wealth 
of  Pharaoh  and  his  people,^  and  to  establish  a  place  for  them  in  the  earth ; 
and  to  show  Pharaoh,  and  Haman,*^  and  their  forces,  that  destruction  of 
their  kingdom  and  nation  by  them,  w^hicli  they  sought  to  avoid.^*  And  we 
directed  the  mother  of  Moses  by  revelation,  saying,  Give  him  suck :  and 
if  thou  fearest  for  him,  cast  him  into  the  river ;  and  fear  not,  neither  be 
afflicted ;  for  we  will  restore  him  unto  thee,  and  will  appoint  him  one  of 
our  apostles.'"  And  ichen  she  had  put  the  child  in  the  ark,  and  had  cast  it 
into  the  river,  the  family  of  Pharaoh  took  him  up ;  'providence  designing 
that  he  should  become  an  enemy,  and  a  sorrow  unto  them.  Verily  Pha- 
raoh and  Haman,  and  their  forces  were  sinners.|  And  the  wife  of  Pharaoh 
said.  This  child  is  a  delight  of  the  eye  to  me,  and  to  thee:"  kill  him  not; 
peradventure  it  may  happen  that  he  may  be  serviceable  unto  us;  or  we  may 
adopt  him  for  our  son.  And  they  perceived  not  the  consequence  of  what 
they  were  doing.  And  the  heart  of  the  mother  of  Moses  became  oppressed 
with  fear ;  and  she  had  almost  discovered  him,  had  we  not  armed  her  heart 
with  constancy,  that  she  might  be  one  of  those  who  believe  the  promises 
of  God.  And  she  said  unto  his  sister.  Follow  him.  And  she  watched  him 
at  a  distance ;  and  they  perceived  it  not.  And  we  suffered  him  not  to  take 
the  breasts  of  the  nurses  who  were  provided  before  his  sister  came  up  :  ° 
and  she  said,  Shall  I  direct  you  unto  some  of  his  nation,  who  may  nurse 
him  for  you,  and  will  be  careful  of  him  ?  And^  at  their  desire.,  she  brought 
his  mother  to  them.  So  we  restored  him  to  his  mother,  that  her  mind 
might  be  set  at  ease,  and  that  she  might  not  be  afflicted ;  and  that  she 

'  See  chap.  26,  p.  303. 

^  This  name  is  given  to  Pharaoh's  chief  minister;  from  whence  it  is  generally  inferred 
that  Mohammed  has  here  made  Haman,  the  favourite  of  Ahasuerus,  king  of  Persia,  and 
who  indisputably  lived  many  ages  after  Moses,  to  be  that  prophet's  contemporary.  But 
how  probable  soever  this  mistake  may  seem  to  us,  it  will  be  very  hard,  if  not  impossible, 
to  convince  a  Mohammedan  of  it ;  for,  as  has  been  observed  in  a  parallel  case,'  two  very 
different  persons  may  bear  the  same  name.^ 

'  For  Pharaoh  had  either  dreamed,  or  been  told  by  some  diviners,  that  one  of  the 
Hebrew  nation  should  be  the  ruin  of  his  kingdom  ;  which  prophecy  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  occasion  of  his  cruelty  to  them.''  This  circumstance  is  owing  to  the  invention 
of  the  Jews.^ 

*  "  We  were  minded  to  secure  unto  them  a  habitation  upon  the  earth,  and  to  display 
before  the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  of  Haman,  and  of  their  armies,  the  miracles  which  they 
dreaded." — Savory. 

■"  It  is  related  that  the  midwife  appointed  to  attend  the  Hebrew  woman,  terrified  by  a 
light  which  appeared  between  the  eyes  of  Moses  at  his  birth,  and  touched  with  an  extra- 
ordinary affection  for  the  child,  did  not  discover  him  to  the  officers,  so  that  his  mother  kept 
him  in  her  house,  and  nursed  him  three  months ;  after  which  it  was  impossible  for  her  to 
conceal  him  any  longer,  the  king  then  giving  orders  to  make  the  searches  more  strictly.* 

X  "  The  family  of  Pharaoh  received  him  who  was  one  day  to  become  their  enemy, 
and  a  bitter  cause  of  sorrow  unto  them,  because  that  Pharaoh,  Haman,  and  their  soldiers, 
were  transgressors." — Savary. 

°  This  sudden  affection  or  admiration  was  raised  in  them  either  by  his  uncommon 
beauty,  or  by  the  light  which  shone  on  his  forehead,  or  because  when  they  opened  the 
ark,  they  found  him  suckmg  his  thumb,  which  supplied  him  with  milk.'" 

"  See  chap.  20,  p.  257. 

»  See  p.  38,  note  u.  «  Vide  Reland,  de  Rel.  Moham.  p.  217.  ""  See  chap.  7, 

p.  129.         ="  Vide  Shalshel.  hakkab.  p.  11,  and  R.  Eliez.  Firke,  c.  48.  '  AI  Beidawi. 

See  the  notes  to  chap.  20,  p.  257.  '°  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


318  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxviii. 

might  know  that  the  promise  of  God  was  true :  but  the  greater  part  of 
mankind  know  not  the  truth.  And  when  Moses  had  attained  his  age  of  full 
strength,  and  was  become  a  perfect  man,  we  bestowed  on  him  wisdom  and 
knowledge :  and  thus  do  we  reward  the  upright.  And  he  went  into  the  city, 
at  a  time  when  the  inhabitants  thereof  observed  not  what  passed  in  the 
street  ;p  and  he  found  therein  two  men  fighting;  the  one  being  of  his  own 
party,  and  the  other  of  his  enemies. i  And  he  who  was  of  his  party  begged 
his  assistance  against  him  who  tvas  of  the  contrary  party;  and  Moses  struck 
him  with  his  fist,  and  slew  him:  hut  being  sorry  for  ichat  had  happened,^  he 
said,  This  is  of  the  work  of  the  devil ;  »■  for  he  is  a  seducing  and  an  open 
enemy.  And  he  said,  O  Lord,  verily  I  have  injured  my  own  soul :  where- 
fore forgive  me.  So  God  forgave  him ;  for  he  is  ready  to  forgive,  and 
merciful.  He  said,  O  Lord,  by  the  favours  with  which  thou  hast  favoured 
me,  I  will  not  be  an  assistant  to  the  wicked  for  the  future.  And  the  next 
morning  he  was  afraid  in  the  city,  and  looked  about  him,  as  one  apprehen- 
sive of  danger :  and  behold,  he  whom  he  had  assisted  the  day  before  cried 
out  unto  him  ybr  help  a  second  time.  But  Moses  said  unto  him.  Thou  art 
plainly  a  quarrelsome  fellow.  And  when  he  sought  to  lay  hold  on  him 
who  was  an  enemy  unto  them  both,  he  said,  O  Moses,  dost  thou  intend  to 
kill  me,  as  thou  killedst  a  man  yesterday  }^  Thou  seekest  only  to  be  an 
oppressor  in  the  earth,  and  seekest  not  to  be  a  reconciler  of  quarrels.* 
And  a  certain  man,*  came  from  the  farther  part  of  the  city,  running  hastily, 
and  said,  O  Moses,  verily  the  magistrates  are  deliberating  concerning 
thee,  to  put  thee  to  death  :  depart  therefore ;  I  certainly  advise  thee  well. 
Wherefore  he  departed  out  of  the  city  in  great  fear,  looking  this  way  and 
that,  lest  he  should  he  pursued.  And  he  said,  O  Lord,  deliver  me  from  the 
unjust  people.  And  when  he  was  journeying  towards  Madian,  he  said,  Per- 
adventure  my  Lord  will  direct  me  in  the  right  way.^  And  when  he  arrived 
at  the  water  of  Madian,  he  found  about  the  well  a  company  of  men,  who 
were  watering  their  flocks.     And  he  found,  besides  them,  two  women,! 

p  viz.  At  noon  ;  at  which  time  it  is  usual,  in  those  countries,  for  people  to  retire  to  sleep  ; 
or,  as  others  rather  suppose,  a  little  within  night. 

••  i.  e.  The  one  being  an  Israehte,  of  his  own  religion  and  nation,  and  the  other  an  idol- 
atrous Egyptian. 

^  Mohammed  allows  that  Moses  killed  the  Egyptian  wrongfully ;  but,  to  excuse  it,  sup- 
poses that  he  struck  him  without  designing  to  kill  him. 

*  Some  suppose  these  words  to  have  been  spoken  by  the  Israelite,  who,  because  Moses 
had  reprimanded  him,  imagined  he  was  going  to  strike  him  ;  and  others,  by  the  Egyptian, 
who  either  knew  or  suspected  that  Moses  had  killed  his  countryman  the  day  before. 

*  "  Wilt  thou  hearken  only  to  thy  violence  ?  Hast  thou,  then,  renounced  virtue  ?" — 
Savary. 

*  This  person,  says  the  tradition,  was  an  Egyptian,  and  Pharaoh's  uncle's  son,  but  a  true 
believer ;  who  finding  that  the  king  had  been  informed  of  what  Moses  had  done,  and  de- 
signed to  put  him  to  death,  gave  him  immediate  notice  to  provide  for  his  safety  by  flight. 

^  For  Moses  knew  not  the  way,  and  coming  to  a  place  where  three  roads  met,  com- 
mitted himself  to  the  guidance  of  God,  and  took  the  middle  road,  which  was  the  right; 
providence  likewise  so  ordering  it,  that  his  pursuers  took  the  other  two  roads,  and  missed 
him.*    Some  say  that  he  was  led  by  an  angel  in  the  appearance  of  a  traveller.' 

t  "  Two  sisters." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  3  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  xxvm.  AL  KORAN.  319 

who  kept  off  their  sheep  at  a  distance.  And  he  said  unto  the?n,  What  is  the 
matter  with  you  ?  They  answered,  We  shall  not  water  our  Jlock,  until  the 
shepherds  shall  have  driven  away  theirs ;  for  our  father  is  an  old  man, 
stricken  in  years.  So  Moses  watered  their  sheep  for  them,>^  and  afterwards 
retired  into  the  shade,  saying,  O  Lord,  verily  I  stand  in  need  of  the  good 
which  thou  shalt  send  down  unto  me.  And  one  of  the  damsels'^  came 
unto  him,*  walking  bashfully,  and  said.  My  father  calleth  thee,  that  he  may 
recompense  thee  for  the  trouble  which  thou  hast  taken  in  watering  our  sheep 
for  us.  And  when  he  was  come  unto  Shoaib,  and  had  told  him  the  story 
of  his  adventures,'\  he  said  unto  him^  Fear  not :  thou  hast  escaped  from  un- 
just people.  And  one  of  the  damsels  said,  My  father,  hire  him  for  certain 
wages  :  the  best  servant  thou  canst  hire  is  an  able  and  trusty  person.*  And 
Shoaib  said  unto  Moses,  Verily  I  will  give  thee  one  of  these  my  two 
daughters  in  marriage,  on  condition  that  thou  serve  me  for  hire  eight  years: 
and  if  thou  fulfil  ten  years,  it  is  in  thine  own  breast;  for  I  seek  not  to  im- 
pose a  hardship  on  thee  :  and  thou  shalt  find  me,  if  God  please,  a  man  of 
probity  .J  Moses  answered.  Let  this  be  the  covenant  between  me  and  thee : 
whichsoever  of  the  two  terms  I  shall  fulfil  let  it  be  no  crime  in  me  if  I  then 
quit  thy  service ;  and  God  is  witness  of  that  which  we  say.  And  when 
Moses  had  fulfilled  the  term,''  and  was  journeying  with  his  family  towards 
Egypt,  he  saw  fire  on  the  side  of  mount  Sinai.  And  he  said  unto  his 
family.  Tarry  ye  here  ;  for  I  see  fire  :  peradventure  I  may  bring  you  thence 
some  tidings  of  the  way,"  or  at  least  a  brand  out  of  the  fire,  that  ye  may 

y  By  rolling  away  a  stone  of  a  prodigious  weight,  which  had  been  laid  over  the  mouth 
of  the  well  by  the  shepherds,  and  required  no  less  than  seven  men  (though  some  name  a 
much  larger  number)  to  remove  it.^ 

»  This  was  Sefurah  (or  Zipporah)  the  elder,  or,  as  others  suppose,  the  younger  daughter 
of  Shoaib,  whom  Moses  afterwards  married. 

*  ^'  One  of  the  sisters  came  unto  him." — Savary. 

+  (When  Moses  arrived  at  the  residence  of  Shoaib,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  he  found  dinner 
ready.  ''  Be  seated  and  eat  with  us,"  said  the  old  man.  "  I  will  not  accept  thy  offer," 
replied  Moses,  "  as  a  reward  for  the  service  which  I  have  rendered  to  thy  daughters.  To 
do  good  without  receiving  a  recompense  for  it  is  an  inviolable  law  in  my  family."  "And 
it  is  my  custom,"  answered  Shoaib,  "  and  was  that  of  my  ancestors,  to  give  a  kind  recep- 
tion to  shy  guests,  and  to  supply  them  with  food." — Hospitahty  is  still  held  in  respect  by 
the  Turks.  If  a  stranger  introduces  himself  at  meal-times,  he  is  made  to  sit  down,  and  is 
treated  like  the  rest.  No  one  asks  whence  he  comes,  whither  he  is  going,  or  what  he  is  ; 
questions  which  are  so  painful  to  the  unfortunate.  He  is  a  man  who  has  come  at  the  hour 
of  repast ;  he  is  received  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  family,  and  is  treated  with  the  same  kind- 
ness. The  consequence  of  this  is,  that  no  Mohammedan  is  ever  seen  degrading  humanity 
by  exposmg  his  misery  to  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  streets  and  highways.) — Savary. 

*  The  girl,  being  asked  by  her  father  how  she  knew  Moses  deserved  this  character,  told 
him  that  he  had  removed  the  vast  stone  above-mentioned,  without  any  assistance  ;  and 
that  he  looked  not  in  her  face,  but  held  down  his  head  till  he  had  heard  her  message,  and 
desired  her  to  walk  behind  him,  because  the  wind  ruffled  her  garments  a  little,  and 
discovered  some  part  of  her  legs." 

X  "  If  God  please,  thou  shalt  experience  on  my  part  only  humanity  and  justice."  — 
Savary. 

•>  viz.  The  longest  term  of  ten  years.  The  Mohammedans  say,  after  the  Jews,'  that 
Moses  received  from  Shoaib  the  rod  of  the  prophets  (which  was  a  branch  of  a  myrtle 
of  paradise,  and  had  descended  to  him  from  Adam),  to  keep  off  the  wild  beasts  from 
his  sheep  ;  and  that  this  was  the  rod  with  which  he  performed  all  those  wonders  in  Egypt. 

<=  See  chap.  20,  p.  246. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Interp.  Yahya.  *  lidem.  '  Vide  Shals.  hakkab.  p.  12. 
R.  Eliez.  Pirke,  c.  40,  &c. 


320  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XXVIII. 


be  warmed.  And  when  he  was  come  thereto,  a  voice  cried  unto  him  from 
the  right  side  of  the  valley,  in  the  sacred  bottom,  from  the  tree,  saying,  O 
Moses,  verily  I  am  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures  :  cast  down  now  thy  rod. 
And  when  he  saw  it  that  it  moved,  as  though  it  had  been  a  serpent,  he 
retreated  and  fled,  and  returned  not.  And  God  said  unto  him,  O  Moses, 
draw  near,  and  fear  not ;  for  thou  art  safe.  Put  thy  hand  into  thy  bosom, 
and  it  shall  come  forth  white,  without  any  hurt :  and  draw  back  thy  hand* 
unto  thee  ivhich  thou  stretchest  forth  for  fear.  These  shall  be  two  evident 
signs  from  thy  Lord,  unto  Pharaoh  and  his  princes  ;  for  they  are  a  wicked 
people.  Moses  said,  O  Lord,  verily  I  have  slain  one  of  them ;  and  I  fear 
they  will  put  me  to  death :  but  my  brother  Aaron  is  of  a  more  eloquent 
tongue  than  I  am;  wherefore  send  him  with  me  for  an  assistant,  that 
he  may  gain  me  credit ;  for  I  fear  lest  they  accuse  me  of  imposture.  God 
said,  We  will  strengthen  thine  arm  by  thy  brother,  and  we  will  give  each 
of  you  extraordinary  power,  so  that  they  shall  not  come  up  to  you,  in  our 
signs.  Ye  two,  and  whoever  shall  follow  you,  shall  be  the  conquerors. 
And  when  Moses  came  unto  them  with  our  evident  signs,  they  said,  This  is 
no  other  than  a  deceitful  piece  of  sorcery :  neither  have  we  heard  of  any 
thing  like  this  among  our  forefathers.  And  Moses  said.  My  Lord  best 
knoweth  who  cometh  with  a  direction  from  him ;  and  who  shall  have  suc- 
cess in  this  life,  as  well  as  the  next :  but  the  unjust  shall  not  prosper.  And 
Pharaoh  said,  O  princes,  I  did  not  know  that  ye  had  any  other  god  besides 
me.^  Wherefore  do  thou,  O  Haman,  burn  me  clay  into  bricks ;  and  build 
me  a  high  tower,'  that  I  may  ascend  unto  the  God  of  Moses  :  for  I  verily 
believe  him  to  be  a  liar.  And  both  he  and  his  forces  behaved  themselves 
insolently  and  unjustly  in  the  earth ;  and  imagined  that  they  should  not  be 
brought  before  us  to  be  judged.  Wherefore  we  took  him  and  his  forces, 
and  cast  them  into  the  sea.  Behold,  therefore,  what  was  the  end  of 
the  unjust.  And  we  made  them  deceitful  guides,  inviting  their  followers  to 
hell  fire ;  and  on  the  day  of  resurrection  they  shall  not  be  screened  from 
punishment.  We  pursued  them  with  a  curse  in  this  life  ;  and  on  the  day  of 
resurrection  they  shall  be  shamefully  rejected.  And  we  gave  the  book  of  the 
law  unto  Moses,  after  he  had  destroyed  the  former  generations,  to  enlighten 
the  minds  of  men,  and  for  a  direction,  and  a  mercy ;  that  peradventure  they 
might  consider.  Thou,  O  prophet^  wast  not  on  the  west  side  of  mount 
Sinai,  when  we  delivered  Moses  his  commission :  neither  wast  thou  one  of 

*  Literally  thy  wing:  the  expression  alludes  to  the  action  of  birds,  which  stretch  forth 
their  wings  to  fly  away  when  they  are  frighted,  and  fold  them  together  again  when  they 
think  themselves  secure.* 

«  See  chap.  26,  p.  303. 

^  It  is  said  that  Haman,  having  prepared  bricks  and  other  materials,  employed  no  less 
than  fifty  thousand  men,  besides  labourers,  in  the  building  ;  which  they  carried  to  so  im- 
mense a  height  that  the  workmen  could  no  longer  stand  on  it:  that  Pharaoh,  ascending 
this  tower,  threw  a  javelin  towards  heaven,  which  fell  back  again  stained  with  blood, 
whereupon  he  impiously  boasted  that  he  had  killed  the  God  of  Moses  :  but  at  sunset  God 
sent  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  with  one  stroke  of  his  wing  demolished  the  tower,  a  part 
whereof,  falling  on  the  king's  army,  destroyed  a  million  of  men.'' 

•  Al  Beidawi.  ^        ■■  Al  Zamakhshari. 


/ 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  AL  KORAN.  321 

those  who  were  present  at  his  receiving  it :  but  we  raised  up  several  gene- 
rations after  Moses ;  and  life  was  prolonged  unto  them.  Neither  didst  thou 
dwell  among  the  inhabitants  of  Madian,  rehearsing  unto  them  our  signs ; 
but  we  have  sent  thee  fully  instructed  in  every  particular.  Nor  wast  thou 
present  on  the  side  of  the  mount,  when  we  called  unto  Moses;  but  thou  art 
sent  as  a  mercy  from  thy  Lord  ;  that  thou  mightest  preach  unto  a  people 
to  whom  no  preacher  hath  come  before  thee,s  that  peradventure  they  may 
be  warned ;  and  lest,  if  a  calamity  had  befallen  them,  for  that  which  their 
hands  had  previously  committed,  they  should  have  said,  O  Lord,  since 
thou  hast  not  sent  an  apostle  unto  us,  that  we  might  follow  thy  signs,  and 
become  true  believers,  are  we  not  excusable  ?  Yet  when  the  truth  is  come 
unto  them  from  before  us,  they  say,  Unless  he  receive  the  same  power  to 
work  miracles  as  Moses  received,  we  will  not  believe.  Have  they  not  like- 
wise rejected  the  revelation  which  was  heretofore  given  unto  Moses .?  They 
say.  Two  cunning  impostures''  have  mutually  assisted  one  another:  and 
they  say.  Verily  we  reject  them  both.  Say,  Produce  therefore  a  book  from 
God,  which  is  more  right  than  these  two,  that  I  may  follow  it;  if  ye  speak 
truth.  But  if  they  return  thee  no  answer,  know  that  they  only  follow  their 
own  desires  :  and  who  erreth  more  widely  yro»i  the  truth  than  he  who  fol- 
loweth  his  own  desire,  without  a  direction  from  God  ?  Verily  God  directeth 
not  the  unjust  people.  And  now  have  we  caused  our  word  to  come  unto 
them,  that  they  may  be  admonished.  They  unto  whom  we  have  given  the 
scriptures  which  were  revealed  before  it,  believe  in  the  same ;  and  when  it 
is  read  unto  them,  say.  We  believe  therein ;  it  is  certainly  the  truth  from 
our  Lord  :  verily  we  were  Moslems  before  this.'  These  shall  receive  their 
reward  twice,''  because  they  have  persevered,  and  repel  evil  by  good,  and 
distribute  alms  out  of  that  which  we  have  bestowed  on  them ;  and  when 
they  hear  vain  discourse,  avoid  the  same,  saying.  We  have  our  works, 
and  ye  have  your  works;  peace  be  on  you;^  we  covet  not  the  acquaint- 
ance of  the  ignorant.  Verily  thou  canst  not  direct  whom  thou  wilt: 
but  God  directeth  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  best  knoweth  those  who 
will  submit  to  be  directed.  The  Meccans  say,  If  we  follow  the  same 
direction  with  thee,  we  shall  be  forcibly  expelled  our  land.™  Have  we 
not  established  for  them  a  secure  asylum,"  to  which  fruits  of  every  sort 

s  That  is,  to  the  Arabians ;  to  whom  no  prophet  had  been  sent,  at  least  since  Ismael. 

"  viz.  The  Pentateuch  and  the  Koran.  Some  copies  read,  Two  impostors,  meaning 
Moses  and  Mohammed. 

'  Holding  the  same  faith  in  fundamentals,  before  the  revelation  of  the  Koran,  which  we 
receive  because  it  is  consonant  to  the  scriptures,  and  attested  to  by  them.  The  passage 
intends  those  Jews  and  Christians  who  had  embraced  Mohammedism. 

^  Because  they  have  believed  both  in  their  own  scriptures,  and  in  the  Koran. 

'  See  chap.  25,  p.  300,  note  p. 

°  This  objection  was  made  by  AI  Hareth  Ebn  Othman  Ebn  Nawfal  Ebn  Abd  Menaf, 
who  came  lo  Mohammed  and  told  him  that  the  Koreish  believed  he  preached  the  truth, 
but  were  apprehensive  that,  if  they  made  the  Arabs  their  enemies  by  quitiing  their  reli- 
gion, they  would  be  obliged  likewise  to  quit  Mecca,  being  but  a  handful  of  men,  in  com- 
parison to  the  whole  nation." 

"  By  giving  them  for  their  habitation  the  sacred  territory  of  Mecca,  a  place  protected  by 
God,  and  reverenced  by  man. 

•  AI  Beidawi. 


322  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxviii. 

are  brought,  as  a  provision  for  our  bounty }  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
do  not  understand.  How  many  cities  have  we  destroyed,  whose  inhabitants 
lived  in  ease  and  plenty.''  and  these  their  dwellings  are  not  inhabited 
after  them,  unless  for  a  little  while;"  and  we  were  the  inheritors  of  their 
wealth.^  *  But  thy  Lord  did  not  destroy  those  cities,  until  he  had  sent 
unto  their  capital  an  apostle,  to  rehearse  our  signs  unto  them  :  neither 
did  we  destroy  those  cities,  unless  their  inhabitants  were  injurious  to  their 
apostle.'f  The  things  which  are  given  you  are  the  provisions  of  this  pre- 
sent life,  and  the  pomp  thereof;  but  that  which  is  with  God  is  better  and 
more  durable :  will  ye  not  therefore  understand  .?  Shall  he  then,  unto 
whom  we  have  promised  an  excellent  promise  of  future  happiness,  and 
who  shall  attain  the  same,  be  as  he  on  whom  we  have  bestowed  the  pro- 
vision of  this  present  life,  and  who,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  shall  be 
one  of  those  who  are  delivered  up  to  eternal  punishment  ?  On  that  day 
God  shall  call  unto  them,  and  shall  say.  Where  are  my  partners,  which 
ye  imagined  to  be  so  f  And  they  upon  whom  the  sentence  of  damnation 
shall  be  justly  pronounced  shall  answer,  These,  O  Lord,  are  those  whom 
we  seduced  ;  we  seduced  them  as  we  also  had  been  seduced :  hut  now  we 
clearly  quit  them,  and  turn  unto  thee.  They  did  not  worship  us,  but 
their  own  lusts^  And  it  shall  be  said  unto  the  idolaters,  Call  now  upon 
those  whom  ye  associated  icith  God  :  and  they  shall  call  upom  them,  but 
they  shall  not  answer  them ;  and  they  shall  see  the  punishment  prepared 
for  them,  and  shall  wish  that  they  had  submitted  to  be  directed.  On 
that  day,  God  shall  call  unto  them,  and  shall  say,  What  answer  did  ye  re- 
turn to  our  messengers .''  But  they  shall  not  be  able  to  give  an  account 
thereof  on  that  day  ;  *"  neither  shall  they  ask  one  another  for  information. 
Howbeit  whoso  shall  repent  and  believe,  and  shall  do  that  which  is  right, 
may  expect  to  be  happy.  Thy  Lord  createth  what  he  pleaseth ;  and 
chooseth  freely  :  but  they  have  no  free  choice.  Praise  be  unto  God  ;  and 
far  be  he  removed  from  the  idols  which  they  associate  with  him  !  Thy 
Lord  knoweth  both  the  secret  malice  which  their  breasts  conceal,  and  the 
open  haired  which  they  discover.  He  is  God  ;  there  is  no  God  but  he. 
Unto  him  is  the  praise  due,  both  in  this  life  and  in  that  which  is  to  come : 
unto  him  doth  judgment  belong ;  and  before  him  shall  ye  be  assembled  at 
the  last  day.  Say,  What  think  ye }  If  God  should  cover  you  with  per- 
petual night,  until  the  day  of  resurrection ;  what  god,  besides  God,  would 
bring  you  light  ?     Will  ye  not  therefore  hearken  .?     Say,  What  think  ye  ? 

"  That  is,  for  a  day,  or  a  few  hours  only,  while  travellers  stay  there  to  rest  and  refresh 
themselves;  or,  as  the  original  may  also  signify,  unless  hy  a  few  inhabitants  :  some  of 
those  ancient  cities  and  dwellings  bein^  utterly  desolate,  and  others  thinly  inhabited. 

p  There  being  none  left  to  enjoy  it  alter  them. 

*  "  How  many  cities  have  we  destroyed,  which  were  devoted  to  lust  and  debauchery? 
The  greatest  number  of  these  cities  have  not  again  been  inhabited,  and  we  retain  the  in- 
heritance of  them." — Savary. 

t  "  God  overthrew  no  empire  before  he  sent  unto  the  capital  of  it  a  prophet  to  preach 
his  commandments :  and  the  cities  of  which  the  inhabitants  were  impious  are  those  alone 
which  were  destroyed." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  10.  p.  169. 

^  Literally,  The  account  thereof  shall  be  darTi  unto  them;  for  the  consternation  they  shall 
then  be  under  will  render  them  stupid,  and  unable  to  return  an  answer. 


CHAP.  XXVIII.  AL  KORAN.  323 

If  God  should  give  you  continual  day,  until  the  day  of  resurrection  ;  what 
god,  besides  God,  would  bring  you  night,  that  ye  might  rest  therein.^  Will 
ye  not  therefore  consider.?  Of  his  mercy  he  hath  made  for  you  the  niglit 
and  the  day,  that  ye  may  rest  in  the  one,  and  may  seek  to  oUain  provision 
for  yourselves  of  his  abundance,  hy  your  industry^  in  the  other;  and  that  ye 
may  give  thanks.  On  a  certain  day  God  shall  call  unto  them,  and  shall 
say.  Where  are  my  partners,  which  ye  imagined  to  share  the  divine  poicer 
with  me  f  And  we  will  produce  a  witness  out  of  every  nation, '  and  will 
say.  Bring  hither  your  proof  of  what  ye  have  asserted.  And  they  shall 
know  that  the  right  is  God's  alone ;  and  the  deities  which  they  have  de- 
vised shall  abandon  them.  Karun  was  of  the  people  of  Moses;*  but  he 
behaved  insolently  towards  them :  for  we  had  given  him  so  much  treasure, 
that  his  keys  would  have  loaded  several  strong  men.'*  When  his  people 
said  unto  him.  Rejoice  not  immoderately ;  for  God  loveth  not  those  who 
rejoice  in  their  riches  immoderately :  but  seek  to  attain,  by  means  of  the 
wealth  which  God  hath  given  thee,  the  future  mansion  of  paradise.^  And 
forget  not  thy  portion  in  this  world ;  but  be  thou  bounteous  unto  others, 
as  God  hath  been  bounteous  unto  thee  ;  and  seek  not  to  act  corruptly  in 
the  earth;  for  God  loveth  not  the  corrupt  doers.  He  answered,  I  have 
received  these  riches,  only  because  of  the  knowledge  which  is  with  me  J 

'viz.  The  prophet  who  shall  have  been  sent  to  each  nation. 

'  The  commentators  say,  Karun  was  the  son  of  Yeshar  (or  Izhar)  the  uncle  of  Moses, 
and  consequently  make  him  the  same  with  the  Korah  of  the  scriptures.  This  person  is 
represented  by  them  as  the  most  beautiful  of  the  Israelites,  and  so  far  surpassing  them  all 
in  opulency,  that  the  riches  of  Karun  have  become  a  proverb.  The  Mohammedans  are 
indebted  to  the  Jews  for  this  last  circumstance,  to  which  they  have  added  several  other 
fables :  for  they  tell  us  that  he  built  a  large  palace  overlaid  with  gold,  the  doors  whereof 
were  of  massy  gold  ;  that  he  became  so  insolent,  because  of  his  immense  riches,  as  to  raise 
a  sedition  against  Moses ;  though  some  pretend  the  occasion  of  his  rebellion  to  have  been 
his  unwillingness  to  give  alms,  as  Moses  had  commanded ;  that  one  day  when  that  prophet 
was  preaching  to  the  people,  and,  among  other  laws  which  he  published,  declared  that 
adulterers  should  be  stoned,  Karun  asked  him,  What  if  he  should  be  found  guilty  of 
the  same  crime  ?  to  which  Moses  answered.  That  in  such  case  he  would  suffer  the  same 
punishment ;  and  thereupon  Karun  produced  a  harlot,  whom  he  had  hired  to  swear  that 
Moses  had  lain  with  her,  and  charged  him  publicly  with  it ;  but  on  Moses's  abjuring  the 
woman  to  speak  the  truth,  her  resolution  failed  her,  and  she  confessed  that  she  was  sub- 
orned by  Kariin  to  accuse  him  wrongfully  ;  that  then  God  directed  Moses,  who  had  com- 
plained to  him  of  this  usage,  to  command  the  earth  what  he  pleased,  and  it  should  obey 
him  ;  whereupon  he  said,  0  earth,  swallow  them  up!  and  that  immediately  the  earth  opened 
under  Kariin  and  his  confederates,  and  swallowed  them  up,  with  his  palace  and  all  his 
riches.'  There  goes  a  tradition,  that  as  Karun  sunk  gradually  into  the  ground,  first  to  his 
knees,  then  to  his  waist,  then  to  his  neck,  he  cried  out  four  several  times,  0  3Ioses,  have 
mercy  on  me  !  but  that  Moses  continued  to  say,  0  earth,  swallow  them  up,  till  at  last  he 
wholly  disappeared :  upon  which  God  said  to  Moses,  Thou  hadst  no  mercy  on  Karan, 
though  he  asked  pardon  of  thee  four  times  ;  hut  I  would  have  had  compassio7i  on  him,  if  he 
had  asked  pardon  of  me  but  once."^ 

"  The  original  word  properly  signifies  any  number  of  persons  from  ten  to  forty.  Some 
pretend  these  keys  were  a  sufficient  load  for  seventy  men  ;  and  Abulfeda  says  forty  mules 
used  to  be  employed  to  carry  them. 

^  This  passage  is  parallel  to  that  in  the  New  Testament,  Blahe  to  yourselves  frierids 
of  the  mammo7i  of  unrighteousness  ;  that  when  ye  fail  they  may  receive  you  into  everlasting 
habitations.^ 

y  For  some  say  he  was  the  most  learned  of  all  the  Israehtes,  and  the  best  versed  in  the 

>  Abu'lfeda,  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi,  &c.  ^  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl. 

Orient.  Art.  Carun.  '  Luke  xvi.  9. 


324  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxviir. 

Did  he  not  know  that  God  had  already  destroyed,  before  him,  several  gene- 
rations, who  were  mightier  than  he  in  strength,  and  had  amassed  more 
abundance  of  riches  f  And  the  wicked  shall  not  be  asked  to  discover  their 
crimes.  And  Karun  went  forth  unto  his  people,  in  his  pomp."  Jlnd  they 
who  loved  this  present  life  said.  Oh  that  we  had  the  like  wealthy  as  hath 
been  given  unto  Karun  }  verily  he  is  master  of  a  great  fortune.  But  those 
on  whom  knowledge  had  been  bestowed  answered,  Alas  for  you  !  the  re- 
Avard  of  God  in  the  next  life  will  be  better  unto  him  who  shall  believe  and 
do  good  works  :  but  none  shall  attain  the  same,  except  those  who  perse- 
vere with  constancy.  And  we  caused  the  ground  to  cleave  in  sunder,  and 
to  swallow  up  him  and  his  palace  :  and  he  had  no  forces  to  defend  him, 
besides  God  ;  neither  was  he  rescued  from  punishment*  And  the  next 
morning,  those  who  had  coveted  his  condition  the  day  before  said.  Aha ! 
verily  God  bestoweth  abundant  provision  on  such  of  his  servants  as  he 
pleaseth ;  and  he  is  sparing  unto  whom  he  pleaseth.  Unless  God  had  been 
gracious  unto  us,  certainly  the  earth  had  swallowed  us  up  also.  Aha !  the 
unbelievers  shall  not  prosper,  .^s  to  this  future  mansion  of  paradise,  we 
will  give  it  unto  them  who  seek  not  to  exalt  themselves  in  the  earth,  or  to 
do  wrong ;  for  the  happy  issue  shall  attend  the  pious.  Whoso  doth  good 
shall  receive  a  reward  which  shall  exceed  the  merit  thereof:  but  as  to  him 
who  doth  evil,  they  who  work  evil  shall  be  rewarded  according  to  the 
merit  only  of  that  which  they  shall  have  wrought.  Verily  he  who  hath 
given  thee  the  Koran  for  a  rule  of  faith  and  practice  will  certainly  bring 
thee  back  home  unto  Mecca.^  Say,  My  Lord  best  knoweth  who  cometh 
with  a  true  direction,  and  who  is  in  a  manifest  error.  Thou  didst  not  ex- 
pect that  the  book  of  the  Koran  should  be  delivered  unto  thee :  but  thou 
hast  received  it  through  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord.  Be  not  therefore  assist- 
ing to  the  unbelievers ;  neither  let  them  turn  thee  aside  from  the  signs  of 
God,  after  they  have  been  sent  down  unto  thee :  and  invite  men  unto  thy 
Lord.  And  be  not  thou  an  idolater ;  neither  invoke  any  other  god,  toge- 
ther with  the  true  God:  there  is  no  god  but  he.  Every  thing  shall  perish, 
except  himself:  unto  him  helongeth  judgment:  and  before  him  shall  ye  be 
assembled  at  the  last  day. 

law,  after  Moses  and  Aaron  ;  others  pretend  he  was  skilled  in  chemistry,  or  in  merchan- 
dizing, or  other  arts  of  gain  ;  and  others  suppose  (as  the  Jews  also  fable  M  that  he  found 
out  the  treasures  of  Joseph  in  Egypt.* 

*  It  is  said  he  rode  on  a  white  mule  adorned  with  trappings  of  gold,  and  that  he  was 
clothed  in  purple,  and  attended  by  four  thousand  men,  all  well  mounted  and  richly 
dressed. 

*  "  The  multitude  of  his  slaves  could  not  defend  him  against  the  arm  of  the  Almighty, 
and  he  had  no  avenger." — Savary. 

"  This  verse,  some  say,  was  revealed  to  Mohammed  when  he  arrived  at  Johfa,  in  his 
flight  from  Mecca  to  Medina,  to  comfort  him,  and  still  his  complaints. 

*  Vide  R.  Ghedal.  Shalsh.  hakkab.  p.  13.  »  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  AL  KORAN.  325 

CHAPTER   XXIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  SPIDER;"  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.' 

IN   THE   NAME    OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

A.  L.  M.*  Do  men  imagine  that  it  shall  be  sufficient  for  them*  to  say, 
We  believe  ;  will  they  not  be  proved  ? '  We  heretofore  proved  those  who 
mere  before  them ;  for  God  will  surely  know  them  who  are  sincere,  and  he 
will  surely  know  the  liars.  Do  they  who  work  evil  think  that  they  shall 
prevent  us  from  taking  vengeance  on  them?  An  ill  judgment  do  they 
make.  Whoso  hopeth  to  meet  God,  verily  God's  appointed  time  will  cer- 
tainly come ;  and  he  hoth  heareth  and  knoweth.  Whoever  striveth  to 
promote  the  true  religion,  striveth  for  the  advantage  of  his  own  soul ;  for  God 
needeth  not  any  of  his  creatures :  and  as  to  those  who  believe  and  work 
righteousness,  we  will  expiate  their  evil  deeds  from  them ;  and  we  will 
give  them  a  reward  according  to  the  utmost  merit  of  their  actions.  We 
have  commanded  man  to  show  kindness  towards  his  parents :  but  if  they 
endeavour  to  prevail  with  thee  to  associate  with  me  that  concerning  which 
thou  hast  no  knowledge,  obey  them  not.s  Unto  me  shall  ye  return  ;  and  I 
will  declare  unto  you  what  ye  have  done.  Those  who  shall  believe,  and 
shall  work  righteousness,  we  will  surely  introduce  into  paradise,  among  the 
upright.  There  are  some  men  who  say,  We  believe  in  God  :  but  when 
such  a  one  is  afflicted  for  God's  sake,  he  esteemeth  the  persecution  of  men 
to  he  as  grievous  as  the  punishment  of  God.  Yet  if  success  cometh  from 
thy  Lord,  they  say.  Verily  we  are  with  you.  Doth  not  God  well  know 
that  which  is  in  the  breasts  of  his  creatures }  Verily  God  well  knoweth 
the  true  believers,  and  he  well  knoweth  the  hypocrites.  The  unbelievers 
say  unto  those  who  believe,  Follow  our  way,  and  we  will  bear  your  sins. 
Howbeit  they  shall  not  bear  any  part  of  their  sins ;  for  they  are  liars :  but 
they  shall  surely  bear  their  own  burdens,  and  other  burdens  besides  their 
own  burdens  ;  ^  and  they  shall  be  examined,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  con- 

"  Transient  mention  is  made  of  this  insect  towards  the  middle  of  the  chapter. 

"=  Some  think  the  first  ten  verses,  ending  with  these  words,  And  he  well  knoweth  the 
hypocrites,  were  revealed  at  Medina,  and  the  rest  at  Mecca ;  and  others  believe  the  reverse. 

"*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

«  Literally,  That  they  shall  be  let  alone,  &c. 

'  This  passage  reprehends  the  impatience  of  some  of  the  prophet's  companions,  under 
the  hardships  which  they  sustained  in  defence  of  their  religion,  and  the  losses  which  they 
suffered  from  the  infidels  ;  representing  to  them  that  such  trials  and  afflictions  were  neces- 
sary to  distinguish  the  sincere  person  from  the  hypocrite,  and  the  steady  from  the  wavering. 
Some  suppose  it  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the  death  of  Mahja,  Omar's  slave,  killed  by 
an  arrow  at  the  battle  of  Bedr,  which  was  deeply  lamented  and  laid  to  heart  by  his  wife 
and  parents.^ 

e  That  is,  if  they  endeavour  to  pervert  thee  to  idolatry.  The  passage  is  said  to  have  been 
revealed  on  account  of  Saad  Ebn  Abi  Wakkas,  and  his  mother  Hamna,  who,  when  she 
heard  that  her  son  had  embraced  Mohammedism,  swore  that  she  would  neither  eat  nor 
'drink  till  he  returned  to  his  old  religion,  and  kept  her  oath  for  three  days.' 

*  viz.  The  guilt  of  seducing  others,  which  shall  be  added  to  the  guilt  of  their  own 
obstinacy,  without  diminishing  the  guilt  of  such  as  shall  be  seduced  by  them. 

*=  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 


326  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxix. 

cerning  that  which  they  have  falsely  devised.*  We  heretofore  sent  Noah 
unto  his  people;  and  he  tarried  among  them  one  thousand  years,  save  fifty 
years  :•  and  the  deluge  took  them  away,  while  they  were  acting  unjustly  ; 
but  we  delivered  him  and  those  who  were  in  the  ark,  and  we  made  the  same*^ 
a  sign  unto  all  creatures.  We  also  sent  Abraham  ;  when  he  said  unto  his  peo- 
ple, Serve  God,  and  fear  him  ;  this  loill  he  better  for  you  ;  if  ye  understand. 
Ye  only  worship  idols  besides  God,  and  forge  a  lie.  Verily  those  which  ye 
worship,  besides  God,  are  not  able  to  make  any  provision  for  you:  seek 
therefore  your  provision  from  God  ;  and  serve  him,  and  give  thanks  unto  him ; 
unto  him  shall  ye  return.  If  ye  charge  me  with  imposture,^  verily  sundry 
nations  before  you  likewise  charged  their  prophets  with  imposture :  but 
public  preaching  only  is  incmnbent  on  an  apostle.  Do  they  not  see  how 
God  produceth  creatures,  and  afterwards  restoreth  them  }  ™  Verily  this  is 
easy  with  God.|  Say,  go  through  the  earth,  and  see  how  he  originally 
produceth  creatures  :  afterwards  will  God  reproduce  another  production ; 
for  God  is  almighty.  He  will  punish  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  he  will  have 
mercy  on  whom  he  pleaseth.  Before  him  shall  ye  be  brought  at  the  day  of 
judgment :  and  ye  shall  not  escape  his  reach,  either  in  earth,  or  in  heaven  : " 
neither  shall  ye  have  any  patron  or  defender  besides  God.  ,^s  for  those 
who  believe  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  or  that  they  shall  meet  him  at  the 
resurrection,  they  shall  despair  of  my  mercy,  and  for  them  is  a  painful 
punishment  prepared.  And  the  answer  of  his  people  was  no  other  than  that 
they  said,  Slay  him,  or  burn  him.  But  God  saved  him  from  the  fire.° 
Verily  herein  were  signs  unto  people  who  believed.     And  Abraham  said, 

*  "  They  shall  bear  only  the  burden  of  their  own  iniquities,  and  at  the  day  of  resurrec- 
tion they  shall  be  called  on  to  answer  for  their  falsehood." — Savary. 

'  This  is  true,  if  the  whole  life  of  Noah  be  reckoned  ;  and  accordingly  Abu'lfeda  says 
he  was  sent  to  preach  in  his  two  hundred  and  fiftieth  year,  and  that  he  lived  in  all  nine 
hundred  and  fifty:  but  the  text  seeming  to  speak  of  those  years  only  which  he  spent  in 
preaching  to  the  wicked  antediluvians,  the  commentators  suppose  him  to  have  lived  much 
longer.  Some  say  the  whole  length  of  his  life  was  a  thousand  and  fifty  years ;  that  his 
mission  happened  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  and  that  he  lived  after  the  flood  sixty 
years :  ^  and  others  give  different  numbers ;  one,  in  particular,  pretending  that  Noah  lived 
uear  sixteen  hundred  years." 

This  circumstance,  says  al  Beidawi,  was  mentioned  to  encourage  Mohammed,  and 
to  assure  him  that  God,  who  supported  Noah  so  many  years  against  the  opposition  and 
plots  of  the  antediluvian  infidels,  would  not  fail  to  defend  him  against  all  attempts  of  the 
idolatrous  Meccans  and  their  partisans. 

^  i  e.  The  ark. 

'  This  seems  to  be  part  of  Abraham's  speech  to  his  people:  but  some  suppose  that  God 
here  speaks,  by  way  of  apostrophe,  first  to  the  Koreish,  and  afterwards  to  Mohammed ; 
and  that  the  parenthesis  is  continued  to  these  words,  And  the  answer  of  his  people  was  no 
other,  &c.  In  which  case  we  should  have  said,  If  ye  charge  Mohammed  your  apostle  with 
imposture,  &c. 

"  The  infidels  are  bid  to  consider  how  God  causeth  the  fruits  of  the  earth  to  spring 
forth,  and  reneweth  them  every  year,  as  in  the  preceding ;  which  is  an  argument  of  his 
power  to  raise  man,  whom  he  created  at  first,  to  life  again  after  death,  at  his  own  appointed 
time. 

t  "  Have  they  not  seen  how  God  produceth  a  creature  ?  It  is  thus  that  he  will  call  it 
to  life  again.     This  miracle  is  easy  unto  his  power."— »Sa vary 

"  See  Psalm  cxxxix.  7,  &c. 

"See  chap.  21,  p.  269. 

8  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakh.  '  Caab,  apud  Yahyam. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  AL  KORAN*  327 

Ye  have  taken  idols^  besides  God,  to  cement  affection  between  you  in  this 
life :  but  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  the  one  of  you  shall  deny  the  other, 
and  the  one  of  you  shall  curse  the  other;  and  your  abode  shall  be  hell  fire, 
and  there  shall  be  none  to  deliver  you.*  And  Lot  believed  on  him.  And 
Abraham  said.  Verily  I  ^y  from  my  people^  unto  the  place  which  my  Lord 
hath  commanded  me ;  for  he  is  the  mig-hty,  the  wise.  And  we  gave  him 
Isaac  and  Jacob ;  and  we  placed  among  his  descendants  the  gift  of  pro- 
phecy and  the  scriptures :  and  we  gave  him  his  reward  in  this  world ;  and 
in  the  next  he  shall  be  one  of  the  righteous.  We  also  sent  Lot ;  when  he 
said  unto  his  people,  Do  ye  commit  filthiness  which  no  creature  hath  com- 
mitted before  you  ?  Do  ye  approach  lustfully  unto  men,  and  lay  wait  in 
the  highways,?  and  commit  wickedness  in  your  assembly  ?i  And  the 
answer  of  his  people  was  no  other  than  that  they  said,  Bring  down  the 
vengeance  of  God  upon  us,  if  thou  speakest  truth.  Lot  said,  O  Lord, 
defend  me  against  the  corrupt  people.  And  when  our  messengers  came 
unto  Abraham  with  good  tidings,^  they  said,  We  will  surely  destroy  the  in- 
habitants of  this  city;  for  the  inhabitants  thereof  are  unjust  doers.  Abraham 
answered.  Verily  Lot  divelleth  there.  They  replied,  We  well  know  who 
dwclleth  therein  :  we  will  surely  deliver  him  and  his  family,  except  his 
wife;  she  shall  be  one  of  those  who  remain  behind.  And  when  our 
messengers  came  unto  Lot,  he  was  troubled  for  them,  and  his  arm  was 
straitened  concerning  them.^  But  they  said.  Fear  not,  neither  be  grieved ; 
for  we  will  deliver  thee  and  thy  family,  except  thy  wife ;  for  she  shall  be 
one  of  those  who  remain  behind.  We  will  surely  bring  down  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  this  city  vengeance  from  heaven,  for  that  they  have  been 
wicked  doers;  and  we  have  left  thereof  a  manifest  sign*  unto  people  who 
understand.  And  unto  the  inhabitants  of  Madian  we  sent  their  brother 
Shoaib ;  and  he  said  unto  them^  O  my  people,  serve  God,  and  expect  the 
last  day ;  and  transgress  not,  acting  corruptly  in  the  earth.  But  they  ac- 
cused him  of  imposture;  wherefore  a  storm  from  heaven"^  assailed  them,! 
and  in  the  morning  they  were  found  in  their  dwellings  dead  and  prostrate. 
And  we  also  destroyed  the  tribes  of  Ad,  and  Thamud ;  and  this  is  well  known 
unto  you  from  what  yet  remains  of  their  dwellings.  And  Satan  prepared 
their  works  for  them,  J  and  turned  them  aside  from  the  way  of  truth^ 
although  they  were  sagacious  people.     And  we  likewise  destroyed  Karun, 

*  "You  have  lavished,  said  he,  your  incense  and  your  love  on  impotent  deities:  at  the 
day  of  resurrection  one  part  of  you  shall  disown  the  other,  and  shall  load  it  with  curses. 
Your  abode  shall  be  hell,  and  ye  shall  not  find  a  defender." — Savary. 

p  Some  suppose  the  Sodomites  robbed  and  murdered  the  passengers ;  others,  that  they 
unnaturally  abused  their  bodies. 

'  Their  meetings  being  scenes  of  obscenity  and  riot. 

^See  chap.  11,  p.  182. 

^  See  ibid.  p.  183. 

■  viz.  The  story  of  its  destruction,  handed"  down  by  common  tradition  ;  or  else  its  ruins, 
or  some  other  footsteps  of  this  signal  judgment:  it  being  pretended  that  several  of  the 
stones,  which  fell  from  heaven  on  those  cities,  are  still  to  be  seen,  and  that  the  ground 
where  they  stood  appears  burnt  and  blackish. 

"  See  chap.  7,  p.  126. 

t  "  An  earthquake  caused  them  to  perish." — Savary. 

X  "  The  tempter  hid  vice  for  them  under  flowers." — Savary. 


328  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxix. 

and  Pharaoh,  and  Haman.  Moses  came  unto  them  with  evident  miracles, 
and  they  behaved  themselves  insolently  in  the  earth  :  but  they  could  not 
escape  our  vengeance.  Every  of  them  did  we  destroy  in  his  sin.  Against 
some  of  them  we  sent  a  violent  wind :  ^  some  of  them  did  a  terrible  noise 
from  heaven  destroy:^  some  of  them  did  we  cause  the  earth  to  swallow 
up  :y  and  some  of  them  we  drowned.^  Neither  was  God  disposed  to  treat 
them  unjustly;  but  they  dealt  unjustly  with  their  own  souls.  The  like- 
ness of  those  who  take  other  patrons  besides  God  is  as  the  likeness  of  the 
spider,  which  maketh  herself  a  house :  but  the  weakest  of  all  houses  surely 
is  the  house  of  the  spider;  if  they  knew  this.  Moreover  God  knoweth  what 
things  they  invoke,  besides  him ;  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise.  These 
similitudes  do  we  propound  unto  men :  but  none  understand  them,  except 
the  wise.  God  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  truth ;  verily 
herein  is  a  sign  unto  the  true  believers.  *[XXI.]  Rehearse  that  which  hath 
been  revealed  unto  thee  of  the  book  of  the  Koran  :  and  be  constant  at 
prayer;  for  prayer  preserveth  a  man  from  filthy  crimes,  and  from  that 
which  is  blameable ;  and  the  remembering  of  God  is  surely  a  most  im- 
portant duty.  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  do.  Dispute  not  against  those 
who  have  received  the  scriptures,  unless  in  the  mildest  manner :  *  except 
against  such  of  them  as  behave  injuriously  towards  you  :  and  say,  We 
believe  in  the  revelation  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  us,  and  also  in 
that  which  hath  been  sent  down  unto  you ;  our  God  and  your  God  is  one, 
and  unto  him  are  we  resigned.  Thus  have  we  sent  down  the  book  of  the 
Kordn  unto  thee  :  and  they  unto  whom  we  have  given  the  former  scrip- 
tures believe  therein ;  and  of  these  Arabians  also  there  is  who  believeth 
therein :  and  none  reject  our  signs,  except  the  obstinate  infidels.  Thou 
couldest  not  read  any  book  before  this;  neither  couldest  thou  write  it  with 
thy  right  hand  :  then  had  the  gainsayers  justly  doubted  of  the  divine  ori- 
ginal thereof.  But  the  same  is  evident  signs  in  the  breasts  of  those  who 
have  received  understanding :  for  none  reject  our  signs  except  the  unjust. 
They  say.  Unless  a  sign  be  sent  down  unto  him  from  his  Lord,  we  will  not 
believe.  Answer,  Signs  are  in  the  power  of  God  alone ;  and  I  am  no  more 
than  a  public  preacher.  Is  it  not  suflicient  for  them  that  we  have  sent 
down  unto  thee  the  book  of  the  Kordn,  to  be  read  unto  them  ?  Verily 
herein  is  a  mercy,  and  an  admonition  unto  people  who  believe.  Say,  God 
is  a  sufficient  witness  between  me  and  you  :  he  knoweth  whatever  is  in 
heaven  and  earth;  and  those  who  believe  in  vain  idols,  and  deny  God,  they 
shall  perish.  They  will  urge  thee  to  hasten  the  punishment  which  they  defy 
thee  to  bring  down  upon  them:^  i^  there  had  not  been  a  determined  time /or 

'  The  original  word  properly  signifies  a  wind  that  drives  the  gravel  and  small  stones  be- 
fore it ;  by  which  the  storm,  or  shower  of  stones,  which  destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
seems  to  be  intended. 

'■  Which  was  the  end  of  Ad  and  Thamud. 

'  As  it  did  Karun. 

*  As  the  unbelievers  in  Noah's  time,  and  Pharaoh  and  his  army. 

■  I.  e.  Without  ill  language,  or  passion.  This  verse  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
abrogated  by  that  of  the  sword  ;  though  some  think  it  relates  only  to  those  who  are  in 
alliance  with  the  Moslems. 

"  See  chap.  6,  p.  103. 


CHAP.  XXIX.  AL  KORAN.  329 

their  respite,  the  punishment  had  come  upon  them  before  this ;  but  it  shall 
surely  overtake  them  suddenly,  and  they  shall  not  foresee  it.  They  urge  * 
thee  to  bring  down  vengeance  swiftly  upon  them :  but  hell  shall  surely 
encompass  the  unbelievers.  On  a  certain  day  their  punishment  shall 
suddenly  assail  them,  both  from  above  them,  and  from  under  their  feet ; 
and  God  shall  say,  Taste  ye  the  reward  of  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  O 
my  servants  who  have  believed,  verily  my  earth  is  spacious  :  wherefore  serve 
me.*'  Every  soul  shall  taste  death  :  afterwards  shall  ye  return  unto  us  ;  and 
as  for  those  who  shall  have  believed,  and  wrought  righteousness,  we  will 
surely  lodge  them  in  the  higher  apartments  of  paradise  ;  *  rivers  shall  flow 
beneath  them,  and  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever.  How  excellent  will 
be  the  reward  of  the  workers  of  righteousness ;  who  persevere  with  patience, 
and  put  their  trust  in  their  Lord  !  How  many  beasts  are  there,  which  pro- 
vide not  their  food  .''  It  is  God  who  provideth  for  them,  and  for  you  ;  and 
he  both  heareth  and  knoweth.  Verily,  if  thou  ask  the  Meccans,  who  hath 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  hath  obliged  the  sun  and  the  moon 
to  serve  in  their  courses  f  they  will  answer,  God.  How  therefore  do  they 
lie,  in  acknowledging  of  other  gods  ?  God  maketh  abundant  provision  for 
such  of  his  servants  as  he  pleaseth  ;  and  is  sparing  unto  him,  if  he  pleaseth : 
for  God  knoweth  all  things."^  Verily  if  thou  ask  them,  who  sendeth  rain 
from  heaven,  and  thereby  quickeneth  the  earth,  after  it  hath  been  dead  ? 
they  will  answer,  God.  Say,  God  be  praised !  But  the  greater  part  of 
them  do  not  understand.  This  present  life  is  no  other  than  a  toy,  and  a 
plaything ;  but  the  future  mansion  of  paradise  is  life  indeed  :  if  they  knew 
this  they  would  not  prefer  the  former  to  the  latter.  When  they  sail  in  a 
ship,  they  call  upon  God,  sincerely  exhibiting  unto  him  the  true  religion : 
but  when  he  bringeth  them  safe  to  land,  behold,  they  return  to  their 
idolatry ;  to  show  themselves  ungrateful  for  that  which  we  have  bestowed 
on  them,  and  that  they  may  enjoy  ^Ae  delights  of  this  life ;  but  they  shall 
hereafter  know  the  issue.  Do  they  not  see  that  we  have  made  the  terri- 
tory of  Mecca  an  inviolable  and  secure  asylum,  when  men  are  spoiled  in 
the  countries  round  about  them  r|  Do  they  therefore  believe  in  that  which 
is  vain,  and  acknowledge  not  the  goodness  of  God  ?  But  who  is  more 
unjust  than  he  who  deviseth  a  lie  against  God,  or  denieth  the  truth,  when 
it  hath  come  unto  him  ?  Is  there  not  in  hell  an  abode  for  the  unbelievers  ? 
Whoever  do  their  utmost  endeavour  to  promote  our  true  religion,  we  will 
direct  them  into  our  ways ;  for  God  is  with  the  righteous. 

"=  That  is,  If  ye  cannot  serve  me  in  one  city  or  country,  fly  into  another,  where  ye  may 
profess  the  true  religion  in  safety  ;  for  the  earth  is  wide  enough,  and  ye  may  easily  find 
places  of  refuge.  Mohammed  is  said  to  have  declared,  That  whoever  flies  for  the  sake 
of  his  religion,  though  he  stir  but  the  distance  of  a  span,  merits  paradise,  and  shall  be  the 
companion  of  Abraham  and  of  himself/" 

*  "  Those  who  shall  have  professed  Islamism,  and  practised  charity,  shall  dwell  eter- 
nally in  the  garden  of  delights,  through  which  rivers  flow." — Savary. 

^  And  particularly  who  will  make  a  good,  and  who  will  make  a  bad,  use  of  their  riches. 

t  "  See  they  not  that  we  have  given  unto  them  a  secure  asylum,  while  the  men  who 
dwell  around  them  are  led  away  captive?" — Savary. 

"  Al  Beidawi. 
2f 


330  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XXX. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

INTITLED,  THE  GREEKS ;«  REVEALED  AT  MECCA/ 

IN  THE  NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL    GOD. 

A.  L.  M.s  The  Greeks  have  been  overcome  ly  the  Persians  ^  in  the 

*  The  original  word  is  al  Rum  ;  by  which  the  later  Greeks,  or  subjects  of  the  Constan- 
tinopoUtan  empire,  are  here  meant ;  though  the  Arabs  give  the  same  name  also  to  the 
Romans  and  other  Europeans. 

f  Some  except  the  verse  beginning  at  these  words,  Praise  be  unto  God. 

e  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

"  The  accomplishment  of  the  prophecy  contained  in  this  passage,  which  is  very  famous 
among  the  Mohammedans,  being  insisted  on  by  their  doctors  as  a  convincing  proof  that 
the  Koran  really  came  down  from  heaven,  it  may  be  excusable  to  be  a  little  particular. 

The  passage  is  said  to  have  been  revealed  on  occasion  of  a  great  victory  obtained  by  the 
Persians  over  the  Greeks,  the  news  whereof  coming  to  Mecca,  the  infidels  became  strangely 
elated,  and  began  to  abuse  Mohammed  and  his  followers,  imagining  that  this  success  of 
the  Persians,  who,  hke  themselves,  were  idolaters,  and  supposed  to  have  no  scriptures, 
against  the  Chistians,  who  pretended,  as  well  as  Mohammed,  to  worship  one  God,  and  to 
have  divine  scriptures,  was  an  earnest  of  their  own  future  successes  against  the  prophet  and 
those  of  his  religion  :  to  check  which  vain  hopes,  it  was  foretold,  in  the  words  of  the  text, 
that  how  improbable  soever  it  might  seem,  yet  the  scale  should  be  turned  in  a  few  years, 
and  the  vanquished  Greeks  prevail  as  remarkably  against  the  Persians. 

That  this  prophecy  was  exactly  fulfilled,  the  commentators  fail  not  to  observe,  though 
they  do  not  exactly  agree  in  the  accounts  they  give  of  its  accomplishment ;  the  number  of 
years  between  the  two  actions  being  not  precisely  determined.  Some  place  the  victory 
gained  by  the  Persians  in  the  fifth  year  before  the  Hejra,  and  their  defeat  by  the  Greeks 
in  the  second  year  after  it,  when  the  battle  of  Bedr  was  fought : '  others  place  the  former 
in  the  third  or  fourth  year  before  the  Hejra,  and  the  latter  in  the  end  of  the  sixth,  or 
beginning  of  the  seventh  year  after  it,  when  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiyah  was  under- 
taken.^ 

The  date  of  the  victory  gained  by  the  Greeks,  in  the  first  of  these  accounts,  interferes 
with  a  story  which  the  commentators  tell,  of  a  wager  laid  by  Abu  Beer  with  Obba  Ebn 
Khalf,  who  turned  this  prophecy  into  ridicule.  Abu  Beer  at  first  laid  ten  young  camels 
that  the  Persians  should  receive  an  overthrow  within  three  years ;  but  on  his  acquainting 
Mohammed  with  what  he  had  done,  that  prophet  told  him  that  the  word  bed,  made  use  of 
in  this  passage,  signified  no  determinate  number  of  years,  but  any  number  from  three  to 
nine  (though  some  suppose  the  tenth  year  is  included,)  and  therefore  advised  him  to  prolong 
the  time,  and  to  raise  the  wager  ;  which  he  accordingly  proposed  to  Obba,  and  they  agreed 
that  the  time  assigned  should  be  nine  years,  and  the  wager  a  hundred  camels.  Before  the 
time  was  elapsed,  Obba  died  of  a  wound  received  at  Ohod,  in  the  third  year  of  the  Hejra  ;' 
but  the  event  afterwards  showing  that  Abu  Beer  had  won,  he  received  the  camels  of 
Obba's  heirs,  and  brought  them  in  triumph  to  Mohammed.* 

History  informs  us  that  the  successes  of  Khosru  Parviz,  king  of  Persia,  who  carried  on 
a  terrible  war  against  the  Greek  empire,  to  revenge  the  death  of  Maurice  his  father-in-law, 
elain  by  Phocas,  were  very  great,  and  continued  in  an  uninterrupted  course  for  two  and 
twenty  years.  Particularly  in  the  year  of  Christ  615,  about  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  year 
before  the  Hejra,  the  Persians,  having  the  preceding  year  conquered  Syria,  made  themselves 
masters  of  Palestine,  and  took  Jerusalem  ;  which  seems  to  be  that  signal  advantage  gained 
over  the  Greeks  mentioned  in  this  passage,  as  agreeing  best  with  the  terms  here  used,  and 
most  likely  to  alarm  the  Arabs  by  reason  of  their  vicinity  to  the  scene  of  action  ;  and  there 
was  so  little  probability,  at  that  time,  of  the  Greeks  being  able  to  retrieve  their  losses,  much 
less  to  distress  the  Persians,  that  in  the  following  years  the  arms  of  the  latter  made  still 
farther  and  more  considerable  progresses,  and  at  length  they  laid  siege  to  Constantinople 
itself.  But  in  the  year  625,  in  which  the  fourth  year  of  the  Hejra  began,  about  ten  years 
after  the  taking  of  Jerusalem,  the  Greeks,  when  it  was  least  expected,  gained  a  remarkable 
victory  over  the  Persians,  and  not  only  obliged  them  to  quit  the  territories  of  the  empire,  by 
carrying  the  war  into  their  own  country,  but  drove  them  to  the  last  extremity,  and  spoiled 
the  capital  city  al  Madayen ;  Herachus  enjoying,  thence  forward,  a  continued  series  of 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  ^  Al  Zamakh,  al  Beidawi.  '  See  p.  298,  note  w.  *  Al 
Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 


CHAP.  XXX.  AL  KORAN.  331 

nearest  part  of  the  land ;  * '  but  after  their  defeat,  they  shall  overcome  the 
others  in  their  turn,  within  a  few  years.  Unto  God  helongeth  the  disposal 
of  this  matter,  both  for  what  is  past,  and  for  what  is  to  come :  and  on  that 
day  shall  the  believers  rejoice  in  the  success  granted  by  God  ;  for  he 
granteth  success  unto  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  mer- 
ciful. This  is  the  promise  of  God  :  God  will  not  act  contrary  to  his  pro- 
mise; bui  the  greater  part  of  men  know  not  the  veracity  of  God.  They 
know  the  outward  appearance  of  this  present  life ;  but  they  are  careless 
as  to  the  life  to  come.|  Do  they  not  consider  within  themselves  that 
God  hath  not  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  whatever  is  between 
them,  otherwise  than  in  truth,  and  hath  set  them  a  determined  period .'' 
Verily  a  great  number  of  men  reject  the  belief  of  their  future  meeting  their 
Lord  at  the  resurrection.  Do  they  not  pass  through  the  earth,  and  see 
what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  were  before  them  ^  They  excelled  the 
Meccans  in  strength,  and  broke  up  the  earth,  J '^  and  inhabited  it  in  greater 
affluence  and  prosperity  than  they  inhabit  the  same :  and  their  apostles 
came  unto  them  with  evident  miracles;  and  God  was  not  disposed  to 
treat  them  unjustly,  but  they  injured  their  own  souls  by  their  obstinate 
infidelity ;  and  the  end  of  those  who  had  done  evil  was  evil,  because  they 
charged  the  signs  of  God  with  falsehood,  and  laughed  the  same  to  scorn. 
God  produceth  creatures,  and  will  hereafter  restore  them  to  Ife :  then  shall 
ye  return  unto  him.  And  on  the  day  whereon  the  hour  shall  come,  the 
wicked  shall  be  struck  dumb  for  despair ;  and  they  shall  have  no  inter- 
cessors from  among  the  idols  which  they  associated  with  God.  And  they 
shall  deny  the  false  gods  which  they  associated  with  him.  On  the  day 
whereon  the  hour  shall  come,  on  that  day  shall  the  true  believers  and  the 
infidels  be  separated  :  and  they  who  shall  have  believed,  and  wrought 
righteousness,  shall  take  their  pleasure  in  a  delightful  meadow;  but  as  for 
those  who  shall  have  disbelieved,  and  rejected  our  signs,  and  the  meeting 
of  the  next  life,  they  shall  be  delivered  up  to  punishment.  Wherefore 
glorify  God,  when  the  evening  overtaketh  you,  and  when  ye  rise  in  the 
morning :  and  unto  him  be  praise  in  heaven  and  earth ;  and  at  sunset,  and 

good  fortune,  to  the  deposition  and  death  of  Khosru.  For  more  exact  information  on  these 
matters,  and  more  nicely  fixing  the  dates,  either  so  as  to  correspond  with,  or  to  overturn 
this  pretended  prophecy  (neither  of  which  is  my  business  here),  the  reader  may  have  re- 
course to  the  historians  and  chronologers.' 

*  "  They  have  been  defeated  on  the  frontier." — Savary. 

'  Some  interpreters,  supposing  that  the  land  here  meant  is  the  land  of  Arabia,  or  else 
that  of  the  Greelis,  place  the  scene  of  action  in  the  confines  of  Arabia  and  Syria,  near 
Bostra  and  Adhraat  ;^  others  imagine  the  land  of  Persia  is  intended,  and  lay  the  scene  ia 
Mesopotamia,  on  the  frontiers  of  that  kingdom:'  but  Ebn  Abbas,  with  more  probability, 
thinks  it  was  in  Palestine. 

t  "  Intoxicated  with  earthly  pleasures,  men  forget  the  life  which  is  to  come."— ^arary. 

X  "  Have  they  not  traversed  the  earth?  Have  they  not  seen  what  hath  been  the  fate 
of  the  ancient  nations?  More  powerful  than  they  are,  those  nations  have  lelt  there 
monuments  of  their  greatness.     They  have  dwelt  there  for  a  longer  period."— Savary. 

*  To  dig  for  water  and  minerals,  and  to  till  the  ground  for  seed,  &c.* 

»  Vide  etiam  Asseman.  Bibl.  Orient,  t,  3,  part  1,  p.  411,  &c.  et  Boulainv.  Vie  de  Mo- 
ham.  p.  333,  &c.       *  Yahya,  al  Beidawi.       '  Mojahed,  apud  Zamakh.       ^  Al  Beidawi. 


332  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxx. 

when  ye  rest  at  noon.^  He  bringeth  forth  the  living  out  of  the  dead,  and 
he  bringeth  forth  the  dead  out  of  the  living  ;•"  and  he  quickeneth  the 
earth  after  it  hath  been  dead :  and  in  like  manner  shall  ye  be  brought  forth 
from  your  graves.  Of  his  signs  one  is^  that  he  hath  created  you  of  dust ; 
and  behold,  ye  are  become  men,  spread  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  And 
of  his  signs  another  is,  that  he  hath  created  you,  out  of  yourselves,  wives, 
that  ye  may  cohabit  with  them;  and  hath  put  love  and  compassion  between 
you :  verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who  consider.  And  of  his  signs 
are  also  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  the  variety  of  your 
languages,  and  of  your  complexions :  °  verily  herein  are  signs  unto  men  of 
understanding.  And  of  his  signs  are  your  sleeping  by  night  and  by  day, 
and  your  seeking  to  provide  for  yourselves  of  his  abundance:  verily  herein 
are  signs  unto  people  who  hearken.  Of  his  signs  others  are,  that  he  showeth 
you  the  lightning,  to  strike  terror,  and  to  give  hope  of  rain,  and  that  he 
sendetli  down  water  from  heaven,  and  quickeneth  thereby  the  earth,  after 
it  hath  been  dead :  verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who  understand. 
And  of  his  signs  this  also  is  one,  namely,  that  the  heaven  and  the  earth 
stand  firm  at  command :  hereafter,  when  he  shall  call  you  out  of  the  earth 
at  one  summons,  behold,  ye  shall  come  forth.  Unto  him  are  subject  who- 
soever are  in  the  heavens  and  on  earth :  all  are  obedient  unto  him.  It  is 
he  who  originally  produceth  a  creature,  and  afterwards  restoreth  the  same 
to  life  :  and  this  is  most  easy  with  him.  He  justly  challengeth  the  most 
exalted  comparison,  in  heaven  and  earth ;  °  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise. 
He  propoundeth  unto  a  comparison  taken  from  yourselves.  Have  ye,  among 
the  slaves  whom  your  right  hands  possess,  any  partner  in  the  substance  which 
we  have  bestowed  on  you,  so  that  ye  become  equal  sharers  therein  with 
them,  or  that  ye  fear  them  as  ye  fear  one  another  ?p  Thus  we  distinctly  ex- 
plain our  signs,  unto  people  who  understand.  But  those  who  act  unjustly, 
hy  attributing  companions  unto  God,  follow  their  own  lusts,  without  know- 
ledge: and  who  shall  direct  him  whom  God  shall  cause  to  err.?  They  shall 
have  none  to  help  them.  Wherefore  be  thou  orthodox,  and  set  thy  face 
towards  the  true  religion,  the  institution  of  God,  to  which  he  hath  created 
mankind  disposed:*  there  is  no  change  in  what  God  hath  created.*     This 

'  Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  five  times  of  prayer  are  intended  in  this  passage  ;  the 
evening  including  the  time  both  of  the  prayer  of  sunset,  and  of  the  evening  prayer  pro- 
perly so  called,  and  (he  word  I  have  rendered  at  sunset,  marking  the  hour  of  afternoon 
prayer,  since  it  may  be  applied  also  to  the  time  a  little  before  sunset. 

■"  See  chap.  3,  p.  38. 

"  Which  are  certainly  most  vi^onderful,  and,  as  I  conceive,  very  hard  to  be  accounted 
for,  if  we  allow  the  several  nations  in  the  world  to  be  all  the  offspring  of  one  man,  as  we 
are  assured  by  scripture  they  are,  without  having  recourse  to  the  immediate  omnipotency 
of  God. 

°  That  is,  in  speaking  of  him  we  ought  to  make  use  of  the  most  noble  and  magnificent 
expressions  we  can  possibly  devise. 

PSee  chap.  16,  p.  220. 

*  "  Open  thy  heart  to  Islamism  ;  it  is  the  work  of  God,  who  hath  created  men  to  em- 
brace it :  it  is  the  holy  and  eternal  faith ;  but  the  greatest  part  of  mankind  are  plunged 
into  ignorance." — Savary. 

<»  i.  e.  The  immutable  law,  or  rule,  to  which  man  is  naturally  disposed  to  conform,  and 
which  every  one  would  embrace,  as  most  fit  for  a  rational  creature,  if  it  were  not  for  the 


CHAP.  Lxxx.  AL  KORAN.  333 

is  the  right  religion  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  men  know  it  not.  And  he  ye 
turned  unto  him,  and  fear  him,  and  be  constant  at  prayer,  and  be  not 
idolaters.  Of  those  who  have  made  a  schism  in  their  religion,  and 
are  divided  into  various  sects,  every  sect  rejoice  in  their  own  opinion. 
When  adversity  befalleth  men,  they  call  upon  their  Lord,  turning  unto 
him :  afterwards,  when  he  hath  caused  them  to  taste  of  his  mercy,  behold, 
a  part  of  them  associate  other  deities  with  their  Lord  :  to  show  themselves 
ungrateful  for  \he  favours  which  we  have  bestowed  on  them.  Enjoy  there- 
fore the  vain  pleasures  of  this  life ;  but  hereafter  shall  ye  know  the 
consequence.  Have  we  sent  down  unto  them  any  authority,  which  speaketh 
of  the  false  gods  which  they  associate  with  him  ?"■  When  we  cause  men  to 
taste  mercy,  they  rejoice  therein;  but  if  evil  befalleth  them,  for  that  which 
their  hands  have  before  committed,  behold,  they  despair.^  Do  they  not  see 
that  God  bestoweth  provision  abundantly  on  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  is 
sparing  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  f  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who 
believe.  Give  unto  him  who  is  of  kin  to  thee  his  reasonable  due  ;  and  also 
to  the  poor,  and  the  stranger  :  this  is  better  for  those  who  seek  the  face  of 
God  ;  and  they  shall  prosper.  Whatever  ye  shall  give  in  usury,*  to  be  an 
increase  of  men's  substance,  shall  not  be  increased  by  the  blessing  of  God  : 
but  whatever  ye  shall  give  in  alms,  for  God's  sake,  they  shall  receive  a  two- 
fold rewardJ^  It  is  God  who  hath  created  you,  and  hath  provided  food  for 
you :  hereafter  will  he  cause  you  to  die ;  and  after  that  will  he  raise  you 
again  to  life.  Is  there  any  of  your  false  gods,  who  is  able  to  do  the  least  of 
these  things  }  Praise  be  unto  him ;  and  far  be  he  removed  from  what  they 
associate  with  him  !  Corruption'^  hath  appeared  by  land  and  by  sea,  for  the 
crimes  which  men's  hands  have  committed;  that  it  might  make  them 
to  taste  ^  a  part  of  the  fruits  of  that  which  they  have  wrought,  that  perad- 
venture  they  might  turn  from  their  evil  loays.  Say,  Go  through  the  earth, 
and  see  what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  have  been  before  you  :  the 
greater  part  of  them  were  idolaters.  Set  thy  face  therefore  towards  the 
right  religion,  before  the  day  cometh,  which  none  can  put  back  from  God. 
On  that  day  shall  they  be  separated  into  two  companies  :  whoever  shall 
have  been  an  unbeliever,  on  him  shall  his  unbelief  he  charged ;  and  who- 
ever shall  have  done  that  which  is  right,  shall  spread  themselves  couches  of 
repose  in  paradise  ;  that  he  may  reward  those  who  shall  believe,  and  work 

prejudices  of  education.  The  Mohammedans  have  a  tradition  that  their  prophet  used 
to  say,  That  every  person  is  horn  7ialurally  disposed  to  become  a  Moslem ;  hut  ttiat  a  man^s 
parents  make  Jam  a  Jew,  a  Christian,  or  a  Magian. 

'  That  is,  have  we  either  by  the  mouth  of  any  prophet,  or  by  any  written  revelation, 
commanded  or  encouraged  the  worship  of  more  gods  than  one  ? 

'  And  seek  not  to  regain  the  favour  of  God  by  timely  repentance. 

'  Or  by  way  of  bribe.    The  word  may  include  any  sort  of  extortion  or  illicit  gain. 

"  The  alms  which  ye  shall  give,  in  the  hope  of  deserving  to  view  his  presence,  shall 
be  multiplied  a  hundred  fold." — Savary. 

"  viz.  Mischief  and  public  calamities ;  such  as  famine,  pestilence,  droughts,  shipwrecks, 
&.C.,  or  erroneous  doctrines,  or  a  general  depravity  of  manners. 

'  Some  copies  read,  in  the  first  oerson  plural,  That  we  might  cause  them  to  taste,  Sec. 


334  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxx. 

righteousness,  of  his  abundant  liberality ;  for  he  loveth  not  the  unbelievers. 
Of  his  signs  one  is,  that  he  sendeth  the  winds,  bearing  welcome  tidings  of 
rain^  that  he  may  cause  you  to  taste  of  his  mercy ;  and  that  ships  may  sail 
at  his  command,  that  ye  may  seek  to  enrich  yourselves  of  his  abundance  by 
commerce ;  and  that  ye  may  give  thanks.  We  sent  apostles,  before  thee, 
unto  their  respective  people,  and  they  came  unto  them  with  evident  proofs  : 
and  we  took  vengeance  on  those  who  did  wickedly;  and  it  was  incumbent 
on  us  to  assist  the  true  believers.  It  is  God  who  sendeth  the  winds,  and 
raiseth  the  clouds,  and  spreadeth  the  same  in  the  heaven,  as  he  pleaseth ; 
and  afterwards  disperseth  the  same  :  and  thou  mayest  see  the  rain  issuing 
from  the  midst  thereof;  and  when  he  poureth  the  same  down  on  such  of 
his  servants  as  he  pleaseth,  behold,  they  are  filled  with  joy ;  although  before 
it  was  sent  down  unto  them,  before  such  relief  they  were  despairing.  Con- 
sider therefore  the  traces  of  God's  mercy ;  how  he  quickeneth  the  earth, 
after  its  state  of  death :  verily  the  same  will  raise  the  dead ;  for  he  is 
almighty.  Yet  if  we  should  send  a  blasting  wind,  and  they  should  see  their 
corn  yellow  and  burnt  up,  they  would  surely  become  ungrateful,  after  our 
former  favours.  Thou  canst  not  make  the  dead  to  hear,  neither  canst  thou 
make  the  deaf  to  hear  thy  call,  when  they  retire  and  turn  their  backs; 
neither  canst  thou  direct  the  blind  out  of  their  error  :  thou  shalt  make  none 
to  hear,  except  him  who  shall  believe  in  our  signs ;  for  they  are  resigned 
unto  us.  It  is  God  who  created  you  in  weakness,  and  after  weakness  hath 
given  you  strength ;  and  after  strength,  he  will  again  reduce  you  to  weak- 
ness, and  gi'ey  hairs  :  he  createth  that  which  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  is  the 
wise,  the  powerful.  On  the  day  whereon  the  last  hour  shall  come, 
the  wicked  will  swear  that  they  have  not  tarried*  above  an  hour:  in  like 
manner  did  they  utter  lies  in  their  lifetime.  But  those  on  whom  knowledge 
hath  been  bestowed,  and  faith,  will  say.  Ye  have  tarried,  according  to  the 
book  of  God,'^  until  the  day  of  resurrection ;  for  this  is  the  day  of  resurrec- 
tion ;  but  ye  knew  it  not.  On  that  day  their  excuse  shall  not  avail  those 
who  have  acted  unjustly ;  neither  shall  they  be  invited  any  more  to  make 
themselves  acceptable  unto  God.  And  now  have  we  propounded  unto  men, 
in  this  Koran,  parables  of  every  kind  :  yet  if  thou  bring  them  a  verse  there- 
of* the  unbelievers  will  surely  say,  Ye  are  no  other  than  publishers  of  vain 
falsehoods.  Thus  hath  God  sealed  up  the  hearts  of  those  who  believe 
not:!  But  do  thou,  O  Mohammed,  persevere  with  constancy,  for  God 
is  true ;  and  let  not  those  induce  thee  to  waver,  who  have  no  certain 
knowledge. 

y  viz.  Ill  the  world  or  in  their  graves.    See  chap.  23,  p.  286. 

*  That  is,  according  to  his  foreknowledge  and  decree  in  the  preserved  Table;  or  accord- 
ing to  what  is  said  in  the  Koran,  where  the  state  of  the  dead  is  expressed  by  these  words,^ 
Behind  them  there  shall  he  a  bar,  until  the  day  of  resurrection.^^ 

*  "  The  Koran  offers  multiplied  examples  unto  men  ;  but  when  a  miracle  is  displayed, 
the  unbeliever  will  exclaim,  it  is  an  imposture  !" — Savary. 

t  "It  is  thus  that  God  sealeth  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  bhnded  by  ignorance.'" — 
Savary. 

»  Chap.  23,  p.  285.  «» AI  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  xxxn.  AL  KORAN.  335 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

INTITLED,  LOGMAN;'  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

A.  L.  M.""  These  are  the  signs  of  the  wise  book,  a  direction,  and  a 
mercy  unto  the  righteous ;  who  observe  the  appointed  times  of  prayer,  and 
give  alms,  and  have  firm  assurance  in  the  life  to  come :  these  are  directed 
by  their  Lord,  and  they  shall  prosper.  There  is  a  man  who  purchaseth  a 
ludicrous  story ,'^  that  he  may  seduce  men  from  the  way  of  God,  without 
knowledge,  and  may  laugh  the  same  to  scorn  :  these  shall  suffer  a  shameful 
punishment.*  And  when  our  signs  are  rehearsed  unto  him,  he  disdain- 
fully turneth  his  back  as  though  he  heard  them  not,  as  thougli  there  were 
a  deafness  in  his  ears  :  wherefore  denounce  unto  him  a  grievous  punish- 
ment. But  they  who  shall  believe  and  work  righteousness,  shall  enjoy 
gardens  of  pleasure  :  they  shall  continue  therein  for  ever :  tkis  is  the 
certain  promise  of  God  ;  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise.  He  hath  created 
the  heavens  without  visible  pillars  to  sustain  them^  and  thrown  on  the  earth 
mountains  firmly  rooted,  lest  it  should  move  with  you ;  ^  and  he  hath  re- 
plenished the  same  with  all  kinds  of  beasts :  and  we  send  down  rain  from 
heaven,  and  cause  every  kind  of  noble  vegetable  to  spring  forth  therein. 
This  is  the  creation  of  God  :  show  me  now  what  they  have  created,  who 
are  worshipped  besides  him }  verily  the  ungodly  are  in  a  manifest  error."]" 
We  heretofore  bestowed  wisdom  on  Lokman,^  and  commanded  him,  saying, 

*  The  chapter  is  so  entitled  from  a  person  of  this  name  mentioned  therein,  of  whom 
more  immediately. 

^  Some  except  the  fourth  verse,  beginning  at  these  words.  Who  observe  the  appointed 
times  of  prayer,  and  give  alms,  &c.  And  others  three  verses,  beginning  at  these  words, 
If  all  the  trees  in  the  earth  were  pens,  &c. 

■=  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

■*  i.  e.  Vain  and  silly  fables.  The  passage  was  revealed,  it  is  said,  on  occasion  of  al 
Nodar  Ebn  al  Hareth,  who,  having  brought  from  Persia  the  romance  of  Rostam  and 
Isfandiyar,  the  two  heroes  of  that  country,  recited  it  in  the  assemblies  of  the  Koreish, 
highly  extolling  the  power  and  splendour  of  the  ancient  Persian  kings,  and  preferring  their 
stories  to  those  of  Ad  and  Thamud,  David  and  Solomon,  and  the  rest  which  are  told  in 
the  Koran.  Some  say  that  al  Nodar  bought  singing  girls,  and  carried  them  to  those  who 
were  inclined  to  become  Moslems,  to  divert  them  from  their  purpose  by  songs  and  tales.^ 

*  "  There  are  men,  who,  making  a  mock  of  religion,  purchase  frivolous  stories,  cal- 
culated to  seduce  their  fellow-creatures,  and  to  turn  them  aside  from  the  right  path.  A 
shameful  punishment  shall  be  their  reward." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  16,  p.  215.  A  learned  writer,^  in  his  notes  on  this  passage,  says  the  original 
word  rawdsiya,  which  the  commentators  in  general  will  have  to  signify  stable  mountains, 
seems  properly  to  express  the  Hebrew  word  mechonim,  i.  e.  bases  or  foundations  ;  and 
therefore  he  thinks  the  Koran  has  here  translated  that  passage  of  the  Psalms,  He  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  earth,  that  it  should  not  be  moved  for  ever.  This  is  not  the  only  instance 
which  might  be  given,  that  the  Mohammedan  doctors  are  not  always  the  best  interpreters 
of  their  own  scriptures. 

t  "Behold  his  creation.  Show  me  that  which  your  idols  have  called  forth  from  nothing. 
The  wicked  are  involved  in  darkness." — Savary. 

'  The  Arab  writers  say,  that  Lokman  was  the  son  of  Baiira,  who  was  the  son  or  grand- 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Gol.  in  Append,  ad  Erpenii  Gram.  p.  187.  ^  Psal.  civ.  5. 


336  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxxi. 

Be  thou  thankful  unto  God  :  for  whoever  is  thankful,  shall  be  thankful  to 
ihe  advantage  of  his  own  soul ;  and  if  any  shall  be  unthankful,  verily 
God  is  self-sufficient,  and  worthy  to  be  praised.  And  remember  when 
Lokman  said  unto  his  son,s  as  he  admonished  him.  Oh  my  son,  give  not  a 
partner  unto  God  ;  for  polytheism  is  a  great  impiety.  We  have  com- 
manded man  concerning  his  parents^  (his  mother  carrieth  him  in  her  ivomh 
with  weakness  and  faintness,*  and  he  is  weaned  in  two  years),  saying,  Be 
grateful  unto  me,  and  to  thy  parents.  Unto  me  shall  all  come  to  be  judged. 
But  if  thy  parents  endeavour  to  prevail  on  thee  to  associate  with  me  that  con- 
cerning which  thou  hast  no  knowledge,  obey  them  not :  bear  them  company 
in  this  world  in  what  shall  be  reasonable  ; '  but  follow  the  way  of  him  who 
sincerely  turneth  unto  me.^  Hereafter  unto  me  shall  ye  return,  and  then 
will  I  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  done.  Oh  my  son,  verily  every 
matter,  ivhcther  good  or  had,  though  it  be  of  the  weight  of  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed,  and  be  hidden  in  a  rock,  or  in  the  heavens,  or  in  the  earth. 


son  of  a  sister  or  aunt  of  Job ;  and  that  he  lived  several  centuries,  and  to  the  time  of  David, 
with  whom  he  was  conversant  in  Palestine.  According  to  the  description  they  give  of  his 
person,  he  must  have  been  deformed  enough  ;  for  they  say  he  was  of  a  black  complexion 
(whence  some  call  him  an  Ethiopian),  with  thick  lips,  and  splay  feet :  but  in  return,  he 
received  from  God  wisdom  and  eloquence  in  a  great  degree ;  which  some  pretend  were 
given  him  in  a  vision,  on  his  making  choice  of  wisdom  preferably  to  the  gift  of  prophecy 
either  of  which  were  offered  him.  The  generahty  of  the  Mohammedans,  therefore,  hold 
him  to  have  been  no  prophet,  but  only  a  wise  man.  As  to  his  condition,  they  say  he  was 
a  slave,  but  obtained  his  liberty  on  the  following  occasion.  His  master  having  one  day 
given  him  a  bitter  melon  to  eat,  he  paid  him  such  exact  obedience  as  to  eat  it  all ;  at  which 
nis  master  being  surprised,  asked  how  he  could  eat  so  nauseous  a  fruit  ?  To  which  he  re- 
plied, it  was  no  wonder  that  he  should  for  once  accept  a  bitter  fruit  from  the  same  hand 
from  which  he  had  received  so  many  favours."  The  commentators  mention  several  quick 
repartees  of  Lokman,  which,  together  with  the  circumstances  above-mentioned,  agree  so 
well  with  what  Maximus  Planudes  has  written  of  Esop,  that  from  thence,  and  from  the 
fables  attributed  to  Lokman  by  the  orientals,  the  latter  has  been  generally  thought  to  be 
no  other  than  the  Esop  of  the  Greeks.  However  that  be  (for  I  think  the  matter  will  bear 
a  dispute),  I  am  of  opinion  that  Planudes  borrowed  ^reat  part  of  his  life  of  Esop  from  the 
traditions  he  met  with  in  the  East  concerning  Lokman,  concluding  them  to  have  been  the 
same  person,  because  they  were  both  slaves,  and  supposed  to  be  the  writers  of  those 
fables  which  go  under  their  respective  names,  and  bear  a  great  resemblance  to  one  another ; 
for  it  has  long  since  been  observed  by  learned  men,  that  the  greater  part  of  that  monk's 
performance  is  an  absurd  romance,  and  supported  by  no  evidence  of  the  ancient  writers.* 

6  Whom  some  name  Anam  (which  comes  pretty  near  the  Ennus  of  Planudes),  some 
Ashcan,  and  others  Mathan. 

^  The  two  verses  which  begin  at  these  words,  and  end  with  the  following,  viz. :  And 
then  will  I  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  do?ie,  are  no  part  of  Lokman's  advice  to  his 
son,  but  are  inserted  by  way  of  parenthesis,  as  very  pertinent  and  proper  to  be  repeated 
here,  to  show  the  heinousness  of  idolatry :  they  are  to  be  read  (excepting  some  additions) 
in  the  twenty -ninth  chapter,  and  were  originally  revealed  on  account  of  Saad  Ebn  Abi 
Wakkas,  as  has  been  already  observed.^ 

*  "  We  have  prescribed  sacred  duties  unto  man,  for  him  to  perform  towards  the  authors 
of  his  existence.  He  has  been  borne,  with  numerous  pains,  in  the  womb  of  his  mother. 
He  has  been  suckled  for  two  years.  Mortals,  be  grateful  for  our  benefits  ;  be  beneficent 
unto  your  parents.     I  am  the  end  of  all  things." — Savary. 

*  That  is,  Show  them  all  deference  and  obedience,  so  far  as  may  be  consistent  with  thy 
duty  towards  God. 

^  The  person  particularly  meant  here  was  Abu  Beer,  at  whose  persuasion  Saad  had  be- 
come a  Moslem. 

*  AI  Zamakh.  al  Beidawi,  &c.  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient,  p.  516,  et  Marracc.  in 
Ale.  p.  547.  "  Vide  la  Vie  d'Esope,  par  M.  de  Meziriac,  et  Bayle,  Diet.  Hist.  Art. 
Esope.     Rem.  B.  ^  See  chap.  29,  p.  325,  and  the  notes  thereon. 


CHAP.  XXXI.  AL  KORAN.  337 

God  will  bring  the  same  to  light ;  for  God  is  clear-sighted  and  knowing. 
Oh  my  son,  be  constant  at  prayer,  and  command  that  which  is  just,  and 
forbid  that  which  is  evil :  and  be  patient  under  the  afflictions  which  shall 
befall  thee;  for  this  is  a  duty  absolutely  incumbent  on  all  men*  Distort 
not  thy  face  out  of  contempt  to  men,  neither  walk  in  the  earth  with 
insolence;  for  God  loveth  no  arrogant,  vain-glorious  person.  And  be 
moderate  in  thy  pace ;  and  lower  thy  voice ;  for  the  most  ungrateful  of  all 
voices  surely  is  the  voice  of  asses.^  Do  ye  not  see  that  God  hath  subjected 
whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  to  your  service,  and  hath  abundantly 
poured  on  you  his  favours,  both  outwardly  and  inwardly  ?  ™  There  are 
some  who  dispute  concerning  God  without  knowledge,  and  without  a 
direction,  and  without  an  enlightening  book.  And  when  it  is  said  unto 
them.  Follow  that  which  God  hath  revealed,  they  answer,  Nay,  we  will 
follow  that  which  we  found  our  fathers  to  practise.  What,  though  the 
devil  invite  them  to  the  torment  of  hell  ?  Whosoever  resigneth  himself 
unto  God,  being  a  worker  of  righteousness,  taketh  hold  on  a  strong 
handle;!  and  unto  God  helongeth  the  issue  of  all  things.  But  whoever 
shall  be  an  unbeliever,  let  not  his  unbelief  grieve  thee :  unto  us  shall  they 
return ;  then  will  we  declare  unto  them  that  which  they  have  done,  for 
God  knoweth  the  innermost  parts  of  the  breasts  of  men.  We  wall  suffer 
them  to  enjoy  this  world  for  a  little  while :  afterwards  we  will  drive  them 
to  a  severe  punishment.  If  thou  ask  them  who  hath  created  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  they  will  surely  answer,  God.  Say,  God  be  praised!  but 
the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  understand.  Unto  God  belongeth  whatever 
is  in  heaven  and  earth :  for  God  is  the  self-sufficient,  the  praise-worthy. 
If  whatever  trees  are  in  the  earth  were  pens,  and  he  should  after  that  swell 
the  sea  into  seven  seas  of  ink,  the  words  of  God  would  not  be  exhausted ;  "^ 
for  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  Your  creation  and  your  resuscitation  are  but 
as  the  creation  and  resuscitation  of  one  soul :  °  verily  God  6o//iheareth  and 
seeth.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  causeth  the  night  to  succeed  the  day, 
and  causeth  the  day  to  succeed  the  night,  and  compelleth  the  sun  and  the 
moon  to  serve  you?  Each  of  those  luminaries  hasteneth  in  its  course  to  a 
determined  period  :  and  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do. 
This  is  declared  concerning  the  divine  knowledge  and  power^iox  that  God  is 
the  true  Being,  and  for  that  whatever  ye  invoke,  besides  him,  is  vanity ; 
and  for  that  God  is  the  high,  the  great  God.     Dost  thou  not  see  that  the 

*  "Bear  patiently  the  calamities  which  befall  thee.  They  are  a  consequence  of  the 
eternal  decrees." — Savary. 

'  To  the  braying  of  which  animal  the  Arabs  liken  a  loud  and  disagreeable  voice. 

^  i.  e.  All  kinds  of  blessings,  regarding  as  well  the  mind  as  the  body. 

t  "  He  who  hath  devoted  his  heart  unto  Islamism  and  unto  virtue  hath  seized  hold  of  an 
immoveable  pillar.     He  is  supported  upon  God,  the  end  of  all  things." — Savary. 

"  This  passage  is  said  to  have  been  revealed  in  answer  to  the  Jews,  who  insisted  that 
all  knowledge  was  contained  in  the  law.'' 

»  God  being  able  to  produce  a  million  of  worlds  by  the  single  word  Kun,  i.  e.  Be,  and 
to  raise  the  dead  in  general  by  the  single  word  Kum,  i.  e.  Arise. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


338  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxii. 

ships  run  in  the  sea,  through  the  favour  of  God,  that  he  may  show  you  of 
his  signs  ?  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  every  patient,  grateful  person. 
When  waves  cover  them,  like  overshadowing  clouds,  they  call  upon  God, 
exhibiting  the  pure  religion  unto  him  ;  *  but  when  he  bringeth  them  safe  to 
land,  fhere  is  of  them  who  halteth  between  the  true  faith  and  idolatry. 
Howbeit,  none  rejecteth  our  signs,  except  every  perfidious,  ungrateful 
person.  O  men,  fear  your  Lord,  and  dread  the  day  whereon  a  father  shall 
not  make  satisfaction  for  his  son,  neither  shall  a  son  make  satisfaction 
for  his  father  at  all :  the  promise  of  God  is  assuredly  true.  Let  not  this 
present  life,  therefore,  deceive  you ;  neither  let  the  deceiver  p  deceive  you 
concerning  God.  Verily  the  knowledge  of  the  hour  of  judgment  is  with 
God  ;  and  he  causeth  the  rain  to  descend  at  his  otcn  appointed  time ;  and 
he  knoweth  what  is  in  the  wombs  of  females.  No  soul  knoweth  what  it 
shall  gain  on  the  morrow ;  neither  doth  any  soul  know  in  what  land  it 
shall  die : «  but  God  is  knowing  and  fully  acquainted  with  all  things. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 
INTITLED,  ADORATION  r  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

A.  L.  M.*  The  revelation  of  this  book,  there  is  no  doubt  thereof,  is 
from  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.^  Will  they  say,  Mohammed  hath  forged 
it?  Nay  it  is  the  truth  from  thy  Lord,  that  thou  mayest  preach  to  a 
people,  unto  whom  no  preacher  hath  come  before  thee ;  *  peradventure  they 
will  be  directed.  It  is  God  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth, 
and  whatever  is  between  them,  in  six  days ;  and  then  ascended  his  throne. 
Ye  have  no  patron  or  intercessor  besides  him.     Will  ye  not  therefore  con- 

*  "  When  the  billows  cover  the  ship,  like  gloomy  mountains,  the  mariners  call  upon 
the  name  of  God;  they  manifest  unto  him  a  sincere  faith." — Savary. 

P  viz.  The  devil. 

">  In  this  passage  five  things  are  enumerated  which  are  known  to  God  alone  :  viz.  The 
time  of  the  day  of  judgment ;  the  time  of  rain  ;  what  is  forming  in  the  womb,  as  whether 
it  be  male  or  female,  &c. ;  what  shall  happen  on  the  morrow;  and  where  any  person 
shall  die.  These  the  Arabs,  according  to  a  tradition  of  their  prophet,  call  the  Jive  keys  of 
secret  knowledge.  The  passage,  it  is  said,  was  occasioned  by  al  Hareth  Ebn  Amru,  who 
propounded  questions  of  this  nature  to  Mohammed. 

As  to  the  last  particular,  al  Beidawi  relates  the  following  story.  The  angel  of  death 
passing  once  by  Solomon  in  a  visible  shape,  and  looking  at  one  who  was  sitting  with  him, 
the  man  asked  who  he  was,  and  upon  Solomon's  acquainting  him  that  it  was  the  angel 
of  death,  said,  He  seems  to  want  me  ;  wherefore  order  the  wind  to  carry  me  from  hence 
into  India:  which  being  accordingly  done,  the  angel  said  to  Solomon,  I  looked  so  earn- 
estly at  the  man  out  of  wonder ;  because  I  was  commanded  to  take  his  soul  in  India,  and 
found  him  with  thee  in  Palestine. 

^  This  title  is  taken  from  the  middle  of  the  chapter,  where  the  believers  are  said  to  fall 
down  adoring. 

*  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

t  ' '  The  Sovereign  of  the  universe  hath  caused  the  Koran  to  descend  from  heaven. 
This  book  ought  to  leave  no  doubt." — Savary. 
'  See  chap.  28,  p.  321. 


CHAP.  XXXII.  AL  KORAN.  339 

sider?  He  governeth  aZZ  things  from  heaven  even  to  the  earth:  hereafter 
shall  they  return  unto  him,  on  the  day  whose  length  shall  be  a  thousand 
years,"  of  those  which  ye  compute.  This  is  he  who  knoweth  the  future, 
and  the  present ;  the  mighty,  the  merciful.  It  is  he  who  hath  made  every 
thing  which  he  hath  created  exceeding  good;  and  first  created  man  of  clay, 
and  afterwards  made  his  posterity  of  an  extract  of  despicable  water;''  and 
then  formed  him  into  proj^er  shape,  and  breathed  of  his  spirit  into  him;  and 
hath  given  you  the  senses  of  hearing  and  seeing,  and  hearts  to  understand. 
How  small  thanks  do  ye  return  !  And  they  say.  When  we  shall  lie  hidden 
in  the  earth,  shall  we  be  raised  thence  a  new  creature?  Yea,  they  deny  the 
meeting  of  their  Lord  at  the  resurrection.  Say,  The  angel  of  death, ^  wlio 
is  set  over  you,  shall  cause  you  to  die :  then  shall  ye  be  brought  back  unto 
your  Lord.  If  thou  couldest  see,  when  the  wicked  shall  bow  down  their 
heads  before  their  Lord,  saying,  O  Lord,  we  have  seen,  and  have  heard : 
suffer  us  therefore  to  return  into  the  world,  and  we  will  work  that  which  is 
right ;  since  we  are  now  certain  of  the  truth  of  what  hath  been  preached  to 
us :  thou  woiddest  see  an  amazing  sight.  If  we  had  pleased  we  had  certainly 
given  unto  every  soul  its  direction :  but  the  word  which  hath  proceeded 
from  me  must  necessarily  be  fulfilled,  when  I  said,  Verily  I  will  fill  hell 
with  genii  and  men,  altogether.'^  Taste  therefore  the  torment  prepared  for 
you,  because  ye  have  forgotten  the  coming  of  this  your  day :  we  also  have 
forgotten  you ;  taste  therefore  the  punishment  of  eternal  duration,  for  that 
which  ye  have  wrought.  Verily  they  only  believe  in  our  signs,  who,  when 
they  are  warned  thereby,  fall  down  adoring,  and  celebrate  the  praise  of  their 
Lord,  and  are  not  elated  with  pride ;  their  sides  are  raised  from  their  beds, 
calling  on  their  Lord  with  fear  and  with  hope ;  and  they  distribute  alms 
out  of  what  we  have  bestowed  on  them.  No  soul  ^  knoweth  the  complete 
satisfaction  *  which  is  secretly  prepared  for  them,  as  a  reward  for  that  which 

"  As  to  the  reconciliation  of  this  passage  with  another/  which  seems  contradictory,  see 
the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  60. 

Some,  however,  do  not  interpret  the  passage  before  us  of  the  resurrection,  but  suppose 
that  the  words  here  describe  the  making  and  executing  of  the  decrees  of  God,  which  are 
sent  down  from  heaven  to  earth,  and  are  returned  (or  ascend,  as  the  verb  properly  sig- 
nifies,) back  to  him,  after  they  have  been  put  in  execution ;  and  present  themselves,  as  it 
were,  so  executed,  to  his  knowledge,  in  the  space  of  a  day  with  God,  but  with  man,  of 
a  thousand  years.  Others  imagine  this  space  to  be  the  time  which  the  angels,  who  carry 
the  divine  decrees,  and  bring  them  back  executed,  take  in  descending  and  re-ascending, 
because  the  distance  from  heaven  to  earth  is  a  journey  of  five  hundred  years :  and  others 
fancy  that  the  angels  bring  down  at  once  decrees  for  a  thousand  years  to  come,  which 
being  expired,  they  return  back  for  fresh  orders,  (Soc." 

'  i.  e.  Seed. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  51. 

^  See  chap.  7,  p.  119,  and  chap.  11,  p.  186. 

y  Not  even  an  angel  of  those  who  approach  nearest  God's  throne,  nor  any  prophet  who 
hath  been  sent  by  him.' 

»  Literally,  The  joy  of  the  eyes.  The  commentators  fail  not,  on  occasion  of  this  passage, 
to  produce  that  saying  of  their  prophet,  which  was  originally  none  of  his  own;  God  saitk, 
I  have  prepared  for  my  risxhteous  servants  what  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  hath  ear  heard,  no:- 
hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive. 

*  Chap.  70.  "  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


340  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxxn. 

they  have  wrought.  Shall  he,  therefore,  who  is  a  true  believer,  he  as  he 
who  is  an  impious  transgressor .''  They  shall  not  be  held  equal.  As  to 
those  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is  right,  they  shall  have  gardens  of 
perpetual  abode,  an  ample  recompense  for  that  which  they  shall  have 
wrought :  but  as  for  those  who  impiously  transgress,  their  abode  shall  be 
hell  fire ;  so  often  as  they  shall  endeavour  to  get  thereout,  they  shall  be 
dragged  back  into  the  same,  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them.  Taste  ye  the 
torment  of  hell  fire,  which  ye  rejected  as  a  falsehood.  And  we  will  cause 
them  to  taste  the  nearer  punishment  of  this  world,  besides  the  more  grievous 
punishment  of  the  next ;  peradventure  they  will  repent.  Who  is  more 
unjust  than  he  who  is  warned  by  the  signs  of  his  Lord,  and  then  turneth 
aside  from  the  same }  We  will  surely  take  vengeance  on  the  wicked.  We 
heretofore  delivered  the  book  of  the  law  unto  Moses;  wherefore  be  not  thou 
in  doubt  as  to  the  revelation  thereof: "  and  we  ordained  the  same  to  he  a 
direction  unto  the  children  of  Israel ;  and  we  appointed  teachers  from 
among  them,  who  should  direct  the  people  at  our  command,  when  they  had 
persevered  with  patience,  and  had  firmly  believed  in  our  signs.  Verily  thy 
Lord  will  judge  between  them,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  concerning  that 
wherein  they  have  disagreed.  Js  it  not  known  unto  them  how  many 
generations  we  have  destroyed  before  them,  through  whose  dwellings  they 
walk  ?  ^  Verily  herein  are  signs  :  will  they  not  therefore  hearken  }  Do 
they  not  see  that  we  drive  rain  unto  a  land  bare  of  grass  and  parched  up, 
and  thereby  produce  corn,  of  which  their  cattle  eat,  and  themselves  also  ? 
Will  they  not  therefore  regard  ?  The  infidels  say  to  the  true  believers, 
When  will  this  decision  he  made  between  us,  if  ye  speak  truth  .?  Answer, 
On  the  day  of  that  decision,*^  the  faith  of  those  who  shall  have  disbelieved 
shall  not  avail  them ;  neither  shall  they  be  respited  any  longer.  Where- 
fore avoid  them,  and  expect  the  issue  :  verily  they  expect  to  obtain  some 
advantage  over  thee. 

»  Or,  as  some  interpret  it,  of  the  revelation  of  the  Koran  to  thyself;  since  the  delivery 
of  the  law  to  Moses  proves  that  the  revelation  of  the  Koran  to  thee  is  not  the  first  instance 
of  the  kind.  Others  think  the  words  should  be  translated  thus,  Be  not  thou  in  doubt  as  to 
thy  meeting  of  that  prophet,  supposing  that  the  interview  between  Moses  and  Mohammed 
in"  the  sixth  heaven,  when  the  latter  took  his  night  journey  thither,  is  here  intended.^ 

"  The  Meccans  frequently  passing  by  the  places  where  the  Adites,  Thamudites, 
Midianites,  Sodomites,  &c.  once  dwelt. 

'■  That  is.  On  the  day  of  judgment:  though  some  suppose  the  day  here  intended  to  be 
that  of  the  victory  of  Bedr,  or  else  that  of  the  taking  of  Mecca,  when  several  of  those  who 
had  been  proscribed  were  put  to  death  without  remission.^ 

»  Al  Beidawi.  =*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  39. 


CHAP,  xxxin.  AL  KORAN.  341 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  CONFEDERATES;"   REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  Prophet,  fear  God,  and  obey  not  the  unbelievers  and  the  hypocrites  :^ 
verily  God  is  knowing  a7id  wise.  But  follow  that  which  is  revealed  unto 
thee  from  thy  Lord  ;  for  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do  : 
and  put  thy  trust  in  God  ;  for  God  is  a  sufficient  protector.*  God  hath 
not  given  a  man  two  hearts  within  him  ;  neither  hath  he  made  your  wives 
(some  of  whom  ye  divorce,  regarding  them  thereafter  as  your  mothers) 
your  true  mothers ;  nor  hath  he  made  your  adopted  sons  your  true  sons.^ 
This  is  your  saying  in  your  mouths :  but  God  speaketh  the  truth ;  and  he 
directed  the  right  way.  Call  such  as  are  adopted,  the  sons  of  their  natural 
fathers  :  this  will  be  more  just  in  the  sight  of  God.  And  if  ye  know  not 
their  fathers,  let  them  he  as  your  brethren  in  religion,  and  your  companions : 
and  it  shall  be  no  crime  in  you,  that  ye  errs  in  this  matter  ;|  but  that  shall 
he  criminal  which  your  hearts  purposely  design ;  for  God  is  gracious  and 

^  Part  of  this  chapter  was  revealed  on  occasion  of  the  Avar  of  the  Ditch,  which  happened 
in  the  fifth  year  of  the  Hejra,  when  Medina  was  besieged,  for  above  twenty  days,  by  the 
joint  and  confederate  forces  of  several  Jewish  tribes,  and  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mecca,  Najd, 
and  Tehama,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Jews  of  the  tribe  of  Nadhir,  who  had  been  driven 
out  of  their  settlement  near  Medina,  by  Mohammed,  the  year  before.* 

*  It  is  related  that  Abu  Sofian,  Acrema  Abn  Abi  Jahl,  and  Abu'l  A'war  al  Salami, 
having  an  amicable  interview  with  Mohammed,  at  which  were  present  also  Abdallah  Ebn 
Obba,  Moatteb  Ebn  Kosheir,  and  Jadd  Ebn  Kais,  they  proposed  to  the  prophet,  that  if  he 
would  leave  off  preaching  against  the  worship  of  their  gods,  and  acknowledge  them  to  be 
mediators,  they  would  give  him  and  his  Lord  no  farther  disturbance  ;  upon  which  these 
words  were  revealed.' 

*  "  Put  thy  confidence  in  him.     His  protection  is  a  powerful  shield." — Savary. 

'  This  passage  was  revealed  to  abolish  two  customs  among  the  old  Arabs.  The  first 
was  their  manner  of  divorcing  their  wives,  when  they  had  no  mind  to  let  them  go  out  of 
their  house,  or  to  marry  again  :  and  this  the  husband  did  by  saying  to  the  woman,  Thou 
art  henceforward  to  me  as  the  back  of  my  mother;  after  which  words  pronounced  he  ab- 
stained from  her  bed,  and  regarded  her  in  all  respects  as  his  mother,  and  she  became 
related  to  all  his  kindred  in  the  same  degree  as  if  she  had  been  really  so.  The  other  cus- 
tom was  the  holding  their  adopted  sons  to  be  as  nearly  related  to  them  as  their  natural 
sons,  so  that  the  same  impediments  of  marriage  arose  from  that  supposed  relation,  in  the 
prohibited  degrees,  as  it  would  have  done  in  the  case  of  a  genuine  son.  The  latter  Mo- 
hammed had  a  peculiar  reason  to  abolish,  viz.  his  marrying  the  divorced  wife  of  his  freed 
man  Zeid,  who  was  also  his  adopted  son;  of  which  more  will  be  said  by  and  by.  By  the 
declaration  which  introduces  this  passage,  that  God  has  not  given  a  man  txoo  hearts,  is 
meant,  that  a  man  cannot  have  the  same  afiection  for  supposed  parents,  and  adopted 
children,  as  for  those  who  are  really  so.  They  tell  us  the  Arabs  used  to  say,  of  a  pru- 
dent and  acute  person,  that  he  had  two  hearts;  whence  one  Abu  Mamer,  or,  as  others 
write,  Jemil  Ebn  Asad  al  Fihri,  was  surnamed  Dhu'lkalbein,  or  the  man  with  two 
hearts.^ 

e  Through  ignorance  or  mistake  ;  or,  That  ye  have  erred  for  the  time  past, 
t  "  Restore  your  adopted  sons  unto  their  fathers.     This  action  is  equitable  in  the  sight 
of  God.     If  ye  know  not  the  authors  of  their  existence,  let  religion  impel  you  to  cherish 
them  as  your  brothers,  as  your  kindred.     If  by  an  involuntary  error  ye  deviate  from  the 
precept,  it  shall  not  render  you  culpable."— Savary. 

^  Vide  Abu'lfedae  Vit.  Moh.  p.  73,  et  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Mohammed,  hb.  4.  c.  L  '  Al 
Beidawi.  *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 


342  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxiii. 

merciful.  The  prophet  is  nigher  unto  the  true  believers  than  their  own 
souls  ;•>*  and  his  wives  are  their  mothers.^  Those  who  are  related  by  con- 
sanguinity are  nigher  of  kin  the  one  of  them  unto  the  others,  according  to 
the  book  of  God,  than  the  other  true  believers,  and  the  Mohajerun  :  *"  unless 
that  ye  do  what  is  fitting  and  reasonable  to  your  relations  in  general.  This 
is  written  in  the  book  of  God}  Ilememher  when  we  accepted  their  covenant 
from  the  prophets,"*  and  from  thee,  O  Mohammed^  and  from  Noah,  and 
Abraham,  and  Moses,  and  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary,  and  received  from 
them  a  firm  covenant;"  that  God  may  examine  the  speakers  of  truth 
concerning  their  veracity:"  and  he  hath  prepared  a  painful  torment  for 
the  unbelievers.  O  true  believers,  remember  the  favour  of  God  towards 
you,  when  armies  of  infidels  came  against  you,p  and  we  sent  against 
them  a  wind,  and  hosts  of  angels  which  ye  saw  not :  i  and  God  beheld  that 

'^  Commanding  them  nothing  but  what  is  for  their  interest  and  advantage,  and  being 
more  solicitous  ior  their  present  and  future  happiness  even  than  themselves ;  for  which 
reason  he  ought  to  be  dear  to  them,  and  deserves  their  utmost  love  and  respect.  In 
some  copies  these  words  are  added,  A7id  he  is  a  father  unto  them;  every  prophet  being 
the  spiritual  father  of  his  people,  who  are  therefore  brethren.  It  is  said  that  this  passage 
was  revealed  on  some  of  Mohammed's  followers  teUing  him,  when  he  summoned  them 
to  attend  him  in  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,''  that  they  would  ask  leave  of  their  fathers  and 
mothers. * 

*  "  The  prophet  loveth  the  true  believers  more  than  they  love  themselves." — Savary. 

'  Though  the  spiritual  relation  between  Mohammed  and  his  people  declared  in  the  pre- 
ceding words,  created  no  impediment  to  prevent  his  taking  to  wife  such  women  among 
them  as  he  thought  fit ;  yet  the  commentators  are  of  opinion  that  they  are  here  forbidden 
to  marry  any  of  his  wives.^ 

^  These  words,  which  also  occur,  excepting  the  latter  part  of  the  sentence,  in  the  eighth 
chapter,  abrogate  that  law  concerning  inheritances  published  in  the  same  chapter,  whereby 
the  Mohajerun  and  Ansars  were  to  be  the  heirs  of  one  another,  exclusive  of  their  nearer 
relations  who  were  infidels.* 

'  i.  e.  In  the  preserved  Table,  or  the  Koran ;  or,  as  others  suppose,  in  the  Pentateuch. 

"  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  this  covenant  was  made  when  Adam's  posterity  were  drawn 
forth  from  his  loins,  and  appeared  before  God  hke  small  ants ;  '^  but  Marracci  conjectures 
that  the  covenant  here  meant  was  the  same  which  the  Talmudists  pretend  all  the  prophets 
entered  into  with  God  on  Mount  Sinai,  where  they  were  all  assembled  in  person  with 
Moses.^* 

°  Whereby  they  undertook  to  execute  their  several  commissions,  and  promised  to  preach 
the  religion  commanded  them  by  God. 

"  i.  e.  That  he  may  at  the  day  of  judgment  demand  of  the  prophets  in  what  manner 
they  executed  their  several  commissions,  and  how  they  were  received  by  their  people  ; 
or,  as  the  words  may  also  import,  that  he  may  examine  those  who  believed  on  them,  con- 
cerning their  belief,  and  reward  them  accordingly. 

P  These  were  the  forces  of  the  Koreish  and  the  tribe  of  Ghatfan,  confederated  with  the 
Jews  of  al  Nadhir  and  Koreidha,  who  besieged  Medina  to  the  number  of  twelve  thousand 
men,  in  the  expedition  called  the  war  of  the  ditch. 

'  On  the  enemies'  approach,  Mohammed,  by  the  advice  of  Salman  the  Persian,  ordered 
a  deep  ditch  or  entrenchment  to  be  dug  round  Medina,  for  the  security  of  the  city,  and 
went  out  to  defend  it  with  three  thousand  men.  Both  sides  remained  in  their  camps  near 
a  month,  without  any  other  acts  of  hostility  than  shooting  of  arrows  and  slinging  of  stones ; 
till,  in  a  winter's  night,  God  sent  a  piercing  cold  east  wind,  which  benumbed  the  limbs  of 
the  confederates,  blew  the  dust  in  their  faces,  extinguished  their  fires,  overturned  their  tents, 
and  put  their  horses  in  disorder,  the  angels  at  the  same  time  crying  Allah  achar  round  about 
their  camp  ;  whereupon  Toleiha  Ebn  Khowailed,  the  Asadite,  said  aloud,  Mohammed  is 
going  to  attack  you  with  enchantments,  wherefore  provide  for  your  safety  by  flight:  and 
accordingly  the  Koreish  first,  and  afterwards  the  Ghatfanites,  broke  up  the  siege,  and 
returned  home  ;  which  retreat  was  also  not  a  little  owing  to  the  dissensions  among  the  con- 
federate forces,  the  raising  and  fomenting  whereof  the  Mohammedans  also  ascribe  to  God. 

'  See  chap.  9,  p.  154.  « Al  Beidawi.  "  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  vi.  p.  98. 

'  See  chap.  8,  p.  147.  =>  See  chap.  7,  p.  135.  '  See  chap.  3,  p.  46. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  AL  KORAN.  343 

which  ye  did.  When  they  came  against  you  from  above  you,  and 
from  below  you/  and  when  your  sight  became  troubled,  and  your  hearts 
came  even  to  your  throats  for  fear^  and  ye  imagined  of  God  various 
imaginations.*  There  were  the  faithful  tried,  and  made  to  tremble 
with  a  violent  trembling.  And  when  the  hypocrites,  and  those  in 
whose  heart  was  an  infirmity,  said,  God  and  his  apostle  have  made  you  no 
other  than  a  fallacious  promise.*  And  when  a  party  of  them^  said, 
O  inhabitants  of  Yathreb,>  there  is  no  place  of  security  for  you  here ; 
wherefore  return  ho?ne.  And  a  part  of  them  asked  leave  of  the  prophet  to 
depart,  saying.  Verily  our  houses  are  defenceless  and  exposed  to  the  enemy: 
but  they  were  not  defenceless ;  and  their  intention  was  no  other  than  to 
fly.  If  the  city  had  been  entered  upon  them  by  the  enemy  from  the  parts 
adjacent,  and  they  had  been  asked  to  desert  the  true  believers,  and  to  fight 
against  them ;  they  had  surely  consented  thereto  :  but  they  had  not,  in  such 
case^  remained  in  the  same,^  but  a  little  while.  They  had  before  made  a 
covenant  with  God,  that  they  would  not  turn  their  backs  :  ^  and  the  per- 
formance of  their  covenant  with  God  shall  be  examined  into  hereafter.  Say, 
Flight  shall  not  profit  you,  if  ye  fly  from  death  or  from  slaughter  :  and  if  it 
ivould^  yet  shall  ye  not  enjoy  this  world  but  a  little.*  Say,  Who  is  he  who 
shall  defend  you  against  God,  if  he  is  pleased  to  bring  evil  on  you,  or  is 
pleased  to  show  mercy  towards  you }  They  shall  find  none  to  patronize 
or  protect  them,  besides  God.  God  already  knoweth  those  among  you  who 
hinder  others  from  following  his  apostle^  and  who  say  unto  their  brethren, 
Come  hither  unto  us ;  and  who  come  not  to  battle,  except  a  little  :  '^  being 

It  is  related  that  when  Mohammed  heard  that  his  enemies  were  retired,  he  said,  /  have 
obtained  success  by  means  of  the  east  wind;  and  Ad  perished  by  the  west  wind.* 

'  The  Ghatfanites  pitched  on  the  east  side  of  the  town,  on  the  higher  part  of  the  valley  ; 
and  the  Koreish  on  the  west  side,  on  the  lower  part  of  the  valley.* 

*  The  sincere  and  those  who  were  more  firm  of  heart  fearing  they  should  not  be  able 
to  stand  the  trial ;  and  the  weaker-hearted  and  hypocrites  thinking  themselves  delivered 
up  to  slaughter  and  destruction. 

*  The  person  who  uttered  these  words,  it  is  said,  was  Moatteb  Ebn  Kosheir,  who  told 
his  fellows  that  Mohammed  had  promised  them  the  spoils  of  the  Persians  and  the  Greeks, 
whereas  now  not  one  of  them  dared  to  stir  out  of  their  intrenchment,® 

°  viz.  Aws  Ebn  Keidhi,  and  his  adherents. 

"  This  was  the  ancient  and  proper  name  of  Medina,  or  of  the  territory  wherein  it  stands. 
Some  suppose  the  town  was  so  named  from  its  founder,  Yathreb,  the  son  of  Kabiya,  the 
son  of  Mahlayel,  the  son  of  Aram,  the  son  of  Sem^  the  son  of  Noah ;  though  others  tell 
us  it  was  built  by  the  Anialekites.'' 

^  i.  e.  In  the  city ;  or,  in  their  apostacy  and  rebellion,  because  the  Moslems  would  surely 
succeed  at  last. 

yThe  persons  meant  here  were  Banu,  Hareth,  &c.  who  having  behaved  very  ill  and 
run  away  on  a  certain  occasion,  promised  they  would  do  so  no  more.^ 

*  "  Say  unto  them,  Flight  will  be  useless  unto  you.  You  have  believed  that  you  could 
avoid  death,  by  shunning  the  battle;  but  little  shall  ye  benefit  by  your  cowardice. "— 
Savary. 

^  Either  coming  to  the  army  in  small  numbers ;  or  staying  with  them  but  a  little  while, 
and  then  returning  on  some  feigned  excuse:  or  behaving  ill  in  time  of  action.  Some 
expositors  take  these  words  to  be  part  of  the  speech  of  the  hypocrites,  reflecting  on 
Mohammed's  companions  for  lying  idle  in  the  trenches,  and  not  attacking  the  enemy. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  77,  &c.  '  Idem.  «  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Abulf. 
ubi  sup.  p.  76.        ■"  Ahmed  Ebn  Yusof.     See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  3.        «  Al  Beidawi, 


344  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxni. 

covetous  towards  you  :  =*  but  when  fear  cometh  on  them,  thou  seest  them 
look  unto  lliee  for  assistance,  their  eyes  rolling  about  like  the  eyes  of  'him 
who  fainteth  by  reason  oi  the  agonies  of  death  :  yet  when  their  fear  is  past, 
they  inveigh  against  you  with  sharp  tongues ;  being  covetous  of  the  best 
and  most  valuable  part  of  the  spoils.  These  believe  not  sincerely;  wherefore 
God  halh  rendered  their  works  of  no  avail ;  and  this  is  easy  with  God. 
They  imagined  that  the  confederates  would  not  depart  and  raise  the  siege: 
and  if  the  confederates  should  come  another  time,  they  would  wish  to  live 
in  the  deserts  among  the  Arabs  who  dwell  in  tents,*  and  there  to  inquire 
after  news  concerning  you  ;  and  although  they  were  with  you  this  time,  yet 
they  fought  not,  except  a  little.*  Ye  have  in  the  apostle  of  God  an 
excellent  example,''  unto  him  who  hopeth  in  God,  and  the  last  day,  and 
remembereth  God  frequently.  When  the  true  believers  saw  the  confede- 
rates,! they  said.  This  is  what  God  and  his  apostle  have  foretold  us ;  **  and 
God  and  his  apostle  have  spoken  the  truth :  and  it  only  increased  their 
faith  and  resignation.  Of  the  true  believers  some  men  justly  performed 
what  they  had  promised  unto  God  ;  ^  and  some  of  them  have  finished  their 
course,*"  and  some  of  them  wait  the  same  advantage;  s  and  they  changed  not 
their  promise  by  deviating  therefrom  in  the  least :  that  God  may  reward  the 
just  performers  of  their  covenant  for  their  fidelity;  and  may  punish  the 
hypocritical,  if  he  pleaseth,  or  may  be  turned  unto  them ;  for  God  is  ready 
to  forgive,  and  merciful.  God  hath  driven  back  the  infidels  in  their  wrath  : 
they  obtained  no  advantage ;  and  God  was  a  sufficient  protector  unto  the 
faithful  in  battle ;  for  God  is  strong  and  mighty.  And  he  hath  caused  such 
of  those  who  have  received  the  scriptures,  as  assisted  the  confederates,  to 

'  i.  e.  Sparing  of  their  assistance  either  in  person  or  with  their  purse ;  or,  being  greedy 
after  the  booty. 

*•  That  they  might  be  absent,  and  not  obliged  to  go  to  Avar. 

*  "  God  knoweth  those  who  stop  the  beUevers,  and  who  engage  them  to  follow  their 
party.  Few  are  there  who  march  under  the  banner  of  the  faith.  They  are  jealous  of 
your  happiness.  In  the  midst  of  alarms  thou  seest  them  turn  their  looks  toward  the  pro- 
phet, and  roll  their  eyes  like  unto  him  who  is  environed  by  the  shadow  of  death.  Scarcely 
are  their  fears  dispelled,  before,  inspired  by  envy,  they  rend  thee  with  their  keen-edged 
tongues.  They  have  no  faith.  God  will  annihilate  their  works.  This  is  easy  unto  God. 
The  conspirators  imagined  themselves  to  be  invincible.  If  they  return,  they  will  join 
with  the  Arabs  of  the  desert.  They  watch  your  doings.  Were  they  to  be  of  your  party, 
few  among  them  would  march  under  your  banner." — Savary. 

"  viz.  Of  firmness  in  time  of  danger,  of  confidence  in  the  divine  assistance,  and  of  piety 
by  fervent  prayer  for  the  same. 

t  "  At  the  sight  of  the  conspirators,  the  believers  exclaimed." — Savary. 

<*  Namely,  that  we  must  not  expect  to  enter  paradise,  without  undergoing  some  triala 
and  tribulations.*  There  is  a  tradition  that  Mohammed  actually  foretold  this  expedition 
of  the  confederates  some  time  before,  and  the  success  of  it.' 

^  By  standing  firm  with  the  prophet,  and  strenuously  opposing  the  enemies  of  the  true 
rehgion,  according  to  their  engagement. 

f  Or,  as  the  words  may  be  translated,  have  fulfilled  their  vow,  or  paid  their  debt  to  nature, 
by  felling  martyrs  in  battle  ;  as  did  Hamza,  Mohammed's  uncle,  Masab  Ebn  Oraair,  and 
Ans  Ebn  al  Nadr,^  who  were  slain  at  the  battle  of  Ohod.  The  martyrs  at  the  war  of  the 
ditch  were  six,  including  Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  who  died  of  his  wound  about  a  month  after.' 

«  As  Othman  and  Telha.* 

^  See  chap.  2,  p.  24  ;  chap.  3,  p.  52 ;  chap.  29,  p.  325,  &c.  *  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 
»  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  79.        "  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP,  xxxin.  AL  KORAN.  345 

come  down  out  of  their  fortresses,^  and  he  cast  into  their  hearts  terror  and 
dismay  : '  a  part  of  them  ye  slew,  and  a  part  ye  made  captives ;  and  God 
hath  caused  you  to  inherit  their  land,  and  their  houses,  and  their  wealth,'' 
and  a  land  on  which  ye  have  not  trodden; ^  for  God  is  almighty.  O  prophet, 
say  unto  thy  wives,  If  ye  seek  this  present  life,  and  the  pomp  thereof,  come, 
I  will  make  a  handsome  provision  for  you,  and  I  will  dismiss  you  with  an 
honourable  dismission;*"  but  if  ye  seek  God  and  his  apostle,  and  the  life 
to  come,  verily  God  hath  prepared  for  such  of  you  as  work  righteousness 
a  great  reward.  O  wives  of  the  prophet,  whosoever  of  you  shall  commit 
a  manifest  wickedness,  the  punishment  thereof  shall  be  doubled  unto  her 

■■  These  were  the  Jews  of  the  tribe  of  Koreidha,  who,  though  they  were  in  league  with 
Mohammed,  had,  at  the  incessant  persuasion  of  Caab  Ebn  Asad,  a  principal  man  among 
them,  perfidiously  gone  over  to  his  enemies  in  this  war  of  the  ditch  ;  and  were  severely 
punished  for  it.  For  the  next  morning  after  the  confederate  forces  had  decamped,  Mo- 
hammed and  his  men  returned  to  Medina,  and  laying  down  their  arms,  began  to  refresh 
themselves  after  their  fatigue ;  upon  which  Gabriel  came  to  the  prophet,  and  asked  him 
whether  he  had  suffered  his  people  to  lay  down  their  arms,  when  the  angels  had  not  laid 
down  theirs  ;  and  ordered  him  to  go  immediately  against  the  Koradhites,  assuring  him  that 
himself  would  lead  the  way.  Mohammed,  in  obedience  to  the  divine  command,  having 
caused  public  proclamation  to  be  made  that  every  one  should  pray  that  afternoon  for  suc- 
cess against  the  sons  of  Koreidha,  set  forward  on  the  expedition  without  loss  of  time  ;  and 
being  arrived  at  the  fortress  of  the  Koradhites,  besieged  them  for  twenty-five  days  ;  at  the 
end  of  which  those  people,  being  in  great  terror  and  distress,  capitulated,  and  at  length, 
not  daring  to  trust  to  Mohammed's  mercy,  surrendered  at  the  discretion  of  Saad  Ebn 
Moadh,'  hoping  that  he,  being  the  prince  of  the  tribe  of  Aws,  their  old  friends  and  con- 
federates, would  have  some  regard  for  them  :  but  they  were  deceived ;  for  Saad,  being 
greatly  incensed  at  their  breach  of  faith,  had  begged  of  God  that  he  might  not  die  of  the 
wound  he  had  received  at  the  ditch,  till  he  saw  vengeance  taken  on  the  Koradhites,  and 
therefore  adjudged  that  the  men  should  be  put  to  the  sword,  the  women  and  children 
made  slaves,  and  their  goods  be  divided  among  the  Moslems;  which  sentence  Mohammed 
had  no  sooner  heard,  than  he  cried  out,  J^hat  Saad  had  pronounced  the  sentence  of  God  : 
and  the  same  was  accordingly  executed,  the  number  of  the  men  who  were  slain  amount- 
ing to  six  hundred,  or,  as  others  say,  to  seven  hundred,  or  very  near;  among  whom  were 
Hoyai  Ebn  Akhtab,  a  great  enemy  of  Mohammed's,  and  Caab  Ebn  Asad,  who  had  been 
the  chief  occasion  of  the  revolt  of  their  tribe  ;  and  soon  after  Saad  wljo  had  given  judg- 
ment against  them  died,  his  wound,  which  had  been  skinned  over,  opening  again.® 

'  This  was  the  work  of  Gabriel,  who,  according  to  his  promise,  went  before  the  army 
of  Moslems.  It  is  said  that  Mohammed,  a  little  before  he  came  to  the  settlement  of  the 
Koradhites,  asking  some  of  his  men  whether  any  body  had  passed  them,  they  answered, 
that  Dohya  Ebn  Kholeifa  the  Calbite  had  just  passed  by  them,  mounted  on  a  white  mule, 
with  housings  of  satin :  to  which  he  replied,  That  person  was  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  is 
sent  to  the  sons  of  Koreida,  to  shake  their  castles,  and  to  strike  their  hearts  with  fear  and 
consternation.'' 

^  Their  immoveable  possessions  Mohammed  gave  to  the  Mohajerin,  saying,  that  the 
Ansars  were  in  their  own  houses,  but  that  the  others  were  destitute  of  habitations.  The 
moveables  were  divided  among  his  followers,  but  he  remitted  the  fifth  part,  which  was 
usual  to  be  taken  in  other  cases.* 

'  By  which  some  suppose  Persia  and  Greece  are  meant;  others,  Khaibar :  and  others, 
whatever  lands  the  Moslems  may  conquer  till  the  day  of  judgment.* 

■^  This  pnssage  was  revealed  on  Mohammed's  wives  asking  for  more  sumptuous  clothes, 
and  an  additional  allowance  for  their  expenses  :  and  he  had  no  sooner  received  it,  than  he 
gave  them  their  option,  either  to  continue  with  him,  or  to  be  divorced,  beginning  with 
Ayesha,  who  chose  God  and  his  apostle,  and  the  rest  followed  her  example  ;  upon  which 
the  prophet  thanked  them,  and  the  following  words  were  revealed  ;  viz.  It  shall  not  be 
lawful  for  thee  to  take  other  women  to  wife  hereafter,^  &,c.  From  hence  some  have  con- 
cluded, that  a  wife  who  has  her  option  given  her,  and  chooses  to  stay  with  her  husband, 
shall  not  be  divorced  ;  though  others  are  of  a  contrary  opinion.'' 


»  See  chap.  8,  p.  142. 

«  Al  Beidawi, 

,  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  77,  &c. 

Vide  Gagnier, 

Vie  de  Mob.  lib.  4,  c.  2. 

'  Ebn  Ishak. 

«  Al  Beidawi.         » Idem. 

'  See  after, 

in  this  chap.  p.  349. 

'  Al  Beidawi. 

2g 

346  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxiii. 

twofold;"  and  this  is  easy  with  God:  *[XXII.]  but  whosoever  of  you 
shall  be  obedient  unto  God  and  his  apostle,  and  shall  do  that  which  is 
right,  we  will  give  her  her  reward  twice,"  and  we  have  prepared  for  her  an 
honourable  provision  in  paradise.  0  wives  of  the  prophet,  ye  are  not  as 
other  women :  if  ye  fear  God^  be  not  too  complaisant  in  speech,  lest  he 
should  covet,  in  whose  heart  is  a  disease  of  incontinence ;  but  speak  the 
speech  which  is  convenient.*  And  sit  still  in  your  houses ;  and  set  not  out 
yourselves  with  the  ostentation  of  the  former  time  of  ignorance  :  v  and  ob- 
serve the  appointed  times  of  prayer,  and  give  alms  ;  and  obey  God,  and 
his  apostle ;  for  God  desireth  only  to  remove  from  you  the  abomination  of 
vanity,  since  ye  are  the  household  of  the  prophet,  and  to  purify  you  by  a 
perfect  purification. ^  And  remember  that  which  is  read  in  your  houses,  of 
the  signs  of  God,  and  of  the  wisdom  revealed  in  the  Koran ;  for  God  is 
clear-sighted,  and  well  acquainted  with  your  actions.  Verily  the  Moslems 
of  either  sex,  and  the  true  believers  of  either  sex,  and  the  devout  men,  and 
the  devout  women,  and  the  men  of  veracity,  and  the  women  of  veracity, 
and  the  patient  men,  and  the  patient  women,  and  the  humble  men,  and  the 
humble  loomen,  and  the  alms-givers  of  either  sex,  and  the  men  who  fast, 
and  the  women  who  fast,  and  the  chas.te  men,  and  the  chaste  women,  and 
those  of  either  sex  who  remember  God  frequently;  for  them  hath  God 
prepared  forgiveness,  and  a  great  reward.  It  is  not  fit  for  a  true  believer 
of  either  sex,  when  God  and  his  apostle  have  decreed  a  thing,  that  they 
should  have  the  liberty  of  choosing  a  different  matter  of  their  own  :  «■  and 
whoever  is  disobedient  unto  God  and  his  apostle  surely  erreth  with  a 
manifest  error.  And  remember  when  thou  saidst  to  him  unto  whom  God 
had  been  gracious,*  and  on  whom  thou  also  hadst  conferred  favours,*  Keep 

"  For  the  crime  would  be  more  enormous  and  unpardonable  in  them,  because  of  their 
superior  condition,  and  the  grace  which  they  have  received  from  God ;  whence  it  is  that 
the  punishment  of  a  free  person  is  ordained  to  be  double  to  that  of  a  slave ;  ^  and  prophets 
are  more  severely  reprimanded  for  their  faults  than  other  men." 

"  Once  for  her  obedience,  and  a  second  time  for  her  conjugal  affection  to  the  prophet, 
and  handsome  behaviour  to  him. 

*  "  Wives  of  the  prophet,  ye  are  distinguished  above  other  women.  If  ye  have  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  banish  from  your  speech  the  softnesses  of  love.  Let  the  man  whose  heart  is 
smitten  dare  not  to  hope.     Reply  with  a  noble  firmness." — Savary. 

p  That  is,  In  the  old  time  of  idolatry.  Some  suppose  the  times  before  the  flood,  or  the 
time  of  Abraham,  to  be  here  intended,  when  women  adorned  themselves  with  all  their 
finery,  and  went  abroad  into  the  streets  to  show  themselves  to  the  men.* 

'^  The  pronouns  of  the  second  person  in  this  part  of  the  passage  being  of  the  masculine 
gender,  the  Shiites  pretend  the  sentence  has  no  connexion  with  the  foregoing  or  the  fol- 
lowing words  ;  and  will  have  it  that  by  the  household  of  the  prophet  are  particularly  meant 
Fatema  and  Ali,  and  their  two  sons  Hasan  and  Hosein,  to  wliom  these  words  are  directed.' 

'  This  verse  was  revealed  on  account  of  Zeinab  (or  Zenobia),  the  daughter  of  Jahash, 
and  wife  of  Zeid,  Mohammed's  freed-man,  whom  the  prophet  sought  in  marriage,  but 
received  a  repulse  from  the  lady  and  her  brother  Abdallah,  they  being  at  first  averse  to 
the  match ;  for  which  they  are  here  reprehended.  The  mother  of  Zeinab,  it  was  said, 
was  Amima,  the  daughter  of  Abd'almotalled,  and  aunt  to  Mohammed."" 

"  viz.  Zeid  Ebn  Haretha,  on  whom  God  had  bestowed  the  grace  early  to  become  a 
Moslem. 

'  By  giving  him  his  liberty,  and  adopting  him  for  thy  son,  &c. 

Zeib  was  of  the  tribe  of  Calb,  a  branch  of  the  Khodaites,  descended  from  Hamyar  the 
son  of  Saba ;  and  being  taken  in  his  childhood  by  a  party  of  freebooters,  was  bought  by 

'  See  chap.  4.  p.  63.       '  Al  Beidawi.       » Idem.       «  Idem.       '  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  AL  KORAN.  347 

thy  wife  to  thyself,  and  fear  God  :  and  thou  didst  conceal  that  in  tliy  mind 
which  God  had  determined  to  discover,"  and  didst  fear  men ;  wliereas  it 
ivas  more  just  that  thou  shouldst  fear  God.  But  when  Zeid '^  had  deter- 
mined the  matter  concerning  her,  and  had  resolved  to  divorce  her,  we  joined 
her  in  marriage  unto  thee ;  ^  lest  a  crime  should  be  charged  on  the  true 
believers,  in  marrying  the  wives  of  their  adopted  sons,  when  they  have 
determined  the  matter  concerning  them ;  '^  and  the  command  of  God  is  to 
be  performed.  No  crime  is  to  he  charged  on  the  prophet,  as  to  what  God 
hath  allowed  \\\m,  conformahle  to  the  ordinance  of  God  with  regard  to  those 
who  preceded  him  (for  the  command  of  God  is  a  determinate  decree),  who 
brought  the  messages  of  God,  and  feared  him,  and  feared  none  besides 
God  :  and  God  is  a  sufficient  accountant.  Mohammed  is  not  the  father  of 
any  man  among  you ;  but  the  apostle  of  God,  and  the  seal  of  the 
prophets  :*  and  God  knoweth  all  things.  O  true  believers,  remember  God 
with  a  frequent  remembrance,  and  celebrate  his  praise  morning  and  evening. 
It  is  he  who  is  gracious  unto  you,  and  his  angels  intercede  for  you,  that  he 
may  lead  you  forth  from  darkness  into  light ;  and  he  is  merciful  towards 
the  true  believers.     Their  salutation,  on  the  day  whereon  they  shall  meet 

Mohammed,  or,  as  others  say,  by  his  wife  Khadijah  before  she  married  him.  Some  years 
after,  Haretha,  hearing  where  his  son  was,  took  a  journey  to  Mecca,  and  offered  a  con- 
siderable sum  for  his  ransom;  whereupon  Mohammed  said,  Let  Zeid  come  hither  ;  and 
if  he  chooses  to  go  with  you,  take  him  without  rausom  ;  but  if  it  be  his  choice  to  stay  with 
me,  why  should  I  not  keep  him  ?  And  Zeid  being  come,  declared  that  he  would  stay  with 
his  master,  who  treated  him  as  if  he  were  his  only  son.  Mohammed  no  sooner  heard  this 
but  he  took  Zeid  by  the  hand,  and  led  him  to  the  black  stone  of  the  Caaba,  where  he 
publicly  adopted  him  for  his  son,  and  constituted  him  his  heir ;  with  which  the  father 
acquiesced,  and  returned  home  well  satisfied.  From  this  time  Zeid  was  called  the  son 
of  Mohammed,  till  the  publication  of  Islam ;  after  which  the  prophet  gave  him  to  wife 
Zeinab.' 

"  Namely,  thy  affection  to  Zeinab,  The  whole  intrigue  is  artfully  enough  unfolded  in 
this  passage  ;  the  story  is  as  follows. 

Some  years  after  his  marriage,  Mohammed  going  to  Zeid's  house  on  some  affair,  and  not 
finding  him  at  home,  accidentally  cast  his  eyes  on  Zeinab,  who  was  then  in  a  dress  which 
discovered  her  beauty  to  advantage,  and  was  so  smitten  at  the  sight,  that  he  could  not 
forbear  crying  out,  Godbe  praised,  v)ho  turneth  the  hearts  of  men  as  hepleaseth  !  This  Zeinab 
failed  not  to  acquaint  her  husband  with,  on  his  return  home;  whereupon  Zeid.  after  ma- 
ture reflection,  thought  he  could  do  no  less  than  part  with  his  wife,  in  favour  of  his  bene- 
factor ;  and  therefore  resolved  to  divorce  her,  and  acquainted  Mohammed  with  his  reso- 
lution:  but  he,  apprehending  the  scandal  it  might  raise,  offered  to  dissuade  him  from  it, 
and  endeavoured  to  stifle  the  flames  which  inwardly  consumed  him  ;  but  at  length,  his 
love  for  her  being  authorized  by  this  revelation,  he  acquiesced,  and  after  the  term  of  her 
divorce  was  expired,  married  her,  in  the  latter  end  of  the  fifth  year  of  the  Hejra.' 

^It  is  observed  that  this  is  the  only  person,  of  all  Mohammed's  companions,  whose 
name  is  mentioned  in  the  Koran. 

^  Whence  Zeinab  used  to  vaunt  herself  above  the  prophet's  other  wives,  aaying,  that 
God  had  made  the  match  between  Mohammed  and  herself,  whereas  their  matches  were 
made  by  their  relations.' 

'  For  this  feigned  relation,  as  has  been  observed,  created  an  impediment  of  marriage 
among  the  old  Arabs,  within  the  prohibited  degrees,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  it  had  been 
real ;  and  therefore  Mohammed's  marrying  Zeinab,  who  had  been  his  adopted  son's  wife, 
occasioned  great  scandal  among  his  followers,  which  was  mucrh  heightened  by  the  Jews  and 
hypocrites :  but  the  custom  is  here  declared  unreasonable,  and  abolished  for  the  future. 

*  (The  Mohammedans  consider  Mohammed  as  the  seal  of  the  prophets,  Khatem  Elna- 
hiin.  They  say  that  he  came  to  confirm  the  mission  of  those  who  preceded  him,  and  that 
he  has  had  no  successor.) — Savary. 

'  Al  Jannabi.  Vide  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Moh.  lib.  4.  c.  3.  ^  Al  Beidawi,  al  Jannabi,  &c. 
*  lidem. 


348  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxiii. 

him,  shall  he,  Peace !  and  he  hath  prepared  for  them  an  honourable  recom- 
pense. O  prophet,  verily  we  have  sent  thee  to  he  a  witness,  and  a  bearer 
of  good  tidings,  and  a  denouncer  of  threats,  and  an  inviter  unto  God, 
through  his  good  pleasure,  and  a  shining  light.  Bear  good  tidings  therefore 
unto  the  true  believers,  that  they  shall  receive  great  abundance  from  God. 
And  obey  not  the  unbelievers,  and  the  hypocrites,  and  mind  not  their 
evil  treatment :  but  trust  in  God  ;  and  God  is  a  sufficient  protector.* 
O  true  believers,  when  ye  marry  women  who  are  believers,  and  afterwards 
put  them  away,  before  ye  have  touched  them,  there  is  no  term  prescribed 
you  to  fulfil  towards  them,*  after  their  divorce:  but  make  them  a  present,^ 
and  dismiss  them  freely  with  an  honourable  dismission.  O  prophet,  we  have 
allowed  thee  thy  wives  unto  whom  thou  hast  given  their  dower,  and 
also  the  slaves  which  thy  right  hand  possesseth,  of  the  hooty  which 
God  hath  granted  thee  ;''  and  the  daughters  of  thy  uncle,  and  the  daughters 
of  thy  aunts,  both  on  thy  father's  side,  and  on  thy  mother's  side,  who 
have  fled  with  thee  from  Mecca,^  and  any  other  believing  woman,  if 
she  give  herself  unto  the  prophet;*'  in  case  the  prophet  desireth  to 
take  her  to  wife.  TJiis  is  a  peculiar  privilege  granted  unto  thee  above 
the  rest  of  the  true  believers.^  We  know  what  we  have  ordained  them 
concerning  their  wives,  and  the  slaves  which  their  right  hands  possess  : 
lest  it  should  be  deemed  a  crime  in  thee  to  make  use  of  the  privilege 
granted  thee  ;'\  for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Thou  mayest  postpone 
the  turn  of  such  of  thy  wives  as  thou  shalt  please,  in  heing  called  to  thy 
bed  ;  and  thou  mayest  take  unto  thee  her  whom  thou  shalt  please,  and 

*  ''  Obey  neither  the  unbelievers  nor  the  impious.  Injure  them  not.  Put  thy  trust  in 
God  :  his  protection  is  a  sure  refuge." — Savary. 

*  That  is,  Ye  are  not  obhged  to  keep  them  any  certain  time  before  ye  dismiss  them,  as 
ye  are  those  with  whom  the  marriage  has  been  consummated.     See  chap.  2. 

'*  i.  e.  If  no  dower  has  been  assigned  them  :  for  if  a  dower  has  been  assigned,  the  Iius- 
band  is  obhged,  according  to  the  Sonna,  to  give  the  woman  half  the  dower  agreed  on, 
besides  a  present.'^  This  is  still  to  be  understood  of  such  women  with  whom  the  marriage 
has  not  been  consummated. 

"  It  is  said,  therefore,  that  the  women  slaves  which  he  should  buy  are  not  included  in 
this  grant. 

•^  But  not  the  others.  It  is  related  of  0mm  Hani,  the  daughter  of  Abu  Taleb,  that  she 
should  say,  The  apostle  of  God  courted  me  for  his  wife  ;  hut  I  excused  myself  to  him,  and 
he  accepted  of  my  excuse  :  afterwards  this  verse  was  revealed ;  but  he  was  not  thereby 
allowed  to  marry  me,  because  I  fled  not  with  him.^ 

It  may  be  observed  that  Dr.  Prideaux  is  much  mistaken,  when  he  asserts  that  Moham- 
med in  this  chapter  brings  in  God  exempting  him  from  the  law  in  the  fourth  chapter,* 
whereby  the  Moslems  are  forbidden  to  marry  within  certain  degrees,  and  giving  him  an 
especial  privilege  to  take  to  wife  the  daughter  of  his  brother,  or  the  daughter  of  his  sister.* 

*  Without  demanding  any  dower.  According  to  a  tradition  of  Ebn  Abbas,  the  prophet, 
however,  married  no  woman  without  assigning  her  a  dower.  The  commentators  are  not 
agreed  who  was  the  woman  particularly  meant  in  this  passage ;  but  they  name  four  who 
are  supposed  to  have  thus  give7i  themselves  to  the  prophet,  viz.  Maimuna  Bint  al  Hareth, 
Zeinab  Bint  Khozaima,  Ghozta  Bint  Jaber,  surnamed  0mm  Shoraic  (which  three  he 
actually  married),  and  Khawla  Bint  Ilakim,  whom,  as  it  seems,  he  rejected. 

'  For  no  Moslem  can  legally  marry  above  four  wives,  whether  free  women  or  slaves; 
whereas  Mohammed  is,  by  the  preceding  passage,  left  at  liberty  to  take  as  many  as  he 
pleased,  though  with  some  restrictions. 

t  "  Fear  not  to  be  culpable  in  using  thy  rights." — Savary. 

»  Al  Beidawi,  al  Jannabi,  &c.  =»  lidem.  *  See  p.  63.  »  See  Prid.  Life  of 

Moh.  p.  116. 


i 


CHAP.  XXXIII.  AL  KORAN.  349 

her  whom  thou  shalt  desire  of  those  whom  thou  shalt  have  hefore  rejected  : 
and  it  shall  he  no  crime  in  thec.s  This  will  he  more  easy,  that  they  may 
be  entirely  content,  and  may  not  be  grieved,  but  may  be  well  pleased 
with  what  thou  shalt  give  every  of  them :  God  knoweth  whatever  is  in 
your  hearts ;  and  God  is  knowing  and  gracious.  It  shall  not  be  lawful  for 
thee  to  take  other  women  to  wife  hereafter,*^  nor  to  exchange  any  of  thy 
wives  for  them,'  although  their  beauty  please  thee  ;  except  the  slaves  whom 
thy  right  hand  shall  possess :  and  God  observeth  all  things.  O  true  be- 
lievers, enter  not  the  houses  of  the  prophet,  unless  it  be  permitted  you  to 
eat  meat  icith  Am,  without  waiting  his  convenient  time ;  but  when  ye  are 
invited,  then  enter.  And  when  ye  shall  have  eaten,  disperse  yourselves; 
and  stay  not  to  enter  into  familiar  discourse :  for  this  incommodeth  the 
prophet.  He  is  ashamed  to  hid  you  depart ;  but  God  is  not  ashamed  of 
the  truth.  And  when  ye  ask  of  the  prophePs  wives  what  ye  may  have 
occasion  for,  ask  it  of  them  from  behind  a  curtain.^  This  will  be  more 
pure  for  your  hearts  and  their  hearts.  Neither  is  it  Jit  for  you  to  give  any 
uneasiness  to  the  apostle  of  God,  or  to  marry  his  wives  after  him  for  ever :  ^ 
for  this  would  be  a  grievous  thing  in  the  sight  of  God.  Whether  ye  divulge 
a  thing  or  conceal  it,  verily  God  knoweth  all  things.  It  shall  he  no  crime 
in  them,  as  to  their  fathers,  or  their  sons,  or  their  brothers,  or  their  brothers' 

e  By  this  passage  some  farther  privileges  were  granted  unto  Mohammed  ;  for,  whereas 
other  men  are  obliged  to  carry  themselves  equally  towards  their  wives,*'  in  case  they  had 
more  than  one,  particularly  as  to  the  duties  oi  the  marriage  bed,  to  which  each  has  a  right 
to  be  called  in  her  turn,  (which  right  was  acknowledged  m  the  most  early  ages')  and  can- 
not take  again  a  wife  whom  they  have  divorced  the  third  time,  till  she  has  been  married 
to  another  and  divorced  by  him,^  the  prophet  was  left  absolutely  at  liberty  to  deal  with 
them  in  these  and  other  respects  as  he  thought  fit. 

^  The  commentators  differ  as  to  the  express  meaning  of  these  words.  Some  think 
Mohammed  was  thereby  forbidden  to  take  any  more  wives  than  nine,  which  number  he 
then  had,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  his  stint,  as  four  was  that  of  other  men  ;  some 
imagine  that  after  this  prohibition,  though  any  of  the  wives  he  then  had  should  die,  or  be 
divorced,  yet  he  could  not  marry  another  in  her  room  ;  some  think  he  was  only  forbidden 
from  this  time  forward  to  marry  any  other  woman  than  one  of  the  four  sorts  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  passage  ;  and  others '  are  of  opinion  that  this  verse  is  abrogated  by  the 
two  preceding  verses,  or  one  of  them,  and  was  revealed  before  them,  though  it  be  read, 
after  them.* 

'  By  divorcing  her  and  marrying  another.  Al  Zamakhshari  tells  us,  that  some  are  of 
opinion  this  prohibition  is  to  be  understood  of  a  particular  kind  of  exchange  used  among 
the  idolatrous  Arabs,  whereby  two  men  made  a  mutual  exchange  of  their  wives,  without 
any  other  formality. 

^  That  is.  Let  there  be  a  curtain  drawn  between  you,  or  let  them  be  veiled,  while  ye 
talk  with  them.  As  the  design  of  the  former  precept  was  to  prevent  the  impertinence 
of  troublesome  visitors,  the  design  of  this  was  to  guard  against  too  near  an  intercourse  or 
familiarity  between  his  wives  and  his  followers;  and  was  occasioned,  it  is  said,  by  the 
hand  of  one  of  his  companions  accidentally  touching  that  of  Ayesha,  which  gave  the  pro- 
phet some  uneasiness.' 

'  i.  e.  E-ither  such  as  he  shall  divorce  in  his  lifetime,  or  his  widows  after  his  death. 
This  was  another  privilege  peculiar  to  the  prophet. 

It  is  related,  that  in  the  Khalifat  of  Omar,  Ashath  Ebn  Kais  married  the  woman  whom 
Mohammed  had  dismissed  without  consummating  his  marriage  with  her;*  upon  which 
the  Khalif  at  first  was  thinking  to  stone  her,  but  afterwards  changed  his  mind,  on  its 
being  represented  to  him  that  this  prohibition  related  only  to  such  women  to  whom  the 
prophet  had  gone  in.' 

s  See  Kor.  chap.  4,  p.  59,  &c,  "■  See  Gen.  xxx.  14,  &c.  '  See  chap.  2,  p.  26. 

*  As  Abu'l  Kasem  Hebatallah.  "^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &-c.  '  Al 

Beidawi.  ■*  See  before,  p.  348,  note  e.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


350  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxiii. 

sons,  or  their  sisters'  sons,  or  their  women,  or  the  slaves  whicli  their  right 
hands  possess,  if  they  speak  to  them  unveiled:'''  and  fear  ye  God;''  for  God 
is  witness  of  all  things.  Verily  God  and  his  angels  bless  the  prophet.  O 
true  believers,  do  ye  also  bless  him,  and  salute  him  w^ith  a  respectful 
salutation."  As  to  those  who  offend  God  and  his  apostle,  God  shall  curse 
them  in  this  world  and  in  the  next;  and  he  hath  prepared  for  them  a 
shameful  punishment.  And  they  who  shall  injure  the  true  believers  of 
either  sex,  without  their  deserving  it,  shall  surely  bear  the  guilt  of  calumny 
and  a  manifest  injustice.^  O  prophet,  speak  unto  thy  wives,  and  thy 
daughters,  and  the  wives  of  the  true  believers,  that  they  cast  their  outer 
garments'!  over  them  ivhen  they  walk  abroad;  this  will  be  more  proper,  that 
they  may  be  known  to  be  matrons  of  reputation,  and  may  not  be  affronted 
by  unseemly  words  or  actions.  God  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Verily  if  the 
hypocrites,  and  those  in  whose  hearts  is  an  infirmity,  and  they  who  raise 
disturbances  in  Medina,  do  not  desist,  we  will  surely  stir  thee  up  against 
them,  to  chastise  them  :  henceforth  they  shall  not  be  suffered  to  dwell  near 
thee  therein,  except  for  a  little  timej  and  being  accursed ;  wherever  they 
are  found  they  shall  be  taken,  and  killed  with  a  general  slaughter,  accord- 
ing to  the  sentence  of  God  concerning  those  who  have  been  before;  and 
thou  shalt  not  find  any  change  in  the  sentence  of  God.  Men  will  ask  thee 
concerning  the  approach  of  the  last  hour ;  answer.  Verily  the  knowledge 
thereof  is  with  God  alone ;  and  he  will  not  inform  thee  :  peradventure  the 
hour  is  nigh  at  hand.  Verily  God  hath  cursed  the  infidels,  and  hath  pre- 
pared for  them  a  fierce  fire,  wherein  they  shall  remain  for  ever :  they  shall 
find  no  patron  or  defender.  On  the  day  lohereon  their  faces  shall  be  rolled 
in  hell  fire,  they  shall  say,  O  that  we  had  obeyed  God,  and  had  obeyed  his 
apostle !  And  they  shall  say,  O  Lord,  verily  we  have  obeyed  our  lords, 
and  our  great  men ;  and  they  have  seduced  us  from  the  right  way.  O 
Lord,  give  them  the  double  of  our  punishment ;  and  curse  them  with  a 
heavy  curse !  O  true  believers,  be  not  as  those  who  injured  Moses ;  but 
God  cleared  him  from  the  scandal  which  they  had  spoken  concerning  him; "" 

"  See  chap.  24,  p.  290. 

°  The  words  are  directed  to  the  prophet's  wives. 

"  Hence  the  Mohammedans  seldom  mention  his  name  without  adding,  On  whom  he  the 
blessing  of  God,  and  peace  !  or  the  Uke  words. 

p  This  verse  was  revealed,  according  to  some,  on  occasion  of  certain  hypocrites  who 
had  slandered  AU ;  or,  according  to  others,  on  occasion  of  those  who  falsely  accused 
Ayesha,^  &.c. 

1  The  original  word  properly  signifies  the  large  wrappers,  usually  of  white  linen,  with 
which  the  women  of  the  East  cover  themselves  from  head  to  foot  when  they  go  abroad. 

"■  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  what  this  injury  was.  Some  say  that  Moses  using  to 
wash  himself  apart,  certain  malicious  people  gave  out  that  he  had  a  rupture  (or,  say  others, 
that  he  was  a  leper,  or  an  hermaphrodite),  and  for  that  reason  was  ashamed  to  wash  with 
them  :  but  God  cleared  him  from  this  aspersion,  by  causing  the  stone  on  which  he  had 
laid  his  clothes  while  he  washed  to  run  away  with  them  into  the  camp,  whither  Moses  fol- 
lowed it  naked :  and  by  that  means  the  Israelites,  in  the  midst  of  whom  he  was  gotten  ere 
he  was  aware,  plainly  perceived  the  falsehood  of  the  report.  Others  suppose  Karun's 
accusation  of  Moses  is  here  intended, ■"  or  else  the  suspicion  of  Aaron's  murder,  which  was 

«  See  chap.  24.  ■>  See  chap.  28,  p.  323. 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  AL  KORAN.  351 

and  he  was  of  great  consideration  in  the  sight  of  God.^  O  true  believers, 
fear  God,  and  speak  words  well  directed ;  *  that  God  may  correct  your 
works  for  you,  and  may  forgive  you  your  sins :  and  whoever  shall  obey  God 
and  his  apostle  shall  enjoy  great  felicity.  We  proposed  the  faith  unto  the 
heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  the  mountains :  and  they  refused  to  undertake 
the  same,  and  were  afraid  thereof;  but  man  undertook  it :  *  verily  he  was 
unjust  to  himself ,  and  foolish ;  "f '^  that  God  may  punish  the  hypocritical 
men,  and  the  hypocritical  women,  and  the  idolaters,  and  the  idolatresses ; 
and  that  God  may  be  turned  unto  the  true  believers,  both  men  and  women ; 
for  God  is  gracious  and  merciful. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

INTITLED,  SABA;'  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Praise  be  unto  God,  unto  whom  helongeth  whatever  is  in  the  heavens 
and  on  earth  :  and  unto  him  he  praise  in  the  world  to  come ;  for  he  is  wise 
and  intelligent.      He  knoweth  whatsoever  entereth  into  the  earth,^  and 

cast  on  Moses  because  he  was  with  him  when  he  died  on  mount  Hor ;  of  which  latter  he 
was  justified  by  the  angels  bringing  his  body  and  exposing  it  to  public  view,  or,  say  some, 
by  the  testimony  of  Aaron  himself,  who  was  raised  to  lite  for  that  purpose.^ 

The  passage  is  said  to  have  been  occasioned  by  some  reflections  which  were  cast  on 
Mohammed,  on  his  dividing  certain  spoils ;  and  that  when  they  came  to  his  ear,  he  said, 
God  be  merciful  unto  my  brother  Moses:  he  was  wronged  more  than  this,  and  bore  it  with 
patience.^ 

*  Some  copies  for  inda  read  abda,  according  to  which  the  words  should  be  translated, 
And  he  was  an  illustrious  servant  of  God. 

*  "  O  believers,  fear  the  Lord.     Let  truth  govern  your  speech." — Savary. 

'  By  faith  is  here  understood  entire  obedience  to  the  law  of  God,  which  is  represented 
to  be  of  so  high  concern  (no  less  than  eternal  happiness  or  misery  depending  on  the  ob- 
servance or  neglect  thereof),  and  so  difficult  in  the  performance,  that  if  God  should  pro- 
pose the  same,  on  the  conditions  annexed,  to  the  vaster  parts  of  the  creation,  and  they  had 
understanding  to  comprehend  the  offer,  they  would  decline  it,  and  not  dare  to  take  on  them 
a  duty,  the  failing  wherein  must  be  attended  with  so  terrible  a  consequence  ;  and  yet  man 
is  said  to  have  undertaken  it,  notwithstanding  his  weakness  and  the  infirmities  of  his  nature. 
Some  imagine  this  proposal  is  not  hypothetical,  but  was  actually  made  to  the  heavens, 
earth,  and  mountains,  which  at  their  first  creation  were  endued  with  reason,  and  that  God 
told  them  he  had  made  a  law,  and  had  created  paradise  for  the  recompense  of  such  as  were 
obedient  to  it,  and  hell  for  the  punishment  of  the  disobedient ;  to  which  they  answered, 
they  were  content  to  be  obliged  to  perform  the  services  for  which  they  were  created,  but 
would  not  undertake  to  fulfil  the  divine  law  on  those  conditions,  and  therefore  desired 
neither  reward  nor  punishment ;  they  add,  that  when  Adam  was  created,  the  same  offer 
was  made  him,  and  he  accepted  it,'  The  commentators  have  other  explications  of  this 
passage,  which  it  would  be  too  prohx  to  transcribe. 

t  "  They  dared  not  to  receive  it.  They  trembled  to  bear  this  holy  burden.  Man  re- 
ceived it,  and  he  hath  become  unjust  and  foolish." — Savary. 

"  Unjust  to  himself,  in  not  fulfilling  his  engagements  and  obeying  the  law  he  had 
accepted  ;  and  foolish,  in  not  considering  the  consequence  of  his  disobedience  and  neglect. 

'  Mention  is  made  of  the  people  of  Saba  in  the  fifteenth  verse. 

^  As  the  rain,  hidden  treasures,  the  dead,  &c. 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  '  AI  Bokhari.         *  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


852  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XXXIV. 


whatsoever  cometh  out  of  the  same,^  and  whatsoever  descendeth  from 
heaven,y  and  whatsoever  ascendeth  thereto  :  ^  and  he  is  merciful  and  ready 
to  forgive.  The  unbelievers  say,  The  hour  of  judgment  will  not  come  unto 
us.  Answer,  Yea,  by  my  Lord,  it  will  surely  come  unto  you;  it  is  he  who 
knoweth  the  hidden  secret :  the  weight  of  an  ant,  either  in  heaven  or  in 
earth,  is  not  absent  from  him,  nor  any  thing  lesser  than  this  or  greater,  but 
the  same  is  written  in  the  perspicuous  book  of  his  decrees;  that  he  may  re- 
compense those  who  shall  have  believed,  and  wrought  righteousness  :  they 
shall  receive  pardon,  and  an  honourable  provision.  But  they  who  en- 
deavour to  render  our  signs  of  none  effect  shall  receive  a  punishment  of 
painful  torment.  Those  unto  whom  knowledge  hath  been  given,  see  that 
the  book  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee  from  thy  Lord  is  the  truth,  and 
directeth  into  the  glorious  and  laudable  way.  The  unbelievers  say  to  one 
another,  Shall  we  show  you  a  man  who  shall  prophesy  unto  you,  that  when 
ye  shall  have  been  dispersed  with  a  total  dispersion,  ye  shall  he  raised  a  new 
creature }  He  hath  forged  a  lie  concerning  God,  or  rather  he  is  distracted. 
But  they  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come  shall  fall  into  punishment  and 
a  wide  error.  Have  they  not  therefore  considered  what  is  before  them,  and 
what  is  behind  them,  of  the  heaven  and  the  earth.?  If  we  please,  we  will 
cause  the  earth  to  open  and  swallow  them  up,  or  will  cause  a  piece  of  the 
heaven  to  fall  upon  them  :  *  verily  herein  is  a  sign  unto  every  servant,  who 
turneth  unto  God.  We  heretofore  bestowed  on  David  excellence  from  us : 
and  ive  said,  O  mountains,  sing  alternate  praises  with  him ;  and  toe  obliged  the 
birds  also  to  join  therein.^  And  we  softened  the  iron  for  him,  saying,  Make 
thereof  complete  coats  of  mail,''!  and  rightly  dispose  the  small  plates  which 
compose  the  same:  and  v/ork  ye  righteousness,  O  family  of  David;  for  1  see 
that  which  ye  do.  And  we  made  the  wind  subject  unto  Solomon  :"  it  blew 
in  the  morning  for  a  month,  and  in  the  evening  for  a  month.  And  we 
made  a  fountain  of  molten  brass  to  flow  for  him.**  And  some  of  the  genii 
were  obliged  to  work  in  his  presence,  by  the  will  of  his  Lord  ;  and  whoever 
of  them  turned  aside  from  our  command,  we  will  cause  him  to  taste  the 
pain  of  hell  fire.®  They  made  for  him  whatever  he  pleased  of  palaces,  and 
statues/  and  large  dishes  like  fish-ponds,s  and  caldrons  standing  firm  on 

*  As  animals,  plants,  metals,  spring  water,  &c. 

y  As  the  angels,  scriptures,  decrees  of  God,  rain,  thunder  and  lightning,  &c. 
'  As  the  angels,  men's  works,  vapours,  smoke,  &c.^ 

*  "Have  they  raised  their  looks  towards  the  firmament?  Have  they  cast  them  down 
upon  the  earth  ?  Who  can  prevent  us  from  opening  an  abyss  under  their  feet,  or  from 
causing  a  pan  of  heaven  to  fall  upon  their  heads  ?" — Savary. 

''See  chap.  21,  p.  270. 
"  See  ibid.  p.  270. 

t  "  We  taught  unto  him  the  art  of  softening  iron,  and  of  making  coats  of  mail  thereof." 
— Savary. 

"  See  chap.  21,  and  chap.  27,  p.  310. 

**  This  fountain  they  say  was  in  Yaman,  and  flowed  three  days  in  a  month.^ 

*  Or,  as  some  expound  the  words,  We  caused  him  to  taste  the  pain  of  burning;  by  which 
they  understand  the  correction  the  disobedient  genii  received  at  the  hands  of  the  angel  set 
over  them,  who  whipped  them  with  a  whip  of  fire. 

^  Some  suppose  these  were  images  of  the  angels  and  prophets,  and  that  the  making 

^AlBeidawi.  '  Idem.  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  AL  KORAN.  353 

their  trevets  ;^  and  ice  said,  Work  righteousness,  0  family  of  David,  with 
thanksgiving ;  for  few  of  my  servants  are  thankful.  And  when  we  had 
decreed  that  Solomon  should  die,  nothing  discovered  his  death  unto  them, 
except  the  creeping  thing  of  the  earth,  which  gnawed  his  staff.'  And  when 
his  body  fell  down,  the  genii  plainly  perceived  that  if  they  had  known  that 
which  is  secret,  they  had  not  continued  in  a  vile  punishment.'^  The 
descendants  of  Saba'  had  heretofore  a  sign  in  their  dwelling;  namely,  two 
gardens  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,™*  and  it  was  said  unto  themy 
Eat  ye  of  the  provision  of  your  Lord,  and  give  thanks  imto  him ;  ye  have 
a  good  country,  and  a  gracious  Lord.  But  they  turned  aside  from  what 
we  had  commanded  them ;  wherefore  we  sent  against  them  the  inundation 
of  al  Arem,"  and  we  changed  their  two  gardens  for  them  into  two  gardens 

of  them  was  not  then  forbidden ;  or  else  that  they  were  not  such  images  as  were  forbidden 
ijy  the  law.  Some  say  these  spirits  made  him  two  lions,  which  were  placed  at  the  foot  of 
his  throne,  and  two  eagles,  which  were  set  above  it ;  and  that  when  he  mounted  it  the 
lions  stretched  out  their  paws,  and  when  he  sat  down  the  eagles  shaded  him  with  their 
wings/ 

8  Being  so  monstrously  large  that  a  thousand  men  might  eat  out  of  each  of  them  at 
once. 

''  These  caldrons,  they  say,  were  cut  out  of  the  mountains  of  Yaman,  and  were  so  vastly 
big  that  they  could  not  be  moved ;  and  the  people  went  up  to  them  by  steps." 

*  The  commentators,  to  explain  this  passage,  tell  us.  That  David  having  laid  the  founda- 
tions of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  which  was  to  be  in  lieu  of  the  tabernacle  of  Moses,  when 
he  died,  left  it  to  be  finished  by  his  son  Solomon ;  who  employed  the  genii  in  the  work: 
that  Solomon,  before  the  edifice  was  quite  completed,  perceiving  his  end  drew  nigh,  begged 
of  God  that  his  death  might  be  concealed  from  the  genii  till  they  had  entirely  finished  it : 
that  God  therefore  so  ordered  it,  that  Solomon  died  as  he  stood  at  his  prayers,  leaning  on 
his  staff',  which  supported  the  body  in  that  posture  a  full  year  ;  and  the  genii,  supposing 
him  to  be  alive,  continued  their  work  during  that  term,  at  the  expiration  whereof  the 
temple  being  perfectly  completed,  a  worm,  which  had  gotten  into  the  staff,  eat  it  through, 
and  the  corpse  fell  to  the  ground  and  discovered  the  king's  death.^ 

Possibly  this  fable  of  the  temple's  being  built  by  genii,  and  not  by  men,  might  take  its 
rise  from  what  is  mentioned  in  scripture,  that  the  house  was  built  of  stone  made  ready  before 
it  was  brought  thither  ;  so  that  there  was  neither  hammer ,  nor  axe,  nor  ayiy  tool  of  iron  heard 
in  the  house  while  it  ivas  building:''  the  Rabbins  indeed  tell  us  of  a  worm,  which  might  assist 
the  workmen,  its  virtue  being  such  as  to  cause  the  rocks  and  stones  to  fly  in  sunder.' 
Whether  the  worm  which  gnawed  Solomon's  staflT  were  of  the  same  breed  with  this  other, 
I  know  not ;  but  the  story  has  perfectly  the  air  of  a  Jewish  invention. 

"  i.  €.  They  had  not  continued  in  servile  subjection  to  the  command  of  Solomon,  nor  had 
gone  on  with  the  work  of  the  temple. 

'  Saba  was  the  son  of  Yashhab,  the  son  of  Yarab,  the  son  of  Khatan,  whose  posterity 
dwell  in  Yaman,  in  the  city  of  Mareb,  called  also  Saba,  about  three  days'  journey  from 
Sanaa. 

"*  That  is,  two  tracts  of  land,  one  on  this  side  their  city,  and  the  other  on  that,  planted 
with  trees,  and  made  into  gardens,  which  lay  so  thick  and  close  together,  that  each  tract 
seemed  to  be  one  continued  garden :  or,  it  may  be,  every  house  had  a  garden  on  each  hand 
of  it.' 

*  "  The  inhabitants  of  Saba  possessed  two  gardens,  which  were  traversed  by  a  brook." 
— Savary. 

°  The  commentators  set  down  several  significations  of  the  word  al  Arem,  which  are 
scarce  worth  mentioning :  it  most  properly  signifies  mounds  or  dams  for  the  stopping  or 
containing  of  water,  and  is  here  used  for  that  stupendous  mound  or  building  which  formed 
the  vast  reservoir  above  the  city  of  Saba,  described  in  another  place,^  and  which,  for  the 
great  impiety,  pride,  and  insolence  of  the  inhabitants,  was  broken  down  in  the  night  by  a 
mighty  flood,  and  occasioned  a  terrible  destruction.^"  Al  Beidawi  supposes  this  mound  was 
the  work  of  queen  Balkis,  and  that  the  above-mentioned  catastrophe  happened  after  the 
time  of  Jesus  Christ ;  wherein  he  seems  to  be  mistaken. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  Jallalo'ddin.  «  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  •"  1  Kings 
vi.  7.  '  Vide  Kimchi,  in  loc.  Buxt.  Lex.  Talm.  p.  2456,  et  Schickardi  Tarich  Reg. 
Pers.  p.  62.         '  Al  Beidawi.         ^  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  7.         =■  See  ibid. 


354  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxiv. 

producing  bitter  fruit,  and  tamarisks,"  and  some  little  fruit  of  the  lote-tree. 
This  we  gave  them  in  reward,  because  they  were  ungrateful :  is  any  thus 
rewarded  except  the  ungrateful }  And  we  placed  between  them  and  the 
cities  which  we  have  blessed,p  cities  situated  near  each  other;  and  we 
made  the  journey  easy  between  them,i  saying,  Travel  through  the  same  by 
night  and  by  day,  in  security.  But  they  said,  O  Lord,  put  a  greater  dis- 
tance between  our  journey:'  and  they  were  unjust  unto  themselves;  and 
we  made  them  the  subject  of  discourse,  and  dispersed  them  with  a  total 
dispersion.^  *  Verily,  herein  are  signs  unto  every  patient,  grateful  person. 
And  Eblis  found  his  opinion  of  them  to  be  true :  *  and  they  followed  him, 
except  a  party  of  the  true  believers :  '^  and  he  had  no  power  over  them, 
unless  to  tempt  them,  that  we  might  know  him  who  believed  in  the  life  to 
come,  from  him  who  doubted  thereof  Thy  Lord  observeth  all  things. 
Ssij  unto  the  idolaters,  Call  upon  those  whom  ye  imagine  to  he  gods,  besides 
God  :  they  are  not  masters  of  the  weight  of  an  ant  in  heaven  or  on  earth, 
neither  have  they  any  share  in  the  creation  or  government  of  the  same ;  nor 
is  any  of  them  assistant  to  him  therein.  No  intercession  will  be  of  service 
in  his  presence,  except  the  intercession  of  him  to  whom  he  shall  grant  per- 
mission to  intercede  for  others :  ^  and  they  shall  wait  in  suspense  until,  when 
the  terror  shall  be  taken  off  from  their  hearts,*  they  shall  say  to  one  another, 
What  doth  your  Lord  say  ?  They  shall  answer,  That  which  is  just :  and 
he  is  the  high,  the  great  God.     Say,  Who  provideth  food  for  you  from 

"  A  low  shrub  bearing  no  fruit,  and  delighting  in  saltish  and  barren  ground. 

P  viz.  The  cities  of  Syria. 

1  By  reason  of  their  near  distance,  so  that  during  the  whole  journey  a  traveller  might 
rest  in  one  town  during  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  in  another  at  night ;  nor  was  he  obliged 
to  carry  provisions  with  him.'' 

'This  petition  they  made  out  of  covetousness,  that  the  poor  being  obliged  to  be  longer 
on  the  road,  they  might  make  greater  advantage  in  letting  out  their  cattle,  and  furnishing 
the  travellers  with  provision :  and  God  was  pleased  to  punish  them  by  granting  them  their 
wish,  and  permitting  most  of  the  cities  which  were  between  Saba  and  Syria,  to  be  ruined 
and  abandoned.^ 

^  For  the  neighbouring  nations  justly  wondered  at  so  sudden  and  unforeseen  a  revolution 
in  the  affairs  of  this  once  flourishing  people :  whence  it  became  a  proverbial  saying,  to 
express  a  total  dispersion,  that  they  were  gone  and  scattered  like  Saba.*^ 

Of  the  descendants  of  Saba  who  quitted  their  country,  and  sought  new  settlements  on 
this  inundation,  the  tribe  of  Ghassan  went  into  Syria,  the  tribe  of  Anmar  to  Yathreb,  the 
tribe  of  Jodham  to  Tehamah,  the  tribe  of  al  Azd  to  Oman,'  the  tribe  of  Tay  to  Najd,  the 
tribe  of  Khozaah  to  Batn  Marr,  near  Mecca,  Banu  Amela  to  a  niountain,  thence  called 
the  mountain  of  Amela,  near  Damascus,  and  others  went  to  Hira  in  Irab,^  &c. 

*  "  They  gave  themselves  up  unto  ungodliness,  and  we  made  them  the  laughingstock 
of  the  nations.     They  were  scattered  hke  the  dust." — Savary. 

'  Either  his  opinion  of  the  Sabaeans  when  he  saw  them  addicted  to  pride  and  ingratitude, 
and  the  satisfying  their  lusts;  or  else  the  opinion  he  entertained  of  all  mankind  at  the  fall 
of  Adam,  or  at  his  creation,  when  he  heard  the  angels  say,  Wilt  thou  place  in  the  earth 
one  who  will  do  evil  therein,  and  shed  blood  ? ' 

°  Who  were  saved  from  the  common  destruction. 

'  See  chap.  19,  p.  255. 

^i.  e.  From  the  hearts  of  the  intercessors,  and  of  those  for  whom  God  shall  allow  them 
to  intercede,  by  the  permission  which  he  shall  then  grant  them  ;  for  no  angel  or  prophet 
shall  dare  to  speak  at  the  last  day  without  the  divine  leave. 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  '  lidem.  « Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Gol.  note  in  Alfrag. 
p.B7.  ■'Al  Beidawi.  «  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  42,  45,  and  66.  '  See  chap.  2, 
p.  4,  chap.  7,  V.  117,  and  chap.  15,  p.  211,  &c. 


CHAP.  XXXIV.  AL  KORAN.  365 

heaven  and  earth  .''*  Answer,  God  :  and  either  we,  or  ye,  follow  the  true 
direction,  or  are  in  a  manifest  error.  Say,  Ye  shall  not  be  examined  con- 
cerning what  we  shall  have  committed  :  neither  shall  we  be  examined 
concerning  what  ye  shall  have  done.  Say,  Our  Lord  will  assemble  us 
together  at  the  last  day :  then  he  will  judge  between  us  with  truth  ;  and  he 
is  the  judge,  the  knowing.  Say,  Show  me  those  whom  ye  have  joined  as 
partners  with  him .''  Nay ;  rather  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise  God.  We 
have  not  sent  thee  otherwise  than  unto  mankind  in  general,  a  bearer  of 
good  tidings,  and  a  denouncer  of  threats ;  but  the  greater  part  of  men  do 
not  understand.  And  they  say.  When  will  this  threat  be  fulfilled,  if  ye 
speak  truth .''  Answer,  A  threat  is  denounced  unto  you  of  a  day  which  ye 
shall  not  retard  one  hour,  neither  shall  ye  hasten.  The  unbelievers  say, 
We  will  by  no  means  believe  in  this  Koran,  nor  in  that  which  hath  been 
revealed  before  it.^  But  if  thou  couldest  see  when  the  unjust  doers  shall 
be  set  before  their  Lord  !  They  will  iterate  discourse  with  one  another  : 
those  who  were  esteemed  weak  shall  say  unto  those  who  behaved  them- 
selves arrogantly,^  Had  it  not  been  for  you,  verily  we  had  been  true  be- 
lievers.|  They  who  behaved  themselves  arrogantly  shall  say  unto  those 
who  were  esteemed  weak.  Did  we  turn  you  aside  from  the  true  direction, 
after  it  had  come  unto  you  .''  On  the  contrary,  ye  acted  wickedly  of  your 
own  free  choice.  And  they  who  were  esteemed  weak  shall  say  unto  those 
who  behaved  with  arrogance.  Nay,  but  the  crafty  plot  which  ye  devised  by 
night  and  by  day,  occasioned  our  ruin  :  when  ye  commanded  us  that  we 
should  not  believe  in  God,  and  that  we  should  set  up  other  gods  as  equals 
unto  him.  And  they  shall  conceal  their  repentance,''  after  they  shall  have 
seen  the  punishment  prepared  for  them.  And  we  will  put  yokes  on  the 
necks  of  those  who  shall  have  disbelieved  :  shall  they  be  rewarded  any 
otherwise  than  according  to  what  they  shall  have  wrought .?  We  have  sent 
no  Warner  unto  any  city,  but  the  inhabitants  thereof  who  lived  in  affluence 
said.  Verily  we  believe  not  that  with  which  ye  are  sent.  And  those  of 
Mecca  also  say.  We  abound  in  riches  and  children,  more  than  ye ;  and  we 
shall  not  be  punished  hereafter. ^  Answer,  Verily  my  Lord  will  bestow 
provision  in  abundance  unto  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  be  sparing  unto 
whom  he  pleaseth  :  but  the  greater  part  of  men  know  not  this.  Neither 
your  riches  nor  your  chddren  are  the  things  which  shall  cause  you  to  draw 
nigh  unto  us  with  a  near  approach  :  only  whoever  believeth,  and  worketh 

*  "  Who  dispenseth  unto  you  the  treasures  of  heaven  and  of  earth  ?" — Savary. 

y  It  is  said  that  the  infidels  of  Mecca,  having  inquired  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  con- 
cerning the  mission  of  Mohammed,  were  assured  by  them,  that  they  found  him  described 
as  the  prophet  who  should  come,  both  in  the  Pentateuch  and  in  the  Gospel ;  at  which 
they  were  very  angry,  and  brake  out  into  the  words  here  recorded.' 

^  See  chap.  14,  p.  206,  note  t. 

t  "  Those  who  had  weakness  as  their  portion  shall  say  unto  those  who  were  rendered 
haughty  by  power.  Had  it  not  been  for  you,  we  should  have  embraced  the  faith." — Savary. 

•See  chap.  10,  p.  170,  note  t. 

t  "  Proud  of  their  riches,  flattered  by  the  number  of  their  children,  they  imagine  them- 
selves to  be  secure  from  vengeance." — Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


356  AL  KOEAN.  chap,  xxxiv. 

righteousness,  they  shall  receive  a  double  reward  for  that  which  they  shall 
have  wrought :  and  they  shall  dwell  in  security,  in  the  upper  apartments 
of  paradise*  But  they  who  shall  endeavour  to  render  our  signs  of  none 
effect  shall  be  delivered  up  to  punishment.  Say,  Verily  my  Lord  will 
bestow  provision  in  abundance  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  of  his  servants, 
and  will  be  sparing  unto  wliom  he  pleaseth  :  and  whatever  tiling  ye  shall 
give  in  alms,  he  will  return  it ;  and  he  is  the  best  provider  of  food.  On  a 
certain  day  he  shall  gather  them  altogether :  then  shall  he  say  unto  the 
angels.  Did  these  worship  you  ?  Jlnd  the  angels  shall  answer,  God  forbid ! 
thou  art  our  friend,  and  not  these :  but  they  worshipped  devils ;  the  greater 
part  of  them  believed  in  them.  On  this  day  the  one  of  you  shall  not  be 
able  either  to  profit  or  to  hurt  the  other.  And  we  will  say  unto  those  who 
have  acted  unjustly.  Taste  ye  the  pain  of  hell  fire,  which  ye  rejected  as  a 
falsehood.  When  our  evident  signs  are  read  unto  them,  they  say  of  thee, 
O  Mohammed,  This  is  no  other  than  a  man  who  seeketh  to  turn  you  aside 
from  the  gods  which  your  fathers  worshipped.  And  they  say  of  the  Koran, 
This  is  no  other  than  a  lie  blasphemously  forged.  And  the  unbelievers  say 
of  the  truth,  when  it  is  come  unto  them.  This  is  no  other  than  manifest 
sorcery:  yet  we  have  given  them  no  books  of  script  ure  wherein  to  exercise 
themselves,  nor  have  we  sent  unto  them  any  warner  before  thee.  They 
who  were  before  them  in  like  manner  accused  their  prophets  of  imposture : 
but  these  have  not  arrived  unto  the  tenth  part  of  the  riches  and  strength 
which  we  had  bestowed  on  the  former  :  and  they  accused  my  apostles  of 
imposture ;  and  how  severe  was  my  vengeance  !|  Say,  Verily  I  advise  you 
unto  one  thing,  namely,  that  ye  stand  before  God  by  two  and  two,  and 
singly; ''J  and  then  consider  seriously  and  you  will  find  that  there  is  no 
madness  in  your  companion  Mohammed  :  he  is  no  other  than  a  warner 
unto  you,  sent  before  a  severe  punishment.  Say,  I  ask  not  of  you  any  re- 
ward/or  my  preaching ; "  it  is  your  own,  §  either  to  give  or  not  :^  my  reward 
is  to  be  expected  from  God  alone ;  and  he  is  witness  over  all  things.  Say, 
Verily  my  Lord  sendeth  down  the  truth  to  his  prophets  :  he  is  the  knower 
of  secrets.     Say,  Truth  is  come,  and  falsehood  is  vanished,  and  shall  not 

*  "  The  virtuous  believer  shall  repose  in  the  bosom  of  peace  in  the  abode  of  delights." 
— Savary. 

t  "  Those  who  went  before  them  accused  the  messengers  of  faith  of  being  impostors, 
and  prevented  them  from  fulfilHng  their  mission." — Savary. 

^  i.  e.  That  ye  set  yourselves  to  deliberate  and  judge  of  me  and  my  pretensions  coolly 
and  sincerely,  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  without  passion  or  prejudice.  The  reason  why 
they  are  ordered  to  consider  either  alone,  or  by  two  and  two,  at  most,  together,  is,  be- 
cause in  larger  assemblies,  where  noise,  passion,  and  prejudice,  generally  prevail,  men 
have  not  that  freedom  of  judgment  which  they  have  in  private.'^ 

t  *'  I  exhort  you  to  pray  unto  the  Lord,  together  or  separately." — Savary. 

*  Mohammed,  having  in  the  preceding  words  answered  the  imputation  of  madness  or 
vain  enthusiasm,  by  appealing  to  their  cooler  thoughts  of  him  and  his  actions,  endeavours 
by  these  to  clear  himself  of  the  susp-icion  of  any  worldly  view  or  interest,  declaring  that 
he  desired  no  salary  or  support  from  them  for  executing  his  commission,  but  he  expected 
his  wages  from  God  alone. 

^  "  Keep  your  gifts." — Savary. 
"»  See  chap.  25,  p.  301. 

^  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXXV.  AL  KORAN.  357 

return  any  more.  Say,  If  I  err,  verily  I  shall  err  only  against  my  own  soiil : 
but  if  I  be  rightly  directed,  it  will  he  by  that  which  my  Lord  revealeth 
unto  me ;  for  he  is  ready  to  hear,  and  nigh  unto  those  loho  call  upon  him. 
If  thou  coiildest  see,  when  the  unhelievcrs  shall  tremble,'^  and  shall  find  no 
refuge,  and  shall  be  taken  from  a  near  place,'  and  shall  say.  We  believe  in 
him!  But  how  shall  they  receive  the  faith  from  a  distant  place  :s  since 
they  had  before  denied  him,  and  reviled  the  mysteries  of  faith,  from  a  dis- 
tant place  ?*  And  a  bar  shall  be  placed  between  them  and  that  which  they 
shall  desire ;  as  it  hath  been  done  with  those  who  behaved  like  them  here- 
tofore :  because  they  have  been  in  a  doubt  which  hath  caused  scandal. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

INTITLED,  THE  CREATOR;''  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Praise  be  unto  God,  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth;  who  maketh 
the  angels  his  messengers,  furnished  with  two,  and  three,  and  four  pair 
of  wings  : '  God  maketh  what  addition  he  pleaseth  unto  his  creatures ; 
for  God  is  almighty.  The  mercy  which  God  shall  freely  bestow  on  man- 
kind, there  is  none  who  can  withhold ;  and  what  he  shall  withhold,  there  is 
none  who  can  bestow,  besides  him  :  and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise. 
O  men,  remember  the  favour  of  God  towards  you  :  is  there  any  creator, 
besides  God,  who  provideth  food  for  you  from  heaven  and  earth  }'\  There 
is  no  God  but  he :  how  therefore  are  ye  turned  aside  from  acknowledging 
his  unity  f  If  they  accuse  thee  of  imposture,  apostles  before  thee  have 
also  been  accused  of  imposture  :  and  unto  God  shall  all  things  return.  O 
men,  verily  the  promise  of  God  is  true  :  let  not  therefore  the  present  life 
deceive  you,  neither  let  the  deceiver  deceive  you  concerning  God  :  for 
Satan  is  an  enemy  unto  you ;  wherefore  hold  him  for  an  enemy  :  he  only 

*  viz.  At  their  death,  or  the  day  of  judgment,  or  the  battle  of  Bedr.' 

'  That  is,  from  the  outside  of  the  earth  to  the  inside  thereof;  or,  from  before  God's  tri- 
bunal to  hell  fire  ;  or,  from  the  plain  of  Bedr  to  the  well  into  which  the  dead  bodies  of  the 
slain  were  thrown.* 

« I.  e.  When  they  are  in  the  other  world  ;  whereas  faith  is  to  be  received  in  this. 

*  "  What  a  spectacle,  when  the  wicked  shall  quit  their  tombs  trembling,  and  be  unable 
to  find  a  refuge  !  They  will  say,  We  believe  :  but  what  merit  will  there  be  in  their  faith  ? 
They  had  it  not  on  earth.  There  they  lived  in  ungodliness,  and  scotfed  at  our  divine  doc- 
trine " — Savary. 

"  Some  intitle  this  chapter  The  Angels  :  both  words  occur  in  the  first  verse. 

(This  is  the  title  which  Savary  gives  to  it.  He,  says  Zamakhshari,  who  shall  read  the 
chapter  of  Angels,  shall  one  day  see  the  eight  gates  of  paradise  opened  before  him,  and 
shall  enter  by  whichever  he  pleases. — Savary.) 

'  That  is,  some  angels  have  a  greater,  and  some  a  lesser  number  of  wings,  according  to 
their  different  orders ;  the  words  not  being  designed  to  express  the  particular  number. 
Gabriel  is  said  to  have  appeared  to  Mohammed,  on  the  night  he  made  his  journey  to 
heaven,  with  no  less  than  six  hundred  wings.' 

t  "  Doth  any  other  dispense  unto  you  the  treasures  of  heaven  and  earth?" — Savary. 

=»  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem.  ■*  Idem. 


358  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xxxv. 

iiiviteth  his  confederates  to  be  the  inhabitants  of  hell.  For  those  who 
believe  not  there  is  prepared  a  severe  torment :  but  for  those  who  shall  be- 
lieve and  do  that  which  is  right,  is  prepared  mercy  and  a  great  reward. 
Shall  he  therefore  for  whom  his  evil  work  hath  been  prepared,  and  who 
imagineth  it  to  be  good,  le  as  he  ivho  is  rightly  disposed^  and  discerneih  the 
truth  ?  Verily  God  will  cause  to  err  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  direct 
whom  he  pleaseth.*  Let  not  thy  soul  therefore  be  spent  in  sighs  for  their 
sakes,  on  account  of  their  obstinacy ;  for  Gor>  well  knoweth  that  which  they 
do.  It  is  God  who  sendeth  the  winds,  and  raiseth  a  cloud ;  and  we  drive 
the  same  unto  a  dead  country,  and  thereby  quicken  the  earth  after  it  hath 
been  dead ;  so  shall  the  resurrection  he.^  Whoever  desireth  excellence ; 
unto  God  doth  all  excellence  belong  :  unto  him  ascendeth  the  good  speech  ; 
and  the  righteous  work  will  be  exalt.  But  as  for  them  who  devise  wicked 
plots^  they  shall  suffer  a  severe  punishment ;  and  the  device  of  those  men 
shall  be  rendered  vain.  God  created  you  Jirst  of  the  dust,  and  afterwards 
of  seed ;  ™  and  he  hath  made  you  man  and  wife.|  No  female  conceiveth, 
or  bringeth  forth,  but  with  his  knowledge.  Nor  is  any  thing  added  unto 
the  age  of  him  whose  life  is  prolonged,  neither  is  any  thing  diminished 
from  his  age,  but  the  same  is  written  in  the  book  of  God^s  decrees.  Verily 
this  is  easy  with  God.  The  two  seas  are  not  to  be  held  in  comparison : 
this  is  fresh  and  sweet,  pleasant  to  drink ;  but  that  is  salt  and  bitter : "  yet 
out  of  each  of  them  ye  eat  fish,"  and  take  ornaments  p  for  you  to  wear.  Thou 
seest  the  ships  also  ploughing  the  waves  thereof,  that  ye  may  seek  to  enrich 
yourselves  by  commerce^  of  the  abundance  of  God  :  peradventure  ye  will  be 
thankful.  He  causeth  the  night  to  succeed  the  day,  and  he  causeth  the  day 
to  succeed  the  night ;  and  he  obligeth  the  sun  and  the  moon  to  perform  their 
services  :  each  of  them  runneth  an  appointed  course.  This  is  God,  your 
Lord  :  his  is  the  kingdom.  But  the  idols  which  ye  invoke  besides  him  have 
not  the  power  even  over  the  skin  of  a  date-stone :  if  ye  invoke  them,  they 
will  not  hear  your  calling  ;  and  although  they  should  hear,  yet  they  would 
not  answer  you.  On  the  day  of  resurrection  they  shall  disclaim  your  having 
associated  them  icith  God :  and  none  shall  declare  unto  thee  the  truth,  like 
one  who  is  well  acquainted  therewith.  O  men,  ye  have  need  of  God  ;  but 
God  is  self-sufficient,  and  to  be  praised.  If  he  pleaseth,  he  can  take  you 
away,  and  produce  a  new  creature  in  your  stead  ;  "neither  loiZZ  this  be  diffi- 
cult with  God.  A  burdened  soul  shall  not  bear  the  burden  of  another :  and 
if  a  heavy-burdened  soul  call  on  another  to  bear  part  of  its  burden,  no  part 

*  "  He  who  findeth  charms  in  ungodhness,  beheveth  he  that  he  is  in  the  right  way? 
God  diffuseth  error  or  knowledge  as  he  pleaseth." — Savary 
"  See  chap.  29,  p.  326,  note  m. 

'  As  the  Koreish  did  against  Mohammed.     See  chap.  8,  p.  293,  note  z. 
"^  See  chap.  22,  p.  274. 

t  "  God  formed  you  of  earth  and  of  water.     He  gave  unto  you  the  sexes." — Savary. 
"  That  is,  The  two  collective  bodies  of  salt  water  and  fresh.     See  chap.  25,  p.  299. 
°  See  chap.  16,  p.  215,  note  e. 
pAs  pearls  and  coral. 


CHAP.  XXXV.  AL  KORAN.  359 

thereof  shall  be  borne  hj  the  person  who  shall  he  called  on,  although  he  be 
ever  so  nearly  related.  Thou  shalt  arhnonish  those  who  fear  their  Lord  in 
secret  and  are  constant  at  prayer :  and  whoever  cleanseth  himsclfyrom  the 
guilt  of  disobedience,  cleanseth  himself  to  the  advantage  of  his  own  soul;  for 
all  shall  be  assembled  before  God  at  the  last  day.  The  blind  and  the  seeing 
shall  not  be  held  equal;  neither  darkness  and  light;  nor  the  cool  shade  and 
the  scorching  wind :  neither  shall  the  living  and  the  dead  be  held  equal. ^ 
God  shall  cause  him  to  hear  whom  he  pleaseth  :  but  thou  shalt  not  make 
those  to  hear  who  are  in  their  graves.""  Thou  art  no  other  than  a  preacher  : 
verily  we  have  sent  thee  with  truth,  a  bearer  of  good  tidings,  and  a 
denouncer  of  threats.  There  hath  been  no  nation,  but  a  preacher  hath  in 
past  times  been  conversant  among  them :  if  they  charge  thee  with  impos- 
ture, they  who  v/ere  before  them  likewise  charged  their  apostles  with 
imposture.  Their  apostles  came  unto  them  with  evident  miracles,  and 
with  divine  writings,*  and  with  the  enlightening  book:*  afterwards  I 
chastised  those  who  were  unbelievers;  and  how  severe  was  my  vengeance ! 
Dost  thou  not  see  that  God  sendeth  down  rain  from  heaven,  and  that  we 
thereby  produce  fruits  of  various  colours  .^'^  In  the  mountains  also  there 
are  some  tracts  white  and  red,  of  various  colours ;  ^  and  others  are  of  a 
deep  black :  *  and  of  men,  and  beasts,  and  cattle  there  are  whose  colours 
are  in  like  manner  various.  Such  only  of  his  servants  fear  God  as  are 
endued  with  understanding :  verily  God  is  mighty  and  ready  to  forgive. 
Verily  they  who  read  the  book  of  God,  and  are  constant  at  prayer,  and  give 
alms  out  of  what  we  have  bestowed  on  them,  both  in  secret  and  openly, 
hope  for  a  merchandize  which  shall  not  perish :  that  God  may  fully 
pay  them  their  wages,  and  make  them  a  superabundant  addition  of  his 
liberality ;  for  he  is  ready  to  forgive  the  faults  of  his  servants,  and  to  requite 
their  endeavours.  That  which  we  have  revealed  unto  thee  of  the  book 
of  the  Koran  is  the  truth,  confirming  the  scriptures  which  were  revealed 
before  it:  for  God  knoweth  and  regardeth  his  servants.  And  we  have 
given  the  book  of  the  Koran  in  heritage  unto  such  of  our  servants  as 
we  have  chosen :  of  them  there  is  one  who  injureth  his  own  soul ;  *  and 
there  is  another  of  them  who  keepeth  the  middle  way;  ^  and  there  is  another 
of  them  who  outstrippeth  others  in  good  works,  by  the  permission  of  God. 
This  is  the  great  excellence.  They  shall  be  introduced  into  gardens  of  per- 
petual abode ;  they  shall  be  adorned  therein  with  bracelets  of  gold  and 

'  This  passage  expresses  the  great  difference  between  a  true  believer  and  an  infidel, 
truth  and  vanity,  and  their  future  reward  and  punishment. 
'  I.  e.  Those  who  obstinately  persist  in  their  unbehef,  who  are  compared  to  the  dead. 

*  As  the  volumes  delivered  to  Abraham,  and  to  other  prophets  before  Moses. 
'  viz.  The  Law,  or  the  Gospel. 

"  That  is,  Of  different  kinds.     See  chap.  16,  p.  215. 
''  Being  more  or  less  intense." 

*  "The  paths  of  the  mountains  are  red,  white,  or  of  various  colours.     The  raven  is 
black." — Savary. 

*  By  not  practising  what  he  is  taught  and  commanded  in  the  Koran. 

^That  is,  Who  meancth  well,  and  performeth  his  duty  for  the  most  part,  but  not 
perfectly. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


360  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xxxv. 

pearls,  and  their  clothing  therein  shall  he  of  silk  :  and  they  shall  say,  Praise 
be  unto  God,  who  hath  taken  away  sorrow  from  us !  verily  our  Lord 
is  ready  to  forgive  the,  sinners^  and  to  reward  the  obedient :  who  hath  caused 
us  to  take  up  our  rest  in  a  dwelling  of  eternal  stability,  through  his  bounty, 
wherein  no  labour  shall  touch  us,  neither  shall  any  weariness  affect  us. 
But  for  the  unbelievers  is  prepared  the  fire  of  hell :  it  shall  not  be  decreed 
them  to  die  a  second  time ;  neither  shall  any  part  of  the  punishment  thereof 
be  made  lighter  unto  them.  Thus  shall  every  infidel  be  rewarded.  And 
they  shall  cry  out  aloud  in  AeZZ,  sayings  Lord,  take  us  hence,  and  we  will 
work  righteousness,  and  not  what  we  hd^we  formerly  wrought.  But  it  shall 
he  answered  them,Did  we  not  grant  you  lives  of  length  sufficient,  that  whoever 
would  be  warned  might  be  warned  therein  ;  and  did  not  the  preacher^  come 
unto  you  ?  taste  therefore  the  pains  of  hell.  And  the  unjust  shall  have  no 
protector.  Verily  God  knoweth  the  secrets  both  of  heaven  and  earth,  for 
he  knoweth  the  innermost  parts  of  the  breasts  of  men.  It  is  he  who  hath 
made  you  to  succeed  in  the  earth.*  Whoever  shall  disbelieve,  on  him  be 
his  unbelief;  and  their  unbelief  shall  only  gain  the  unbelievers  greater  in- 
dignation in  the  sight  of  their  Lord  ;  and  their  unbelief  shall  only  increase 
the  perdition  of  the  unbelievers.  Say,  What  think  ye  of  your  deities  which 
ye  invoke  besides  God  .''  Show  me  what  part  of  the  earth  they  have 
created.  Or  had  they  any  share  in  the  creation  of  the  heavens  }  Have  we 
given  unto  the  idolaters  any  book  of  revelations,  so  that  they  may  rely  on 
any  proof  therefrom  to  authorize  their  practice  f  Nay ;  but  the  ungodly 
make  unto  one  another  only  deceitful  promises.  Verily  God  sustaineth  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  lest  they  fail :  and  if  they  should  fail,  none 
could  support  the  same  besides  him  ;  he  is  gracious  and  merciful.  The 
Koreish  swore  by  God,  with  a  most  solemn  oath,  that  if  a  preacher  had 
come  unto  them,  they  would  surely  have  been  more  willingly  directed  than 
any  nation  :  but  now  a  preacher  is  come  unto  them,  it  hath  only  increased 
in  them  their  aversion  yVom  the  truth,  their  arrog-ance  in  the  earth,  and  their 
contriving  of  evil;  but  the  contrivance  of  evil  shall  only  encompass  the 
authors  thereof^  Do  they  expect  any  other  than  the  punishment  awarded 
against  the  unbelievers  of  former  times  ?  For  thou  shalt  not  find  any  change 
in  the  ordinance  of  God;  neither  shalt  thou  find  any  variation  in  the 
ordinance  of  God.  Have  they  not  gone  through  the  earth,  and  seen  what 
hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  were  before  them ;  although  they  were 
more  mighty  in  strength  than  they  ?  God  is  not  to  be  frustrated  by  any 
thing  either  in  heaven  or  on  earth ;  for  he  is  wise  and  powerful.  If  God 
should  punish  men  according  to  what  they  deserve,  he  would  not  leave 
on  the  back  of  the  earth  so  much  as  a  beast :  but  he  respiteth  them  to  a 
determined  time;  and  when  their  time  shall  come,  verily  God  will  regard 
his  servants. 

■  viz.  Mohammed. 

*  **  He  hath  established  you  on  the  rains  of  the  past  generations." — Savary. 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  AL  KORAN*  361 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

INTITLED,  Y.  S. ;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Y.  S.*  /  stvear  by  the  instructive  Koran,  that  thou  art  one  of  the  mes- 
sengers of  Godj  sent  to  show  the  right  way.  This  is  a  revelation  of  the 
most  mighty,  the  merciful  God  :  that  thou  mayest  warn  a  people  whose 
fathers  were  not  warned,  and  who  live  in  negligence.  Our  sentence^  hath 
justly  been  pronounced  against  the  greater  part  of  them ;  wherefore  they 
shall  not  believe.  We  have  put  yokes  *=  on  their  necks,  which  come  up  to 
their  chins ;  and  they  are  forced  to  hold  up  their  heads ;  *  and  we  have  set 
a  bar  before  them,  and  a  bar  behind  them ;  '^  and  we  have  covered  them 
with  darkness ;  wherefore  they  shall  not  see.^  It  shall  he  equal  unto  them 
whether  ihou  preach  unto  them,  or  do  not  preach  unto  them  ;  they  shall 
not  believe.  But  thou  shalt  preach  with  effect  unto  him  only  who  fol- 
loweth  the  admonition  of  the  Koran,  and  feareth  the  Merciful  in  secret. 
Wherefore  bear  good  tidings  unto  him,  of  mercy,  and  an  honourable 
reward.  Verily  we  will  restore  the  dead  to- life,  and  will  write  down  their 
works  which  they  shall  have  sent  before  them,  and  their  footsteps  which  they 
shall  have  left  behind  them  :^  and  every  thing  do  we  set  down  in  a  plain 
register.  Propound  unto  them  as  an  example  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
of  Jintioch,  when  the  apostles  of  Jesus  came  thereto  :s  when  we  sent  unto 

"  The  meaning  of  these  letters  is  unknown  :  ■"  some,  however,  from  a  tradition  of  Ebn 
Abbas,  pretend  they  stand  for  Ya  insdn,  i.  e.  0  man.  This  chapter,  it  is  said,  had  several 
other  titles  given  it  by  Mohammed  himself,  and  particularly  that  of  The  heart  of  the  Koran. 
The  Mohammedans  read  it  to  dying  persons  in  their  last  agony.* 

"  viz.  The  sentence  of  damnation,  which  God  pronounced  against  the  greater  part  of 
genii  and  men,  at  the  fall  of  Adam.^ 

'  Or  collars,  such  as  are  described  p.  200,  note  o. 

*  "  The  most  part  of  them  will  verify  our  predictions,  because  that  they  are  unbelievers. 
We  have  loaded  their  necks  with  long  and  heavy  chains.  In  vain  would  they  raise  up 
their  heads." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  We  have  placed  obstacles  to  prevent  their  looking  either  forwards  or  back- 
wards. The  whole  passage  represents  the  blindness  and  invincible  obstinacy,  with  which 
God  justly  curses  perverse  and  reprobate  men. 

*  It  is  said  that  when  the  Koreish,  in  pursuance  of  a  resolution  they  had  taken,  had  sent 
a  select  number  to  beset  Mohammed's  house,  and  to  kill  him,^  the  prophet,  having  caused 
Ali  to  lie  down  on  his  bed  to  deceive  the  assassins,  went  out  and  threw  a  handful  of  dust 
at  them,  repeating  the  nine  first  verses  of  this  chapter,  which  end  here ;  and  that  they 
were  thereupon  stricken  with  blindness,  so  that  they  could  not  see  him.^ 

^  As  their  good  or  evil  example,  doctrine,  &c. 

^  To  explain  this  passage,  the  commentators  tell  the  following  story. 

The  people  of  Antioch  being  idolaters,  Jesus  sent  two  of  his  disciples  thither  to  preach 
to  them  :  and  when  they  drew  near  the  city,  they  found  Habib  surnamed  al  Najjar,  or  the 
carpenter,  feeding  sheep,  and  acquainted  him  with  their  errand:  whereupon  he  asked  them 
what  proof  they  had  of  their  veracity,  and  they  told  him  they  could  cure  the  sick,  and  the 
blind,  and  the  lepers ;  and  to  demonstrate  the  truth  of  what  they  said,  they  laid  their  hands 
on  a  child  of  his  who  was  sick,  and  immediately  restored  him  to  health.  Habib  was  con- 
vinced by  this  miracle,  and  believed;  after  which  they  went  into  the  city  and  preached 
the  worship  of  one  true  God,  curing  a  great  number  of  people  of  several  infirmities:  but 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  3,  p.  42,  &c.  ^  Vide  Bobov.  De  visit,  aegrot.  p.  17. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  117,  chap.  11,  p.  186,  «&,c.  ^  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  p.  35.  ^  Vide 

Abulf  Vit.  Moh.  p.  50. 
2h 


362  AL  KOEAN.  chap,  xxxvi. 

them  two  of  the  said  ajioslles ;^'  but  they  charged  them  with  imposture. 
Wherefore  we  strengthened  the?n  with  a  third.'  And  they  said,  Verily  we 
are  sent  unto  you  by  God.  The  inhahitants  answered,  Ye  are  no  other  than 
men,  as  we  are ;  neither  hath  the  Merciful  revealed  any  thing  unto  you  : 
ye  only  publish  a  lie.  The  apostles  replied.  Our  Lord  knoweth  that  we 
are  really  sent  unto  you  :  and  our  duty  is  only  public  preaching.  Those 
of  Jlntioch  said,  Verily  we  presage  evil  from  you:  if  ye  desist  noi  from 
preachings  we  will  surely  stone  you,  and  a  painful  punishment  shall  be 
inflicted  on  you  by  us.  The  apostles  answered,  Your  evil  presage  is  with 
yourselves:'^  although  ye  be  warned,*  will  ye  persist  in  your  errors? 
Verily  ye  are  a  people  who  transgress  exceedingly.  And  a  certain  man  ^ 
came  hastily  from  the  farther  parts  of  the  city,  and  said,  0  my  people,  fol- 
low the  messengers  of  God ;  follow  him  who  demandeth  not  any  reward 
of  you  :  for  these  are  rightly  directed.  *[XXIII.]  What  reason  have  I 
that  I  should  not  worship  him  who  hath  created  me  ?  for  unto  him  shall 
ye  return.  Shall  I  take  other  gods  besides  him  }  If  the  Merciful  be  pleased 
to  afflict  me,  their  intercession  will  not  avail  me  at  all,  neither  can  they 
deliver  me  :  then  should  I  be  in  a  manifest  error.  Verily  I  believe  in  your 
Lord  ;  wherefore  hearken  unto  me.  But  they  stoned  him  :  and  as  he  died, 
it  was  said  unto  him^  Enter  thou  into  paradise.  And  he  said,  O  that  my 
people  knew  how  merciful  God  hath  been  unto  me !  for  he  hath  highly 
honoured  me.  And  we  sent  not  down  against  his  people,  after  they  had 
slain  him,  an  army  from  heaven,  nor  the  other  instruments  of  destruction 
which  we  sent  down  on  unbelievers  informer  days  .•"»  there  was  only  one 

at  length,  the  affair  coming  to  the  prince's  ear,  he  ordered  them  to  be  imprisoned,  for 
endeavouring  to  seduce  the  people.  When  Jesus  heard  of  this,  he  sent  another  of  his 
disciples,  generally  supposed  to  have  been  Simon  Peter;  who  coming  to  Antioch,  and 
appearing  as  a  zealous  idolater,  soon  insinuated  himself  into  the  favour  of  the  inhabitants 
and  of  their  prince,  and  at  length  took  an  opportunity  to  desire  the  prince  would  order  the 
two  persons,  who,  as  he  was  informed,  had  been  put  in  prison  for  broaching  new  opinions, 
to  be  brought  before  him  to  be  examined ;  and  accordingly  they  were  brought :  when 
Peter,  having  previously  warned  them  to  take  no  notice  that  they  knew  him,  asked  them 
who  sent  them  ;  to  which  they  answered,  God  who  had  created  all  things,  and  had  no 
companion  :  he  then  required  some  convincing  proof  of  their  mission,  upon  which  they 
restored  a  blind  person  to  his  sight,  and  performed  some  other  miracles,  with  which  Peter 
seemed  not  to  be  satisfied,  for  that,  according  to  some,  he  did  the  very  same  miracles 
himself,  but  declared  that  if  their  God  could  enable  them  to  raise  the  dead,  he  would  be- 
lieve them ;  which  condition  the  apostles  accepting,  a  lad  was  brought  who  had  been 
dead  seven  days,  and  at  their  prayers  he  was  raised  to  life,  and  thereupon  Peter  acknow- 
ledged himself  convinced,  and  ran  and  demolished  the  idols,  a  great  many  of  the  people 
following  him,  and  embracing  the  true  faith;  but  those  who  believed  not  were  destroyed 
by  the  cry  of  the  angel  Gabriel.' 

^  Some  say  these  two  were  John  and  Paul ;  but  others  name  different  persons. 

'  viz.  Simon  Peter. 

*  i.  e.  If  any  evil  befall  you,  it  will  be  the  consequence  of  your  own  obstinacy  and  un- 
belief.    See  chap.  27,  p.  313,  note  p. 

*  "  Suspend  your  presage  ;  when  ye  shall  have  listened  to  our  doctrine,  perchance  ye 
will  renounce  your  evil  doings." — Savary. 

'  This  was  Habtb  al  Najjar,  whose  martyrdom  is  here  described :  his  tomb  is  still 
shown  near  Antioch,  and  is  much  visited  by  the  Mohammedans." 

">  As  a  deluge,  or  a  shower  of  stones,  or  a  suffocating  wind,  &c.  The  words  may  also 
be  translated.  Nor  did  we  dtlermme  to  send  down  such  executioners  of  our  justice. 

^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  &c.  Vide  etiam  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  580.  *  Vide  Scbul- 
tens,  Indie.  Geogi'.  ad  calcem  Vitoe  Saladini,  voce  Antiochia. 


CHAP.  XXXVI.  AL  KORAN.  363 

cry  of  Gabriel  from  heaven^  and  behold,  they  became  utterly  extinct.  O  the 
misery  of  men !  No  apostle  cometh  unto  them,  but  tliey  laugh  liini 
to  scorn.  Do  they  not  consider  how  many  generations  we  have  destroyed 
before  them  ?  Verily  they  shall  not  return  unto  them  :  but  all  of  them  in 
general  shall  be  assembled  before  us.  One  sign  of  the  resurrection  unto 
them  is  the  dead  earth  :"  we  quicken  the  same  by  the  rain,  and  produce 
thereout  various  sorts  of  grain,  of  which  they  eat.  And  we  make  therein 
gardens  of  palm-trees,  and  vines  ;  and  we  cause  springs  to  gush  forth  in  the 
same :  that  they  may  eat  of  the  fruits  thereof,  and  of  the  labour  of  their 
hands.  Will  they  not  therefore  give  thanks  }  Praise  be  unto  him  who  hath 
created  all  the  different  kinds,  both  of  vegetables^  which  the  earth  bringetli 
forth,  and  of  their  own  species,  by  forming  the  two  sexes^  and  also  the  various 
sorts  of  things  which  they  know  not.  The  night  also  is  a  sign  unto  them  : 
we  withdraw  the  day  from  the  same,  and  behold,  they  are  covered  witli 
darkness :  and  the  sun  hasteneth  to  his  place  of  rest."  This  is  the  dis- 
position of  the  mighty,  the  wise  God.  And  for  the  moon  have  we 
appointed  certain  mansions,  ^  until  she  change  and  return  to  be  like  the  old 
branch  of  a  palm-tree.*  i  It  is  not  expedient  that  the  sun  should  overtake 
the  moon  in  her  course  :  neither  doth  the  night  outstrip  the  day :  but  each 
of  these  luminaries  moveth  in  a  peculiar  orbit.  It  is  a  sign  also  unto  them, 
that  they  carry  their  offspring  in  the  ship  filled  with  merchandize  ;  ■"  and 
that  we  have  made  for  them  other  conveniences  like  unto  it,^  whereon  they 
ride.  If  we  please,  we  drown  them,  and  there  is  none  to  help  them ; 
neither  are  they  delivered,  unless  through  our  mercy,  and  that  they  may 
enjoy  life  for  a  season.  When  it  is  said  unto  them.  Fear  that  which  is 
before  you,  and  that  which  is  behind  you,^  that  ye  may  obtain  mercy :  they 
withdraw  from  thee  :  and  thou  dost  not  bring  them  one  sign,  of  the  signs  of 
their  Lord,  but  they  turn  aside  from  the  same.  And  when  it  is  said  unto 
them.  Give  alms  of  that  which  God  hath  bestowed  on  you ;  the  unbelievers 
say  unto  those  who  believe,  by  loay  of  mockery,  Shall  we  feed  him  whom 
God  can  feed,  if  he  pleaseth  ?  "^     Verily  ye  are  in  no  other  than  a  manifest 

°  See  chap.  29,  p.  326,  note  m. 

"  That  is,  he  hasteneth  to  run  his  daily  course :  the  setting  of  the  sun  resembling  a 
traveller's  going  to  rest.  Some  copies  vary  in  this  place,  and  instead  of  Iwwstaharrm  laha, 
read  ta  mostakarra  laha  ;  according  to  which  the  sentence  should  be  rendered,  The  sun 
runneth  his  course  without  ceasing,  and  hath  not  a  place  of  rest. 

p  viz.  These  are  twenty-eight  constellations,  through  one  of  which  the  moon  passes  every 
night,  thence  called  the  mansions  or  houses  of  the  moon.^ 

*  "  We  have  appointed  the  phases  of  the  moon,  and  the  moment  at  which  she  appeareth 
suspended  like  the  clusters  of  the  date-tree." '^ — Savary. 

'»  For  when  a  palm-branch  grows  old,  it  shrinks,  and  becomes  crooked  and  yellow,  not 
iil  representing  the  appearance  of  the  new  moon. 

'  Some  suppose  that  the  deliverance  of  Noah  and  his  companions,  in  the  ark,  is  here  in- 
tended :  and  then  the  words  should  be  translated.  That  we  carried  their  progeny  in  the  ark 
filed  with  living  creatures.     (Savary  adopts  this  reading.) 

'  As  camels,  which  are  the  land-sliips;  of  lesser  vessels  and  boats. 

•  i.  e.  The  punishment  of  this  world  and  of  the  next. 

"  When  the  poor  Moslems  asked  alms  of  the  richer  Koreish,  they  told  them  that  if  God 

5  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect,  i,  p.  22. 

®  "The  date-tree  produces  two  or  three  large  clusters,  which  spring  from  its  summit, 
and  are  suspended  around."' — Savary. 


364  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxvi. 

error.  And  they  say,  When  will  this  promise  of  the  resurrection  he  fulfilled^ 
if  ye  speak  truth  ?  They  only  wait  for  one  sounding  of  the  trumjKt,''  which 
shall  overtake  them  while  they  are  disputing  together ;  and  they  shall  not 
have  time  to  make  any  disposition  of  their  effects^  neither  shall  they  return  to 
their  family.  And  the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded  again  ;^  and  behold  they 
shall  come  forth  from  their  graves,  and  hasten  unto  their  Lord.  They  shall 
say,  Alas  for  us  !  who  hath  awakened  us  from  our  bed  "i  ^  This  is  what  the 
Merciful  promised  us  ;  and  his  apostles  spoke  the  truth.  It  shall  be  but 
one  sound  of  the  trumpet,  and  behold,  they  shall  he  all  assembled  before  us. 
On  this  day  no  soul  shall  be  unjustly  treated  in  the  least ;  neither  shall  ye 
be  rewarded,  but  according  to  what  ye  shall  have  wrought.  On  this  day 
the  inhabitants  of  paradise  shall  be  wholly  taken  up  with  joy :  they  and 
their  wives  shall  rest  in  shady  groves,  leaning  on  magnificent  couches. 
There  shall  they  have  fruit,  and  they  shall  obtain  whatever  they  shall 
desire.  Peace  shall  he  the  word  spoken  unto  the  righteous,  by  a  merciful 
Lord  :  but  he  shall  say  unto  the  wicked,  Be  ye  separated  this  day,  O  ye 
wicked, /rom  the  righteous.  Did  I  not  command  you,  O  sons  of  Adam, 
that  ye  should  not  worship  Satan  ;  because  he  was  an  open  enemy  unto 
you  .'*  And  did  I  not  say.  Worship  me ;  this  is  the  right  way  .''  But  now 
hath  he  seduced  a  great  multitude  of  you  :  did  ye  not  therefore  understand  .'' 
This  is  hell,  with  which  ye  were  threatened  :  be  ye  cast  into  the  same  this 
day  to  be  burned ;  for  that  ye  have  been  unbelievers.  On  this  day  we  will 
seal  up  their  mouths,  that  they  shall  not  open  them  in  their  own  defence ; 
and  their  hands  shall  speak  unto  us,  and  their  feet  shall  bear  witness 
of  that  which  they  have  committed.*  If  we  pleased  we  could  put  out  their 
eyes,  and  they  might  run  with  emulation  in  the  way  they  use  to  take  ;*  and 
how  should  they  see  their  error  f  And  if  we  pleased  we  could  transform 
them  into  other  shapes,  in  their  places  when  they  should  he  found ;  and  they 
should  not  be  able  to  depart :  neither  should  they  repent.*  Unto  whomsoever 
we  grant  a  long  life,  him  do  we  cause  to  bow  down  his  body  through  age.'\ 
Will  they  not  therefore  understand  }  We  have  not  taught  Mohammed  the 
art  of  poetry ; "  nor  is  it  expedient  for  him  to  he  a  poet.  This  hook  is  no 
other  than  an  admonition /rowz  God,  and  a  perspicuous  Koran ;  that  he  may 

could  provide  for  them,  as  they  imagined,  and  did  not,  it  was  an  argument  that  they 
deserved  not  his  favour  so  well  as  themselves  :  whereas  God  permits  some  to  be  in  want, 
to  try  the  rich  and  exercise  their  charity. 

^^  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect,  iv,  p.  59,  and  the  notes  to  chap.  39. 

y  See  ibid. 

^  For  they  shall  sleep  during  the  interval  between  these  two  blasts  of  the  trumpet,  and 
shall  feel  no  pain.' 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  63. 

*  "  We  could  deprive  them  of  sight,  and  they  would  wander  hither  and  thither  m  the 
midst  of  darkness." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  They  deserve  to  be  thus  treated  for  their  infidelity  and  disobedience ;  but  we 
bear  with  them  out  of  mercy,  and  grant  them  respite. 

t  "He  whose  old  age  we  lengthen  approaches  unto  childhood." — Savary. 

'This  is  in  answer  to  the  infidels,  who  pretended  the  Koran  was  only  a  poetical  com- 
position. 

■■  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  AL  KORAN.  365 

warn  him  who  is  living:*  and  the  sentence  of  condemnation  will  be  justly- 
executed  on  the  unbelievers.  Do  they  not  consider  that  we  have  created 
for  them,  among  the  things  which  our  hands  have  wrought,  cattle  of  several 
kinds,  of  which  they  are  possessors;  and  that  we  have  put  the  same  in 
subjection  under  them  ?  Some  of  them  are  for  their  riding ;  and  on  some 
of  them  do  they  feed :  and  they  receive  other  advantages  therefrom ;  and  of 
their  milk  do  they  drink.  Will  they  not,  therefore,  be  thankful }  They 
have  taken  other  gods,  besides  God,  in  hopes  that  they  may  be  assisted  hy 
them ;  but  they  are  not  able  to  give  them  any  assistance :  yet  are  tliey  a 
party  of  troopts  ready  to  defend  them.*  Let  not  their  speech,  therefore, 
grieve  thee  :  we  know  that  which  they  privately  conceal,  and  that  which 
they  publicly  discover.  Doth  not  man  know  that  we  have  created  him  of 
seed .''  yet  behold,  he  is  an  open  disputer  against  the  resurrection ;  and  he 
propoundeth  unto  us  a  comparison,  and  forgetteth  his  creation.  He  saith, 
Who  shall  restore  bones  to  life,  when  they  are  rotten  .?^  Answer,  He  shall 
restore  them  to  life,  ^vho  produced  them  the  first  time :  for  he  is  skilled  in 
every  kind  of  creation :  who  giveth  you  fire  out  of  the  green  tree,^  and 
behold,  ye  kindle  your  fuel  from  thence.  Is  not  he  who  hath  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth  able  to  create  neio  creatures  like  unto  them  ?  Yea 
certainly :  for  he  is  the  wise  Creator.  His  command,  when  he  willeth  a 
thing,  is  only  that  he  saith  unto  it.  Be ;  and  it  is.  Wherefore  praise  be 
unto  him,  in  whose  hand  is  the  kingdom  of  all  things,  and  unto  whom  ye 
shall  return  at  the  last  day. 


CHAPTER    XXXYII. 

INTITLED,  THOSE  WHO  RANK  THEMSELVES  IN  ORDER;  REVEALED 

•  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  angels  who  rank  themselves  in  order  ;s  and  by  those  who  drive 
forward  and  dispel  the  clouds ;  ^  and  by  those  who  read  the  Koran  for 

•^  i.  e.  Indued  with  understanding ;  the  stupid  and  careless  being  like  dead  persons.^ 

*  "  They  are  incapable  of  giving  succour.  The  worshipper  and  the  idol  shall  be  the 
prey  of  the  flames." — Savary. 

^  See  chap.  16,  p.  214,  note  a. 

'  The  usual  way  of  striking  fire  in  the  east  is  by  rubbing  together  two  pieces  of  wood, 
one  of  which  is  commonly  of  the  tree  called  Markh,  and  the  other  of  that  called  Afar: 
and  it  will  succeed  even  though  the  wood  be  green  and  wet.* 

6  Some  understand  by  these  words  the  souls  of  men  who  range  themselves  in  obedience 
to  God's  laws,  and  put  away  from  them  all  infidelity  and  corrupt  doings;  or  the  souls  of 
those  who  rank  themselves  in  battle  array,  to  fight  for  the  true  religion,  and  push  on  their 
horses  to  charge  the  infidels,  &c.' 

•■  Or,  who  put  in  motion  all  bodies,  in  the  upper  and  lower  world,  according  to  the  divine 
comm.and  ;  or,  who  keep  off  men  from  disobedience  to  God,  by  inspiring  them  with  good 
thoughts  and  inclinations;  or,  who  drive  away  the  devils  from  them,  &c.^ 

« Al  Beidawi.  «  Vide  Hyde,  de  Rel.  vet.  Pers.  c.  25,  p.  333,  &,c.  '  Al  Beidawi. 
="  Idem. 


m  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  XXXVII. 


an  admonition ;  verily  your  God  is  one :  *  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  of  whatever  is  between  them,  and  the  Lord  of  the  east.'  We  have 
adorned  the  lower  heaven  with  the  ornament  of  the  stars  :  and  we  have 
placed  therein  a  guard  against  every  rebellious  devil ;  tliat  they  may  not 
listen  to  the  discourse  of  the  exalted  princes  (for  they  are  darted  at  from 
every  side,  to  repel  them,  and  a  lasting  torment  is  prepared  for  them) ;  ex- 
cept him  who  catcheth  a  word  by  stealth,  and  is  pursued  by  a  shining 
flame.j  ^  Ask  the  Meccans,  therefore,  whether  they  be  stronger  by  nature, 
or  the  angels,  whom  we  have  created  ?  We  have  surely  created  them  of 
stiff  clay.  Thou  wonderest  at  God''s  jmioer  and  their  ohstinacy ;  but  they 
mock  at  the  arguments  urged  to  convince  them  :  when  they  are  warned, 
they  do  not  take  warning ;  and  when  they  see  any  sign,  they  scoff  thereat, 
and  say.  This  is  no  other  than  manifest  sorcery :  after  we  shall  be  dead, 
and  become  dust  and  bones,  shall  we  really  be  raised  to  life,  and  our  fore- 
fathers also .?  Answer,  Yea :  and  ye  shall  then  he  despicable.  There 
shall  be  but  one  blast  of  the  trumpet,  and  they  shall  see  themselves  raised  : 
and  they  shall  say,  Alas  for  us !  this  is  the  day  of  judgment ;  this  is  the 
day  of  distinction  hetiveen  the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  which  ye  rejected 
as  a  falsehood.  Gather  together  those  who  have  acted  unjustly,  and  their 
comrades,  and  the  idols  which  they  worshipped  besides  God,  and  direct 
them  in  the  way  to  hell ;  and  set  them  before  God''s  tribunal ;  for  they  shall 
be  called  to  account.  What  aileth  you  that  ye  defend  not  one  another  ^ 
But  on  this  day  they  shall  submit  themselves  to  the  judgment  of  God  :  and 
they  shall  draw  nigh  unto  one  another,  and  shall  dispute  among  them- 
selves. And  the  seduced  shall  say  unto  those  who  seduced  them,  Verily  ye 
came  unto  us  with  presages  of  prosperity ;  and  the  seducers  shall  answer, 
Nay,  rather  ye  were  not  true  believers :  for  we  had  no  power  over  you 
to  compel  you ;  but  ye  were  people  who  vohmtarily  transgressed  :  where- 
fore the  sentence  of  our  Lord  hath  been  justly  pronounced  against  us,  and 
we  shall  surely  taste  his  vengeance.  We  seduced  you ;  but  we  also  erred 
ourselves.  They  shall  both  therefore  be  made  partakers  of  the  same  pun- 
ishment on  that  day.  Thus  will  we  deal  with  the  wicked  :  because,  when 
it  is  said  unto  them.  There  is  no  god  besides  the  true  God,  they  swell  with 
arrogance,  and  say,  Shall  we  abandon  our  gods  for  a  distracted  poet.?  Nay  : 
he  Cometh  with  the  truth,  and  beareth  witness  to  the /ormer  apostles.     Ye 

*  "  I  swear  by  the  bands  of  angels,  by  those  who  threaten,  by  those  who  read,'  your 
God  is  the  only  God." — Savary. 

'  The  original  word,  being  in  the  plural  number,  is  supposed  to  signify  the  different 
points  of  the  horizon,  from  whence  the  sun  rises  in  the  course  of  the  year,  which  are  in 
number  three  hundred  and  sixty  (equal  to  the  number  of  days  in  the  old  civil  year),  and 
have  as  many  corresponding  points  where  it  successively  sets,  during  that  space/  Marracci 
groundlessly  imagines  this  interpretation  to  be  built  on  the  error  of  the  plurality  of  worlds.* 

t  "  One  of  them  approached  by  stealth  the  celestial  spheres,  but  a  penetrating  flame 
precipitated  him  down." — Savary. 

"See  chap.  15,  p.  210. 

'  Literally,  from  the  right  hand.  The  words  may  also  be  rendered,  with  force,  to  com- 
pel us ;  or,  with  an  oath,  swearing  that  ye  were  in  the  right. 

'  "  The  angels  who  read  the  Koran  are  here  meant." — Savary. 
*  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  *  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  589. 


CHAP.  XXXVII.  AL  KORAN.  367 

shall  surely  taste  the  painful  torment  of  hell;  and  ye  shall  not  be  rewarded, 
but  according  to  your  works.  But  as  for  the  sincere  servants  of  God,  they 
shall  have  a  certain  provision  in  paradise^  namely,  delicious  fruits :  and  they 
shall  he  honoured  :  they  shall  he  placed  in  gardens  of  pleasure,  leaning  on 
couches,  opposite  to  one  another : '»  a  cup  shall  be  carried  round  unto 
ihem^  filled  from  a  limpid  fountain,  for  the  delight  of  those  who  drink  :  it 
shall  not  oppress  the  understanding,  neither  shall  they  be  inebriated  there- 
with. And  near  them  shall  lie  the  virgins  of  paradise^  refraining  their  looks 
from  heholding  any  besides  their  spouses^  having  large  black  eyes,  and  re- 
sembling the  eggs  of  an  ostrich  covered  with  feathers  from  the  dust.''  And 
they  shall  turn  the  one  unto  the  other,  and  shall  ask  one  another  questions. 
And  one  of  them  shall  say.  Verily  I  had  an  intimate  friend  ivhile  I  lived  in 
the  icorldj  who  said  unto  me,  Art  thou  one  of  those  who  assertest  the  truth 
of  the  resurrection?  After  we  shall  be  dead,  and  reduced  to  dust  and  bones, 
shall  we  surely  be  judged  ?  Then  he  shall  say  to  his  companions,  Will  ye 
look  down  .'*  And  he  shall  look  down,  and  shall  see  him  in  the  midst  of 
hell :  and  he  shall  say  unto  him,  By  God,  it  wanted  little  but  thou  hadst 
drawn  me  into  ruin  :  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  grace  of  my  Lord,  I  had 
surely  been  one  of  those  who  have  been  delivered  up  to  eternal  torment. 
Shall  we  die  any  other  than  our  first  death  ;  or  do  we  suffer  any  punish- 
ment? Verily  this  is  great  felicity:  for  the  obtaining  a  felicity  like  this 
let  the  labourers  labour.  Is  this  a  better  entertainment,  or  the  tree  of  al 
Zakkum  ?"  Verily  we  have  designed  the  same  for  an  occasion  of  dispute 
unto  the  unjust.p*  It  is  a  tree  which  issueth  from  the  bottom  of  hell :  the 
fruit  thereof  resembleth  the  heads  of  devils ;  i  and  the  damned  shall  eat  of 
the  same,  and  shall  fill  their  bellies  therewith ;  and  there  shall  be  given 
them  thereon  a  mixture  of  filthy  and  boiling  water  to  drink  :  afterwards 
shall  they  return  into  hell.'"  They  found  their  fathers  going  astray,  and 
they  trod  hastily  in  their  footsteps :  for  the  greater  part  of  the  ancients 
erred  before  them.  And  we  sent  warners  unto  them  heretofore  :  and  see 
how  miserable  was  the  end  of  those  who  were  warned ;  except  the  sincere 
servants  of  God.  Noah  called  on  us  in  former  days :  and  we  heard  him 
graciously :  and  we  delivered  him  and  his  family  out  of  the  great  distress ; 
and  we  caused  his  oflipring  to  be  those  who  survived  to  people  the  earth  : 

""  See  chap.  15,  p.  212,  note  h. 

°  This  may  seem  an  odd  comparison  to  an  European  ;  but  the  orientals  think  nothing 
comes  so  near  the  colour  of  a  fine  woman's  skin  as  that  of  an  ostrich's  egg,  when  kept 
perfectly  clean. 

"  There  is  a  thorny  tree  so  called,  which  grows  in  Tehama,  and  bears  fruit  like  an 
almond,  but  extremely  bitter ;  and  therefore  the  same  name  is  given  to  this  infernal  tree. 

p  The  infidels  not  conceiving  how  a  tree  could  grow  in  hell,  where  the  stones  themselves 
serve  for  fuel. 

*  "  How  different  is  the  tree  al  Zakkum  from  the  abode  of  Eden  !  We  have  planted 
it  for  the  torment  of  the  wicked." — Savary. 

1  Or  of  serpents  ugly  to  behold :  the  original  word  signifies  both. 

^  Some  suppose  that  the  entertainment  above-mentioned  will  be  the  welcome  given  the 
damned  before  they  enter  that  place  ;  and  others,  that  they  will  be  suffered  to  come  out 
of  hell  from  time  to  time,  to  drink  their  scalding  liquor. 


868  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxvii. 

and  Ave  left  the  following  salutation  to  he  bestowed  on  him  by  the  latest 
posterity,  namely^  Peace  he  on  Noah  among  all  creatures !  Thus  do  we 
reward  the  righteous ;  for  he  was  one  of  our  servants  the  true  believers. 
Afterwards  we  drowned  the  others.  Abraham  also  loas  of  his  religion  :* 
when  he  came  unto  his  Lord  with  a  perfect  heart.  When  he  said  unto  his 
father  and  his  people,  What  do  ye  worship }  Do  ye  choose  false  gods 
preferably  to  the  true  God  ?  What  therefore  is  your  opinion  of  the  Lord 
of  all  creatures  }  And  he  looked  and  observed  the  stars,  and  said,  Verily  I 
shall  he  sick,*  and  shall  not  assist  at  your  sacrifices :  and  they  turned  their 
backs  and  departed  from  him.™  And  Abraham  went  privately  to  their 
gods,  and  said  scoffingly  unto  them,  Do  ye  not  eat  of  the  meat  ivhich  is  set 
before  you  ?  What  aileth  you  that  ye  speak  not  ?  And  he  turned  upon 
them,  and  struck  them  with  his  right  hand,  and  demolished  them.  And  the 
people  came  hastily  unto  him :  and  he  said,  Do  ye  worship  the  images 
which  ye  carve  ?  whereas  God  hath  created  you,  and  also  that  which  ye 
make.  They  said,  Build  a  pile  for  him,  and  cast  him  into  the  glowing  fire. 
And  they  devised  a  plot  against  him  ;  but  we  made  them  the  inferior,  and 
delivered  himJ  And  Abraham  said.  Verily  I  am  going  unto  my  Lord,^ 
who  will  direct  me.  O  Lord,  grant  me  a  righteous  issue.  Wherefore  we 
acquainted  him  that  he  should  have  a  son,  who  should  he  a  meek  youth.* 
And  when  he  had  attained  to  years  of  discretion,^  and  could  join  in  acts 
of  religion  with  him,  Abraham  said  unto  him,  O  my  son,  verily  I  saw  in  a 
dream  that  I  should  offer  thee  in  sacrifice :  y  consider  therefore  what  thou 
art  of  opinion  I  should  do.     He  answered,  O  my  father,  do  what  thou  art 

^'  For  Noah  and  he  agreed  in  the  fundamental  points  both  of  faith  and  practice  ;  though 
the  space  between  them  was  no  less  than  2640  years.^ 

*  He  made  as  if  he  gathered  so  much  from  the  aspect  of  the  heavens  (the  people  being 
greatly  addicted  to  the  superstitions  of  astrology),  and  made  it  his  excuse  for  being  absent 
Irom  their  festival,  to  which  they  had  invited  him. 

"  Fearing  he  had  some  contagious  distemper.' 

'See  chap.  21,  p.  268,  &c. 

"  i.  e.  Whither  he  hath  commanded  me. 

*  "  We  foretold  unto  him  a  son,  who  should  be  endowed  with  wisdom." — Savary. 
^  He  was  then  thirteen  years  old.* 

y  The  commentators  say,  that  Abraham  was  ordered  in  a  vision,  which  he  saw  on  the 
eighth  night  of  the  month  Dhu'lhajja,  to  sacrifice  his  son  ;  and  to  assure  him  that  this  was 
not  from  the  devil,  as  he  was  inclined  to  suspect,  the  same  vision  was  repeated  a  second 
time  the  next  night,  when  he  knew  it  to  be  from  God ;  and  also  a  third  time  the  night 
following,  when  he  resolved  to  obey  it,  and  to  sacrifice  his  son :  and  hence  some  think  the 
8th,  9th,  and  10th  days  of  Dhu'lhajja  are  called  Yawm  alterwiya,  yawm  arafat,  and  yawm 
alnehr,  that  is,  the  day  of  the  vision,  the  day  of  knowledge,  and  the  day  of  the  sacrifice. 

It  is  the  most  received  opinion  among  the  Mohammedans,  that  the  son  whom  Abraham 
offered  was  Ismael,  and  not  Isaac ;  Ismael  being  his  only  son  at  that  time :  for  the  pro- 
mise of  Isaac's  birth  is  mentioned  lower,  as  subsequent  in  time  to  this  transaction.  They 
also  allege  the  testimony  of  their  prophet,  who  is  reported  to  have  said,  I  am  the  so?i  of  the 
two  who  were  offered  in  sacrifice;  meaning  his  great  ancestor,  Ismael,  and  his  own  father 
Abd'allah:  for  Abd'almotalleb  had  made  a  vow,  that  if  God  would  permit  him  to  find 
out  and  open  the  well  Zemzem,  and  should  give  him  ten  sons,  he  would  sacrilice  one  of 
them  :  accordingly,  when  he  had  obtained  his  desire  in  both  respects,  he  cast  lots  on  his 
sons,  and  the  lot  faUing  on  Abd'allah,  he  redeemed  him  by  offering  an  hundred  camels, 
which  was  therefore  ordered  to  be  the  price  of  a  man's  blood  in  the  Sonna.® 

«  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  « Idem.  ®  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Zamakh. 


CHAP,  xxxvii.  AL  KORAN.  369 

commanded  :  thou  slialt  find  me,  if  God  please,  a  patient  person.  And 
when  they  had  submitted  tliemselves  to  the  divine  loill,  and  Abraham  had 
laid  his  son  prostrate  on  his  face,*  we  cried  unto  him,  O  Abraham,  now 
hast  thou  verified  the  vision.  Thus  do  we  reward  the  righteous.  Verily 
this  was  a  manifest  trial.  And  we  ransomed  him  with  a  noble  victim.* 
And  we  left  the  folloicing  salutation  to  he  bestowed  on  him  by  the  latest 
posterity,  namely^  Peace  he  on  Abraham  !  Thus  do  we  reward  the  righteous  : 
for  he  was  one  of  our  faithful  servants.  And  we  rejoiced  him  with  the 
promise  of  Isaac,  a  righteous  prophet;  and  we  blessed  him  and  Isaac: 
and  of  their  offspring  were  some  righteous  doers,  and  others  who  manifestly 
injured  their  own  souls.  We  were  also  gracious  unto  Moses  and  Aaron, 
heretofore :  and  we  delivered  them  and  their  people  from  a  great  distress. 
And  we  assisted  them  against  the  Egyptians ;  and  they  became  the  con- 
querors. And  v/e  gave  them  the  perspicuous  book  of  the  law,  and  we 
directed  them  into  the  right  way,  and  we  left  the  following  salutation 
to  be  bestowed  on  them  by  the  latest  posterity,  namely,  Peace  be  on 
Moses  and  Aaron!  Thus  do  we  reward  the  righteous;  for  they  were 
two  of  our  faithful  servants.  And  Elias''  was  also  one  of  those  who 
were  sent  by  us.  When  he  said  unto  his  people,  Do  ye  not  fear  God  f 
Do  ye  invoke  Baal,  and  forsake  the  most  excellent  Creator?  God  is 
your  Lord,  and  the  Lord  of  your  forefathers.  But  they  accused  him  of 
imposture :  wherefore  they  shall  be  delivered  up  to  eternal  punishment  ; 
except  the  sincere  servants  of  God.  And  we  left  the  following  salutation  to 
be  bestowed  on  him  by  the  latest  posterity,  namely,  Peace  he  on  Ilyasin !  '^ 
Thus  do  we  reward  the  righteous  :  for  he  was  one  of  our  faithful  servants. 
And  Lot  was  also  one  of  those  who  were  sent  by  us.     When  we  delivered 

^  The  commentators  add,  that  Abraham  went  so  far  as  to  draw  the  knife  with  all  his 
strength  across  the  lad's  throat;  but  was  miraculously  hindered  from  hurting  him.'" 

^  The  epithet  oi  great,  or  noble,  is  here  added,  either  because  it  was  large  and  fat,  or  be- 
cause it  was  accepted  as  the  ransom  of  a  prophet.  Some  suppose  this  victim  was  a  ram, 
and,  if  we  may  believe  a  common  tradition,  the  very  same  which  Abel  sacrificed,  having 
been  brought  to  Abraham  out  of  Paradise  :  others  fancy  it  was  a  wild-goat,  which  came 
down  from  mount  Thabir,  near  Mecca:  for  the  Mohammedans  lay  the  scene  of  this  trans- 
action in  the  valley  of  Mina ;  as  a  proof  of  which  they  tell  us  that  the  horns  of  the  victim 
were  hung  up  on  the  spout  of  the  Caaba,  where  they  remained  till  they  were  burnt,  together 
with  that  building,  in  thedaysof  Abd'allah  EbnZobeir; '  though  others  assure  us  that  they 
had  been  before  taken  down  by  Mohammed  himself,  to  remove  all  occasion  of  idolatry.^ 

^  This  prophet  the  Mohammedans  generally  suppose  to  have  been  the  same  with  al 
Khedr,  and  confound  him  with  Phineas,'  and  sometimes  with  Edris,  or  Enoch.  Some  say 
he  was  the  son  of  Yasin,  and  nearly  related  to  Aaron ;  and  others  suppose  him  to  have 
been  a  different  person.  He  was  sent  to  the  inhabitants  of  Baalbec  in  Syria,  the  Heliopolis 
of  the  Greeks,  to  reclaim  them  from  the  worship  of  their  idol  Baal,  or  the  sun,  whose  name 
makes  part  of  that  of  the  city,  which  was  anciently  called  Becc* 

■=  The  commentators  do  not  well  know  what  to  make  of  this  word.  Some  think  it  is  the 
plural  of  Elias,  or,  as  the  Arabs  write  it,  Ilyas,  and  that  both  that  prophet  and  his  fol- 
lowers, or  those  who  resembled  him,  are  meant  thereby :  others  divide  the  word,  and 
read  al  Yasin  i.  e.  the  family  of  Yasin,  who  was  the  father  of  Elias,  according  to  an 
opinion  mentioned  above:  and  others  imagine  it  signifies  Mohammed,  or  the  Koran,  or 
some  other  book  of  scripture.  But  the  most  probable  conjecture  is,  that  Ilyas  or  Ilyasin 
are  the  same  name,  or  design  one  and  the  same  person,  as  Sinai  and  Sinin  denote  one  and 
the  same  mountain  ;  the  last  syllable  being  added  here,  to  keep  up  the  rhyme,  or  cadence, 
at  the  close  of  the  verse. 

'0  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  »  lidem.  =  Vide  D'Herb.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Ismail. 
'  See  chap.  18,  p.  244,  note  x.        *  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


370  AL  KOEAN.  chap,  xxxvii. 

him  and  his  whole  family,  except  an  old  woman,  his  wife^  who  perished 
among  those  that  remained  behind  :  afterwards  we  destroyed  the  others. ** 
And  ye,  O  jjeople  of  Mecca,  pass  by  the  places  where  they  once  dwelt,  as 
ye  journey  in  the  morning,  and  by  night ;  will  ye  not  therefore  understand  t 
Jonas  icas  also  one  of  those  who  were  sent  by  us.^  When  he  fled  ^  into  the 
loaded  ship ;  and  those  who  were  on  board  cast  lots  among  themselves,s  and 
he  was  condemned  :^  and  the  fish  swallowed  him; '  for  he  was  worthy  of 
reprehension.  And  if  he  had  not  been  one  of  those  who  praised  God,*^ 
verily  he  had  remained  in  the  belly  thereof  until  the  day  of  resurrection. 
And  we  cast  him  on  the  naked  shore,  and  he  icas  sick :  ^  *  and  we  caused 
a  plant  of  a  gourd™  to  grow  up  over  him ;  and  we  sent  him  to  an  hundred 
thousand  persons,  or  they  were  a  greater  number,  and  they  believed : 
wherefore  we  granted  them  to  enjoy  this  life  for  a  season.  Inquire  of  the 
Meccans  whether  thy  Lord  hath  daughters,  and  they  sons }  ^  Have  we 
created  the  angels  of  the  female  sex  ?  and  were  they  witnesses  thereof? 
Do  they  not  say  of  their  own  false  invention,  God  hath  begotten  issue  ? 
and  are  they  not  really  liars }  Hath  he  chosen  daughters  preferably  to 
sons  ?  Ye  have  no  reason  to  judge  thus.  Will  ye  therefore  not  be  admo- 
nished .''  Or  have  ye  a  manifest  proof  of  lohal  ye  say  f  Produce  now  your 
book  of  revelations,  if  ye  speak  truth.  And  they  make  him  to  be  of  kin 
unto  the  genii ;  •»  whereas  the  genii  know  that  they  who  affirm  such  things 

^  See  chap.  7,  p.  125,  &c.  and  chap.  11,  p.  183,  &c. 
'  See  chap.  10,  p.  173. 
'  See  chap.  21,  p.  271. 

5  Al  Beidavvi  says  the  ship  stood  stock  still,  wherefore  they  concluded  that  they  had  a 
fugitive  servant  on  board,  and  cast  lots  to  find  him  out. 
•■  I.  e.  He  was  taken  by  the  lot. 

*  When  the  lot  fell  on  Jonas,  he  cried  out,  I  am  the  fugitive;  and  immediately  threw 
himself  into  the  sea.* 

''The  words  seem  to  relate  particularly  to  Jonas's  supplication  while  in  the  whale's 
belly.'' 

'  By  reason  of  what  he  had  suffered  ;  his  body  becoming  like  that  of  a  new-born  child.' 
It  is  said  that  the  fish,  after  it  had  swallowed  Jonas,  swam  after  the  ship  with  its  head 
above  water,  that  the  prophet  might  breathe ;  who  continued  to  praise  God  till  the  fish 
came  to  land  and  vomited  him  out. 

The  opinions  of  the  Mohammedan  writers,  as  to  the  time  Jonas  continued  in  the  fish's 
belly,  differ  very  much  :  some  suppose  it  was  a  part  of  a  day ;  others  three  days,  others 
seven,  others  twenty,  and  others  forty.' 

*  "The  fish  which  had  swallowed  him  threw  him  upon  the  sand,  overwhelmed  with 
sufierings." — Savary. 

^  The  original  word  properly  signifies  a  plant  which  spreads  itself  upon  the  ground, 
having  no  erect  stalk  or  stem  to  support  it,  and  particularly  a  gourd;-  though  some  imagine 
Jonas's  plant  to  have  been  a  fig,  and  others  the  small  tree  or  shrub  called  Mauz,^  which 
bears  very  large  leaves,  and  excellent  fruit.'  ^I'he  commentators  add,  that  this  plant 
withered  the  next  morning,  and  that  Jonas  being  much  concerned  at  it,  God  made  a  re- 
monstrance to  him  in  behalf  of  the  Ninevites,  agreeable  to  what  is  recorded  in  scripture. 

°  See  chap.  16,  p.  218. 

"  That  is,  the  angels,  who  are  also  comprehended  under  the  name  of  genii,  being  a 
species  of  them.  Some  say  that  the  infidels  went  so  far  as  to  assert  that  God  and  the 
devil  were  brothers ;  *  which  blasphemous  expression  may  have  been  occasioned  by  the 
magian  notions. 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  ^  See  chap.  21,  p.  271.  '' Al  Beidawi.  'Idem. 
'  Idem.  '  Vide  J.  Leon.  Descr.  Afric.  lib.  9.  Gab.  Sionit.  de  Urb.  Orient,  ad  calcem. 
Geogr.  Nub.  p.  32,  et  Hottinger,  Hist.  Orient,  p.  78,  &,c.            *A1  Beidavvi. 


OHAP.  XXXVIII.  AL  KORAN.  371 

shall  be  delivered  up  to  eternal  'punishment ;  (far  be  that  from  God,  which 
they  affirm  of  liim  !)  except  the  sincere  servants  of  God*  Moreover  ye 
and  that  which  ye  worship  shall  not  seduce  any  concerning  God,  except 
him  who  is  destined  to  be  bilrned  in  hell.  There  is  none  of  us  but  hath  an 
appointed  place  :  we  range  ourselves  in  order,  attending  the  commands  of 
God ;  and  we  celebrate  the  divine  praise.^  The  infidels  said,  If  we  had 
been  favoured  with  a  book  of  divine  revelations,  of  those  tvhich  were  deli- 
vcrcd  to  the  ancients,  we  had  surely  been  sincere  servants  of  God  :  yet  no\o 
the  Koran  is  revealed,  they  believe  not  therein ;  but  hereafter  shall  they 
know  the  consequence  of  their  unbelief  Our  word  hath  formerly  been  given 
unto  our  servants  the  apostles ;  that  they  shall  certainly  be  assisted  against 
the  infidels,  and  that  our  armies  should  surely  be  the  conquerors.  Turn 
aside  therefore  from  them,  for  a  season :  and  see  the  calamities  which  shall 
afflict  them ;  for  they  shall  see  thy  future  success  and  prosperity.  Do  they 
therefore  seek  to  hasten  our  vengeance  ?  Verily  when  it  shall  descend  into 
their  courts,  an  evil  morning  shall  it  be  unto  those  who  were  warned  in 
vain.]'  Turn  aside  from  them  therefore  for  a  season,  and  see :  hereafter 
shall  they  see  thy  success  and  their  punishment.  Praise  be  unto  thy  Lord, 
the  Lord  who  is  far  exalted  above  what  they  affirm  of  him !  And  peace 
be  on  his  apostles  !     And  praise  be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures ! 


CHAPTER    XXXVHI. 

INTITLED,  S.;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

S."!  By  the  Koran  full  of  admonition.'"  Verily  the  unbelievers  are  ad- 
dicted to  pride  and  contention.  How  many  generations  have  we  destroyed 
before  them ;  and  they  cried  for  mercy,  but  it  was  not  a  time  to  escape. 

*  "  The  impious  pretend  that  God  hath  had  intercourse  with  the  angels;  and  the  angels 
know  that  the  impious  shall  be  the  prey  of  flames.  Praise  be  to  the  Eternal !  Far  be 
their  blasphemies  from  him.  His  faithful  servants  alone  are  entitled  to  speak  of  him." — 
Savary. 

p  These  words  are  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  the  angels,  disclaiming  the  worship  paid  to 
them  by  the  idolaters,  and  declaring  that  they  have  each  their  station  and  office  appointed 
them  by  God,  whose  commands  they  are  at  all  times  ready  to  execute,  and  whose  praises 
they  continually  sing.  There  are  some  expositors,  however,  who  think  ihey  are  the 
words  of  Mohammed  and  his  followers  ;  the  meaning  being,  that  each  of  them  has  a  place 
destined  for  him  in  paradise,  and  that  they  are  the  men  who  range  themselves  in  order 
before  God,  to  worship  and  pray  to  him,  and  who  celebrate  his  praise,  by  rejecting  every 
false  notion  derogatory  to  the  divine  wisdom  and  power. 

t  "  Shun  the  infidels  until  the  time.  Look  on  them  :  one  day  their  eyes  shall  be  opened. 
Do  they  desire  to  hasten  our  vengeance  ?  When  the  hour  shall  knock  at  their  gate,  ter- 
rible shall  be  their  awakening.     Fly  them  until  the  appointed  hour." — Savary. 

•>  The  meaning  of  this  letter  is  unknown  :^  some  guess  it  stands  for  Sidk,  i.  e.  Truth  ; 
or  for  Sadaka,  i.  e.  he  {viz.  Mohammed)  speaketh  the  truth  ;  and  others  propose  different 
conjectures,  all  equally  uncertain. 

'  Something  must  be  understood  to  answer  this  oath,  which  the  commentators  variously 
supply. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 


372  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xxxVm. 

They  wonder  that  a  warner  from  among  themselves  hath  come  unto  them. 
And  the  unbelievers  said,  This  man  is  a  sorcerer,  and  a  liar :  doth  he  affirm 
the  gods  to  be  but  one  God.  Surely  this  is  a  wonderful  thing.  And  the 
chief  men  among  them  departed,*  saying  to  dhe  another,  Go,  and  persevere 
in  the  worship  of  your  gods  :  verily  this  is  the  thing  which  is  designed/  * 
We  have  not  heard  any  thing  like  this  in  the  last  religion  :^  this  is  no  other 
than  a  false  contrivance.  Hath  an  admonition  been  sent  unto  him  prefer- 
able to  any  other  among  us  ?  Verily  they  are  in  a  doubt  concerning  my 
admonition :  but  they  have  not  yet  tasted  my  vengeance.  Are  the  trea- 
sures of  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord,  the  mighty,  the  munificent  God,  in  their 
hands  .'*  Is  the  kingdom  of  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  of  whatever  is 
between  them,  in  their  possession .''  If  it  be  so,  let  them  ascend  by  steps 
unto  heaven.  But  any  army  of  the  confederates  shall  even  here  be  put  to 
flight.l  The  people  of  Noah,  and  the  tribe  of  Ad,  and  Pharaoh  the  con- 
triver of  the  stakes,  J  ^  and  the  tribe  of  Thamud,  and  the  people  of  Lot,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  the  wood  near  Madian,^  accused  the  prophets  of  impos- 
ture before  them ;  these  were  the  confederates  against  the  messengers  of 
God.  All  of  them  did  no  other  than  accuse  their  apostles  of  falsehood  : 
wherefore  my  vengeance  hath  been  justly  executed  upon  them.  And  these 
wait  only  for  one  sounding  of  the  trumpet ;  which  there  shall  be  no  defer- 
ring. And  they  scojjingly  say,  O  Lord,  hasten  our  sentence  unto  us,  before 
the  day  of  account.  Do  thou  patiently  bear  that  which  they  utter :  and 
remind  them  of  our  servant  David,  endued  with  strength;^  for  he  icas  one 
who  seriously  turned  himself  unto  God.     We  compelled  the  mountains  to 

*  On  the  conversion  of  Omar,  the  Koreish  being  greatly  irritated,  the  most  considerable 
of  them  went  in  a  body  to  Abu  Taleb  to  complain  to  him  of  his  nephew  Mohammed's 

{)roceedings ;  but  being  confounded  and  put  to  silence  by  the  prophet's  arguments,  they 
eft  the  assembly,  and  encouraged  one  another  in  their  obstinacy.* 
*■  Namely,  To  draw  us  from  their  worship. 

*  "Their  chiefs  arose  and  said.  Keep  your  religion:  be  faithful  to  your  God.  We 
know  his  designs." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  In  the  religion  which  we  received  from  our  fathers ;  or,  in  the  religion  of  Jesus, 
which  was  the  last  before  the  mission  of  Mohammed.' 

t  "  Let  them  essay  to  ascend  into  the  heavens.  Their  armies,  how  numerous  soever 
they  be,  shall  be  put  to  flight."— >S'awary. 

t  "  Pharaoh,  environed  by  his  courtiers."® — Savary. 

^  For  they  say  Pharaoh  used  to  tie  those  he  had  a  mind  to  punish  by  the  hands  and  feet 
to  four  stakes  fixed  in  the  ground,  and  so  tormented  them.'  Some  interpret  the  words, 
which  may  also  be  translated  the  lord  or  master  of  the  stakes,  figuratively,  of  the  firm  esta- 
blishment of  Pharaoh's  kingdom;  because  the  Arabs  fix  their  tents  with  stakes:^  but 
they  may  possibly  intend  that  prince's  obstinacy  and  hardness  of  heart. 

y  See  chap.  15,  p.  213. 

*  The  commentators  suppose  that  ability  to  undergo  the  frequent  practice  of  religious 
exercises  is  here  meant.  They  say  David  used  to  fast  every  other  day,  and  to  spend  one 
half  of  the  night  in  prayer.^ 

*  Al  Beidawi,  « Idem. 

®  (Pharaoh  is  mentioned,  in  several  parts  of  the  Koran,  with  the  epithet  %ou  elaouiad, 
contriver  of  the  stakes.  So  the  phrase  has  hitherto  been  translated.  Zou  signiHes  possessor. 
Aoutad  does  not  merely  mean  stakes.  It  means  also,  the  chief  men  of  a  city.  It  has,  there- 
fore, appeared  to  me  to  be  more  natural  to  translate  the  Arabic  words  by  "  Pharaoh,  envi- 
roned by  his  courtiers,^'  than  by  "  Pharaoh,  contriver  of  the  stakes.''^  Besides,  Mohammed 
uniformly  represents  that  prince  surrounded  by  his  courtiers.) — Savary. 

'  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  AI  Beidawi.  '  lidem,  Interp. 


CHAP,  xxxvni.  AL  KORAN.  373 

celebrate  our  praise  with  him,  in  the  evening  and  at  sunrise,  and  also  the 
birds,  which  gathered  themselves  together  unlo  him  :  "■  all  of  them  returned 
frequently  unto  him  for  this  purpose.  And  we  established  his  kingdom, 
and  gave  him  wisdom  and  eloquence  of  speech.  Hath  the  story  of  the  two 
adversaries'"  come  to  thy  knoicledge  ;*  when  they  ascended  over  the  wall 
into  the  upper  apartment,  when  they  went  in  unto  David,  and  he  was 
afraid  of  them.''  They  said,  Fear  not :  toe  are  two  adversaries  who  have  a 
controversy  to  he  decided.  The  one  of  us  hath  wronged  the  other :  where- 
fore judge  between  us  with  truth,  and  be  not  unjust;  and  direct  us  into  the 
even  way.  This  my  brother  had  ninety  and  nine  sheep :  and  I  had  only 
one  ewe  :  and  he  said,  Give  her  me  to  keep  ;  and  he  prevailed  against  me 
in  the  discourse  which  we  had  togeiher.'\  David  answered.  Verily  he  hath 
wronged  thee  in  demanding  thine  ewe  as  an  addition  to  his  own  sheep : 
and  many  of  them  who  are  concerned  together  in  business  wrong  one 
another,  except  those  who  believe  and  do  that  which  is  right ;  but  how  few 
are  they !  And  David  perceived  that  we  had  tried  him  hy  this  parable,  and 
he  asked  pardon  of  his  Lord  :  and  he  fell  down  and  bowed  himself,  and 
repented. "^  Wherefore  we  forgave  him  this  fault ;  and  he  shall  be  admitted 
to  approach  near  uhto  us,  and  shall  have  an  excellent  place  of  abode  in 
paradise.  O  David,  verily  we  have  appointed  thee  a  sovereign  prince  in 
the  earth :  judge  therefore  between  men  M'ith  truth  ;  and  follow  not  thj/ 
own  lust,  lest  it  cause  thee  to  err  from  the  way  of  God  :  for  those  who 
err  from  the  way  of  God  shall  suffer  a  severe  punishment,  because  they 
have  forgotten  the  day  of  account.  We  have  not  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  and  whatever  is  between  them,  in  vain.«  This  is  the  opinion 
of  the  unbelievers  :  but  woe  unto  those  who  believe  not,  because  of  the  fire 
of  hell.'l  Shall  we  deal  with  those  who  believe  and  do  good  works,  as 
with  those  who  act  corruptly  in  the  earth  ?  Shall  we  deal  with  the  pious 
as  with  the  wicked  .''  A  blessed  book  have  we  sent  down  unto  thee,  O 
Mohammed,  that  they  may  attentively  meditate  on  the  signs  thereof,  and 

"See  chap.  21,  p.  270. 

''  These  were  two  angels,  vi^ho  came  unto  David  in  the  shape  of  men,  to  demand  judg- 
ment in  the  feigned  controversy  after-mentioned.  It  is  no  other  than  Nathan's  parable  to 
David,-  a  little  disguised. 

*  "  Knowest  thou  the  dispute  of  the  two  brothers?" — Savary. 

"  Because  they  came  suddenly  upon  him,  on  a  day  of  privacy  ;  when  the  doors  were 
guarded,  and  no  person  admitted  to  disturb  his  devotions.  For  David,  they  say,  divided 
his  time  regularly,  setting  apart  one  day  for  the  service  of  God,  another  day  for  rendering 
justice  to  his  people,  another  day  for  preaching  to  them,  and  another  day  for  his  own  affairs.^ 

t  "  I  yielded  unto  his  solicitations,  and  he  hath  wrested  her  from  me." — Savary. 

^  The  crime  of  which  David  had  been  guilty  was  the  taking  the  wife  of  Uriah,  and 
ordering  her  husband  to  be  set  in  the  front  of  the  battle  to  be  slain." 

Some  suppose  this  story  was  told  to  serve  as  an  admonition  to  IMohammed,  who,  it 
seems,  was  apt  to  covet  what  was  another's. 

^  So  as  to  permit  injustice  to  go  unpunished,  and  righteousness  unrewarded. 

t  "  The  creation  of  the  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  whole  universe,  is  our  work.  It  is 
not  the  sport  of  chance,  as  the  unbelievers  imagine.  Woe  be  to  the  unbeUevers!  They 
shall  be  the  prey  of  the  flames." — Savary. 

2  2  Sam.  xii.  '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  lidem. 


374  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxviii. 

that  men  of  understanding  may  be  warned.  And  we  gave  unto  David 
Solomon;  how  excellent  a  servant!  for  he  frequently  turned  himself  unto 
God.  Wlien  the  horses  standing  on  three  feet,  and  touching  the  ground 
with  the  edge  of  the  fourth  foot,*  and  swift  in  the  course,  were  set  in 
parade  before  him  in  the  evening,^  he  said.  Verily  I  have  loved  the  love 
of  earthly  good  above  the  remembrance  of  my  Lord  :  and  have  spent  the 
time  in  viewing  these  horses^  until  the  sun  is  hidden  by  the  veil  of  night  : 
bring  the  horses  back  unto  me.  »Bnd  when  they  icere  brought  back,  he  began 
to  cut  off  their  legs  and  their  necks.  We  also  tried  Solomon,  and  placed 
on  his  throne  a  counterfeit  body  :s-j*  afterwards  he  turned  unto  God,  and 
said,  O  Lord,  forgive  me,  and  give  me  a  kingdom  which  may  not  be 
obtained  by  any  after  me ;  ^  for  thou  art  the  giver  of  kingdoms.  And 
we  made  the  wind  subject  to  him  ;  it  ran  gently  at  his  command,  whither- 
soever we  dii-ected.  And  we  also  put  the  devils  in  subjection  under  liim ; 
and  ainong  them  such  as  were  every  way  skilled  in  building,  and  in  diving 
for  pearls  :  and  others  loe  delivered  to  him  bound  in  chains,  saying.,  This  is 
our  gift :  therefore  be  bounteous,  or  be  sparing  unto  whom  thou  shalt  think 

*  "They  ran  with  such  swiftness  that  hardly  did  their  feet  touch  the  ground."  — 
Savary, 

^  Some  say  that  Solomon  brought  these  horses,  being  a  thousand  in  number,  from 
Damascus  and  Nisibis,  which  cities  he  had  taken  ;  others  say  that  they  were  left  him  by 
his  father,  who  took  them  from  the  Amalekites  ;  while  others,  who  prefer  the  marvellous, 
pretend  that  they  came  up  out  of  the  sea,  and  had  wings.  However,  Solomon,  having 
one  day  a  mind  to  view  these  horses,  ordered  them  to  be  brought  before  him,  and  was  so 
taken  up  with  them  that  he  spent  the  remainder  of  the  day,  till  after  sunset,  in  looking  on 
them ;  by  which  means  he  neglected  the  prayer,  which  ought  to  have  been  said  at  that 
time,  till  it  was  too  late  ;  but  when  he  perceived  his  omission,  he  was  so  greatly  concerned 
at  it,  that,  ordering  the  horses  to  be  brought  back,  he  killed  them  all  as  an  offering  to 
<jod,  except  only  a  hundred  of  the  best  of  them.  But  God  made  him  ample  amends  for 
the  loss  of  these  horses,  by  giving  him  dominion  over  the  winds.' 

s  The  most  received  exposition  of  this  passage  is  taken  from  the  following  Talmudic 
fable.^ 

Solomon  having  taken  Sidon,  and  slain  the  king  of  that  city,  brought  away  his  daughter 
Jerada,  who  became  his  favourite  ;  and  because  she  ceased  not  to  lament  her  father's  loss, 
he  ordered  the  devils  to  make  an  image  of  him  for  her  consolation  ;  which  being  done,  and 
placed  in  her  chamber,  she  and  her  maids  worshipped  it  morning  and  evening,  according 
to  their  custom.  At  length  Solomon  being  informed  of  this  idolatry,  which  was  practised 
under  his  roof,  by  his  vizier  Asaf,  he  broke  the  image,  and  having  chastised  the  woman, 
went  out  into  the  desert,  where  he  wept  and  made  supplications  to  God  ;  who  did  not  think 
fit,  however,  to  let  his  negligence  pass  without  some  correction.  It  was  Solomon's  custom, 
while  he  eased,  or  washed  himself,  to  entrust  his  signet,  on  which  his  kingdom  depended, 
with  a  concubine  of  his  named  Amina ;  one  day,  therefore,  when  she  had  the  ring  in  her 
custody,  a  devil,  named  Sakhar,  came  to  her  in  the  shape  of  Solomon,  and  received  the 
ring  from  her;  by  virtue  of  which  he  became  possessed  of  the  kingdom,  and  sat  on  the 
throne  in  the  shape  which  he  had  borrowed,  making  what  alterations  in  the  law  he  pleased. 
Solomon,  in  the  mean  time,  being  changed  in  his  outward  appearance,  and  known  to  none 
of  his  subjects,  was  obliged  to  wander  about  and  beg  alms  for  his  subsistence  ;  till  at 
length,  after  the  space  of  forty  days,  which  was  the  time  the  image  had  been  worshipped 
in  his  house,  the  devil  flew  away,  and  threw  the  signet  into  the  sea  :  the  signet  was  imme- 
diately swallowed  by  a  fish,  which  being  taken  and  given  to  Solomon,  he  found  the  ring 
in  its  belly,  and  having  by  this  means  recovered  the  kingdom,  took  Sakhar,  and  tying  a 
great  stone  to  his  neck,  threw  him  into  the  lake  of  Tiberias.'' 

+  "We  tempted  him,  and  we  seated  on  his  throne  a  devil  in  a  human  form." — Savary. 

^  i.  e.  That  I  may  surpass  oil  future  princes  in  magnificence  and  power. 

'  See  chap.  21,  p.  270 ;  and  chap.  27,  p.  230,  &c. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Al  Zamakh.  Yahya.  «  Vide  Talm.  En  Jacob,  part  2,  et  Yalkut  in  lib. 
Reg.  p.  1S2.        •-  Al  Beid.  Jallal.  Abu'lfeda. 


CHAP,  xxxvin.  AL  KORAN.  375 

Jit^^  without  rendering  an  account.  And  he  shall  approach  near  unto  us, 
and  shall  have  an  excellent  abode  in  paradise.  And  remember  our  servant 
Job/  when  he  cried  unto  his  Lord,  saijing^  Verily  Satan  hath  alllicted  me 
with  calamity  and  pain.  And  it  loas  said  unto  him,  Strike  t^ie  earth  with 
thy  foot;  which  when  he  had  done,  a  fountain'^  sprang  up,  and  it  was  said 
to  hi?n,  This  is  for  thee  to  wash  in,  to  refresh  thee,  and  to  drink.  And  we 
restored  unto  him  his  family,  and  as  many  more  with  them,  through  our 
mercy ;  and  for  an  admonition  unto  those  who  are  endued  with  under- 
standing. And  ive  said  unto  him,  Take  a  handful  of  rods "  in  thy  hand, 
and  strike  thy  wife  therewith  ;  °  and  break  not  thine  oath.p  Verily  we 
found  him  a  patient  person  :  how  excellent  a  servant  was  he  t  for  he  was 
one  who  frequently  turned  himself  unto  us.  Remember  also  our  servants 
Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  who  were  men  strenuous  and  prudent. 
Verily  we  purified  them  with  a  perfect  purification,  tlirough  the  remem- 
brance of  the  life  to  come;i  and  they  were,  in  our  sight,  elect  and  good 
men.  And  remember  Ismael,  and  Elisha,'  and  Dhu'lkefl :  ^  for  all  these 
were  good  men.  This  is  an  admonition.  Verily  the  pious  shall  have  an 
excellent  place  to  return  unto,  namely,  gardens  of  perpetual  abode,  the 
gates  whereof  shall  stand  open  unto  them.*  As  they  lie  down  therein,  they 
shall  there  ask  for  many  sorts  of  fruits,  and  for  drink ;  and  near  them  shall 
sit  the  virgins  of  paradise,  rei^isiimng  their  looks  yVom  beholding  any  besides 
their  spouses,  and  of  equal  age  with  them.*  This  is  what  ye  are  promised, 
at  the  day  of  account.  This  is  our  provision,  which  shall  not  fail.  This 
shall  be  the  reward  of  the  righteous.  But  for  the  transgressors  is  prepared  an 
evil  receptacle,  namely,  hell :  they  shall  be  cast  into  the  same  to  be  burned, 
and  a  wretched  couch  shall  it  be.  This  let  them  taste,  to  wit,  scalding  water, 

''Some  suppose  these  words  relate  to  the  genii,  and  that  Solomon  is  thereby  empowered 
to  release  or  to  keep  in  chains  such  of  them  as  he  pleased. 

'  See  chap.  21,  p.  271. 

"*  Some  say  there  were  two  springs,  one  of  hot  water,  wherein  he  bathed,  and  the  other 
of  cold,  of  which  he  drank.^ 

"  The  original  not  expressing  what  this  handful  was  to  consist  of,  one  supposes  it  was 
to  be  only  a  handful  of  dry  grass,  or  of  rushes ;  and  another  that  it  was  a  branch  of  a 
palm-tree.^ 

"  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  what  fault  Job's  wife  had  committed,  to  deserve 
this  chastisement :  we  have  mentioned  one  opinion  already.'"  Some  think  it  was  only 
because  she  staid  too  long  on  an  errand. 

i*  For  he  had  sworn  to  give  her  a  hundred  stripes  if  he  recovered. 

*  Or,  as  the  words  may  be  interpreted,  according  to  al  Zamakhshari,  We  have  purified 
them,  or  peculiarly  destined  und  fitted  them  for  paradise. 

'  See  chap.  6,  p.  IQl. 

*  See  chap.  21,  p.  271.  Ai  Beidawi  here  takes  notice  of  another  tradition  concerning 
this  prophet ;  viz.  that  he  entertained  and  took  care  of  a  hundred  Israelites,  who  fled  to 
him  from  a  certain  slaughter:  from  which  action  he  probably  had  the  surname  of  Dhu'lkefl 
given  him  ;  the  primary  signification  of  the  verb  cafala  being  to  maintain  or  take  care  of 
another.  If  a  conjecture  might  be  founded  on  this  tradition,  I  should  fancy  the  person 
intended  was  Obadiah,  the  governor  of  Ahab's  house.* 

*  "  The  earth  cherisheih  the  memory  of  them.  Those  who  fear  the  Lord  shall  enjoy 
felicity.     The  gates  of  the  garden  of  Eden  shall  open  before  them." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  About  thirty  or  thirty-three.^ 

"  Al  Beidawi.  '  See  the  notes  to  chap.  21,  p.  271.  '°  See  ibid.  *  Sec  1  Kings 
xvLii.  4.  ^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  71. 


376  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxvin. 

and  corruption  flowing  from  the  hodies  of  the  damned^  and  divers  other  things 
of  the  same  kind.  And  it  shall  be  said  to  the  seducers,  This  troop  ichich 
was  guided  by  you  shall  be  thrown,  together  with  you,  headlong  into  hell: 
they  shall  not  be  bidden  welcome;  for  they  shall  enter  the  fire  to  be  burned. 
And  the  seduced  shall  say  to  their  seducers^  Verily  ye  shall  not  be  bidden 
M'elcome:  ye  have  brought  it  upon  us;  and  a  wretched  abode  is  hell*  They 
shall  say,  O  Lord,  doubly  increase  the  torment  of  him  who  hath  brought 
this  punishment  upon  us,  in  the  fire  of  hell.  And  the  infidels  shall  say. 
Why  do  we  not  see  the  men  whom  we  numbered  among  the  wicked,  and 
whom  we  received  with  scorn .''  Or  do  our  eyes  miss  them  ?  Verily  this 
is  a  truth ;  to  wit^  the  disputing  of  the  inhabitants  of  hell  fire.  Say,  O 
Mohammed^  unto  the  idolaters.  Verily  I  am  no  other  than  a  warner :  and 
there  is  no  god,  except  the  one  only  God,  the  Almighty,  the  Lord  of 
heaven  and  earth,  and  of  whatsoever  is  between  them ;  the  mighty,  the 
forgiver  of  sins.  Say,  it  is  a  weighty  message,  from  which  ye  turn  aside. 
I  had  no  knowledge  of  the  exalted  princes,^  when  they  disputed  concerning 
the  creation  of  man  :  (it  hath  been  revealed  unto  me  only  as  a  proof  ihdii  I 
am  a  public  preacher :)  when  thy  Lord  said  unto  the  angels.  Verily  I  am 
about  to  create  man  of  clay  :  when  I  shall  have  formed  him,  therefore,  and 
shall  have  breathed  my  spirit  into  him,  do  ye  fall  down  and  worship  him.y 
And  all  the  angels  worshipped  him,  in  general,  except  Eblis,  who  was  puffed 
up  with  pride,  and  became  an  unbeliever.  God  said  unto  him,  O  Eblis, 
what  hindereth  thee  from  worshipping  that  which  I  have  created  with  my 
hands  ?  Art  thou  elated  with  vain  pride  ?  Or  art  thou  really  one  of 
exalted  merit  ?  |  He  answered,  I  am  more  excellent  than  he :  thou  hast 
created  me  of  fire,  and  thou  hast  created  him  of  clay.  God  said  unto  him, 
Get  thee  hence  therefore;  for  thou  shalt  be  driven  away  from  mercy;  and 
my  curse  shall  be  upon  thee,  until  the  day  of  judgment.  He  replied, 
O  Lord,  respite  me,  therefore,  until  the  day  of  resurrection.  God  said, 
Verily  thou  shalt  be  one  of  those  who  are  respited  until  the  day  of  the 
determined  time.  Eblis  said.  By  thy  might  do  1  swear,  I  will  surely 
seduce  them  all,  except  thy  servants  who  shall  be  peculiarly  chosen  from 
among  them.  God  said.  It  is  a  just  sentence ;  and  I  speak  the  truth :  I 
will  surely  fill  hell  with  thee,  and  with  such  of  them  as  shall  follow  thee, 
altogether."  Say  unto  the  Meccans,  I  ask  not  of  you  any  reward  for  this 
my  preaching:  neither  am  I  one  of  those  who  assume  a  part  which  belongs 
not  to  them.  The  Koran  is  no  other  than  an  admonition  unto  all  crea- 
tures :  and  ye  shall  surely  know  what  is  delivered  therein  to  be  true,  after 
a  season. 

*  "  The  unbelievers  shall  say  unto  their  seducers,  You  are  not  deserving  of  any  pardon : 
you  have  outgone  us  in  error.    Horrible  will  be  our  mutual  habitation." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  The  angels. 

y  See  chap.  2,  p.  5. 

t  "  Art  thou  instigated  by  pride  ?  Does  thy  greatness  consider  itself  humiliated?" — 
Savary. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  117  ;  and  chap.  15,  p.  211,  &c. 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  AL  KORAN.  877 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  TROOPS ;«  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

The  revelation  of  this  book  is  from  the  mighty,  the  wise  God.  Verily 
we  have  revealed  this  book  unto  thee  with  truth :  wherefore  serve  Gor, 
exhibiting  the  pure  religion  unto  him.  Ought  not  the  pure  religion  to  be 
exhibited  unto  God  .?  But  as  to  those  who  take  other  patrons  besides  him, 
saying,  We  worship  them  only  that  they  may  bring  us  nearer  unto  God  ; 
verily  God  will  judge  between  them  concerning  that  wherein  they  disagree. 
Surely  God  will  not  direct  him  who  is  a  liar,  or  ungrateful.  If  God  had 
been  minded  to  have  had  a  son,  he  had  surely  chosen  what  he  pleased  out 
of  that  which  he  hath  created."'  But  far  be  such  a  thing  from  him !  He  is 
the  sole,  the  almighty  God.  He  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
with  truth  :  he  causeth  the  night  to  succeed  the  day,  and  he  causeth  the 
day  to  succeed  the  night,  and  he  obligeth  the  sun  and  the  moon  to  perform 
their  services  ;  each  of  them  hastening  to  an  appointed  period.  Is  not  he 
the  mighty,  the  forgiver  of  sins?  He  created  you  of  one  man,  and  after- 
wards out  of  him  formed  his  wife:  and  he  hath  bestowed*^  on  you  four 
pair  of  cattle.^  He  formeth  you  in  the  wombs  of  your  mothers,  by  several 
gradual  formations,^  within  three  veils  of  darkness.^  This  is  God,  your 
Lord  :  his  is  the  kingdom  :  there  is  no  God  but  he.  Why  therefore  are 
ye  turned  aside  from  the  worship  of  him  to  idolatry?  If  ye  be  ungrateful, 
verily  God  hath  no  need  of  you;  yet  he  liketh  not  ingratitude  in  his 
servants :  but  if  ye  be  thankful,  he  will  be  well  pleased  with  you.  A 
burdened  soul  shall  not  bear  the  burden  of  another :  hereafter  shall  ye 
return  unto  your  Lord,  and  he  shall  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have 
wrought,  and  will  reward  you  accordingly ;  for  he  knoweth  the  innermost 
parts  of  your  breasts.  When  harm  befalleth  a  man,  he  calleth  upon  his 
Lord,  and  turneth  unto  him :  yet  afterwards,  when  God  hath  bestowed 
on  him  favour  from  himself,  he  forgetteth  that  Being  which  he  invoked 
before,*'  and  setteth  up  equals  unto  God,  that  he  may  seduce  men  from  his 

•  This  title  is  taken  from  the  latter  end  of  the  chapter,  where  it  is  said  the  wicked  shall 
be  sent  to  hell,  and  the  righteous  admitted  into  paradise  by  troops. 

"  Except  the  verse  beginning,  Say,  0  my  servants,  who  have  transgressed  against  your 
own  souls,  &-c.^ 

"  Because,  says  al  Beidawi,  there  is  no  being  besides  himself,  but  what  hath  been  created 
by  him  ;  since  there  cannot  be  two  necessarily-existent  beings :  and  hence  appears  the 
absurdity  of  the  imagination  here  condemned,  because  no  creature  can  resemble  the 
Creator,  or  be  worthy  to  bear  the  relation  of  a  son  to  him. 

"*  Literally,  He  hath  sent  down  ;  from  which  expression  some  have  imagined  that  these 
four  kinds  uf  beasts  were  created  in  paradise,  and  thence  sent  down  to  earth.* 

«  See  chap.  6,  p.  113,  114. 

f  See  chap.  22,  p.  274. 

« t.  e.  The  belly,  the  womb,  and  the  membranes  which  enclose  the  embryo. 

"  Or,  He  forgetteth  the  evil  which  he  before  prayed  against. 

"  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  *  Al  Zamakh. 

2i 


$78  AL  KOKAN.  chap,  xxxix. 

way.  Say  unto  such  a  man,  Enjoy  this  life  in  thy  infidelity  for  a  little 
while ;  hut  hereafter  shalt  thou  surely  be  one  of  the  inhabitants  of  hell 
fire.  Shall  he  who  giveth  himself  up  to  prayer  in  the  hours  of  the  night, 
prostrate,  and  standing,  and  who  taketh  heed  as  to  the  life  to  come,  and 
hopeth  for  the  mercy  of  his  Lord,  be  dealt  with  as  the  wicked  unbeliever? 
Say.  Shall  they  who  know  their  duty,  and  they  who  know  it  not,  be 
held  equal  ?  Verily  the  men  of  understanding  only  will  be  warned.  Say, 
O  my  servants  who  believe,  fear  your  Lord.  They  who  do  good  in  this 
world  shall  obtain  good  in  the  next;'  and  God's  earth  is  spacious:^ 
verily  those  who  persevere  with  patience  shall  receive  their  recompense 
without  measure.  Say,  I  am  commanded  to  worship  God,  and  to  exhibit 
the  pure  religion  unto  him :  and  I  am  commanded  to  be  the  first  Moslem.* 
Say,  Verily  I  fear,  if  I  be  disobedient  unto  my  Lord,  the  punishment  of 
the  great  day.  Say,  I  worship  God,  exhibiting  my  religion  pure  unto 
him ;  but  do  ye  worship  that  which  ye  will,  besides  him.  Say,  Verily 
they  ivill  be  the  losers,  who  shall  lose  their  own  souls,  and  their  families, 
on  the  day  of  resurrection :  is  not  this  manifest  loss  ?  Over  them  shall 
he  roofs  of  fire,  and  under  them  shall  be  floors  of  fire*  With  this  doth 
God  terrify  his  servants  :  wherefore,  oh  my  servants,  fear  him.  But  those 
who  eschew  the  worship  of  idols,  and  are  turned  unto  God,  shall  receive 
good  tidings.  Bear  good  tidings  therefore  unto  my  servants,  who  hearken 
unto  my  word,  and  follow  that  which  is  most  excellent  therein :  these 
are  they  whom  God  directeth,  and  these  are  men  of  understanding. 
Him,  therefore,  on  whom  the  sentence  of  eternal  punishment  shall  be 
justly  pronounced,  canst  thou,  O  Mohammed,  deliver  him  who  is  destined 
to  divell  in  the  fire  of  hell?'\  But  for  those  who  fear  their  Lord  will  bs 
prepared  high  apartments  in  paradise,  over  which  shall  be  other  apartmenib 
built ;  and  rivers  shall  run  beneath  them  :  this  is  the  promise  of  God  ;  ana 
God  will  not  be  contrary  to  the  promise.  Dost  thou  not  see  that  God 
sendeth  down  water  from  heaven,  and  causeth  the  same  to  enter  and  form 
sources  in  the  earth  ;  and  produceth  thereby  corn  of  various  sorts  .''  After- 
wards he  causeth  the  same  to  wither ;  and  thou  seest  it  become  yellow  : 
afterwards  he  maketh  it  crumble  into  dust.J  Verily,  herein  is  an  instruc- 
tion to  men  of  understanding.  Shall  he,  therefore,  whose  breast  God  hath 
enlarged  to  receive  the  religion  of  Islam,  and  who  foUovveth  the  light  from 
his  Lord,  be  as  he  whose  heart  is  hardened  f-     But  woe  unto  those  whose 

'  Or,  They  who  do  good  shall  obtain  good  even  in  this  world. 

^  Wherefore  let  him  who  cannot  safely  exercise  his  religion  where  he  was  born  or  re- 
sides, fly  to  a  place  of  liberty  and  security.* 

'  i.  e.  The  first  of  the  Koreish  who  professeth  the  true  religion  ;  or  the  leader  in  chief 
of  the  Moslems. 

*  "  Say,  A  whirlwind  of  fire  shall  cover  their  heads,  and  shall  enwrap  their  feet." — 
Savary. 

t  "  Wilt  thou  save  him  against  whom  the  fatal  sentence  is  pronounced  ?  He  is  already 
the  victim  of  flames." — Savary. 

t  "  The  heat  embrowneth  the  harvests.  They  fall  under  the  edge  of  the  sickle." — 
Savary. 

*  Al  BeidawL 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  AL  KORAN.  379 

hearts  are  hardened  against  the  remembrance  of  God  !  they  are  in  a 
manifest  error.  God  hath  revealed  a  most  excellent  discourse ;  a  book 
conformable  to  itself,  and  containing  repeated  admonitions.  The  skins  of 
those  who  fear  their  Lord  shrink  for  fear  thereat ;  afterwards  their  skins 
grow  soft,  and  their  hearts  also^  at  the  remembrance  of  their  Lord.*  This 
?.s  the  direction  of  God  :  he  will  direct  thereby  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and 
whomsoever  God  shall  cause  to  err,  he  shall  have  no  director.  Shall  he 
therefore  who  shall  he  obliged  to  screen  himself  with  his  face  "*  from  the 
severity  of  the  punishment  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  le  as  he  who  is 
secure  therefrom  ?  |  And  it  shall  be  said  unto  the  ungodly.  Taste  that 
which  ye  have  deserved.  Those  who  u^ere  before  them  accused  their 
apostles  of  imposture;  wherefore  a  punishment  came  upon  them  from 
whence  they  expected  it  not :  and  God  caused  them  to  take  shame  in  this 
present  life  ;  but  the  punishment  of  the  life  to  come  will  certainly  he 
greater.  If  they  were  men  of  understanding,  they  would  know  this.  Now 
have  we  proposed  unto  mankind,  in  this  Koran,  every  kind  of  parable ; 
that  they  may  be  warned :  an  Arabic  Koran,  wherein  there  is  no  crooked- 
ness ;  "  that  they  may  fear  God.  God  propoundeth  as  a  parable  a  man  who 
hath  several  companions  which  are  at  mutual  variance,  and  a  man  who 
committeth  himself  wholly  to  one  person:"  shall  these  be  held  in  equal 
comparison  ?  God  forbid !  But  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  under- 
stand. Verily  thou,  O  Mohammed,  shalt  die,  and  they  also  shall  di,e  :  and 
ye  shall  debate  the  matter  p  with  one  another  before  your  Lord,  at  the  day 
of  resurrection.  *[XXIV.]  Who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  uttereth  a 
lie  concerning  God,  and  denieth  the  truth  when  it  cometh  unto  him  ?  Is 
there  not  a  dwelling  provided  in  hell  for  the  unbelievers  ?  But  he  who 
bringelh  the  truth,  and  giveth  credit  thereto,i  these  are  they  who  fear  God ; 
they  shall  ohtain  whatever  they  shall  desire,  in  the  sight  of  their  Lord  : 
this  shall  he  the  recompense  of  the  righteous;  that  God  may  expiate 
from  them  the  very  worst  of  that  which  they  have  wrought,  and  may  ren- 
der them  their  reward  according  to  the  utmost  merit  of  the  good  which 
they  have  wrought.  Is  not  God  a  sufHcient  protector  of  his  servant  ?  yet 
they  will  attempt  to  make  thee  afraid  of  the  false  deities  which  they  worship 

*  "  Those  who  fear  the  Lord  shudder  at  the  reading  thereof;  their  terror  dies  asvay  by 
degrees,  and  they  eagerly  receive  tlie  divine  word." — Savary. 

"^  For  his  hands  shall  be  chained  to  his  neck,  and  he  shall  not  be  able  to  oppose  any 
thing,  but  his  face  to  the  fire.^ 

t  "  Feareth  not  the  unbeliever  that  the  seal  of  reprobation  shall  be  imprinted  on  his 
forehead  at  the  day  of  resurrection  ?" — Savary. 

°  i.  e.  No  contradiction,  defect,  or  doubt. 

»  This  passage  represents  the  uncertainty  of  the  idolater,  who  is  distracted  in  the  service 
of  different  masters  ;  and  the  satisfaction  of  mind  which  attends  the  worshipper  of  the  only 
true  God."" 

p  For  the  prophet  will  represent  his  endeavours  to  reclaim  them  from  idolatry,  and  their 
obstinacy  :  and  they  will  make  frivolous  excuses  ;  as  that  they  obeyed  their  chiefs,  and 
kept  to  the  religion  of  their  fathers,  &c.' 

«  I.  e.  Mohammed  and  his  followers  :  some  suppose  that  by  the  latter  words  Abu  Beer 
is  particularly  intended,  because  he  asserted  the  prophet's  veracity  in  respect  to  his  journey 
to  heaven. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  •  Idem. 


380  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxix. 

besides  God.'  But  he  whom  God  shall  cause  to  err,  shall  have  none  to 
direct  him :  and  he  whom  God  shall  direct,  shall  have  none  to  mislead  him. 
Is  not  God  most  mighty,  able  to  avenge  ?  If  thou  ask  them  who  hath 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  they  will  surely  answer,  God.  Say,  Do 
ye  think,  therefore,  that  the  deities  which  ye  invoke  besides  God,  if  God  be 
pleased  to  afflict  me,  are  able  to  relieve  me  from  his  affliction  ."*  or  if  he  be 
pleased  to  show  mercy  unto  me,  that  they  are  able  to  withhold  his  mercy  i 
Say,  God  is  my  sufficient  support :  in  him  let  those  put  their  trust,  who 
seek  in  whom  to  confide.*  Say,  oh  my  people,  do  ye  act  according  to  your 
state ;  verily  I  will  act  according  to  mine :  |  hereafter  shall  ye  know  on 
which  of  us  will  be  inflicted  a  punishment  that  shall  cover  him  with  shame, 
and  on  whom  a  lasting  punishment  shall  fall.  Verily  we  have  revealed  unto 
thee  the  book  of  the  Koran,  for  the  instruction  of  mankind,  with  truth. 
Whoso  shall  be  directed  thereby,  shall  he  directed  to  the  advantage  of  his 
own  soul ;  and  whoso  shall  err,  shall  only  err  against  the  same :  and  thou 
art  not  a  guardian  over  them.  God  taketh  unto  himself  the  souls  of  men 
at  the  time  of  their  death ;  and  those  which  die  not  he  also  taketh  in  their 
sleep  :*  and  he  withholdeth  those  on  which  he  hath  passed  the  decree  of 
death,*  but  sendeth  back  the  others  till  a  determined  period.^  Verily  herein 
are  signs  unto  the  people  who  consider.  Have  the  Koreish  taken  idols  for  their 
intercessors  with  God  ?  Say,  What,  although  they  have  not  dominion  over 
any  thing,  neither  do  they  understand  ?  Say,  Intercession  is  altogether  in 
the  disposal  of  God  :''  his  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  here- 
after shall  ye  return  unto  him.  When  the  one  sole  God  is  mentioned,  the 
hearts  of  those  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come,  shrink  with  horror : 
but  when  ihe  false  ^oc?5,  which  are  icorshipfed  besides  him,  are  mentioned, 
behold,  they  are  fflled  with  joy.  Say,  O  God,  the  creator  of  heaven  and 
earth,  who  knowest  that  which  is  secret,  and  that  which  is  manifest ;  thou 
shalt  judge  between  thy  servants  concerning  that  wherein  they  disagree. 
If  those  who  act  unjustly  were  masters  of  whatever  is  in  the  earth,  and  as 
much  more  therewith,verily  they  would  give  it  to  ransom  themselves  from 

•■  The  Koreish  used  to  tell  Mohammed  that  they  feared  their  gods  would  do  him  some 
mischief,  aed  deprive  him  of  the  use  of  his  hmbs,  or  of  his  reason,  because  he  spoke  dis- 
gracefully of  them.  It  is  thought  by  some  that  this  passage  was  verified  in  Khaled  Ebn 
al  Walid  ;  who,  being  sent  by  Mohammed  to  demolish  the  idol  of  Uzza,  was  advised  by 
the  keeper  of  her  temple  to  take  heed  what  he  did,  because  the  goddess  was  able  to  avenge 
herself  severely :  but  he  was  so  little  moved  at  the  man's  warning,  that  he  immediately 
stepped  up  to  the  idol,  and  broke  her  nose.  To  support  the  latter  explication,  they  say, 
that  what  happened  to  Khaled  is  attributed  to  Mohammed,  because  the  former  was  then 
executing  the  prophet's  orders.'  A  circumstance  not  much  different  from  the  above- 
mentioned  is  told  of  the  demolition  of  Allat.'° 

*  "  The  arm  of  the  Almighty  is  my  support.  It  is  in  him  that  the  wise  put  their  trust." 
— Savary. 

t  "Say  unto  them,  Unite  all  your  efforts  ;  I  will  act  on  my  side,  and  soon  shall  ye 
know." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  seemingly,  and  to  outward  appearance  ;  sleep  being  the  image  of  death. 

'  Not  permitting  them  to  return  again  into  their  bodies. 

"viz.  Into  their  bodies  when  they  awake.* 

'  For  none  can  or  dare  presume  to  intercede  with  him,  unless  by  his  permission. 

=  Al  Beidawi.        •"  Vide  Gagnier,  Not.  in  Abulf.  Vit.  Mob.  p.  127.        '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XXXIX.  AL  KORAN.  381 

the  evil  of  the  punishment,  on  the  day  of  resurrection:  and  there  shall 
appear  unto  them,  from  God,  terrors  which  they  never  imagined  ;  and  there 
shall  appear  unto  them  the  evils  of  that  which  they  shall  have  gained ;  and 
that  which  they  mocked  at  shall  encompass  them.  When  harm  befalleth 
man,  he  calleth  upon  us ;  yet  afterwards,  when  we  have  bestowed  on  him 
favour  from  us,  he  saith,  1  have  received  it  merely  because  of  God's  know- 
ledge of  my  deserts.'^  On  the  contrary,  it  is  a  trial ;  but  the  greater  part  of 
them  know  it  not.  Those  who  loere  before  them  said  the  same  :  *  but  that 
which  they  had  gained,  profited  tliem  not :  and  the  evils  which  they  had 
deserved,  fell  upon  them.  And  whoever  of  these  Meccans  shall  have  acted 
unjustly,  on  them  likewise  shall  fall  the  evils  which  they  shall  have 
deserved  ;  >'  neither  shall  they  frustrate  the  divine  vengeance.  Do  tliey  not 
know  that  God  bestoweth  provision  abundantly  on  whom  he  pleaseth,  and 
is  sparing  unto  whom  he  pleaseth  f  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who 
believe.  Say,  O  my  servants  who  have  transgressed  against  your  own 
souls,  despair  not  of  the  mercy  of  God  :  seeing  that  God  forgiveth  all 
sins,  ^  for  h6  is  gracious  and  merciful.  And  be  turned  unto  your 
Lord,  and  resign  yourselves  unto  him,  before  the  threatened  punishment 
overtake  you  ;  for  then  ye  shall  not  be  helped.  And  follow  the  most 
excellent  instructions  which  have  been  sent  down  unto  you  from  your 
Lord,  before  the  punishment  come  suddenly  upon  you,  and  ye  perceive 
not  the  approach  thereof ;  and  a  soul  say,  Alas!  for  that  1  have  been 
negligent  in  my  duty  to  God  ;  verily  I  have  been  one  of  the  scorners : 
or  say.  If  God  had  directed  me,  verily  I  had  been  one  of  the  pious :  or 
say,  when  it  seeth  the  prepared  punishment.  If  I  could  return  once  more 
into  the  world^  1  would  become  one  of  the  righteous.  But  God  shall 
answer,  My  signs  came  unto  thee  heretofore,  and  thou  didst  charge  them 
with  falsehood,  and  wast  puflfed  up  with  pride ;  and  thou  becamest  one  of 
the  unbelievers.  On  the  day  of  resurrection,  thou  shalt  see  the  faces  of 
those  who  have  uttered  lies  concerning  God,  become  black  :  is  there  not  an 
abode  prepared  in  hell  for  the  arrogant .?  But  God  shall  deliver  those  who 
shall  fear  him,  and  shall  set  them  in  their  place  of  safety :  evil  shall  not 
touch  them,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  God  is  the  creator  of  all  things, 
and  he  is  the  governor  of  all  things.  His  are  the  keys  of  heaven  and 
earth  :  and  they  who  believe  not  in  the  signs  of  God,  they  shall  perish. 
Say,  Do  ye  therefore  bid  me  to  worship  other  than  God,  oh  ye  fools  .?  since 
it  hath  been  spoken  by  revelation  unto  thee,  and  also  unto  the  prophets  who 
have  been  before  thee,  saying,  Verily  if  thou  join  any  partners  with  God,  thy 

"  Or  by  means  of  my  own  wisdom. 

*  "  Scarcely  have  we  stretched  forth  unto  him  a  succouring  hand,  before  he  saith,  I 
have  deserved  this  favour." — Savary. 

^  As  did  Karnn  in  particular.^ 

y  As  it  happened  accordingly :  for  they  were  punished  with  a  sore  famine  for  seven 
years,  and  had  the  bravest  of  their  warriors  cut  off  at  the  battle  of  Bedr.^ 

'  To  those  who  sincerely  repent,  and  profess  his  unity  :  for  the  sins  of  idolaters  will  not 
be  forgiven.* 

2  See  chap.  28,  p.  323.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  p.  11,  note  h. 


382  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xxxix. 

work  will  be  altogether  unprofitable,  and  thou  shalt  certainly  be  one  of 
those  who  perish  :  wherefore  rather  fear  God,  and  be  one  of  those  who 
give  thanks.  But  they  make  not  a  due  estimation  of  God  :  *  since  the 
whole  earth  shall  he  hut  his  handful,  on  the  day  of  resurrection;  and 
the  heavens  shall  he  rolled  together  in  his  right  hand.  Praise  be  unto  him ! 
and  far  be  he  exalted  above  the  idols  which  they  associate  with  him  ! 
the  trumpet  shall  be  sounded,*"  and  whoever  are  in  heaven,  and  whoever 
are  on  earth,  shall  expire ;  except  those  whom  God  shall  please  to  ex- 
empt from  the  common  fate.  Afterwards  it  shall  be  sounded  again ;  and 
behold,  they  shall  arise  and  look  up.  And  the  earth  shall  shine  by  the 
light  of  its  Lord  :  and  the  book  shall  be  laid  open,^  and  the  prophets  and 
the  martyrs  shall  be  brought  as  witnesses ;  and  judgment  shall  be  given 
between  them  with  truth,  and  they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  And 
every  soul  shall  be  fully  rewarded,  according  to  that  which  it  shall  have 
wrought;  for  he  perfectly  knoweth  whatever  they  do.  And  the  unbelievers 
shall  be  driven  unto  hell  by  troops,  until,  when  they  shall  arrive  at  the 
same,  the  gates  thereof  shall  be  opened :  and  the  keepers  thereof^  shall 
say  unto  them.  Did  not  apostles  from  among  you  come  unto  you,  who  re- 
hearsed unto  you  the  signs  of  your  Lord,  and  warned  you  of  the  meeting 
of  this  your  day  ?  They  shall  answer,  Yea :  but  the  sentence  of  eternal 
punishment  hath  been  justly  pronounced  on  the  unbelievers.'  It  shall  be 
said  unto  them,  Enter  ye  the  gates  of  hell,  to  dwell  therein  for  ever ;  and 
miserable  shall  be  the  abode  of  the  proud !  But  those  who  shall  have 
feared  their  Lord  shall  be  conducted  by  troops  towards  paradise,  until  they 
shall  arrive  at  the  same  :  and  the  gates  thereof  shall  be  ready  set  open  ;  and 
the  guards  thereof  shall  say  unto  them.  Peace  he  on  you !  ye  have  been 
good  :  wherefore  enter  ye  into  paradise,  to  remain  therein  for  ever.  And 
they  shall  answer.  Praise  be  unto  God,  who  hath  performed  his  promise 
unto  us,  and  hath  made  us  to  inherit  the  earth,  e  that  we  may  dwell 
in  paradise  wherever  we  please  !     How  excellent  is  the  reward  of  those 

*  See  chap.  6,  p.  107,  note  z. 

''The  first  time,  says  Al  Beidawi,  who  consequently  supposes  there  will  be  no  more 
than  two  blasts  (and  two  only  are  distinctly  mentioned  in  the  Koran),  though  others  sup- 
pose there  will  be  three." 

'  These,  some  say,  will  be  the  angels  Gabriel,  Michael,  and  Israfil,  and  the  angel  of 
death,  who  yet  will  afterwards  all  die,  at  the  command  of  God;*  it  being  the  constant 
opinion  of  the  Mohammedan  doctors,  that  every  soul,  both  of  men,  and  of  animals,  which 
live  either  on  land,  or  in  the  sea,  and  of  the  angels  also,  must  necessarily  taste  of  death:' 
others  suppose  those  who  will  be  exempted  are  the  angels  who  bear  the  throne  of  God;' 
or  the  black-eyed  damsels,  and  other  inhabitants  of  paradise.^ 

The  space  between  these  two  blasts  of  the  trumpet  will  be  forty  days,  according  to 
Yahya  and  others  :  there  are  some,  however,  who  suppose  it  will  be  as  many  years.* 

'^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  62. 

'  See  chap.  74,  and  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  66. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  118;  chap.  11,  p.  186.  It  seems  as  if  the  damned,  by  these  words, 
attributed  their  ruin  to  God's  decree  of  predestination. 

8  This  is  a  metaphorical  expression,  representing  the  perfect  security,  and  abundance, 
which  the  blessed  will  enjoy  in  paradise. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59.  « Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  '  Vide  Pocock, 
not.  in  Port.  Mosis,  p.  266.  "  Al  Beidawi.  «  Jallalo'ddin.  '  See  the  Prelim. 
Disc,  ubi  sup. 


CHAP.  XL.  AL  KORAN.  383 

who  work  righteousness  !  And  thou  shalt  see  the  angels  going  in  proces- 
sion round  the  throne,  celebrating  the  praises  of  their  Lord:*  and  judg- 
ment shall  be  given  between  them  with  truth ;  and  they  shall  say,  Praise 
be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures ! 


CHAPTER    XL. 
INTITLED,  THE  TRUE  BELIEVER;"  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

H.  J\L'  The  revelation  of  this  book  is  from  the  mighty,  the  wise  God  ; 
the  forgiver  of  sin  and  the  accepter  of  repentance ;  severe  in  punishing ; 
long  suffering.  There  is  no  God  but  he  :  before  him  shall  be  the  general 
assembly  at  the  last  day.  None  disputeth  against  the  signs  of  God,  except 
the  unbelievers :  but  let  not  their  prosperous  dealing  in  the  land  "  deceive 
thee  with  vain  allurement.  The  people  of  Noah,  and  the  confederated  in- 
Jidels  ivhich  were  after  them,  accused  their  respective  prophets  of  imposture 
before  these;  and  each  nation  hatched  ill  designs  against  their  apostle,  that 
they  might  get  him  into  their  power;  and  they  disputed  with  vain  reasonings 
that  they  might  thereby  invalidate  the  truth  :  M'herefore  I  chastised  them ; 
and  how  severe  was  my  punishment!  Thus  hath  the  sentence  of  thy  Lord 
justly  passed  on  the  unbelievers ;  and  they  shall  he  the  inhabitants  of  hell 
fire.  The  angels  who  bear  the  throne  of  God,  and  those  who  stand  about 
it,i  celebrate  the  praise  of  their  Lord,  and  believe  in  him ;  and  they  ask  par- 
don for  the  true  believers,  saying,  O  Lord,  thou  encompassest  all  things 
by  thy  mercy  and  knowledge ;  wherefore  forgive  those  who  repent,  and 
follow  thy  path,  and  deliver  them  from  the  pains  of  hell :  O  Lord,  lead 
them  also  into  gardens  of  eternal  abode,  which  thou  hast  promised  unto 
them,  and  unto  every  one  who  shall  do  right,  of  their  fathers,  and  their 
wives,  and  their  children ;  for  thou  art  the  mighty,  the  wise  God.  And 
deliver  them  from  evil ;  for  whomsoever  thou  shalt  deliver  from  evil  on 
that  day,  on  him  wilt  thou  show  mercy ;  and  this  will  be  great  salvation. 
But  the  infidels  at  the  day  of  judgment,  shall  hear  a  voice  crying  unto  them, 
Verily  the  hatred  of  God  toioards  you  is  more  grievous  than  your  hatred 
towards  yourselves :  since  ye  were  called  unto  the  faith,  and  would  not 
believe.    They  shall  say,  O  Lord,  thou  hast  given  us  death  twice,  and  thou 

*  "  The  angels,  barefooted,  around  the  sublime  throne,  shall  publish  the  praises  of  the 
Highest." — Savary. 

"  This  title  is  taken  from  the  passage  wherein  mention  is  made  of  one  of  Pharaoh's 
family,  who  believed  in  Moses. 

'  See  the  Prel.  Disc,  sect,  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

"  By  trading  into  Syria  and  Yaman.     See  chap.  3,  p.  58,  note  1. 

'  These  are  the  Cherubim,  the  highest  order  of  angels,  who  approach  nearest  to  God's 
presence.* 

'  Al  Beidawi. 


884  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xl. 

hast  twice  given  us  life ; ""  and  we  confess  our  sins  :  is  there  therefore  no 
way  to  get  forth  from  this  fire  f  And  it  shall  be  answered  them,  This  hath 
befallen  you,  for  that  when  one  God  was  preached  unto  you,  ye  beUeved  not; 
but  if  a  plurality  of  gods  had  been  associated  with  him,  ye  had  believed : 
and  judgment  belongeth  unto  the  high,  the  great  God.*  It  is  he  who  showeth 
you  his  signs,  and  sendeth  down  food  unto  you  from  heaven:  but  none  will 
be  admonished,  except  he  who  turneth  himself  unto  God.  Call  therefore 
upon  God,  exhibiting  your  religion  pure  unto  him,  although  the  infidels  be 
averse  thereto.  He  is  the  Being  of  exalted  degree,  the  possessor  of  the 
throne ;  who  sendeth  down  the  spirit,  at  his  command,  on  such  of  his  ser- 
vants as  he  pleaseth :  that  he  may  warn  mankind  of  the  day  of  meeting,'' 
the  day  whereon  they  shall  come  forth  out  of  their  graves,  and  nothing  of 
what  concerneth  them  shall  be  hidden  from  God.  Unto  whom  icill  the 
kingdom  belong,  on  that  day }  Unto  the  only,  the  almighty  God.  On  that 
day  shall  every  soul  be  rewarded  according  to  its  merits :  there  shall  be  no 
injustice  done  on  that  day.  Verily  God  will  be  swift  in  taking  an  account. 
Wherefore  warn  them,  O  prophet,  of  the  day  which  shall  suddenly  approach ; 
when  men's  hearts  shall  come  up  to  their  throats,  and  strangle  them.  The 
ungodly  shall  have  no  friend  or  intercessor  who  shall  be  heard.  God  will 
know  the  deceitful  eye,  and  that  which  their  breasts  conceal ;  and  God  will 
judge  with  truth:  but  the  false  gods  which  they  invoke,  besides  him,  shall 
not  judge  at  all :  for  God  is  he  who  heareth  and  seeth.  Have  they  not 
gone  through  the  earth,  aud  seen  what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  were 
before  them  ?  They  were  more  mighty  than  these  in  strength,  and  left 
more  considerable  footsteps  of  their  power  in  the  earth  :  yet  God  chastised 
them  for  their  sins,  and  there  was  none  to  protect  them  from  God.|  This 
they  suffered,  because  their  apostles  had  come  unto  them  with  evident  signs, 
and  they  disbelieved  :  wherefore  God  chastised  them  ;  for  he  is  strong,  and 
severe  in  punishing.  We  heretofore  sent  Moses  with  our  signs  and  mani- 
fest power,  unto  Pharaoh,  and  Haman,  and  Karun ;  and  they  said.  He  is  a 
sorcerer,  and  a  liar.  And  when  he  came  unto  them  with  the  truth  from 
us,  they  said,  Slay  the  sons  of  those  who  have  believed  with  him,  and 
save  their  daughters  alive : "  but  the  stratagem  of  the  infidels  was  no  other 

""  Having  first  created  us  in  a  state  of  death,  or  void  of  life  and  sensation,  and  tlien  given 
life  to  the  inanimate  body;^  and  afterwards  caused  us  to  die  a  natural  death,  and  raised  us 
again  at  the  resurrection.  Some  understand  the  first  death  to  be  a  natural  death,  and  the 
second  that  in  the  sepulchre,  after  the  body  shall  have  been  there  raised  to  life  in  order  to 
be  examined ;  *  and  consequently  suppose  the  two  revivals  to  be  those  of  the  sepulchre 
and  the  resurrection.' 

*  "  Ye  have  denied  the  unity  of  God ;  ye  have  offered  incense  unto  idols ;  the  Highest, 
the  supreme  God,  hath  pronounced  the  senteiice  of  your  condemnation." — Savary. 

°  When  the  Creator  and  his  creatures,^  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  and  of  earth,  the  false 
deities  and  their  worshippers,  the  oppressor  and  the  oppressed,  the  labourer  and  his  works, 
shall  meet  each  other.' 

t  "  The  sword  of  divine  justice  exterminated  them  in  the  midst  of  their  crimes,  and 
nothing  could  snatch  them  from  his  vengeance." — Savary. 

°  i.  e.  Pursue  the  resolution  which  has  been  formerly  taken,  and  execute  it  more  strictly 
for  the  future.     See  chap.  7,  p.  129,  note  p. 

3  See  chap.  2,  p.  4.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  55,  «fec.  *  Al  Beidawi, 

Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  chap.  6,  p.  100.  ■"  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XL.  AL  KORAN.  385 

than  vain.  And  Pharaoh  said,  Let  me  alone,  that  I  may  kill  Moses  ;p 
and  let  him  call  upon  his  Lord:  verily  I  fear  lest  he  change  your  re- 
ligion, or  cause  violence  to  appear  in  the  earth.i  And  Moses  said  unto 
his  people,  Verily  I  have  recourse  unto  my  Lord,  and  your  Lord, 
to  defend  me  against  every  proud  person,  who  believeth  not  in  the  day  of 
account.  And  a  man  who  was  a  true  believer,  of  the  family  of  Pharaoh,' 
and  concealed  in  his  faith,  said.  Will  ye  put  a  man  to  death,  because  he 
saith,  God  is  my  Lord  ;  seeing  he  is  come  unto  you  with  evident  signs 
from  your  Lord  ?  If  he  be  a  liar,  on  him  will  the  punishment  of  his  false- 
hood light ;  but  if  he  speaketh  the  truth,  some  of  those  judgments  with 
which  he  threateneth  you  will  fall  upon  you  :  verily  God  directeth  not  him 
w^ho  is  a  transgressor,  or  a  liar:  O  my  people,  the  kingdom  is  yours 
this  day ;  and  ye  are  conspicuous  in  the  earth ;  but  who  shall  defend  us 
from  the  scourge  of  God,  if  it  come  unto  us }  *  Pharaoh  said,  I  only 
propose  to  you  what  I  think  to  be  most  expedient ;  and  I  guide  you  only 
into  the  right  path.  And  he  who  had  believed  said,  O  my  people,  Verily 
I  fear  for  you  a  day  like  that  of  the  confederates  against  the  prophets  in 
former  times ;  a  condition  like  that  of  the  people  of  Noah,  and  the  tribes 
of  Ad  and  Thamud,  and  of  those  who  have  lived  after  them;*  for  God  willeth 
not  that  any  injustice  be  done  unto  his  servants.  Omy  people,  verily  I  fear 
for  you  the  day  whereon  men  shall  call  unto  one  another ;  *  the  day 
whereon  ye  shall  be  turned  hsick  from  the  tribunal,  and  driven  to  hell:  then 
shall  ye  have  none  to  protect  you  against  God.  And  he  whom  God  shall 
cause  to  err  shall  have  no  director.  Joseph  came  unto  you,  before  Moses, 
with  evident  signs ;  but  ye  ceased  not  to  doubt  of  the  religion  which  he 
preached  unto  you,  until,  when  he  died,  ye  said,  God  will  by  no  means 
send  another  apostle  after  him.  Thus  doth  God  cause  him  to  err,  who  is 
a  transgressor,  and  a  sceptic.  They  who  dispute  against  the  signs  of  God, 
without  any  authority  which  hath  come  unto  them,  are  in  great  abomi- 
nation with  God,  and  with  those  who  believe.  Thus  doth  God  seal  up 
every  proud  and  stubborn  heart.  And  Pharaoh  said,  O  Haman,  build  me 
a  tower,  that  I  may  reach  the  tracts,  the  tracts  of  heaven,  and  may  view  the 
God  of  Moses ; "  for  verily  I  think  him  to  be  a  liar.     And  thus  the  evil  of 

p  For  they  advised  him  not  to  put  Moses  to  death,  lest  it  should  be  thought  he  was  not 
able  to  oppose  him  by  dint  of  argument.^ 

1  By  raising  of  commotions  and  seditions,  in  order  to  introduce  his  new  religion. 

^  This  seems  to  have  been  the  same  person  who  is  mentioned,  chap.  28,  p.  318. 

*  See  the  speech  of  Gamaliel  to  the  Jewish  Sanhedrim,  when  the  apostles  were  brought 
before  them.' 

*"0  Egyptians!  you  now  rule  upon  the  earth;  your  empire  flourisheth ;  but  who 
shall  shield  you  from  the  vengeance  of  Heaven,  if  it  resolveth  to  punish  you  ?  '  I  order 
unto  you  nothing  but  that  which  is  just,'  replied  Pharaoh.  '  All  that  which  I  propose  to 
you  is  according  to  sound  reason.'  '  O  Egyptians,'  added  the  believer,  *  I  tremble  lest 
the  fate  of  the  rebel  nations  should  be  your  portion:  I  fear  for  you  the  chastisement  of 
the  people  of  Noah,  of  Ad,  and  of  'I'hainud.'  " — Savary. 

'  i.e.  The  day  of  judgment,  when  the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  and  of  hell,  shall  enter 
into  mutual  discourse  :  when  the  latter  shall  call  for  help,  and  the  seducers  and  the 
seduced  shall  cast  the  blame  upon  each  other.** 

»  See  chap.  28,  p.  320. 

« Al  Beidawi.         "Acts  v.  38,  39.         " Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


386  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xl. 

his  work  was  prepared  for  Pharaoh,  and  he  turned  aside  from  the  right 
path  :  and  the  stratagems  of  Pharaoh  ended  only  in  loss.  And  he  who  had 
believed  said,  O  my  people,  follow  me  :  I  will  guide  you  into  the  right  way. 
O  my  people,  verily  this  present  life  is  but  a  temporary  enjoyment;  but  the 
life  to  come  is  the  mansion  of  firm  continuance.  Whoever  worketh  evil 
shall  only  be  rewarded  in  equal  proportion  to  the  same :  but  whoever 
worketh  good,  whether  male  or  female,  and  is  a  true  believer,  they  shall 
enter  paradise  :  they  shall  be  provided  for  therein  superabundantly.  And, 
O  my  people,  as  for  me,  I  invite  you  to  salvation ;  but  ye  invite  me  to  hell 
fire :  ye  invite  me  to  deny  God,  and  to  associate  with  him  that  whereof  I 
have  no  knowledge ;  but  I  invite  you  to  the  most  mighty,  the  forgiver 
of  sins.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  false  gods  to  which  ye  invite 
me  deserve  not  to  be  invoked,  either  in  this  world  or  in  the  next;* 
and  that  we  must  return  unto  God  ;  and  that  the  transgressors  shall  be 
the  inhabitants  of  hell  fire :  and  ye  shall  then  remember  what  I  now  say 
unto  you.  And  I  commit  my  afiair  unto  God  ;  for  God  regardeth  his 
servants.  Wherefore  God  delivered  him  from  the  evils  which  they  had 
devised ;  and  a  grievous  punishment  encompassed  the  people  of  Pharaoh.'^ 
They  shall  be  exposed  to  the  fire  of  hell  morning  and  evening :  ^  and  the 
day  whereon  the  hour  of  judgment  shall  come,  it  shall  be  said  unto  them, 
Enter,  O  people  of  Pharaoh,  into  a  most  severe  torment.  And  think  on  the 
time  when  the  infdels  shall  dispute  together  in  hell  fire;  and  the  weak  shall 
say  unto  those  who  behaved  with  arrogance,^  Verily  we  were  your  fol- 
lowers :  will  ye  therefore  relieve  us  from  any  part  of  this  fire  ?  Those  who 
behaved  with  arrogance  shall  answer,  Verily  we  are  all  doomed  to  suffer 
therein :  for  God  hath  now  judged  between  his  servants.  And  they  who 
shall  be  in  the  fire  shall  say  unto  the  keepers  of  hell,y  Call  ye  on  your 
Lord,  that  he  would  ease  us,  for  one  day,  from  this  punishment.  They 
shall  answer,  Did  not  your  apostles  come  unto  you  with  evident  jjroofs? 
They  shall  say,  Yea.  The  keepers  shall  reply.  Do  ye  therefore  call  on  God  : 
but  the  calling  of  the  unbelievers  on  him  shall  be  only  in  vain.  We  will 
surely  assist  our  apostles,  and  those  who  believe,  in  this  present  life,  and 
on  the  day  whereon  the  witnesses  shall  stand  forth :  a  day,  whereon  the 
excuse  of  the  unbelievers  shall  not  avail  them ;  but  a  curse  shall  attend 
them,  and  a  wretched  abode.    We  heretofore  gave  unto  Moses  a  direction ; 

*  "  Your  gods  cannot  grant  the  prayers  of  mortals,  either  in  this  world,  or  in  that  which 
is  to  come." — Savory. 

'  Some  are  of  opinion  (hat  those  who  were  sent  by  Pharaoh  to  seize  the  true  believer, 
his  kinsman,  are  (lie  persons  more  particularly  meant  in  this  place;  for  they  tell  us  that 
the  said  believer  fled  to  a  mountain,  where  they  found  him  at  prayers  guarded  by  (he  wild 
beasts,  which  ranged  themselves  in  order  about  him;  and  that  his  pursuers  thereupon 
returned  in  a  great  fright  to  their  inaster,  who  put  them  to  death  for  not  performing  his 
command.* 

■"Some  expound  these  words  of  the  previous  punishment  they  are  doomed  to  suffer,  ac- 
cording  to  a  tradition  of  Ebn  Masud,  which  informs  us,  that  their  souls  were  in  the  crops 
of  black  birds,  which  are  exposed  to  hell  fire  every  morning  and  evening  until  the  day  of 
judgment.^ 

*  See  chap.  14,  p.  206,  note  t. 
'  See  chap.  74. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  XL. 


AL  KORAN.  387 


and  we  left  as  an  inheritance  unto  the  children  of  Israel  the  book  of  the 
Imv  ;  a  direction,  and  an  admonition  to  ineii  of  understanding     Wherefore 
do  thou,  0  prophet,  bear  the  insults  of  the  infidels  with  patience ;  for  the 
promise  of  God  is  true ;    and  ask  pardon  for  thy  fault ;  ^  and  celebrate 
the  praise  of  thy  Lord,  in  the  evening  and  in  the  morning.     Jls  to  those 
who  impugn  the  signs  of  God,  without  any  convincing  proof  which  hath 
been  revealed  unto  them,  there  is  nothing  but  pride  in  their  breasts ;  *  but 
they  shall  not  attain  their  desire  :  wherefore  fly  for  refuge  unto  God  ;  for 
it  is  he  who  heareth  a7id  seeth.     Verily  the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth  is 
more  considerable  *  than  the  creation  of  man  :    but   the    greater  part  of 
men  do  not  understand.    The  bUnd  and  the  seeing  shall  not  be  held  equal; 
nor  they  who  believe  and  work  righteousness,  and  the  evil  doer :  how  few 
revolve  these  things  in  their  mind  !   The  last  hour  will  surely  coifle  ;  there  is 
no  doubt  thereof:  but  the  greater  part  of  men  believe  it  not.     Your  Lord 
said,  Call  upon  me,  and  I  will  hear  you  :  but  they  who  proudly  disdain  my 
service  shall  enter  with  ignominy  into  hell.   It  is  God  who  hath  appointed 
the  niglit  for  you  to  take  your  rest  therein,  and  the  day  to  give  ijou  light  -.j 
verily  God  is  endued  with  beneficence  towards  mankind  :  but  the  greater 
part  of  men  do  not  give  thanks.   This  is  God,  your  Lord,  the  Creator  of  all 
things  ;  there  is  no  God  besides  him  :  how  therefore  are  ye  turned  aside 
from  his  u-orship  ?     Thus  are  they  turned  aside,  who  oppose  the  signs  of 
God.      It  is  God  who  hath  given  you  the  earth  for  a  stable  floor,  and 
the  heaven  for  a  ceiling ;  and  who  hath  formed  you,  and  made  your  forms 
beautiful,  and  feedeth  you  with  good  things.     This  is  God,  your  Lord. 
Wherefore  blessed  be  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures !     He  is  the  living 
God  :  there  is  no  God  but  he.     Wherefore  call  upon  him,  exhibiting  unto 
him  the  pure  religion.     Praise  be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures ! 
Say,  Verily  I  am  forbidden  to  worship  the  deities  which  ye  invoke,  besides 
God,  after  that  evident  proofs  have  come  unto  me  from  my  Lord  ;  and 
I  am  commanded  to  resign  myself  unto  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.     It  is  he 
who  first  created  you  of  dust,  and  afterwards   of  seed,  and  afterwards 
of  coagulated  blood ;  and  afterwards  brought  you  forth  infants  out  of  your 
mother'^s  wombs  :  then  he  permitteth  you  to  attain  your  age  of  full  strength, 
and  afterwards  to  grow  old  men  (but  some  of  you  die  before  that  age),  and 
to  arrive  at  the  determined  period  of  your  life  ;  ^  that  peradventure  ye  may 
understand.J     It  is  he  who  giveth  life,  and  causeth  to  die :  and  when 

*  In  being  too  backward  and  negligent  in  advancing  the  true  religion,  for  fear  of  the 
infidels.^ 

■  This  sentence  may  be  understood  generally  ;  though  it  was  revealed  on  account  of  the 
idolatrous  Meccans,  or  of  the  Jews,  who  said  of  Mohammed,  This  man  is  not  our  lord, 
but  the  Messias  the  son  of  David,  whose  kingdom  will  be  extended  over  sea  and  land.* 

*  "  Is  more  wonderful." — Savary. 
t  "  The  day  for  labour." — Savary. 
»  See  chap.  22,  p.  274. 

X  "  As  children  you  enter  on  the  career  of  life  :  you  reach  at  length  the  vigour  of  your 
years,  and  soon  old  age  overtakeih  you.     Many  finish  their  course  before  they  reach  the 

'  AI  Beidawi.  *  Idem. 


388  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xl. 

he  decreeth  a  thing,  he  only  saith  unto  it,  Be,  and  it  is.  Dost  thou 
not  observe  those  who  dispute  against  the  signs  of  God,  how  they  are 
turned  aside  from  the  true  faith  ?  They  who  charge  with  falsehood  the 
book  of  the  Koran,  and  the  other  scriptures  and  revealed  doctrines  which  we 
have  sent  our  former  apostles  to  preach,  shall  hereafter  know  their  folly, 
when  the  collars  shall  be  on  their  necks,  and  the  chains  hy  which  they  shall 
be  dragged  into  hell ;  then  shall  they  be  burned  in  the  fire.  And  it  shall 
be  said  unto  them.  Where  are  the  gods  which  ye  associated,  besides  God  ? 
They  shall  answer.  They  have  withdrawn  themselves  from  us :  yea,  we 
called  on  nothing  <=  heretofore.  Thus  doth  God  lead  the  unbelievers  into 
error.  This  hath  befallen  you,  for  that  ye  rejoiced  insolently  on  earth, 
in  that  which  was  false ;  and  for  that  ye  were  elated  with  immoderate  joy. 
Enter  the  gates  of  hell,  to  remain  therein  for  ever  :  and  wretched  shall  be 
the  abode  of  the  haughty !  Wherefore  persevere  with  patience,  O  Mo- 
hammed ;  for  the  promise  of  God  is  true.  Whether  we  cause  thee  to  see 
any  part  of  the  punishment  with  which  we  have  threatened  them,  or 
whether  we  cause  thee  to  die  before  thou  see  it ;  before  us  shall  they 
be  assembled  at  the  last  day.  We  have  sent  a  great  number  of  apostles 
before  thee ;  ^  the  histories  of  some  of  whom  we  have  related  unto  thee,  and 
the  histories  of  others  of  them  we  have  not  related  unto  thee  :  but  no 
apostle  had  the  power  to  produce  a  sign,  unless  by  the  permission  of 
God.  When  the  command  of  God,  therefore,  shall  come,  judgment  shall  be 
given  with  truth ;  and  then  shall  they  perish  who  endeavour  to  render  the 
signs  of  God  of  no  effect.  It  is  God  who  hath  given  you  the  cattle,  that  ye 
may  ride  on  some  of  ihem,  and  may  eat  of  others  of  them ;  (ye  also  receive 
other  advantages  therefrom ;  ^)  and  that  on  them  ye  may  arrive  at  the 
business  proposed  in  your  mind  :  and  on  them  are  ye  carried  by  land, 
and  on  ships  bi/  sea.'f  And  he  showeth  you  his  signs  ;  which,  therefore,  of 
the  signs  of  God,  will  ye  deny }  Do  they  not  pass  through  the  earth,  and 
see  what  hath  been  the  end  of  those  who  were  before  them  ?  They  were 
more  numerous  than  these,  and  more  mighty  in  strength,  and  left  more 
considerable  monuments  of  their  power  in  the  earth:  yet  that  which 
they  had  acquired  profited  them  not.  And  when  their  apostles  came  unto 
them  with  evident  proofs  of  their  mission,  they  rejoiced  in  tlie  knowledge 
which  was  with  them  -J  but  that  which  they  mocked  at  encompassed  them.J 
And  when  they  beheld  our  vengeance,  they  said,  We  believe  in  God 
alone,  and  we  renounce  the  idols  which  we  associated  with  him  :  but  their 

latter,  but  all  fulfil  the  period  which  hath  been  appointed  by  the  Eternal.  These  divers 
stages  through  which  man  passeth  ought  to  serve  for  his  instruction." — Savary. 

"  Seeing  an  idol  is  nothing  in  the  world.* 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  54. 

«  See  chap.  16,  p.  214. 

t  "  They  are  to  you  on  the  land  that  which  a  ship  is  on  the  sea." — Savary. 

^  Being  prejudiced  in  favour  of  their  own  erroneous  doctrines,  and  despising  the  instruc- 
tions of  the  prophets. 

t  "  They  scoffed  at  their  doctrines.  Their  mockeries  have  fallen  back  on  themselves." 
— Savary. 

'Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XLi.  AL  KORAN.  389 

faith  availed  them  not,  after  they  had  beholden  our  vengeance.*  This  was 
the  ordinance  of  God,  which  was  formerly  observed  in  respect  to  his  ser- 
vants :  and  then  did  the  unbelievers  perish. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

INTITLED,  ARE  DISTINCTLY  EXPLAINED  ;^  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

H.  M.'^  TJiis  is  a  revelation  from  the  most  Merciful ;  a  book,  the  verses 
whereof  are  distinctly  explained,'  an  Arabic  Koran,  for  the  instruction  of 
people  who  understand ;  bearing  good  tidings,  and  denouncing  threats : 
but  the  greater  part  of  them  turn  aside,  and  hearken  not  thereto.  And  they 
say,  Our  hearts  are  veiled  from  the  doctrine  to  which  thou  invitest  us; 
and  there  is  a  deafness  in  our  ears,  and  a  curtain  between  us  and  thee : 
wherefore  act  thou  as  thou  shalt  think  jit ;  for  we  shall  act  according  to 
our  own  sentiments.  Say,  Verily  I  am  only  a  man  like  you.  It  is  revealed 
unto  me,  that  your  God  is  one  God  :  wherefore  direct  your  way  straight 
unto  him ;  and  ask  pardon  of  him  for  what  is  past.  And  woe  he  to  the 
idolaters  :  who  give  not  the  appointed  alms,  and  believe  not  in  the  life  to 
come !  But  as  to  those  who  believe  and  work  righteousness,  they  shall 
receive  an  everlasting  reward.  Say,  Do  ye  indeed  disbelieve  in  him  who 
created  the  earth  in  two  days  ;^  and  do  ye  set  up  equals  unto  him  ?  He  is 
the  Lord  of  all  creatures.  And  he  placed  in  the  earth  mountains  firmly 
rooted,^  rising  above  the  same:  and  he  blessed  it;  and  provided  therein  the 
food  of  the  creatures  designed  to  he  the  inhabitants  thereof,  in  four  days ;  '^ 
equall}'-,  for  those  who  ask."  Then  he  set  his  mind  to  the  creation  o/"  hea- 
ven, and  it  was  smoke;"  and  he  said  unto  it, and  to  the  earth,  Come,  either 


*  *'  But  their  faith  hath  been  in  vain.  They  believed  not  until  they  felt  the  avenging 
scourge." — Savary. 

e  Some  intitle  this  chapter  Worship,  or  Adoration,  because  the  infidels  are  herein  com- 
manded to  forsake  the  worship  of  idols,  and  to  worship  God :  but  the  thirty-second  chap- 
ter bearing  the  sanje  tide,  that  which  we  have  here  prefixed,  is,  for  distinction,  generally 
used. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

*  See  chap.  11,  p.  175,  note  t. 

*  viz.  The  two  first  days  of  the  week.^ 
'  See  chap.  16,  p.  215. 

™  That  is,  including  the  two  former  days  wherein  the  earth  was  created. 

"  For  all,  in  proportion  to  the  necessity  of  each,  and  as  their  several  appetites  require. 
Some  refer  the  word  sawaan  here  translated  equally,  and  which  also  signifies  completely, 
to  the  four  days ;  and  suppose  the  meaning  to  be,  that  God  created  these  things  in  just  so 
many  entire  and  complete  days.'' 

"  Or  darkness.  Al  Zamakhshari  says  this  smoke  proceeded  from  the  water  under  the 
throne  of  Gcd  (which  throne  was  one  of  ihe  thmgs  created  before  the  heavens  and  the 
earth),  and  rose  above  the  water;  that  the  water  being  dried  up,  the  earth  was  formed 
out  of  it,  and  the  heavens  out  of  the  smoke  which  had  mounted  aloft. 

«  Jallalo'ddin.  ■"  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


390  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xlt. 

obediently,  or  against  your  will.  They  answered,  We  come,  obedient  to 
thy  command*  And  he  formed  them  into  seven  heavens,  in  two  days;!" 
and  revealed  unto  every  heaven  its  office.  And  we  adorned  the  lower 
heaven  with  lights,  and  placed  therein  a  guard  of  angels."^  This  is  the 
disposition  of  the  mighty,  the  wise  God.  If  the  Meccans  withdraw /rom 
these  instructions  J  say,  I  denounce  unto  you  a  sudden  destruction,  like  the 
destruction  of  Ad  and  Thamud.  When  the  apostles  came  unto  them  be- 
fore them  and  behind  them/  saying,  Worship  God  alone ;  they  answered, 
If  our  Lord  had  been  pleased  to  send  messengers^  he  had  surely  sent  angels; 
and  we  believe  not  the  message  with  which  ye  are  sent.  As  to  the  tribe  of 
Ad,  they  behaved  insolently  in  the  earth,  without  reason,  and  said.  Who  is 
more  mighty  than  we  in  strength  ?  Did  they  not  see  that  God,  who  had 
created  them,  was  more  mighty  than  they  in  strength }  And  they  know- 
ingly rejected  our  signs.  Wherefore  we  sent  against  them  a  piercing  wind, 
on  days  of  ill  luck,^  that  we  might  make  them  taste  the  punishment  of 
shame  in  this  world :  but  the  punishment  of  the  life  to  come  will  be  more 
shameful ;  and  they  shall  not  be  protected  therefrom.  And  as  to  Thamud, 
we  directed  them ;  but  they  loved  blindness  better  than  the  true  direction : 
wherefore  the  terrible  noise  of  an  ignominious  punishment  assailed  them, 
for  that  which  they  had  deserved ;  but  we  delivered  those  who  believed, 
and  feared  God.^  And  warn  them  of  the  day,  on  which  the  enemies  of 
God  shall  be  gathered  together  unto  hell  fire,  and  shall  march  in  distinct 
bands ;  until,  when  they  shall  arrive  thereat,  their  ears,  and  their  eyes,  and 
their  skins,  shall  bear  witness  against  them  of  that  which  they  shall  have 
wrought.  And  they  shall  say  unto  their  skins,|  Wherefore  do  ye  bear  wit- 
ness against  us  ?  They  shall  answer,  God  hath  caused  us  to  speak,  who 
giveth  speech  unto  all  things :  he  created  you  the  first  time ;  and  unto  him 
are  ye  returned.  Ye  did  not  hide  yourselves,  while  ye  sinned,  so  that  your 
ears,  and  your  eyes,  and  your  skins  could  not  bear  witness  against  you  i*^ 
but  ye  thought  that  God  was  ignorant  of  many  things  which  ye  did.  This 
was  your  opinion,  which  ye  imagined  of  your  Lord  :  it  hath  ruined  you ; 
and  ye  are  become  lost  people.  Whether  they  bear  their  torment.,  hell  fire 
shall  be  their  abode ;  or  whether  they  beg  for  favour,  they  shall  not  obtain 

*  "  He  cast  his  glance  on  the  heaven,  which  was  only  a  pile  of  smoke.  He  said  unto 
heaven  and  earth,  Come,  obey  my  voice.   Heaven  and  earth  replied,  We  obey." — Savary. 

p  viz.  On  the  fifth  and  sixth  days  of  the  week.  It  is  said  the  heavens  were  created  on 
Thursday,  and  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  on  Friday ;  in  the  evening  of  which  last  day 
Adam  was  made.^ 

■^  See  chap.  15,  p.  210. 

'  That  is,  on  every  side ;  persuading  and  urging  them  continually,  and  by  arguments 
drawn  from  past  examples,  and  the  expectation  of  future  rewards  or  punishments. 

'  It  is  said  that  this  wind  continued  from  Wednesday  to  Wednesday  inclusive,  being  the 
latter  end  of  the  month  Shawal ;  and  that  a  Wednesday  is  the  day  whereon  God  sends 
down  his  judgments  on  a  wicked  people.^ 

«  See  chap.  7,  p.  125,  &c. 

t  "  Why,"  shall  the  guilty  say  unto  them,  "do  ye  bear  witness  against  us  ?" — Savary. 

"  I.  e.  Ye  hid  your  crimes  from  men,  little  thinking  that  your  very  members,  from 
which  ye  could  not  hide  them,  would  rise  up  as  wunesses  against  you. 

«  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XLi.  AL  KORAN.  391 

favour.  And  we  will  give  them  the  devils  to  he  their  companions;  for  they 
dressed  up  for  them  the  false  notions  which  they  entertained  qfthis  present 
world,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come ;  and  the  sentence  justly  fitteth  them, 
which  was  formerly  pronounced  on  the  nations  of  genii  and  men  who  were 
before  them ;  for  they  perished.*  The  unbelievers  say.  Hearken  not  unto 
this  Koran  :  but  use  vain  discourse  ^  during  the  reading  thereof;  that  ye 
may  overcome  the  voice  of  the  reader  by  your  scoffs  and  laughter.  Where- 
fore we  will  surely  cause  the  unbelievers  to  taste  a  grievous  punishment, 
and  we  will  certainly  reward  them  for  the  evils  which  they  shall  have 
wrought.  This  shall  he  the  reward  of  the  enemies  of  God,  namely^  hell 
fire  ;  therein  is  prepared  for  them  an  everlasting- abode,  as  a  reward  for  that 
they  have  ^Yitti^gly  rejected  our  signs.  And  the  infidels  shall  say  in  hell^ 
O  Lord,  show  us  the  two  that  seduced  us,  of  the  genii  and  men,y  and  we 
will  cast  them  under  our  feet,  that  they  may  become  most  base  and  despi- 
cahle.  Jlsfor  those  who  say.  Our  Lord  is  God,  and  who  behave  uprightly ; 
the  angels  shall  descend  unto  them,''  and  shall  say,  Fear  not,  neither  be  ye 
grieved;  but  rejoice  in  the  hopes  of  paradise  which  ye  have  been  pro- 
mised. We  are  your  friends  in  this  life,  and  in  that  which  is  to  come : 
therein  shall  ye  have  that  which  your  souls  shall  desire,  and  therein  shall 
ye  obtain  whatever  ye  shall  ask  for ;  as  a  gift  from  a  gracious  and  merciful 
God.  Who  speaketh  better  than  he  who  inviteth  unto  God,  and  worketh 
righteousness,  and  saith,  I  am  a  Moslem  ?  Good  and  evil  shall  not  be  held 
equal.  Turn  away  evil  with  that  which  is  better ;  and  behold,  the  rnan 
between  whom  and  thyself  there  was  enmity  shall  hecome,  as  it  were,  thy 
warmest  friend :  but  none  shall  attain  to  this  perfection,  except  they  who 
are  patient ;  nor  shall  any  attain  thereto,  except  he  who  is  endued  with  a 
great  happiness  of  temper.  And  if  a  malicious  suggestion  be  offered  unto 
thee  from  Satan,  have  recourse  unto  God;  for  it  is  he  who  heareth  and 
knoweth.  Among  the  signs  of  his  power  are  the  night,  and  the  day,  and 
the  sun,  and  the  moon.  Worship  not  the  sun,  neither  the  moon :  but 
worship  God,  who  hath  created  them  ;  if  ye  serve  him.  But  if  they 
proudly  disdain  his  service ;  verily  the  angels,  who  are  with  thy  Lord, 
praise  him  night  and  day,  and  are  not  wearied.  And  among  his  signs 
another  is,  that  thou  seest  the  land  waste ;  but  when  we  send  down  rain 
thereon,  it  is  stirred  and  fermenteth.  And  he  who  quickeneth  the  earth 
will  surely  quicken  the  dead ;  for  he  is  almighty.  Verily  those  who  im- 
piously wrong  our  signs  are  not  concealed  from  us.     Is  he,  therefore, 

*  "  Worshippers  of  the  devils  who  drew  unto  them  delusive  pictures  of  the  present  and 
the  future,  they  have  been  included  in  the  sentence  which  hath  been  denounced  against 
the  past  g^enerations  and  the  rebel  spirits :  reprobation  is  their  portion."— ^Sa wary. 

'  Or,  Talk  aloud. 

^i.e.  Those  of  either  species,  who  drew  us  into  sin  and  ruin.  Some  suppose  that  the 
two  more  particularly  intended  here  are  Eblis  and  Cain ;  the  two  authors  of  infidelity  and 
murder.* 

*  Either  while  they  are  living  on  earth,  to  dispose  their  minds  to  good,  to  preserve  them 
from  temptations,  and  to  comfort  them  ;  or  at  the  hour  of  death,  to  support  them  in  their 
last  agony ;  or  at  their  coming  forth  from  their  graves,  at  the  resurrection.'' 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  lidem. 


892  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xli. 

better,  who  shall  be  cast  into  hell  fire,  or  he  who  shall  appear  secure  on  the 
day  of  resurrection .?  Work  that  which  ye  will :  he  certainly  beholdeth 
whatever  ye  do.  Verily  they  who  believe  not  in  the  admonition  of  the  Koran, 
after  it  hath  come  unto  them,  shall  one  day  he  discovered.  It  is  certainly  a 
book  of  infinite  value :  vanity  shall  not  approach  it,  either  from  before  it, 
or  from  behind  it:**  it  is  a  revelation  from  a  wise  God^  whose  praise  is 
justly  to  be  celebrated.  No  other  is  said  unto  thee  hy  the  infidels  of  Mecca 
than  what  hath  been  formerly  said  unto  the  apostles  before  thee  :  verily  thy 
Lord  is  inclined  to  forgiveness,  and  is  also  able  to  chastise  severely.  If  we 
had  revealed  the  Koran  in  a  foreign  language,"  they  had  surely  said.  Unless 
the  signs  thereof  be  distinctly  explained,  we  will  not  receive  the  same  :  is 
the  hook  written  in  a  foreign  tongue,  and  the  person  unto  whom  it  is  directed 
an  Arabian  ?  Answer,  It  is,  unto  those  who  believe,  a  sure  guide^^  and  a 
remedy ybr  douht  and  uncertainty:  but  unto  those  who  believe  not,  it  is  a 
thickness  of  hearing  in  their  ears,  and  it  is  a  darkness  which  covereth 
them;  these  are  as  they  who  are  called  unto  from  a  distant  place. •''f  We 
heretofore  gave  the  book  of  the  law  unto  Moses ;  and  a  dispute  arose  con- 
cerning the  same :  J  and  if  a  previous  decree  had  not  proceeded  from  thy 
Lord,  to  respite  the  opposers  of  that  revelation,  verily  the  matter  had  been 
decided  between  them,  hythe  destruction  of  the  infidels;  for  they  were  in  a 
very  great  doubt  as  to  the  same.  He  who  doth  right,  doth  it  to  the  advan- 
tage of  his  own  soul ;  and  he  who  doth  evil,  doth  it  against  the  same :  for 
thy  Lord  is  not  unjust  towards  his  servants.  *[XXV.]  Unto  him  is  reserved' 
the  knowledge  of  the  hour  of  judgment :  and  no  fruit  cometh  forth  from 
the  knops  which  involve  it ;  neither  doth  any  female  conceive  in  her  womb, 
nor  is  she  delivered  of  her  burden,  but  with  his  knowledge.  On  the  day 
whereon  he  shall  call  them  to  him,  saying,  Where  are  my  companions 
which  ye  ascribed  unto  me  f  they  shall  answer.  We  assure  thee  there  is  no 
witness  of  this  matter  among  us :  *  and  the  idols  which  they  called  on  before 
shall  withdraw  themselves  from  them ;  and  they  shall  perceive  that  there 
will  he  no  way  to  escape.  Man  is  not  M'earied  with  asking  good ;  but  if 
evil  befall  him,  he  despondeth,  and  despaireth.  And  if  we  cause  him  to 
taste  mercy  from  us,  after  affliction  hath  touched  him,  he  surely  saith,This 
is  due  to  me  on  account  of  my  deserts :  I  do  not  think  the  hour  of  judgment 
will  ever  come :  and  if  I  be  brought  before  my  Lord,  I  shall  surely  attain, 
with  him,  the  most  excellent  condition.     But  we  will  then  declare  unto 

'  That  is,  It  shall  not  be  prevailed  against,  or  frustrated  by  any  means,  or  in  any  respect 
whatever. 

*  "  They  have  refused  to  believe  in  the  Koran,  and  it  is  the  supremely  excellent  book. 
None  of  the  sacred  books  accuse  it  of  falsehood." — Savory. 

"  See  chap.  16,  p.  223,  &c. 

"  Being  so  far  off  that  they  hear  not,  or  understand  not  the  voice  of  him  vi^ho  calls  to 
them. 

t  "  Had  we  written  the  Koran  in  a  foreign  idiom,  they  would  have  exclaimed.  Why  is 
it  not  written  in  our  own  language  ?  Reply  to  them.  Is  its  style  barbarous  ?  Is  its  author 
an  Arabian  ?  This  book  is  the  light  and  remedy  of  believers.  The  ears  of  the  unbelievers 
are  closed  up.     A  cloud  obscures  their  eyes.     They  will  not  understand." — Savary. 

X  "  The  subject  of  a  thousand  disputes." — Savary. 

"  For  they  shall  disclaim  their  idols  at  the  resurrection. 


CHAP.  xm.  AL  KORAN.  393 

those  who  shall  not  have  believed,  that  which  they  have  wrought ;  and  we 
will  surely  cause  them  to  taste  a  most  severe  punishment.  When  we  con- 
fer favours  on  man,  he  turneth  aside,  and  departeth  without  returning 
thanks :  but  when  evil  toucheth  him,  he  is  frequent  at  prayer.  Say, 
What  think  ye .?  if  the  Koran  be  from  God,  and  ye  believe  not  therein ; 
who  will  lie  under  a  greater  error,  than  he  who  dissenteth  widely  there- 
from f  Hereafter  we  will  show  them  our  signs  in  the  regions  of  the  earthy 
and  in  themselves  ;  **  until  it  become  manifest  unto  them  that  this  hook  is 
the  truth.  Is  it  not  sufficient  for  thee  that  thy  Lord  is  witness  of  all 
things  }  Are  they  not  in  a  doubt  as  to  the  meeting  of  their  Lord  at  the 
resurrection  f    Doth  not  he  encompass  all  things  } 


CHAPTEE   XLII. 

INTITLED,  CONSULTATION;^  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.* 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOT). 

H.  BL  A.  S.  K.**  Thus  doth  the  mighty,  the  wise  God  reveal  his  icill 
unto  thee  ;  and  in  like  manner  did  he  reveal  it  unto  the  prophets  who  were 
before  thee.  Unto  him  helongeth  whatever  is  in  heaven,  and  in  earth  ;  and 
he  is  the  high,  the  great  God.  It  wanteth  little  but  that  the  heavens  be 
rent  in  sunder  from  above,  at  the  awfulness  of  his  majesty  :  the  angels  cele- 
brate the  praise  of  their  Lord,  and  ask  pardon  for  those  who  dwell  in  the 
earth.  Is  not  God  the  forgiver  of  siws,  the  merciful  ?  But  as  to  those  who 
take  other  gods  for  their  patrons,  besides  him,  God  observeth  their  actions  : 
for  thou  art  not  a  steward  over  them.  Thus  have  we  revealed  unto  thee 
an  Arabic  Koran,  that  thou  mayest  warn  the  metropolis  of  Mecca,  and  the 
Arabs  who  dwell  round  about  it ;  and  mayest  threaten  thetn  with  the  day 
of  the  general  assembly,  of  which  there  is  no  doubt :  one  part  shall  then  ic 
placed  in  paradise,  and  another  part  in  hell.  If  God  had  pleased,  he  had 
made  them  all  of  one  religion  ;  but  he  leadeth  whom  he  pleaseth  into  his 
mercy;  and  the  unjust  shall  have  no  patron  or  helper.  Do  they  take  other 
patrons,  besides  him  ?  whereas  God  is  the  only  true  patron  :  he  quickeneth 
the  dead ;  and  he  is  almighty.  Whatever  matter  ye  disagree  about,  the 
decision  thereof  appertaineth  unto  God.     This  is  God,  my  Lord  :  in  him 

*  By  the  surprising  victories  and  conquests  of  Mohammed,  and  his  successors.' 

^  The  title  is  taken  from  the  verse  v^^herein  the  behevers  are  commended,  among  other 
things,  for  using  deliberation  in  their  affairs,  and  consulting  together  in  order  to  act  for 
the  best.  Some,  instead  of  this  word,  prefix  the  five  single  letters  with  which  the  chapter 
begins. 

e  Jallalo'ddin  excepts  three  verses  beginning  with  these  words,  Say,  lash  not  of  you,  for 
this  my  preaching,  any  reward,  &lc. 

"  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

2  g^  '  AI  Beidawi. 


394  AL  KOEAN.  chap.  xlit. 

do  I  trust,  and  unto  him  do  1  turn  me  :  *  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  : 
he  hath  given  you  wives  of  your  own  species,  and  cattle  both  male  and 
female ;  by  wliich  means  he  multiplieth  you  :  there  is  nothing  like  him ; 
and  it  is  he  who  heareth  and  seeth.  His  are  the  keys  of  heaven  and  earth  ; 
he  bestoweth  provision  abundantly  on  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  he  is  sparing 
unto  whom  he  pleaseth  ;  for  he  knoweth  all  things.  He  hath  ordained  you 
the  religion  which  he  commanded  Noah,  and  which  we  have  revealed  unto 
thee,  O  Mohammed^  and  which  we  commanded  Abraham,  and  Moses,  and 
Jesus  : '  saying,  Observe  this  religion,  and  be  not  divided  therein.  The 
worship  of  one  God,  to  v/hich  thou  invitest  them,  is  grievous  unto  the 
unbelievers  :  God  will  elect  thereto  whom  he  pleaseth,  and  will  direct  unto 
the  same  him  who  shall  repent.  Those  toho  lived  in  times  past  were  not 
divided  among  themselves,  until  after  that  the  knowledge  of  God's  unify 
had  come  unto  them ;  through  their  own  perverseness :  and  unless  a 
previous  decree  had  passed  from  thy  Lord,  to  bear  with  them  till  a  deter- 
mined time,  verily  the  matter  had  been  decided  between  them,  by  the 
destruction  of  the  gainsayers.  They  who  have  inherited  the  scriptures  after 
them  ^  are  certainly  in  a  perplexing  doubt  concerning  the  same.^  Where- 
fore invite  them  to  receive  the  sure  faith,  and  be  urgent  with  them,  as  thou 
hast  been  commanded  ;  and  follow  not  their  vain  desires  :  and  say,  I  believe 
in  all  the  scriptures  which  God  hath  sent  down ;  and  I  am  commanded  to 
establish  justice  among  you :  God  is  our  Lord  and  your  Lord  :  unto  us 
will  our  works  be  imputed,  and  unto  you  will  your  works  be  imputed  :  let 
there  be  no  wrangling  between  us  and  you ;  for  God  will  assemble  us  all  at 
the  last  day,  and  unto  him  shall  we  return.  Jls  to  those  who  dispute  con- 
cerning God,  after  obedience  hath  been  paid  him  by  receiving  his  religion, 
their  disputing  shall  be  vain  in  the  sight  of  their  Lord  ;  and  wrath  shall 
fall  on  them,  and  they  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment.  It  is  God  who 
hath  sent  down  the  scripture  with  truth  ;  and  the  balance  of  true  judgment : 
and  what  shall  inform  thee  whether  the  hour  be  nigh  at  hand  .?  They  who 
believe  not  therein  wish  it  to  be  hastened  by  way  of  mockery  :  but  they  who 
believe  dread  the  same,  and  know  it  to  be  the  truth.  Are  not  those  who 
dispute  concerning  the  last  hour  in  a  wide  error  ?  God  is  bounteous  unto 
his  servants :  he  provideth  for  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and  he  is  the  strong,  the 
mighty.  Whoso  chooseth  the  tillage  of  the  life  to  come,'"  unto  him  will 
we  give  increase  in  his  tillage  :  and  whoso  chooseth  the  tillage  of  this 
world,  we  will  give  him  the  fruit  thereof;  but  he  shall  have  no  part  in  the 
life  to  come.  Have  the  idolaters  deities  which  ordain  them  a  religion  which 
God  hath  not  allowed  ?  But  had  it  not  been  for  the  decree  of  respiting 
their  punishment  to  the  rfaz/ o/"  separating  the  infidels  from  the  true  believers, 
judgment  had  been  already  given  between   them :   for  the  unjust  shall 

*  "  I  have  put  my  trust  in  Him.     Unto  Him  I  shall  return." — Savory. 
'  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  pp.  50  and  51. 
^  viz.  The  modern  Jews  and  Christians. 

'  Not  understanding  the  true  meaning,  nor  believing  the  real  doctrines  thereof. 
™  Labouring  here,  to  obtain  a  reward  hereafter :  for  what  is  sown  in  this  world  will  be 
reaped  in  the  next. 


CHAP.  XLii.  AL  KORAN.  395 

surely  suffer  a  painful  torment.  On  that  daij  thou  shalt  see  the  unjust  in 
great  terror,  because  of  their  demerits ;  and  the  penalty  thereof  shall  fall  upon 
them  :  but  they  who  believe  and  do  good  works  shall  dwell  in  the  delight- 
ful meadows  of  paradise ;  they  shall  obtain  whatever  they  shall  desire,  with 
their  Lord.  This  is  the  greatest  acquisition.  This  is  what  God  promiseth 
unto  his  servants  who  believe  and  do  good  works.  Say,  I  ask  not  of  you, 
for  this  nuj  preachings  any  reward,  except  the  love  of  mij  relations  :  *  and 
whoever  shall  have  deserved  well  by  one  good  action,  unto  him  will  we  add 
the  merit  of  another  action  thereto ;  for  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and 
ready  to  reward.  Do  they  say,  Mohammed  hath  blasphemously  forged  a 
lie  concerning  God  .-'  If  God  pleaseth,  he  will  seal  up  thy  heart : "  and 
God  will  absolutely  abolish  vanity,  and  will  establish  the  truth  in  his 
words  ; "  for  he  knoweth  the  innermost  part  of  men's  breasts.f  It  is  he 
who  accepteth  repentance  from  his  servants,  and  forgiveth  sins,  and  knoweth 
that  which  ye  do.  He  will  incline  his  ear  unto  those  who  believe  and  work 
righteousness,  and  will  add  unto  them  above  what  they  shall  ask  or  deserve^ 
of  his  bounty :  but  the  unbelievers  shall  suffer  a  severe  punishment.  If 
God  should  bestow  abundance  upon  his  servants,  they  would  certainly 
behave  insolently  in  the  earth: J  but  he  sendeth  down  by  measure  unto 
every  one  that  which  he  pleaseth ;  for  he  well  knoweth  and  seeth  the  con- 
dition of  his  servants.  It  is  he  who  sendeth  down  the  rain,  after  men  have 
despaired  thereof,  and  spreadeth  abroad  his  mercy ;  and  he  is  the  patron, 
justly  to  be  praised.  Among  his  signs  is  the  creation  of  heaven  and  earth, 
and  of  the  living  creatures  with  which  he  hath  replenished  them  both  ;  and 
he  is  able  to  gather  them  together  before  his  tribunal,  whenever  he  pleaseth. 
Whatever  misfortune  befalleth  you  is  sent  unto  you  by  God,  for  that  which 
your  hands  have  deserved  ;  and  yet  he  forgiveth  many  things  :  ye  shall  not 
frustrate  the  divine  vengeance  in  the  earth ;  neither  shall  ye  have  any  pro- 
tector or  helper,  against  God.  Among  his  signs  also  are  the  ships  running 
in  the  sea,  like  high  mountains  :  if  he  pleaseth,  he  causeth  the  wind  to 
cease,  and  they  lie  still  on  the  back  of  the  water:  (verily  herein  are  signs 
unto  every  patient  and  grateful  person) :  or  he  destroyeth  them  by  ship- 
wreck,  because  of  that  which  their  crews  have  merited  ;  though  he  pardoneth 
many  things.^     And  they  who  dispute  against  our  signs  shall  know  that 

*  "  The  love  of  your  kindred." — Savary. 

"  The  meaning  of  these  words  is  somewhat  obscure.  Some  imagine  they  express  a 
detestation  of  the  forgery  charged  on  the  prophet  by  the  infidels ;  because  none  could  be 
capable  of  so  wicked  an  action,  but  one  whose  heart  was  close  shut,  and  knew  not  his  Lord  : 
as  if  he  had  said,  God  forbid  that  thou  shouldest  he  so  void  of  grace,  or  have  so  little  se?ise 
of  thy  duty  !  Others  think  the  signification  to  be,  that  God  might  strike  all  the  revela- 
tions which  had  been  vouchsafed  to  Mohammed  out  of  his  heart  at  once  ;  and  others, 
that  God  would  strengthen  his  heart  with  patience  against  the  insults  of  the  unbelievers.'' 

"  Wherefore  if  the  doctrine  taught  in  this  book  be  of  man,  it  will  certainly  fail  and  come 
to  nothing  ;  but  if  it  be  of  God,  it  can  never  be  overthrown.' 

t  "  He  will  impress  upon  thy  heart  the  seal  of  patience.  He  will  destroy  falsehood,  and 
confirm  the  truth  of  his  words.     He  fathometh  the  depth  of  every  heart." — Savary. 

X  "  Excess  of  prosperity  would  have  made  them  forget  moderation."— ^'arary. 

<>  "  If  the  crimes  of  mariners  have  merited  his  anger,  he  drowneth  them,  but  his  mercy 
often  prevailelh  over  his  justice." — Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


39G  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xlii. 

there  will  be  no  way  for  them  to  escape  our  vengeance.  Whatever  things 
are  given  yon,  they  are  the  provision  of  this  present  Hfe :  but  the  reward 
which  is  with  God  is  better,  and  more  durable,  for  those  who  believe,  and 
put  their  trust  in  their  Lord;  and  who  avoid  heinous  and  fdthy  crimes, and 
when  they  are  angry,  forgive ;  and  who  hearken  unto  their  Lord,  and  are 
constant  at  prayer,  and  whose  affairs  are  directed  by  consultation  among 
themselves,  and  who  give  alms  out  of  what  we  have  bestowed  on  them ; 
and  who,  when  an  injury  is  done  them,  avenge  themselves p  (and  the 
retaliation  of  evil  ought  to  be  an  evil  proportionate  thereto)  :  but  he  who 
forgiveth,  and  is  reconciled  unto  his  enemy^  shall  receive  his  reward  from 
God  ;  i  for  he  loveth  not  the  unjust  doers.  And  whoso  shall  avenge  him- 
self, after  he  hath  been  injured  ;  as  to  these,  it  is  not  lawful  to  punish  them 
for  it :  but  it  is  only  lawful  to  punish  those  who  w^rong  men,  and  act  inso- 
lently in  the  earth,  against  justice ;  these  shall  suffer  a  grievous  punishment. 
And  whoso  beareth  injuries  patiently,  and  forgiveth ;  verily  this  is  a  neces- 
sary work.  Whom  God  shall  cause  to  err,  he  shall  afterwards  have  no 
protector.  And  thou  shalt  see  the  ungodly,  who  shall  say,  when  they 
behold  the  punishment  prepared  for  them,  Is  there  no  way  to  return  back 
into  the  world?  And  thou  shalt  see  them  exposed  unto  hell f re;  dejected, 
because  of  the  ignominy  they  shall  undergo :  they  shall  look  at  the  fire 
sideways,  and  by  stealth ;  *  and  the  true  believers  shall  say.  Verily  the 
losers  are  they  who  have  lost  their  ov/n  souls,  and  their  families,  on  the  day 
of  resurrection :  shall  not  the  ungodly  continue  in  eternal  torment }  They 
shall  have  no  protectors  to  defend  them  against  God  :  and  whom  God  shall 
cause  to  err,  he  shall  find  no  way  to  the  truth.  Hearken  unto  your  Lord, 
before  the  day  come,  which  God  will  not  keep  back :  ye  shall  have  no  place 
of  refuge  on  that  day ;  neither  shall  ye  be  able  to  deny  your  sins.  But  if 
those  to  whom  thou  jjreachest  turn  aside yVom  thy  admonitions ^xenXj  we  have 
not  sent  thee  to  be  a  guardian  over  them :  "f  thy  duty  is  preaching  only. 
When  we  cause  man  to  taste  mercy  from  us,  he  rejoiceth  thereat :  but  if  evil 
befall  them,  for  that  which  their  hands  have  formerly  committed,  verily  man 
becometh  ungrateful.  Unto  God  appertaineth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and 
earth  :  he  createth  that  which  he  pleaseth ;  he  giveth  females  unto  whom 
he  pleaseth,  and  he  giveth  males  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  or  he  giveth 
them  males  and  females  jointly :  and  he  maketh  whom  he  pleaseth  to  be 
childless ;  for  he  is  wise  and  powerful.  It  is  not  ft  for  man  that  God 
should  speak  unto  him  otherwise  than  by  private  revelation,  or  from  behind 
a  veil,  or  by  his  sending  of  a  messenger  to  reveal,  by  his  permission,  that 
which  he  pleaseth ;  for  he  is  high  and  wise.     Thus  have  we  revealed  unto 

p  Using  the  means  which  God  has  put  into  their  hands  for  their  own  defence.  This  is 
added  to  complete  the  character  here  given ;  for  valour  and  courage  are  not  inconsistent 
with  clemency ;  *  the  rule  being, 

Parcere  subjectis,  et  dehellare  superbos. 

"  See  chap.  5,  p.  88,  &c. 

*  "  Covered  with  shame,  they  shall  start  back  in  terror,  and  shall  look  upon  theflamee 
with  an  eye  of  dismay."     Savary. 

t  "  If  they  persist  in  their  unbelief,  thou  ceasest  to  be  their  guide."     Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XLiii.  AL  KORAN.  397 

thee  a  revelation/  by  our  command.  Thou  didst  not  understand,  heforc 
this^  what  the  book  of  the  Koran  was,  nor  what  the  faith  was  :  but  we  have 
ordained  the  same  for  a  light ;  we  will  thereby  direct  such  of  our  servants 
as  we  please  :  and  thou  shalt  surely  direct  them  into  the  right  way,  the  way 
of  God,  unto  whom  helongeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  in  earth.  Shall 
not  all  things  return  unto  God  ? 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  ORNAMENTS  OF  GOLD-  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.' 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

H.  M."  By  the  perspicuous  book ;  verily  w^e  have  ordained  the  same  an 
Arabic  Koran  that  ye  may  understand :  and  it  is  certainly  loritten  in  the 
original  book,^  keyt  with  us,  heing  sublime  and  full  of  wisdom.  Shall  we 
therefore  turn  away  from  you  the  admonition,  and  deprive  you  thereof 
because  ye  are  a  people  who  transgress  .?  And  how  many  prophets  have 
we  sent  among  those  of  old  .''  and  no  prophet  came  unto  them,  but  they 
laughed  him  to  scorn :  wherefore  we  destroyed  nations  who  were  more 
mighty  than  these  in  strength ;  and  the  example  of  those  who  were  of  old 
hath  been  already  set  before  them.  If  thou  ask  them  who  created  the 
heavens  and  the  earth,  they  will  certainly  answer,  The  mighty,  the  wise 
God  created  them :  who  hath  spread  the  earth  as  a  bed  for  you,  and  hath 
made  you  paths  therein,  that  ye  may  be  directed :  and  who  sendeth  down 
rain  from  heaven  by  measure,  whereby  we  quicken  a  dead  country ;  (so 
shall  ye  be  brought  forth  yVom  your  graves  :)  and  who  hath  created  all  the 
various  species  of  thing s,  and  hath  given  you  ships  and  cattle,  whereon  ye 
are  carried  ;  that  ye  may  sit  firmly  on  the  backs  thereof,  and  may  remember 
the  favour  of  your  Lord,  when  ye  sit  thereon,  and  may  say.  Praise  be  unto 
him,  who  hath  subjected  these  unto  our  service !  for  we  could  not  have 
mastered  them  by  our  own  power:*  and  unto  our  Lord  shall  we  surely 
return.  Yet  have  they  attributed  unto  him  some  of  his  servants  as  his 
offspring :  verily  man  is  openly  ungrateful.  Hath  God  taken  daughters  out 
of  those  beings  which  he  hath  created  ;  and  hath  he  chosen  sons  for  yoti } 
But  when  one  of  them  hath  the  news  brought  of  the  birth  of  a  child  of  that 
sex  which   they  attribute  unto   the  Merciful,  as  his  similitude,  his  face 

^  Or,  as  the  words  may  be  also  translated,  Thus  have  we  sent  the  spirit  Gabriel  unto  thee 
with  a  revelation. 

'  The  word  chosen  for  the  title  of  this  chapter  occurs  p.  398. 

'  Some  except  the  verse  beginning  with  these  words,  And  ask  our  apostles  whom  we  have 
sent  before  thee,  &cc. 

"  See  the  Prel.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

"  i.  e.  The  preserved  Table  ;  which  is  the  original  of  all  the  scriptures  in  general. 

*  "  Borne  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea,  ought  ye  not  to  call  to  mind  his  benefits,  and  to 
say,  Praise  be  to  him  who  hath  made  his  creatures  administer  unto  our  wants  !  We  could 
not  have  procured  unto  ourselves  these  advantages." — Savary. 


398  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xmi. 

becometh  black,  and  he  is  oppressed  with  sorrow.^  Do  they  therefore 
attribute  unto  God  female  issue,  which  are  brought  up  among  ornaments, 
and  are  contentious  without  cause  ?*  And  do  they  make  the  angels,  who 
are  the  servants  of  the  Merciful,  females .?  Were  they  present  at  their 
creation  ?  Their  testimony  shall  be  written  down,  and  they  shall  be 
examined  concerning  the  same^  on  the  day  of  judgment.  And  they  say,  If 
the  Merciful  had  pleased,  we  had  not  worshipped  them.  They  have  no 
knowledge  herein :  they  only  utter  a  vain  lie."!"  Have  we  given  them  a 
book  of  revelations  before  this ;  and  do  they  keep  the  same  in  their 
custody  ?  But  they  say.  Verily  we  found  our  fathers  practising  a  religion ; 
and  we  are  guided  in  their  footsteps.  Thus  we  sent  no  preacher  before 
thee,  unto  any  city,  but  the  inhabitants  thereof  who  lived  in  affluence,  said, 
Verily  we  found  our  fathers  practising  a  religion :  and  we  tread  in  their 
footsteps.  And  the  preacher  answered.  What,  although  I  bring  you  a  more 
right  religion  than  that  which  ye  found  your  fathers  to  practise?  And 
they  replied.  Verily  we  believe  not  that  which  ye  are  sent  to  preach. 
Wherefore  we  took  vengeance  on  them :  and  behold  what  hath  been  the 
end  of  those  who  accused  our  apostles  of  imposture.  Rememher  when 
Abraham  said  unto  his  father,  and  his  people.  Verily  I  am  clear  of  the  gods 
which  ye  worship,  except  him  who  hath  created  me  ;  for  he  will  direct  me 
aright.  And  he  ordained  this  to  be  a  constant  doctrine  among  his  posterity ; 
that  they  should  be  turned  yrom  idolatry  to  the  worship  of  the  only  true  God. 
Verily  I  have  permitted  these  Meccans  and  their  fathers  to  live  in  pros- 
perity, until  the  truth  should  come  unto  them,  and  a  manifest  apostle :  but 
now  the  truth  is  come  unto  them,  they  say,  This  is  a  piece  of  sorcery ;  and 
we  believe  not  therein.  And  they  say,  Had  this  Koran  been  sent  down 
unto  some  great  man  of  either  of  the  two  cities,^  we  would  have  received  it. 
Do  they  distribute  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord  ?^  We  distribute  the  necessary 
provision  among  them,  in  this  present  life,  and  we  raise  some  of  them 
several  degrees  above  the  others,  that  the  one  of  them  may  take  the  other 
to  serve  him  :  and  the  mercy  of  thy  Lord  is  more  valuable  than  the  riches 
which  they  gather  together.  If  it  were  not  that  mankind  would  have 
become  one  sect  of  inf  dels ^\en\y  we  had  given  unto  those  who  believe  not 
in  the  Merciful,  roofs  of  silver  to  their  houses,  and  stairs  of  silver,  by  which 
they  might  ascend  thereto,  and  doors  of  silver  to  their  houses,  and  couches 
of  silver,  for  them  to  lean  on ;  and  ornaments  of  gold  :  for  all  this  is  the 
provision  of  the  present  life ;  but  the  next  life  with  thy  Lord  shall  be  for 
those  who  fear  him.  Whoever  shall  withdraw  from  the  admonition  of  the 
Merciful,  we  will  chain  a  devil  unto  him ;  and  he  shall  be  his  inseparable 

'See  chap.  16,  p.  218,  &c. 

*  "  Can  the  Eternal  be  the  father  of  a  capricious  being,  of  a  daughter,  whose  youth  is 
passed  in  the  midst  of  ornament  and  of  dress?" — Savary. 

t  "  Did  heaven  command  this  worship  unto  them  ?     They  blaspheme." — Savary. 

y  i.  e.  To  one  of  the  principal  inhabitants  of  Mecca,  or  of  Tayef;  such  as  al  Walid  Ebn 
al  Mogheira,  or  Orwa  Ebn  Masud  the  Thakitite.'' 

^  By  this  expression  the  prophetic  office  is  here  particularly  intended. 

■*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XLin. 


AL  KORAN,  399 


companion  :  (and  the  devils  shall  turn  them  aside  from  the  way  of  truth ; 
yet  they  shall  imagine  themselves  to  be  rightly  directed :)  until,  when  he 
shall  appear  before  us  at  the  last  daij^  he  shall  say  unto  the  devil,^  Would  to 
God  that  between  me  and  thee  there  loas  the  distance  of  the  east  from  the 
west !     Oh  how  wretched  a  companion  art  thou !     But  wishes  shall  not 
avail  you  on  this  day,  since  ye  have  been  unjust;  for  ye  shall  be  partakers 
of  the  same  punishment.     Canst  thou,  O  prophet,  make  the  deaf  to  hear, 
or  canst  thou  direct  the  blind,  and  him  who  is  in  a  manifest  error? 
Whether  we  take  thee  away,  we  will  surely  take  vengeance  on  them ;  or 
whether  we  cause  thee  to  see  the  punishment  with  which  we  have  threat- 
ened them  executed,  we  will  certainly  prevail  over  them.     Wherefore  hold 
fast  the  doctrine  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  thee ;  for  thou  art  in  a  right 
way :  and  it  is  a  memorial  unto  thee  and  thy  people,  and  hereafter  shall 
ye  be  examined  concerning  your  observance  thereof.    And  ask  our  apostles 
whom  we  have  sent  before  thee,''  whether  we  have  appointed  gods  for  them 
to  worship,  besides  the  Merciful.     We  formerly  sent  Moses  with  our  sinrns 
unto  Pharaoh  and  his  princes,  and  he  said.  Verily  I  am  the  apostle  of  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures.     And  when  he  came  unto  them  with  our  signs,  be- 
hold, they  laughed  him  to  scorn ;  although  we  showed  them  no  sign,  but 
it  was  greater  than  the  other:*'  and  we  inflicted  a  punishment  on  them,"* 
that  perad venture  they  might  be  converted.     And  they  said  unto  Moses, 
O  magician,  pray  unto  thy  Lord  for  us,  according  to  the  covenant  which 
he  hath  made  with  thee ;  for  we  will  certainly  be  directed.     But  when  we 
took  the  plague  from  off  them,  behold,  they  brake  their  promise.     And 
Pharaoh  made  proclamation  among  his  people,  saying,  O  my  people,  is  not 
the  kingdom  of  Egypt  mine,  and  these  rivers,^  which  flow  beneath  me  ? 
Do  ye  not  see  ?*     Am  not  I  better  than  this  Moses,  who  is  a  contemptible 
person,  and  can  scarce  express  himself  intelligibly .?  *"     Have  bracelets  of 
gold,  therefore,  been  put  upon  him;s  or  do  the  angels  attend  him  in  orderly 
procession  ?     And  Pharaoh  persuaded  his  people  to  light  behaviour ;  and 
they  obeyed  him  :  for  they  were  a  wicked  people.     And  when  they  had 
provoked  us  to  wrath,  we  took  vengeance  on  them :  and  we  drowned  them 

«  See  chap.  19,  p.  253. 

"  That  is,  Ask  those  who  profess  the  religions  which  they  taught,  and  their  learned 
men.* 

*=  Literally,  Than  its  sister.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  miracles  were  all  very  great  and 
considerable,  or,  as  the  French  may  express  it,  by  a  phrase  nearly  the  same,  les  uns  plus 
grands  que  les  autres. 

^  viz.  The  successive  plagues  which  they  suffered,  previous  to  their  final  destruction  in 
the  lied  Sea. 

*  To  wit,  the  Nile  and  its  branches.* 

*  "  Pharaoh,  having  assembled  his  people,  said  unto  them,  Doth  not  the  empire  of 
Egypt  belong  unto  me?  This  river,  these  canals,  do  they  not  flow  under  my  laws? 
Think  ye  not  thus?" — Savary. 

f  See  chap.  20,  p.  256,  note  d. 

8  Such  bracelets  were  some  of  the  insignia  of  royalty :  for  when  the  Egyptians  raised  a 
person  to  the  dignity  of  a  prince,  they  put  a  collar  or  chain  of  gold  about  his  neck,'  and 
bracelets  of  gold  on  his  wrists.'^ 

8  Al  Bendawi,  Jullalo'ddin,  &c.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  *  See  Gen.  xli.  42. 

2  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin, 


400  AL  KOEAN.  chap,  xliii. 

all :  and  we  made  them  a  precedent,  and  an  example  mito  others.  And 
when  the  son  of  Mary  was  proposed  for  an  example,  behold,  thy  people 
cried  out  through  excess  of  joy  thereat;  •»*  and  they  said,  Jlre  our  gods  better, 
or  he  ?  They  have  proposed  this  instance  unto  thee  no  otherwise  than  for 
an  occasion  of  dispute  :  yea,  they  are  contentious  men.  Jesus  is  no  other 
than  a  servant,  whom  we  favoured  with  the  gift  of  prophecy ;  and  we  ap- 
pointed him  for  an  example^  unto  the  children  of  Israel:  (if  we  pleased, 
verily  we  could  from  ourselves  produce  angels,  to  succeed  you  in  the 
earth  r'^)  and  he  shall  be  a  sign  of  the  approach  of  the  last  hour;i  where- 
fore doubt  not  thereof.  And  follow  me:  this  is  the  right  way.  And  let  not 
Satan  cause  you  to  turn  aside;  for  he  is  your  open  enemy.  And  when 
Jesus  came  with  evident  miracles,  he  said,  Now  am  I  come  unto  you  with 
wisdom,™  and  to  explain  unto  you  part  of  those  things  concerning  which 
ye  disagree ;  wherefore  fear  God^  and  obey  me.  Verily  God  is  my  Lord, 
and  your  Lord  ;  wherefore  worship  him  :  this  is  the  right  way.  And  the 
confederated  sects  among  them  fell  to  variance :"  but  woe  unto  those  who 
have  acted  unjustly,  because  of  the  punishment  of  a  grievous  day.  Do  the 
unbelievers  wait  for  any  other  than  the  hour  of  judgment ;  that  it  may  come 
upon  them  suddenly,  while  they  foresee  it  not  .'*  The  intimate  friends,  on 
that  day,  shall  he  enemies  unto  one  another;  except  the  pious.  O  my 
servants,  there  shall  no  fear  come  on  you  this  day,  neither  shall  ye  be 
grieved ;  who  have  believed  in  our  signs,  and  have  been  Moslems :  enter 
ye  into  paradise,  ye  and  your  wives,  with  great  joy.     Dishes  of  gold  shall 

*"  This  passage  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  revealed  on  occasion  of  an  objection 
made  by  one  Ebn  al  Zabari,  to  those  words  in  the  twenty-first  chapter, ="  by  which  all  in 
general,  who  were  worshipped  as  deities,  besides  God,  are  doomed  to  hell :  whereupon 
the  infidels  cried  out,  We  ar^  contented  that  our  gods  shotdd  he  toith  Jesus  ;  for  he  also  is 
worshipped  as  God.*  Some,  however,  are  of  opinion  it  might  have  been  revealed  in  an- 
swer to  certain  idolaters,  who  said  that  the  Christians,  who  received  the  scriptures,  wor- 
shipped Jesus,  supposing  him  to  be  the  son  of  God ;  whereas  the  angels  were  more  wor- 
thy of  that  honour  than  he.' 

*  "  The  example  of  Jesus,  the  son  of  Mary,  was  proposed  to  the  idolaters,  and  they 
started  back  thereat." — Savary. 

*  Or  an  instance  of  our  power,  by  his  miraculous  birth. 

^  As  easily  as  we  produced  Jesus  without  a  father."  The  intent  of  the  words  is  to  show 
how  just  and  reasonable  it  is  to  think,  that  the  angels  should  bear  the  relation  of  children 
to  men,  rather  than  to  God ;  they  being  his  creatures,  as  well  as  men,  and  equally  in  his 
power. 

'  For  some  time  before  the  resurrection  Jesus  is  to  descend  on  earth,  according  to  the 
Mohammedans,  near  Damascus, ■"  or,  as  some  say,  near  a  rock  in  the  holy  land  named 
Afik,  with  a  lance  in  his  hand,  wherewith  he  is  to  kill  Antichrist,  whom  he  will  encounter 
at  Ludd,  or  Lydda,  a  small  town  not  far  from  Joppa.^  They  add.  that  he  will  arrive  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  time  of  morning  prayer,  that  he  shall  perform  his  devotions  alter  the 
Mohammedan  institution,  and  officiate  instead  of  the  Imam,  who  shall  give  place  to  him; 
that  he  will  break  down  the  cross,  and  destroy  the  churches  of  the  Christians,  of  whom 
he  will  also  make  a  generel  slaughter,  excepting  only  such  as  shall  profess  Islam,  &c.® 

™  That  is,  with  a  book  of  revelations,  and  an  excellent  system  of  religion. 

°  This  may  be  understood  either  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  Jesus,  who  opposed  his  doc- 
trine, or  of  the  Christians  since,  who  have  fallen  into  various  opinions  concerning  him  ; 
some  making  him  to  be  God,  others  the  son  of  God,  and  others  one  of  the  persons  of  the 
Trinity,  &,c.'°    (Savary  applies  it  to  the  Christians.) 

'  See  p.  272.  *  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  » lidem.  '  lidem.  '  See  the 

Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  57,  58.  «  See  ibid.  p.  57.  » Al  Beidawi.  ^"  Idem, 

Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  XLHi.  AL  KORAN.  401 

be  carried  round  unto  them,  and  cups  without  handles :  and  therein  shall 
they  enjoy  whatever  their  souls  shall  desire,  and  whatever  their  eyes  shall 
delight  in  :  and  ye  shall  remain  therein  for  ever.  This  is  paradise,  which 
ye  have  inherited  as  a  reward  for  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  Therein 
shall  ye  have  fruits  in  abundance,  of  which  ye  shall  eat.  But  the  wicked 
shall  remain  for  ever  in  the  torment  of  hell :  it  shall  not  be  made  lighter 
unto  them  ;  and  they  shall  despair  therein.*  We  deal  not  unjustly  with 
them,  but  they  deal  unjustly  with  their  own  souls.  And  they  shall  call 
aloud,  saying,  O  Malec,"  intercede  for  us  that  thy  Lord  would  end  us 
hy  annihilation.  He  shall  answer,p  Verily  ye  shall  remain  here  for  ever. 
We  brought  you  the  truth  heretofore,  but  the  greater  part  of  you  abhorred 
the  truth.  Have  the  infidels  fixed  on  a  method  to  circumvent  our  apostle  ? 
Verily  we  will  fix  on  a  method  to  circtimvent  them.  Do  they  imagine  that  we 
hear  not  their  secrets,  and  their  private  discourse  ?  Yea  ;  and  our  messen- 
gers who  attend  them^  write  down  the  same.  Say,  If  the  Merciful  had 
a  son,  verily  I  loould  he  the  first  of  those  who  should  worship  him.  Far  be 
the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  the  Lord  of  the  throne,  from  that  which 
they  af^rm  of  him  !  Wherefore  let  them  wade  in  their  vanity^  and  divert 
themselves  until  they  arrive  at  their  day  with  which  they  have  been  threat- 
ened.! He  who  is  God  in  heaven,  is  God  on  earth  also :  and  he  is  the 
wise,  the  knowing.  And  blessed  be  he  unto  whom  appertaineth  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  whatever  is  between  them;  with 
whom  15  the  knowledge  of  the  last  hour ;  and  before  whom  ye  shall  be  as- 
sembled. They  whom  they  invoke  besides  him  have  not  the  privilege  to 
intercede /or  others  ;  except  those  who  bear  witness  to  the  truth,  and  know 
the  same.""  If  thou  ask  them  who  hath  created  them,  they  will  surely 
answer,  God.  How  therefore  are  they  turned  away  to  the  worship  of 
others  ?  God  also  heareth  the  saying  of  the  prophet,  O  Lord,  verily  these 
are  people  who  believe  not :  and  he  answereth,  Therefore  turn  aside  from 
them ;  and  say,  Peace  : «  hereafter  shall  they  know  their  folly. 

*  "  Their  rigour  shall  never  be  mitigated.  The  guilty  shall  preserve  a  melancholy 
silence." — Savary. 

°  This  the  Mohammedans  suppose  to  be  the  name  of  the  principal  angel  who  has  the 
charge  of  hell. 

p  Some  say  that  this  answer  will  not  be  given  till  a  thousand  years  after. 

''  i.  e.  The  guardian  angels. 

t  "  Let  them  waste  their  time  in  vain  disputes.  The  day  which  is  promised  unto  them 
shall  come  upon  them  by  surprise. — Savary. 

'  That  is,  to  the  doctrine  of  God's  unity.  The  exception  comprehends  Jesus,  Ezra,  and 
the  angels ;  who  will  be  admitted  as  intercessors,  though  they  have  been  worshipped  as 
gods.' 

*  See  chap.  25,  p.  300,  note  p. 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


402  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xliv. 

CHAPTER    XLIY. 

INTITLED,  SMOKE;*  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE   MOST    MERCIFUL   GOD. 

H.  M.^  By  the  perspicuous  book  of  the  Koran ;  verily  we  have  sent 
down  the  same  on  a  blessed  nights  (for  we  had  engaged  so  to  do),  on  the 
night  wherein  is  distinctly  sent  down  the  decree  of  every  determined  thing, 
as  a  command  from  us.'^*  Verily  we  have  ever  used  to  send  apostles  with 
revelations,  at  proper  intervals,  as  a  mercy  from  thy  Lord  ;  for  it  is  he  who 
heareth  and  knoweth :  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  whatever  is 
between  them  ;  if  ye  are  men  of  sure  knowledge.  There  is  no  God  but  he  : 
he  giveth  life,  and  he  causeth  to  die ;  he  is  your  Lord,  and  the  Lord 
of  your  forefathers.  Yet  do  they  amuse  themselves  with  doubt.  But 
observe  them,  on  the  day  whereon  the  heaven  shall  produce  a  visible  smoke, 
which  shall  cover  mankind  :"  this  will  be  a  tormenting  plague.  They  shall 
say,  O  Lord,  take  this  plague  from  off  us :  verily  we  will  become  true  be- 
lievers. How  should  an  admonition  be  of  avail  to  them  in  this  condition ; 
when  a  manifest  apostle  came  unto  them,  but  they  retired  from  him,  saying. 
This  man  is  instructed  by  others,^  or  is  a  distracted  person  ?  We  will  take 
the  plague  from  off  you,  a  little :  hut  ye  will  certainly  return  to  your  infi- 
delity.''    On  the  day  whereon  we  shall  fiercely  assault  them  with  great 

*  This  word  occurs  within  a  few  lines  from  the  beginning  of  the  chapter. 

"  Some  except  the  verse  beginning,  We  will  take  the  plague  off  you  a  little,  &c. 

*  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &,c. 

J  Generally  supposed  to  be  that  between  the  23rd  and  24th  of  Ramadan.  See  ibid, 
p.  46,  and  chap.  97,  and  the  notes  there. 

^  For  annually  on  this  night,  as  the  Mohammedans  are  taught,  all  the  events  of  the 
ensuing  year,  with  respect  to  life,  and  death,  and  the  other  affairs  of  this  world,  are  disposed 
and  settled.^  Some,  however,  suppose  that  these  words  refer  only  to  that  particular  night, 
on  which  the  Koran,  wherein  are  completely  contained  the  divine  determinations  in  respect 
10  religion  and  morality,  was  sent  down : '  and  according  to  this  exposition  the  passage 
may  be  rendered,  The  night  whereon  every  determined  or  adjudged  matter  was  sent  down. 

*  "  I  swear  it  by  the  book  of  evidence  :  we  sent  it  down  unto  thee  on  the  blessed  night, 
for  the  instruction  of  mortals.  On  the  same  night  eternal  wisdom  put  the  seal  unto  its 
laws." — Savary. 

»  The  commentators  differ  in  their  expositions  of  this  passage.  Some  think  it  spoken  of 
a  smoke  which  seemed  to  till  the  air,  during  the  famine  which  was  inflicted  on  the  Meccans 
in  Mohammed's  lime,^  and  was  so  thick,  that  though  they  could  hear,  yet  they  could  not 
see  one  another.'  But  according  to  a  tradition  of  Ali,  the  smoke  here  meant  is  that  which 
is  to  be  one  of  the  previous  signs  of  the  day  of  judgment,^  and  will  fill  the  whole  space 
from  east  to  west,  and  last  for  forty  days.  This  smoke,  they  say,  will  intoxicate  the  infi- 
dels, and  issue  at  their  nose,  ears,  and  posteriors ;  but  will  very  little  incommode  the  true 
behevers.'' 

••See  chap,  16,  p.  223. 

"  If  we  follow  the  former  exposition,  the  words  are  to  be  understood  of  the  ceasing  of  the 
famine,  upon  the  intercession  of  Mohammed,  at  the  desire  of  the  Koreish,  and  on  their 
promise  of  believing  on  him  ;  notwithstanding  which  they  fell  back  to  their  old  incredulity  : 
but  if  we  follow  the  latter  exposition,  they  are  to  be  understood  of  God's  taking  away  the 
plague  of  the  smoke,  after  the  expiration  of  forty  days,  at  the  prayer  of  the  infidels,  and 
on  their  promise  of  receiving  the  true  faith  ;  which  being  done,  they  will  immediately  re- 
turn to  their  wonted  obstinacy. 

»  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Bcidawi,  ^  ijdem,  *  See  chap.  23,  p,  284,  note  q.    _        *  AI 

Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Yahya,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  58. 

'  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  xuv.  AL  KOEAN.  403 

power,''  verily  we  will  take  vengeance  07i  Llicm.  We  made  trial  of  tiie 
people  of  Pharaoh  before  them,  and  an  honourable  messenger  came 
unto  them,  sayings  Send  unto  me  the  servants  of  God  ;  ^  verily  I  am  a 
faithful  messenger  unto  you  :  and  lift  not  yourselves  up  against  God;  for 
I  come  unto  you  with  manifest  power.  And  I  fly  for  protection  unto  my 
Lord,  and  your  Lord,  that  ye  stone  me  not,*"  If  ye  do  not  believe  me,  al 
least  depart  from  me.s  And  lohen  they  accused  him  of  imposture,  he  called 
upon  his  Lord,  sayings  These  are  a  wicked  people.  And  God  said  unto  Idm., 
March  forth  with  my  servants  by  night ;  for  ye  will  he  pursued  :  and  leave 
the  sea  divided,  that  the  Egyptians  may  enter  the  same;  for  they  are  a  host 
doomed  to  be  drowned.  How  many  gardens,  and  fountains,  and  lields 
of  corn,  and  fair  dwellings,  and  advantages  which  they  enjoyed,  did  they 
leave  behind  them !  Thus  we  dispossessed  them  thereof ;  and  we  gave  the 
same  for  an  inheritance  unto  another  people.^  Neither  heaven  nor  earth 
wept  for  them ; '  neither  were  they  respited  any  longer.  And  we  delivered 
the  children  of  Israel  from  a  shameful  affliction ;  from  Pharaoh ;  for  he 
was  haughty,  and  a  transgressor :  and  we  chose  them,  knowingly,^  above 
all  people ;  and  we  showed  them  several  signs,^  wherein  was  an  evident 
ti'ial.  Verily  these  Meccans  say,  Assuredly  our  final  end  will  be  no  other 
than  our  first  natural  death ;  neither  shall  we  be  raised  again  :  bring  now 
our  forefathers  hack  to  life,  if  ye  speak  truth.  Are  they  better,  or  the 
people  of  Tobba,™  and  those  who  loere  before  them  ?  we  destroyed  them, 
because  they  wrought  wickedness.  We  have  not  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth,  and  whatever  is  between  them,  by  way  of  sport :  we  have  created 
them  no  otherwise  than  in  truth  \  °  *  but  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not 
understand.  Verily  the  day  of  separation  °  shall  he  the  appointed  term  of 
them  all :  a  day,  whereon  the  master  and  the  servant  shall  be  of  no  advan- 
tage to  one  another,  neither  shall  they  be  helped  ;  excepting  those  on  whom 

^  Some  expound  this  of  the  slaughter  at  Bedr,  and  others  of  the  day  of  judgment. 

'  t.  e.  Let  the  Israelites  go  with  me  to  worship  their  God. 

^  Or,  that  ye  injure  me  not,  either  by  word  or  deed.* 

e  Without  opposing  me,  or  offering  me  any  injury,  which  I  have  not  deserved  from  you. 

"  See  chap.  26,  p.  204. 

'  That  is,  None  pitied  their  destruction, 

^  I.  e.  Knowing  that  they  were  worthy  of  our  choice  ;  or  notwithstanding  we  knew  they 
would,  in  time  to  come,  fall  into  idolatry,  &c. 

'  As  the  dividing  of  the  Red  Sea;  the  cloud  which  shaded  thern  ;  the  raining  on  them 
manna  and  quails,  &-c.* 

"•  viz.  The  Hamyarites,  whose  kings  had  the  title  of  Tobba.*  The  commentators  tell  us 
that  the  Tobba  here  meant  was  very  potent,  and  built  Samarcand,  or,  as  others  say,  de- 
molished it ;  and  that  he  was  a  true  believer,  but  his  subjects  were  inlidels.^ 

This  prince  seems  to  have  been  Abu  Carb  Asaad,  who  flourished  about  seven  hundred 
years  before  .Mohammed,  and  embraced  Judaism,  which  relision  he  first  introduced  into 
Yaman  (oeing  the  true  religion  at  that  time,  inasmuch  as  Christianity  was  not  then  pro- 
mulgated), and  was,  for  that  cause  probal)lv,  slain  by  his  own  people."" 

°  See  chap.  21,  p.  265,  and  chap.  38,  p.  373, 

*  "  The  heavens,  the  earth,  and  the  whole  universe,  are  not  the  effect  of  chance.  Out 
of  nothins  have  we  created  them." — Suvnry. 

"  i.  e.  The  day  of  judgment,  when  the  wicked  shall  be  separated  from  the  righteous,  &,c, 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem.  '  See  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect,  i,  p,  7,  ^  Al  Beidawi, 
Jallalo'ddin,        *  Al  Jannabi.     Vide  Poc,  Spec,  p,  60, 


404  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  xlv. 

God  shall  have  mercy ;  for  he  is  the^mighty,  the  merciful.  Verily,  the  fruit 
of  the  tree  of  al  Zakkum  shall  be  the  food  of  the  impious  ;p  as  the  dregs  of 
oil  shall  it  boil  in  the  bellies  of  the  damned*  like  the  boiling  of  the  hottest 
water.  And  it  shall  be  said  to  the  tormentors,  Take  him,  and  drag  him  into 
the  midst  of  hell :  and  pour  on  his  head  the  torture  of  boiling  water,  saying, 
Taste  this  ;  for  thou  art  that  mighty  and  honourable  person.  Verily  this 
is  the  punishment  of  which  ye  doubted.  But  the  pious  shall  be  lodged  in 
a  place  of  security,  among  gardens  and  fountains :  they  shall  be  clothed  in 
fine  silk,  and  in  satin ;  and  they  shall  sit  facing  one  anolher.l  Thus  shall 
it  be  :  and  we  will  espouse  them  to  fair  damsels,  having  large  black  eyes. 
In  that  place  shall  they  call  for  all  kinds  of  fruits,  in  full  security  :  they 
shall  not  taste  death  therein,  after  the  first  death ;  and  God  shall  deliver 
from  the  pains  of  hell :  through  the  gracious  bounty  of  thy  Lord.  This 
will  be  great  felicity.  Moreover  we  have  rendered  the  Koran  easy  for  thee, 
by  revealing  it  in  thine  own  tongue ;  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  ad- 
monished:  wherefore  do  thou  wait  the  event;  for  they  wait /o  see  some 
misfortune  befall  thee. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 
INTITLED,  THE  KNEELING;"  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

H.  M.*"  The  revelation  o(this  book  is  from  the  mighty,  the  wise  God. 
Verily  both  in  heaven  and  earth  are  signs  of  the  divine  poiver  unto  the  true 
believers  :  and  in  the  creation  of  yourselves,  and  of  the  beasts  which  are 
scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth,  are  signs  unto  people  of  sound  judgment ;  J 
and  also  in  the  vicissitude  of  night  and  day,  and  the  rain  which  God 
sendeth  down  from  heaven,  whereby  he  quickeneth  the  earth  after  it  hath 
been  dead  :  in  the  change  of  the  winds  also  are  signs  unto  people  of  under- 
standing. These  are  the  signs  of  God  ;  we  rehearse  them  unto  thee  with 
truth.  In  what  revelation  therefore  will  they  believe,  after  they  have 
rejected  God  and  his  signs  ?  Woe  unto  every  lying  and  impious  person  ; 
who  heareth  the  signs  of  God,  which  are  read  unto  him,  and  afterwards 
proudly  persisteth  in  infidelity,  as  though  he  heard  them  not :  (denounce 
unto  him  a  painful  punishment :)  and  who,  when  he  cometh  to  the  know- 
ledge of  any  of  our  signs,  receiveth  the  same  with  scorn.  §  For  these  is 
prepared  a  shameful  punishment :  before  them  lieth  hell ;  and  whatever 
they  shall  have  gained  shall  not  avail  them  at  all,  neither  shall  the  idols 

p  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  this  passage  to  have  been  particularly  levelled  against  Abu  Jahl. 
*  "  Like  molten  metals,  it  shall  devour  their  entrails." — Savary. 
t "  They  shall  look,  on  each  other  benevolently." — Savary. 
'^  The  word  from  which  this  chapter  is  denominated  occurs  page  406. 
"■  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 

X  "  Manifest  his  wisdom  unto  those  who  sincerely  believe." — Savary. 
^  "  If  they  know  the  divine  doctrine,  it  is  only  to  make  of  it  an  object  of  mockery."— 
Savary. 


CHAP.  XLV.  AL  KORAN.  405 

which  they  have  taken  for  their  patrons,  besides  God  ;  and  they  shall  suffer 
a  grievous  punishment.  This  is  a  true  direction  :  and  for  those  who  dis- 
believe the  signs  of  their  Lord,  is  prepared  the  punishment  of  a  painful 
torment.  //  is  God  who  hath  subjected  the  sea  unto  you,  that  tlie  ships 
may  sail  therein,  at  his  command ;  and  that  ye  may  seek  advantage  unto 
yourselves  by  commerce,  of  his  bounty;  and  that  ye  may  give  thanks :  and 
he  obligeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  on  earth  to  serve  you;  the  whole 
being  from  him.  Verily  herein  are  signs  unto  people  who  consider.  Speak 
unto  the  true  believers,  that  they  forgive  those  who  hope  not  for  the  days 
of  God,**  that  he  may  reward  people  according  to  what  they  shall  have 
wrought.  Whoso  doeth  that  which  is  right  doth  it  to  the  advantage  q/his 
own  soul ;  and  whoso  doeth  evil  doth  it  against  the  same  :  hereafter  shall 
ye  return  unto  your  Lord.  We  gave  unto  the  children  of  Israel  the  book 
of  the  law^  and  wisdom,  and  prophecy ;  and  we  fed  them  with  good  things, 
and  preferred  them  above  all  nations :  and  we  gave  them  plain  ordinances 
concerning  the  business  of  religion  ;'\  neither  do  they  fall  to  variance,  ex- 
cept after  that  knowledge  had  come  unto  them,  through  envy  among  them- 
selves: but  thy  Lord  will  decide  the  controversy  between  them,  on  the  day 
of  resurrection,  concerning  that  wherein  they  disagree.  Afterwards  we  ap- 
pointed thee,  O  Mohammed^  to  promulgate  a  law  concerning  the  business 
of  religion :  wherefore  follow  the  same,  and  follow  not  the  desires  of  those 
who  are  ignorant.*  Verily  they  shall  not  avail  thee  against  God  at  all;  the 
unjust  are  the  patrons  of  one  another;  but  God  is  the  patron  of  the  pious. 
This  Koran  delivereth  evident  precepts  unto  mankind ;  and  is  a  direction, 
and  a  mercy,  unto  people  who  judge  aright.  Do  the  workers  of  iniquity 
imagine  that  we  will  deal  with  them  as  with  those  who  believe  and  do  good 
works ;  so  that  their  life  and  their  death  shall  be  equal  ?  An  ill  judgment 
do  they  make.  God  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  truth ;  that  he 
may  recompense  every  soul  according  to  that  which  it  shall  have  wrought : 
and  they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  What  thinkest  thou.?  He  who 
taketh  his  own  lust  for  his  God,  and  whom  God  causeth  knowingly  to  err, 
and  M'hose  ears  and  whose  heart  he  hath  sealed  up,  and  over  whose  eyes  he 
hath  cast  a  veil ;  who  shall  direct  him,  after  God  shall  have  forsaken  himf- 
Will  ye  therefore  not  be  admonished  ?  They  say,  There  is  no  other  life^ 
except  our  present  life :  we  die,  and  we  live ;  and  nothing  but  time  de- 
stroyeth  us.  But  they  have  no  knowledge  in  this  matter ;  they  only  follow 
a  vain  opinion.^     And  when  our  evident  signs  are  rehearsed  unto  them, 

'  By  the  days  of  God,  in  this  place,  are  meant  the  prosperous  successes  of  his  people 
in  battle  ay-iiiist  the  infidels.'  I'hc  passa;^e  is  said  to  have  been  revealed  on  account  ol" 
Omar,  who  being  reviled  by  one  of  the  tribe  of  Ghifar,  was  thinking  to  revenge  himself 
by  force.     Some  are  of  opinion  that  this  verse  is  abrogated  by  that  of  war.^ 

*  "Exhort  the  believers  to  extend  forgiveness  unto  the  unbelievers." — Savary. 

t  "  We  prescribed  unto  them  the  worship  of  the  true  god." — Savary. 

»  That  is,  Of  tiie  principal  Koreish,  who  were  urgent  with  Mohammed  to  return  to  the 
religion  of  his  forefathers.' 

X  "  Ignorance  hath  given  birth  to  this  opinion,  and  hath  converted  it  into  a  dogma." — 
Savary. 

*  See  p.  205,  note  n.  •  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


406  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xlyl 

their  argument  ivh'ich  they  offer  against  the  same  is  no  other  than  that  tliey 
say,  Bring  to  life  our  fathers  who  have  been  dead;  if  ye  speak  truth.  Say, 
God  giveth  you  life ;  and  afterwards  causeth  you  to  die :  hereafter  will 
he  assemble  you  together  on  the  day  of  resurrection;  there  is  no dt  ubt 
thereof;  but  the  greater  part  of  men  do  not  understand.  Unto  God  apper- 
iaineth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  the  day  whereon  the  hour 
shall  be  fixed,  on  that  day  shall  those  who  charge  the  Koran  with  vanity 
perish.  And  thou  shalt  see  every  nation"  kneeling:  every  nation  shall  be 
called  unto  its  book  of  account ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  This  day 
shall  ye  be  rewarded  according  to  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  This  our 
book  will  speak  concerning  you  with  truth;  therein  have  we  written  down 
whatever  ye  have  done.^  As  to  those  who  shall  have  believed  and  done 
good  works,  their  Lord  shall  lead  them  into  his  mercy :  this  shall  be  mani- 
fest felicity.  But  as  to  the  infidels,  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Were  not 
my  signs  rehearsed  unto  you }  but  ye  proudly  rejected  them^  and  became 
a  wicked  people !  And  when  it  was  said  unto  you,  Verily  the  promise  of 
God  is  true :  and  as  to  the  hour  of  judgment,  there  is  no  doubt  thereof:  ye 
answered,  We  know  not  what  the  hour  of  judgment  is :  we  hold  an  uncer- 
tain opinion  only  ;*  and  we  are  not  well  assured  of  this  matter.  But  on 
that  day  the  evils  of  that  which  they  have  wrought  shall  appear  unto  them ; 
and  that  which  they  mocked  at  shall  encompass  them :  and  it  shall  be  said 
unto  them,  This  day  will  we  forget  you,  as  ye  did  forget  the  meeting  of 
this  your  day  :  and  your  abode  shall  he  hell  fire ;  and  ye  shall  have  none 
to  deliver  you.  This  shall  ye  suffer,  because  ye  turned  the  signs  of  God 
to  ridicule;  and  the  life  of  the  world  deceived  you.  On  this  day,  there- 
fore, they  shall  not  be  taken  forth  from  thence,  neither  shall  they  be  asked 
any  more  to  render  themselves  well-pleasing  unto  God.  Wherefore  praise 
be  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  the  heavens,  and  the  Lord  of  the  earth ;  the 
Lord  of  all  creatures :  and  unto  him  be  glory  in  heaven  and  earth ;  for  he 
is  the  mighty,  the  wise  God. 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 
INTITLED,  AL  AHKAF;''  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE    NAME    OF    THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

*[XXVI.]  H.  M.^  The  revelation  of  this  book  is  from  the  mighty,  the 
wise  God.     We  have  not  created  the  heavens,  and  the  earth,  and  whatever 

"  The  original  word  Ommat  properly  signifies  a  people  who  profess  one  and  the  same 
law  or  rehgion. 

"^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  63. 

*  "  It  is  a  chimerical  opinion,  which  is  established  among  us." — Savary. 
.     ^  Al  Ahkaf  is  the  plural  of  Hekf,  and  signifies  sands  which  lie  in  a  crooked  or  winding 
manner;  whence  it  became  the  name  of  a  territory  m  the  province  of  Hadramaut,  where 
the  Adites  dwelt.     It  is  mentioned  about  the  middle  of  the  chapter. 

'  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &c. 


CHAP.  xLvi.  AL  KORAN.  407 

is  between  them,  otherwise  than  in  trut*h,*  and  for  a  determined  period  : ''  * 
but  the  unbelievers  turn  away  from  the  warning  which  is  given  them.  Say, 
What  think  ye .?  Show  me  what  part  of  the  earth  the  idols  which  ye 
invoke,  besides  God,  have  created  ?  Or,  had  they  any  share  in  the 
creation  of  the  heavens  ?  |  Bring  me  a  book  of  scripture  revealed  before 
this,  or  some  footstep  of  ancient  knowledge,  to  countenance  your  idolatrous 
practices ;  if  ye  are  men  of  veracity.  Who  is  in  a  wider  error  than  he  who 
invoketh,  besides  God,  that  which  cannot  return  him  an  answer,  to  the  day 
of  resurrection ;  and  idols  which  regard  not  their  calling  on  them  :  and 
which,  when  men  shall  be  gathered  together  to  judgment^  will  become  their 
enemies,  and  will  ungratefully  deny  their  worship?  When  our  evident 
signs  are  rehearsed  unto  them,  the  unbelievers  say  of  the  truth,'=  when  it 
Cometh  unto  them.  This  is  a  manifest  piece  of  sorcery.  Will  they  say, 
Mohammed  hath  forged  it  ?  Answer,  If  I  have  forged  it,  verily  ye  shall 
not  obtain  for  me  ^ny  favour  from  God  :  he  well  knoweth  the  injurious 
language  which  ye  utter  concerning  it :  he  is  a  sufficient  witness  between 
me  and  you ;  and  he  is  gracious  and  merciful.  Say,  I  am  not  singular 
among  the  apostles ;  ^  neither  do  I  know  what  v;ill  be  done  with  me  or  with 
you  hereafter  :  I  follow  no  other  than  what  is  revealed  unto  me ;  neither 
am  I  any  more  than  a  public  warner.  Say,  What  is  your  opinion  ?  If 
this  hook  be  from  God,  and  ye  believe  not  therein ;  and  a  witness  of  the 
children  of  Israel  bear  witness  to  its  consonancy  with  the  law^^  and  believeth 
therein;  and  ye  proudly  reject  the  same:  are  ye  not  unjust  doers f  Verily 
God  directeth  not  unjust  people.  But  those  who  believe  not  say  of  the 
true  believers.  If  the  doctrine  of  the  Koran  had  been  good,  they  had  not 
embraced  the  same  before  us.*"  And  when  they  are  not  guided  thereby, 
they  say.  This  is  an  antiquated  lie.  Whereas  the  book  of  Moses  was 
revealed  before  the  Koran,  to  he  a  guide  and  a  mercy :  and  this  is  a  book 
confirming  the  same,  delivered  in  the  Arabic  tongue ;  to  denounce  threats 
unto  those  who  act  unjustly,  and  to  bear  good  tidings  unto  the  righteous 
doers.  »Bs  to  those  who  say.  Our  Lord  is  God  ;  and  who  behave  uprightly : 
on  them  shall  no  fear  come,  neither  shall  they  be  grieved.  These  shall  be 
the  inhabitants  of  paradise,  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever :  in  recom- 

•  See  chap.  21,  p.  265,  and  chap.  38,  p.  373,  &c. 

''  Being  to  last  but  a  certain  space  of  time,  and  not  for  ever. 

*  "  We  have  called  from  nothing  the  heaven,  the  earth,  and  the  immensity  of  space. 
Truth  presided  over  our  work.     A^Il  beings  have  their  appointed  time." — Savary. 

t  "  Partake  they  of  the  empire  of  the  heavens?" — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Any  part  of  the  revelations  of  the  Koran. 

"  That  is,  I  do  not  teach  a  doctrine  different  from  what  the  former  apostles  and  prophets 
have  taught :  nor  am  I  able  to  do  what  they  could  not :  particularly  to  show  the  signs 
which  every  one  shall  think  fit  to  demand.* 

«  This  witness  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  the  Jew  Abd'allah  Ebn  Salam,  who 
declared  that  Mohammed  was  the  prophet  foretold  by  Moses.  Some,  however,  suppose 
the  witness  here  meant  to  have  been  Moses  himself 

^  These  words  were  spoken,  as  some  think,  by  the  Jews,  when  Abdallah  professed 
Islam  ;  or,  according  to  others,  by  the  Koreish,  because  the  first  followers  of  Mohammed 
were  for  the  most  part  poor  and  mean  people  ;  or  else  by  the  tribes  of  Amer,  Ghatfan, 
and  Asad,  on  the  conversion  of  those  of  Joheinah,  Mozeinah,  Aslam,  and  Ghifar.' 

'AlBeidawi.  '  Idem,  Jailalo'ddin.  » lidem. 


408  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xlvi. 

pense  for  that  which  they  have  wrought.  We  have  commanded  man  to 
show  kindness  to  his  parents  :  his  mother  beareth  him  in  her  womh  with 
pain, and  bringeth  him  forth  with  pain:  and  the  space  of  his  being  carried  in 
her  womb,  and  of  his  weaning,  is  thirty  months  ;e  until,  when  he  attaineth 
his  age  of  strength,  and  attaineth  the  age  q/*  forty  years,  he  saith,^*  O  Lord, 
excite  me,  by  thy  inspiration,  that  I  may  be  grateful  for  their  favours, 
wherewith  thou  hast  favoured  me  and  my  parents ;  and  that  I  may  work 
righteousness,  which  may  please  thee :  and  be  gracious  unto  me  in  my 
issue  ;  for  I  am  turned  unto  thee,  and  am  a  Moslem.  These  are  they  from 
whom  we  accept  the  good  work  which  they  have  wrought,  and  whose  evil 
works  we  pass  by ;  and  they  shall  be  among  the  inhabitants  of  paradise : 
this  is  a  true  promise,  which  they  are  promised  in  this  world.  He  who  saith 
unto  his  parents.  Fie  on  you !  Do  ye  promise  me  that  I  shall  be  taken 
forth  from  the  grave,  and  restored  to  life ;  when  many  generations  have 
passed  away  before  me,  and  none  of  them  have  returned  hackf'^  And  his 
parents  implore  God's  assistance,  and  say  to  their  son,  Alas  for  thee ! 
Believe :  for  the  promise  of  God  is  true.  But  he  answereth,  This  is  no 
other  than  silly  fables  of  the  ancients.  These  are  they  whom  the  sentence 
passed  on  the  nations  which  have  been  before  them,  of  genii  and  of  men, 
justly  fitteth :  they  shall  surely  perish.''  For  every  one  is  prepared  a 
certain  degree  of  happiness  or  misery,  according  to  that  which  they  shall 
have  wrought :  that  God  may  recompense  them  for  their  works :  and 
they  shall  not  be  treated  unjustly.  On  a  certain  day,  the  unbelievers 
shall  be  exposed  before  the  fire  of  hell ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Ye 
received  your  good  things  in  your  lifetime,  while  ye  were  in  the  world ; 
and  ye  enjoyed  yourselves  therein :  wherefore  this  day  ye  shall  be  re- 
warded with  the  punishment  of  ignominy ;  for  that  ye  behaved  insolently 
in  the  earth,  without  justice,  and  for  that  ye  transgressed.  Remember  the 
brother  of  Ad,^  when  he  preached  unto  his  people  in  Al  Ahkaf  (and 
there  were  preachers  before  him,  and  after  him),  saying,  Worship  none 
but  God  :  verily  I  fear  for  you  the  punishment  of  a  great  day.  They 
answered,  Art  thou  come  unto  us  that  thou  mayest  turn  us  aside  from 
the  worship  of  our  gods  ?  Bring  on  us  now  the  punishment  with  which 
thou  threatenest  us,  if  thou  art  a  man  of  veracity.     He  said,  Verily  the 

8  At  the  least.  For  if  the  full  time  of  suckling  an  infant  be  two  years,^  or  twenty-four 
months,  there  remain  but  six  months  for  the  space  of  his  being  carried  in  the  womb  ;  which 
is  the  least  that  can  be  allowed. =* 

^  These  words,  it  is  said,  were  revealed  on  account  of  Abu  Beer,  who  professed  Islam  in 
the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  two  years  after  Mohammed's  mission ;  and  was  the  only  per- 
son, either  of  the  Mohajerin  or  the  Ansars,  whose  father  and  mother  was  also  converted : 
his  son  Abd'alrahman,  and  his  grandson  Abu  Atik,  likewise  embracing  the  same  faith.* 

*  "  He  is  brought  up  under  the  paternal  roof  till  he  is  of  mature  age.  Having  attained 
his  fortieth  year,"  &,c. — Savary. 

'  The  words  seem  to  be  general:  but  it  is  said  they  were  revealed  particularly  on  occa- 
sion of  Abd'alrahman,  the  son  of  Abu  Beer ;  who  used  these  expressions  to  his  father  and 
mother,  before  he  professed  Islam.' 

"Unless  they  redeem  their  fault  by  repentance,  and  embracing  the  true  faith;  as  did 
Abd'alrahman. 

'  t.  e.  The  prophet  Hud. 

'  See  chap.  2,  p.  27,  28.         =■  Al  Beidawi.         "  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin,  «Stc.        >  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  xLVi.  AL  KORAN.  409 

knowledge  of  the  time  lohcn  your  punishment  will  he  injlictcd  is  with  God'; 
and  I  07ily  declare  unto  you  that  which  I  am  sent  to  preach ;  but  I  see  ye 
are  an  ignorant  people.  And  when  they  saw  the  preparation  made  for  their 
punishment^  najnely^  a  cloud  traversing  the  sky,  and  tending  towards  their 
valleys,  they  said,  This  is  a  traversing  cloud,  which  bringeth  us  rain.  Hud 
answered,  Nay ;  it  is  what  ye  demanded  to  be  hastened  :  a  wind,  wherein 
is  a  severe  vengeance :  it  will  destroy  every  thing,"'  at  the  command  of  its 
Lord.  And  in  the  morning  nothing  was  to  be  seen,  besides  their  empty 
dwellings.  Thus  do  we  reward  wicked  people.  We  had  established  them 
in  the  like  flourishing  condition  wherein  we  have  established  you,  O  men 
of  Mecca  ;  and  we  had  given  them  ears,  and  eyes,  and  hearts  :  yet  neither 
their  ears,  nor  their  eyes,  nor  their  hearts  profited  them  at  all,  when  they 
rejected  the  signs  of  God;  but  the  vengeance  which  they  mocked  at 
fell  upon  them.  We  heretofore  destroyed  the  cities  which  loere  round 
about  you ; »  and  we  variously  proposed  our  signs  unto  them,  that  they 
might  repent.  Did  those  protect  them,  whom  they  took  for  gods,  besides 
God,  and  imagined  to  be  honoured  with  his  familiarity  ?  Nay ;  they  with- 
drew from  them :  yet  this  ivas  their  false  opinion  which  seduced  them, 
and  the  blasphemy  which  they  had  devised.  Remember  when  we  caused 
certain  of  the  genii"  to  turn  aside  unto  thee,  that  they  might  hear  the 
Koran :  and  when  they  were  present  at  the  reading  of  the  same,  they  said 
to  one  another,  Give  ear  :  and  when  it  was  ended,  they  returned  back  unto 
their  people,  preaching  what  they  had  heard.  They  said,  Our  people,  verily 
we  have  heard  a  book  read  unto  us,  which  hath  been  revealed  since  Moses,? 
confirming  the  scripture  which  was  delivered  before  it ;  and  directing  unto 
the  truth,  and  the  right  way.  Our  people,  obey  God's  preacher :  and 
believe  in  him ;  that  he  may  forgive  you  your  sins,  and  may  deliver  you 
from  a  painful  punishment.  And  whoever  obeyeth  not  God's  preacher 
shall  by  no  means  frustrate  God''s  vengeance  on  earth  :  neither  shall  he  have 
any  protectors  besides  him.  These  will  be  in  a  manifest  error.  Do  they 
not  know  that  God,  who  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and 
was  not  fatigued  with  the  creation  thereof,  is  able  to  raise  the  dead  to  life .'' 
Yea  verily ;  for  he  is  almighty.  On  a  certain  day  the  unbelievers  shall  be 
exposed  unto  hell  fire ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Js  not  this  really 

^  Which  came  to  pass  accordingly :  for  this  pestilential  and  violent  wind  killed  all  who 
believed  not  in  the  doctrine  of  Hud,  without  distinction  of  sex,  age,  or  degree ;  and 
entirely  destroyed  their  possessions.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  1,  p.  5,  and  the  notes 
to  chap.  7.  p.  123. 

°  As  the  settlements  of  the  Thamudites,  Midianites,  and  the  cities  of  Sodom  and 
Gomorrah,  &c. 

°  These  genii,  according  to  different  opinions,  were  of  Nisibin,  or  of  Yaman,  or  of 
Nineveh  ;  and  in  number  nine,  or  seven.  They  heard  Mohammed  reading  the  Koran 
by  night,  or  after  the  morning  prayer,  in  the  valley  of  al  Naklah,  during  the  time  of  his 
retreat  to  al  Tayef,  and  believed  on  him.'' 

■'Hence  the  commentators  suppose  those  genii,  before  their  conversion  to  Moham- 
medism,  to  have  been  of  the  Jewish  religion. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 
2l 


410  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xlvii. 

come  to  pass?  They  shall  answer,  Tea,  by  our  Lord.  God  shall  reply, 
Taste,  therefore,  the  punishment  of  hell,  for  that  ye  have  been  unbelievers.^ 
Do  thou,  O  prophet^  bear  the  insults  of  thy  people  with  patience,  as  our 
apostles,  who  were  endued  with  constancy,  bare  the  injuries  of  their  people  : 
and  require  not  their  punishment  to  be  liastened  unto  them.  On  the  day 
whereon  they  shall  see  the  punishment  wherewith  they  have  been  threat- 
ened, it  shall  seem  as  though  they  had  tarried  in  the  world  but  an  hour  of 
a  day.  This  is  a  fair  warning.  Shall  they  perish  except  the  people  who 
transgress  ? 


CHAPTER   XLVII. 

INTITLED,  MOHAMMED;"  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA.' 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

God  will  render  of  none  efTect  the  works  of  those  who  believe  not,  and 
icho  turn  away  men  from  the  way  of  God  :  but  as  to  those  who  believe,  and 
work  righteousness,  and  believe  the  revelation  which  hath  been  sent  down 
unto  Mohammed  (for  it  is  the  truth  from  their  Lord),  he  will  expiate  their 
evil  deeds  from  them,  and  will  dispose  their  heart  aright.  This  will  he  do^ 
because  those  who  believe  not  follow  vanity,  and  because  those  who  believe 
follow  the  truth  from  their  Lord.  Thus  God  propoundeth  unto  men  their 
examples."!"  When  ye  encounter  the  unbelievers,  strike  ofT  their  heads, 
until  ye  have  made  a  great  slaughter  among  them  ;  and  bind  them  in  bonds  ; 
and  either  give  them  a  free  dismission  afterwards,  or  exact  a  ransom  ;  until 
the  war  shall  have  laid  down  its  arms.«  This  shall  ye  do.  Verily  if  God 
pleased  he  could  take  vengeance  on  them,  without  your  assistance ;  but  he 
commandeth  you  to  fight  his  battles,  that  he  may  prove  the  one  of  you  by  the 
other.     And  as  to  those  who  fight  *  in  defence  of  God's  true  religion,  God 

*  "  Is  not  this  really  fire  ?  It  is  fire,  they  will  reply,  we  call  Goffto  witness  that  it  is. 
Taste,  then,  the  torments  the  reality  of  which  ye  have  denied  '' — Savary. 

"^  Some  intitle  this  chapter  War  ;  which  is  therein  commanded  to  be  vigorously  carried 
on  against  the  enemies  of  the  Mohammedan  faith. 

'  Some  suppose  the  whole  to  have  been  revealed  at  Mecca. 

t  "  The  unbelievers  have  taken  falsehood  for  their  guide  ;  the  believers  walk  enlight- 
ened by  the  torch  of  the  true  faith.  God  offereth  this  striking  contrast  unto  the  consider- 
ation of  man." — Savary. 

'  This  law  the  Hanifites  judge  to  be  abrogated,  or  to  relate  particularly  to  the  war  of 
Bedr  ;  for  the  severity  here  commanded,  which  was  necessary  in  the  beginning  of  Moham- 
medism,^  they  think  too  rigorous  to  be  put  in  practice  in  its  flourishing  state.  But  the 
Persians,  and  some  others,  hold  the  command  to  be  still  in  full  force  :  for,  according  to 
them,  all  the  men  of  full  age,  who  are  taken  in  battle,  are  to  be  slain,  unless  ihey  embrace 
the  Mohammedan  faith  ;  and  those  who  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Moslems  after  the  battle 
are  not  to  be  slain,  but  may  either  be  set  at  liberty  gratis,  or  on  payment  of  a  certain  ran- 
som, or  may  be  exchanged  for  Mohammedan  prisoners,  or  condemned  to  slavery,  at  the 
pleasure  of  the  Imam  or  prince.'' 

«  See  chap.  8,  p.  140,  and  146.  ■•  Al  Beidawi.     Vide  Reland.  Dissert,  de  Jure 

MiUtari  Mohammedanor,  p.  32. 


CHAP.  xLvii.  AL  KORAN.  411 

will  not  suffer  their  works  to  perish  :  he  will  guide  them,  and  will  dispose 
their  heart  aright ;  and  he  will  lead  them  into  paradise,  of  which  he  hath 
told  them.  O  true  believers,  if  ye  assist  God,  hij  fighting  for  his  religion, 
he  will  assist  you  against  your  enemies;  and  will  set  your  feet  fast:  but  as 
for  the  infidels,  let  them  perish ;  and  their  works  shall  God  render  vain. 
This  shall  befall  them^  because  they  have  rejected  with  abhorrence  that 
which  God  hath  revealed :  wherefore  their  works  shall  become  of  no  avail. 
Do  they  not  travel  through  the  earth,  and  see  what  hath  been  the  end  of 
those  who  leere  before  them  }  God  utterly  destroyed  them  :  and  the  like 
catastrophe  awaiteth  the  unbelievers.  This  shall  come  to  pass,  for  that  God 
is  the  patron  of  the  true  believers,  and  for  that  the  infidels  have  no  pro- 
tector. Verily  God  will  introduce  those  who  believe,  and  do  good  works, 
into  gardens  beneath  which  rivers  flow :  but  the  unbelievers  indulge  them- 
selves in  pleasures,  and  eat  as  beasts  eat;*  and  their  abode  shall  be  hell  fire. 
How  many  cities  were  more  mighty  in  strength  than  thy  city  which  hath 
expelled  thee ;  yet  have  we  destroyed  them,  and  there  teas  none  to  help 
them.?  Shall  he  therefore,  who  followeth  the  plain  declaration  of  his  Lord, 
be  as  he  whose  evil  works  have  been  dressed  up  for  him  by  the  devil ;  and 
who  follow  their  own  lusts .''  The  description  of  paradise,  which  is  pro- 
mised unto  the  pious:  therein  are  rivers  of  incorruptible  water;  and  rivers 
of  milk,  the  taste  whereof  changeth  not ;  and  rivers  of  wine,  pleasant  unto 
those  who  drink ;  and  rivers  of  clarified  honey :  and  therein  shall  they 
have  plenty  of  all  kinds  of  fruits ;  and  pardon  from  their  Lord.|  Shall 
the  man  for  whom  these  things  are  prepared  be  as  he  who  must  dwell 
for  ever  in  hell  fire ;  and  will  have  the  boiling  water  given  him  to  drink, 
which  shall  burst  their  bowels  }  Of  the  unbelievers  there  are  some  who 
give  ear  unto  thee,  until,  when  they  go  out  from  thee,  they  say,  by  way 
of  derision  unto  those  to  whom  knowledge  hath  been  given,**  What 
hath  he  said  now }  These  are  they  whose  hearts  God  hath  sealed  up, 
and  who  follow  their  own  lusts :  but  as  to  those  who  are  directed,  God 
will  grant  them  a  more  ample  direction,  and  he  will  instruct  them  what 
to  avoid.'^  Do  the  infidels  wait  for  any  other  than  the  last  hour,  that 
it  may  come  upon  them  suddenly  ?  Some  signs  thereof  are  already 
come :  ^  and  when  it  shall  actually  overtake  them,  how  can  they  then 
receive  admonition .?  Know  therefore,  that  there  is  no  god  but  God  : 
and  ask  pardon  for  thy  sin,^  and  for  the  true  believers,  both  men  and 

'  Some  copies,  instead  ofkdtilu,  read  kutilu,  according  to  which  latter  reading  it  should 
be  rendered,  who  are  slain,  or  suffer  martyrdom,  &c. 

*  "  The  unbelievers,  intoxicated  with  earthly  pleasures,  live  in  a  brutish  state." — 
Savanj. 

t  "  The  grace  of  the  Lord  watcheth  there  over  those  whom  he  hath  chosen." — Savari/. 

"  i.  e.  The  more  learned  of  Mohammed's  companions;  such  as  Ebn  Masud,  and  Ebn 
Abbas.* 

'  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  be  translated,  And  he  will  reward  them  for  their  piety. 

■"  As  the  mission  of  Mohammed,  the  spUtting  of  the  moon,  and  the  smoke'  mentioned 
in  the  44ih  chapter. 

*  Though  Mohammed  here  and  elsewhere  *  acknowledges  himself  to  be  a  sinner,  yet 

*  Jallalo'ddin.  '  Idem,  al  Beidawi.  *  See  chap.  48,  in  the  beginning. 


412  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xlvii. 

women.  God  knoweth  your  busy  employment  in  the  world^  and  the  place 
of  your  abode  hereafter*  The  true  believers  say,  Hath  not  a  Sura  been 
revealed  commanding  ivar  against  the  infidels  f  But  when  a  Sura  without 
any  ambiguity  is  revealed,  and  war  is  mentioned  therein,  tliou  niayest  see 
those  in  v/hose  hearts  is  an  infirmity  >'  look  towards  thee  with  the  look  of 
one  whom  death  overshadoweth.  But  obedience  would  he  more  eligible  for 
them,  and  to  speak  that  which  is  convenient.  And  when  the  connnand  is 
firmly  established,  if  they  give  credit  unto  God,  it  will  be  better  for  them. 
Were  ye  ready,  therefore,  if  ye  had  been  put  in  authority,^  to  commit  out- 
rages in  the  earth,  and  to  violate  the  ties  of  blood  }  These  are  they  whom 
God  hath  cursed,  and  hath  rendered  deaf,  and  whose  eyes  he  hath  blinded. 
Do  they  not  therefore  attentively  meditate  on  the  Koran  :  Are  there 
locks  upon  their  hearts }  Verily  they  who  turn  their  backs,  after  the  true 
direction  is  made  manifest  unto  them,  Satan  shall  prepare  their  wickedness 
for  them,  and  God  shall  bear  with  them  for  a  time.|  This  shall  befall  them, 
because  they  say  privately  unto  those  who  detest  what  God  hath  revealed, 
We  will  obey  you  in  part  of  the  matter.*  But  God  knoweth  their  secrets. 
How  therefore  will  it  he  loith  ihem^  when  the  angels  shall  cause  them 
to  die,  and  shall  strike  their  faces,  and  their  backs  .^|  This  shall  they 
suffer,  because  they  follow  that  which  provoketh  God  to  wrath,  and  are 
averse  to  what  is  well  pleasing  unto  him :  and  he  will  render  their  works 
vain."  Do  they  in  whose  hearts  is  an  infirmity  imagine  that  God  will 
not  bring  their  malice  to  light .?  If  we  pleased,  we  could  surely  show 
them  unto  thee,  and  thou  shouldest  know  them  by  their  marks  ;  but  thou 
shalt  certainly  know  them  by  their  perverse  pronunciation  of  their  words. 
God  knoweth  your  actions :  and  we  will  try  you,  until  we  know  those 
among  you  who  fight  valiantly,  and  who  persevere  with  constancy :  and 
we  will  try  the  reports  of  your  behaviour.  Verily  those  who  believe  not, 
and  turn  away  men  from  the  way  of  God,  and  make  opposition  against  the 
apostle,  after  the  divine  direction  hath  been  manifested  unto  thom,  shall 
not  hurt  God  at  all;  but  he  shall  make  their  works  to  perish.  O  true 
believers,  obey  God  ;  and  obey  the  apostle :  and  render  not  your  works  of 
no  efiect.    Verily  those  who  believe  not,  and  who  turn  away  men  from  the 

several  Mohammedan  doctors  pretend  he  was  wholly  free  from  sin,  and  suppose  he  is 
here  commanded  to  ask  forgiveness,  not  that  he  wanted  it,  but  that  he  might  set  an  ex- 
ample to  his  followers :  wherefore  he  used  to  say  of  himself,  if  the  tradition  be  true,  / 
ask  pardon  of  God  an  hundred  times  a  day? 

*  "  He  seeth  you  while  that  ye  wake,  and  while  that  ye  slumber." — Savary. 

^  As  hypocrisy,  cowardice,  or  instability  in  their  religion. 

»  Or,  as  the  words  may  also  be  translated,  If  ye  had  turned  hack,  and  apostatized  from 
your  faith. 

t  "  Satan  shall  deck  vice  with  flowers  to  the  eyes  of  the  recreant  who  shall  go  back 
unto  impiety.     He  shall  procure  for  him  delusive  riches." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  In  part  of  what  ye  desire  of  us  ;  by  staying  at  home  and  not  going  forth  with  Mo- 
hammed to  war,  and  by  private  combination  against  him.^ 

''  These  words  are  supposed  to  allude  to  the  examination  of  the  sepulchre. 

"  These  were  the  tribes  of  Koreidha  and  al  Nadir  ;  or  those  who  distributed  provision 
to  the  array  of  the  Koreish  at  Bedr.* 

*  JallaloMdin.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.    See  chap.  8,  p.  143,  note  q. 


CHAP.  XLVin.  AL  KORAN.  413 

way  of  God,  and  then  die,  being  unbelievers,  God  will  by  no  means  forgive. 
Faint  not  therefore,  neither  invite  your  enemies  to  peace,  while  ye  are  the 
superior :  for  God  is  with  you,  and  will  not  defraud  you  of  the  merit  of 
your  works.  Verily  this  present  life  is  only  a  play  and  a  vain  amusement : 
but  if  ye  believe,  and  fear  God^  he  will  give  you  your  rewards.  He  doth 
not  require  of  you  your  whole  substance :  if  he  should  require  the  whole 
of  you,  and  earnestly  press  you,  ye  would  become  niggardly,  and  it  would 
raise  your  hatred  against  his  apostle.  Behold,  ye  are  those  who  are 
invited  to  expend  part  of  your  substance  for  the  support  of  God's  true 
religion ;  and  there  are  some  of  you  who  are  niggardly.  But  whoever 
shall  be  niggardly  shall  be  niggardly  towards  his  own  soul :  for  God 
wanteth  nothing,  but  ye  are  needy :  and  if  ye  turn  back,  he  will  substitute 
anotJier  people  in  your  stead,  who  shall  not  be  like  unto  you."* 


CHAPTER   XLVIII 

INTITLED,  THE  VICTORY;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Verily  we  have  granted  thee  a  manifest  victory  :  ^  that  God  may  forgive 
thee  ^  thy  preceding  and  thy  subsequent  sin,s  and  may  complete  his  favour 
on  thee,  and  direct  thee  in  the  right  way ;  *  and  that  God  may  assist  thee 
with  a  glorious  assistance.     It  is  he  who  sendeth  down  secure  tranquillity 

■^  i.  e.  In  backwardness  and  aversion  to  the  propagation  of  the  faith.  The  people  here 
designed  to  be  put  in  the  place  of  these  lukewarm  Moslems  are  generally  supposed  to  be 
the  Persians ;  there  being  a  tradition  that  Mohammed,  being  asked  what  people  they  were, 
at  a  time  when  Salman  was  sitting  by  him,  clapped  his  hand  on  his  thigh,  and  said.  This 
mail  and  his  nation.  Others,  however,  are  of  opinion  that  the  Ansars,  or  the  angels,  are 
intended  in  this  place.' 

*  This  victory,  from  which  the  chapter  takes  its  title,  according  to  most  received  inter- 
pretation, was  the  taking  of  the  city  of  Mecca.  The  passage  is  said  to  have  been  revealed 
on  Mohammed's  return  from  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiya,  and  contauis  a  promise  or 
prediction  of  this  signal  success,  which  happened  not  till  two  years  after;  the  preterite 
tense  being  therein  used,  according  to  the  prophetic  style,  for  the  future.^ 

There  are  some,  notwithstanding,  who  suppose  the  advantage  here  intended  was  the 
pacification  of  al  Hodeibiya,  which  is  here  called  a  victory,  because  the  Meccans  sued  for 
peace,  and  made  a  truce  there  with  Mohammed,  their  breaking  of  which  occasioned  the 
taking  of  Mecca.  Others  think  the  conquest  of  Khaibar,  or  the  victory  over  the  Greeks 
at  Muta,  &.C.  to  be  meant  in  tliis  place. 

'  That  is  to  say.  That  God  may  give  thee  an  opportunity  of  deserving  forgiveness  by 
eradicating  of  idolatry,  and  exalting  his  true  religion,  and  the  delivering  of  the  weak  from 
the  hands  of  the  ungodly,  &.c. 

^  I.  e.  Whatever  thou  hast  done  worthy  of  reprehension ;  or,  thy  sins  committed  as  well 
in  the  time  of  ignorance,  as  since.  Some  expound  the  words  more  particularly,  and  say 
the  preceding  or  former  fault  was  his  lying  with  his  handmaid  Mary,""  contrary  to  his  oath  ; 
and  the  latter  his  marrying  of  Zeinab,"  the  wife  of  Zeid  his  adopted  son.^ 

*  "  God  hath  pardoned  unto  thee  thy  faults :  he  hath  fulfilled  his  favours ;  and  he  will 
lead  thee  in  the  way  of  justice." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  "  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  &c.  ■"  See  chap.  e&,  and  the  notes 

thereon.  *  See  chap.  33,  and  the  notes  thereon.  ^  Al  Zamakh. 


414  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xlviii. 

into  the  hearts  of  the  true  believers,  that  they  may  increase  in  faith,  beyond 
their  former  faith  ;  (the  hosts  of  heaven  and  earth  are  God's  ;  and  God  is 
knowing  and  wise) :  that  he  may  lead  the  true  believers  of  both  sexes  into 
gardens  beneath  which  rivers  flow,  to  dwell  therein  for  ever;  and  may  expiate 
iheir  evil  deeds  from  them  :  (this  will  be  great  felicity  with  God)  :  and  that 
he  may  punish  the  hypocritical  men,  and  the  hypocritical  women,  and  the 
idolaters,  and  the  idolatresses,  who  conceive  an  ill  opinion  of  God.  They 
shall  experience  a  turn  of  evil  fortune ;  and  God  shall  be  angry  with  them, 
and  shall  curse  them,  and  hath  prepared  hell  for  them ;  an  ill  journey  shall 
it  be  thither  !  Unto  God  belong  the  hosts  of  heaven  and  earth ;  and  God 
is  mighty  and  wise.  Verily  we  have  sent  thee  to  be  a  witness,  and  a 
bearer  of  good  tidings,  and  a  denouncer  of  threats ;  that  ye  may  believe  in 
God,  and  his  apostle;  and  may  assist  him,  and  revere  him,  and  praise  him 
morning  and  evening.  Verily  they  who  swear  fealty^  unto  thee,  swear 
fealty  unto  God  :  the  hand  of  God  is  over  their  hands.'  Whoever  shall 
violate  his  oath,  will  violate  the  same  to  the  hurt  only  of  his  own  soul :  but 
■whoever  shall  perform  that  which  he  hath  covenanted  with  God,  he  will 
surely  give  him  a  great  reward.  The  Arabs  of  the  desert  who  were  left 
behind  ^  will  say  unto  thee,  Our  substance  and  our  families  employed  us,  so 
that  we  went  not  forth  with  thee  to  war ;  wherefore,  ask  pardon  for  us. 
They  speak  that  with  their  tongues,  which  is  not  in  their  hearts.  Answer, 
Who  shall  be  able  to  obtain  for  you  any  thing  from  God  to  the  contrary^  if 
he  is  pleased  to  afflict  you,  or  is  pleased  to  be  gracious  unto  you  .''  Yea, 
verily,  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  Truly  ye  imagined 
that  the  apostle  and  the  true  believers  would  never  return  to  their 
families :  and  this  was  prepared  in  your  hearts :  but  ye  imagined  an  evil 
imagination ;  and  ye  are  a  corrupt  people.*  Whoso  believeth  not  in 
God  and  his  apostle,  verily  we  have  prepared  burning  fire  for  the  un- 
believers. Unto  God  belongeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth:  he 
forgiveth  whom  he  pleaseth :  and  he  punisheth  whom  he  pleaseth :  and 
God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and  merciful.  Those  who  were  left  behind  will 
say,  when  ye  go  forth  to  take  the  spoil,^  Suffer  us  to  follow  you.     They 

•^  The  original  word  signifies  publicly  to  acknowledge  or  inaugurate  a  prince,  by  swear- 
ing fidelity  and  obedience  to  him. 

'  That  is,  He  beholdeth  ft'om  above,  and  is  witness  to  the  solemnity  of  your  giving  your 
faith  to  his  apostle  ;  and  will  reward  you  for  it.>°  The  expression  alludes  to  the  manner 
of  their  plighting  their  faith  on  these  occasions. 

"  These  were  the  tribes  of  Aslam,  Joheinah,  Mozeinah,  and  Ghifar,  who  being  sum- 
moned to  attend  Mohammed  in  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiya,  stayed  behind,  and  excused 
themselves  by  saying  their  families  must  suffer  in  their  absence,  and  would  be  robbed  of 
the  httle  they  had  (for  these  tribes  were  of  the  poorer  Arabs) ;  whereas  in  reality  they 
wanted  firmness  in  the  faith,  and  courage  to  face  the  Koreish.* 

*  "Ye  imagined  that  the  prophet  and  the  faithful  were  for  ever  divided  from  their 
families:  your  hearts  eagerly  adopted  this  opinion.  It  has  deceived  you ;  it  will  cause 
your  ruin." — Savary. 

'  viz.  In  the  expedition  of  Khaibar.  The  prophet  returned  from  al  Hodeibiya  in 
Dhu'lhajja,  in  the  sixth  year  of  the  Hejra,  and  staid  at  Medina  the  remainder  of  that 
month  and  the  beginning  of  Moharram,  and  then  set  forward  against  the  Jev.-s  of  Khaibar, 
with  those  only  who  had  attended  him  to  al  Hodeibiya;  and  having  made  himself  master 

'°  Jallalo'ddin.  »  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  XLviii.  AL  KORAN»  415 

seek  to  change  the  word  of  God.™  Say,  Ye  shall  by  no  means  follow  us  : 
thus  hath  God  said  heretofore.  They  will  reply,  Nay :  ye  envy  us  a  share 
of  the  booty.  But  they  are  men  of  small  understanding.  Say  unto  the 
Arabs  of  the  desert  who  were  left  behind,  Ye  shall  be  called  forth  against 
a  mighty  and  a  warlike  nation;"  ye  shall  fight  against  them,  or  they  shall 
profess  Islam.*  If  ye  obey,  God  will  give  you  a  glorious  reward  :  but  if 
ye  turn  back,  as  ye  turned  back  heretofore,  he  will  chastise  you  with  a 
grievous  chastisement.  It  shall  be  no  crime  in  the  blind,  neither  shall  it  be 
a  crime  in  the  lame,  neither  shall  it  be  a  crime  in  the  sick,  if  they  go  not 
forth  to  ivar :  and  whoso  shall  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  he  shall  lead  them 
into  gardens  beneath  which  rivers  flow;  but  whoso  shall  turn  back,  he  will 
chastise  him  with  a  grievous  chastisement.  Now  God  was  well  pleased 
with  the  true  believers,  when  they  sware  fidelity  to  thee  under  the  tree ;  ° 
and  he  knew  that  which  was  in  their  hearts ;  wherefore  he  sent  down  on 
them  tranquillity  of  mind,p  and  rewarded  them  with  a  speedy  victory,i  and 
many  spoils  which  they  took :  for  God  is  mighty  and  wise.  God  promised 
you  many  spoils  which  ye  should  take ;  but  he  gave  you  these  by  way  of 
earnest;  and  he  restrained  the  hands  of  men  from  you:*"  that  the  same 
may  be  a  sign  unto  the  true  believers ;  and  that  he  may  guide  you  into  the 
right  way.  And  he  also  promiseth  you  other  spoils,  which  ye  have  not  yet 
been  able  to  take :  but  now  hath  God  encompassed  them /or  you;  and  God 
is  almighty.  If  the  unbelieving  Meccans  had  fought  against  you,  verily 
they  had  turned  their  backs ;  and  they  would  not  have  found  a  patron  or 

of  the  place,  and  all  the  castles  and  strongholds  in  that  territory .^  took  spoils  to  a  great 
value,  which  he  divided  among  them  vi^ho  were  present  at  that  expedition,  and  none  else.* 
*"  Which  was  his  promise  to  those  who  attended  the  prophet  to  al  Hodeibiya,  that  he 
would  make  them  amends  for  their  missing  of  the  plunder  of  Mecca  at  that  time,  by  giving 
them  that  of  Khaibar  in  lieu  thereof.  Some  think  the  word  here  intended,  to  be  that 
passage  in  the  ninth  chapter,*  Ye  shall  not  go  forth  with  me  for  the  future,  &,c,  which  yet 
was  plainly  revealed  long  after  the  taking  of  Khaibar,  on  occasion  of  the  expedition  of 
Tabuc* 

°  These  were  Banu  Honeifa,  who  inhabited  al  Yamama,  and  were  the  followers  of 
Moseilama,  Mohammed's  competitor ;  or  any  other  of  those  tribes  which  apostatized  from 
Mohammedism ;  ®  or,  as  others  rather  suppose,  the  Persians,  or  the  Greeks.'' 

*  "Ye  shall  make  war  against  them  until  they  shall  havo  embraced  Islamism."— 
Savary. 

"  Mohammed,  when  at  al  Hodeibiya,  sent  Jawwas  Ebn  Omeyya,  the  Khozaite,  to  ac- 
quaint the  Meccans  that  he  was  come  with  a  peaceable  intention,  to  visit  the  temple  ;  but 
they,  on  some  jealousy  conceived,  refusing  to  admit  him,  the  prophet  sent  Othman  Ebn 
Affan,  whom  they  imprisoned,  and  a  report  ran  that  he  was  slain  :  whereupon  Mohammed 
called  his  men  about  him,  and  they  took  an  oath  to  be  faithful  to  him,  even  to  death  ; 
during  which  ceremony  he  sat  under  a  tree,  supposed  by  some  to  have  been  the  Egyptian 
thorn,  and  by  others  a  kind  of  lote-tree.^ 

p  The  original  word  is  Sakinat,  of  which  notice  has  been  taken  elsewhere.^ 

"i  Namely,  the  success  of  Khaibar,  or,  as  some  rather  imagine,  the  taking  of  Mecca,  &c. 

^  i.  e.  The  hands  of  those  of  Khaibar,  or  of  their  successors  of  the  tribes  of  Asad  and 
Ghatfan  ;  or  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mecca,  by  the  pacification  of  al  Hodeibiya.'" 

(Mohammed  was  encamped  near  Mecca.  Eighty  of  the  idolaters  roamed  round  the 
camp  for  the  purpose  of  killing  some  of  his  soldiers:  they  were  made  prisoners.  He 
pardoned  them,  and  restored  them  to  liberty.  His  clemency  conduced  to  establish  peace 
and  concord.) — Savary. 

2  Vide  Abulf  Vit.  Moh.  p.  87,  &c.  =>  Al  Beidawi.  *  Page  159.  '  Al  Beidawi. 
'Idem.  ■"  Jallalo'ddin.  Mdem,  al  Beidawi.  Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  86.  "In 
note  i,  ad  cap.  2,  p.  30.  '°  Al  Beidawi. 


416  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xlviii. 

protector :  according  to  the  ordinance  of  God,  which  hath  been  put  in 
execution  heretofore  against  opposers  of  the  prophets ;  for  thou  shalt  not 
find  any  change  in  the  ordinance  of  God.  It  was  he  who  restrained  their 
hands  from  you,  and  your  hands  from  them,  in  the  valley  of  Mecca ;  after 
that  he  had  given  you  the  victory  over  them  :  ^  and  God  saw  that  which  ye 
did.  These  are  they  who  believed  not,  and  hindered  you  from  visiting  the 
holy  temple,  and  also  hindered  the  offering  being  detained,  that  it  should 
not  arrive  at  the  place  where  it  ought  to  be  sacrificed.*  Had  it  not  been 
that  ye  might  have  trampled  on  divers  true  believers,  both  men  and  women, 
whom  ye  know  not,  being  promiscuously  assembled  with  the  infidels^  and 
that  a  crime  might  therefore  have  lighted  on  you  on  their  account,  without 
your  knowledge,  he  had  not  restrained  your  hands  from  them  :  but  this  was 
done,  that  God  might  lead  whom  he  pleased  into  his  mercy.  If  they  had 
been  distinguished  from  one  another,  we  had  surely  chastised  such  of  them 
as  believed  not,  with  a  severe  chastisement.  When  the  unbelievers  had  put 
in  their  hearts  an  affected  preciseness,  the  preciseness  of  ignorance,  and 
God  sent  down  his  tranquillity  on  his  apostle  and  on  the  true  believers  ;•»* 
and  firmly  fixed  in  them  the  word  of  piety ,^  and  they  were  the  most  wor- 
thy of  the  same,  and  the  most  deserving  thereof:  for  God  knoweth  all 

*  Jallalo'ddin  says,?that  fourscore  of  the  infidels  came  privately  to  Mohammed's  camp, 
at  al  Hodeibiya,  with  an  intent  to  surprise  some  of  his  men,  but  were  taken  and  brought 
before  the  prophet,  who  pardoned  them  and  ordered  them  to  be  set  at  hberty :  and  this 
generous  action  was  the  occasion  of  the  truce  struck  up  by  the  Koreish  with  Mohammed ; 
for  thereupon  they  sent  Sohail  Ebn  Amru  and  some  others  (and  not  Arwa  Ebn  Masud, 
as  is  said,  by  mistake,  in  another  place  ; '  for  his  errand  was  an  actual  defiance),  to  treat 
of  peace. 

Al  Beidawi  explains  the  passage  by  another  story :  telling  us  that  Acrema  Ebn  Abi 
Jahl  marching  from  Mecca  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men  to  al  Hodeibiya,  Mohammed 
sent  against  him  Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid,  with  a  detachment,  who  drove  the  infidels  back 
to  the  innermost  part  of  Mecca  (as  the  word  here  translated  valley  properly  signifies),  and 
then  left  them,  out  of  respect  to  the  place. 

*  Mohammed's  intent,  in  the  expedition  of  al  Hodeibiya,  being  only  to  visit  the  temple 
of  Mecca  in  a  peaceable  manner,  and  to  offer  a  sacrifice  in  the  valley  of  Mina,  according 
to  the  established  rites,  he  carried  beasts  with  him  for  that  purpose,  but  was  not  permitted 
by  the  Koreish  either  to  enter  the  temple,  or  to  go  to  Mina. 

"  This  passage  was  occasioned  by  the  stiffness  of  Sohail  and  his  companions,  in  wording 
the  treaty  concluded  with  Mohammed :  for  when  the  prophet  ordered  Ali  to  begin  with 
the  form,  In  the  name  of  the  most  merciful  God,  they  objected  to  it,  and  insisted  that  he 
should  begin  with  this,  In  thy  name,  0  God  ;  which  Mohammed  submitted  to,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  dictate,  These  are  the  conditions  on  which  Mohammed,  the  apostle  of  God,  has  made 
peace  with  those  of  Mecca  ;  to  this  Sohail  again  objected,  saying,  If  we  had  acknowledged 
thee  to  he  the  apostle  of  God,  we  had  not  given  thee  any  opposition  :  whereupon  Mohammed 
ordered  Ali  to  write,  as  Sohail  desired.  These  are  the  conditions  which  Mohajmned,  the  son 
of  Ahdallah,  &c.  But  the  Moslems  were  so  disgusted  thereat,  that  they  were  on  the 
point  of  breaking  off  the  treaty,  and  had  fallen  on  the  Meccans,  had  not  God  appeased 
and  calmed  their  minds;  as  it  follows  in  the  text.^ 

The  terms  of  this  pacification  were,  that  there  should  be  a  truce  for  ten  years;  that  any 
person  might  enter  into  league,  either  with  Mohammed,  or  with  the  Koreish,  as  he  should 
think  fit ;  and  that  Mohammed  should  have  the  liberty  to  visit  the  temple  of  Mecca  the 
next  year,  for  three  days.' 

*  "  While  the  idolaters  cherished  in  their  hearts  the  fury  of  abhnd  fanaticism,  God  sent 
peace  unto  the  prophet  and  unto  the  believers." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  The  Mohammedan  profession  of  faith,  or  the  Bismillah,  and  the  words,  Moham- 
med, the  apostle  of  God  ;  which  were  rejected  by  the  infidels. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  2,  p.  37.  ^  Al  Beidawi.  Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  87. 
'  lidem. 


CHAP.  xLix.  AL  KORAN.  417 

things.  Now  hath  God  in  truth  verified  unto  his  apostle  the  vision,* 
wherein  he  said,  Ye  shall  surely  enter  the  holy  temple  of  Mecca,  if  God 
please,  in  full  security ;  having  your  heads  shaved,  and  your  hair  cut :  y  ye 
shall  not  fear  :  for  God  knoweth  that  which  ye  know  not ;  and  he  hath  ap- 
pointed you,  besides  this,  a  speedy  victory."  It  is  he  who  hath  sent  his 
apostle  with  the  direction,  and  the  religion  of  truth ;  that  he  may  exalt  the 
same  above  every  religion  :  and  God  is  a  suflicient  witness  hereof.  Moham- 
med is  the  apostle  of  God  :  and  those  who  are  with  him  are  fierce  against 
the  unbelievers,  but  compassionate  towards  one  another.  Thou  mayest  see 
them  bowing  down,  prostrate,  seeking  a  recompense  from  God,  and  his  good 
will.  Their  signs  are  in  their  faces,  being  marks  of  frequent  prostration.* 
This  is  their  description  in  the  pentateuch,  and  their  description  in  the  gos- 
pel :  they  are  as  seed  which  putteth  forth  its  stalk,  and  strengtheneth  it, 
and  swelleth  in  the  ear,  and  riseth  upon  its  stem ;  giving  delight  unto  the 
sower.  Such  are  the  Moslems  described  to  be  :  that  the  infidels  may  swell 
with  indignation  at  them.  God  hath  promised  unto  such  of  them  as  be- 
lieve, and  do  good  works,  pardon  and  a  great  reward. 


CHAPTER   XLIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  INNER  APARTMENTS;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

O  TRUE  believers,  anticipate  not  any  matter  in  the  sight  of  God  and  his 
apostle :  *  and  fear  God  ;  for  God  both  heareth  and  knoweth.  O  true 
believers,  raise  not  your  voices  above  the  voice  of  the  prophet ; ''  neither 

^  Or  dream  which  Mohammed  had  at  Medina,  before  he  set  out  for  al  Hodeibiya; 
wherein  he  dreamed  that  he  and  his  companions  entered  Mecca  in  security,  with  their 
heads  shaven,  and  their  hair  cut.  This  dream,  being  imparted  by  the  prophet  to  his  fol- 
lowers, occasioned  a  great  deal  of  joy  among  them  ;  and  they  supposed  it  would  be  fulfilled 
that  same  year :  but  when  they  saw  the  truce  concluded,  which  frustrated  their  expectation 
for  that  time,  they  were  deeply  concerned  ;  whereupon  this  passage  was  revealed  for  their 
consolation,  confirming  the  vision,  which  was  not  to  be  fulfilled  till  the  year  after,  when 
Mohammed  performed  the  visitation  distinguished  by  the  addition  of  al  Kadd,  or  completion, 
because  he  then  completed  the  visitation  of  the  former  year,  when  the  Koreish  not  permit- 
ting him  to  enter  Mecca,  he  was  obliged  to  kill  his  victims,  and  to  shave  himself  at  al 
Hodeibiya.* 

y  i.  e.  Some  being  shaved,  and  others  having  only  their  hair  cut. 

'  viz.  The  taking  of  Khaibar. 

*  "  The  marks  of  their  piety  appear  on  their  faces." — Savary. 

'  That  is,  do  not  presume  to  give  your  own  decision  in  any  case,  before  ye  have  received 
the  judgment  of  God  and  his  apostle. 

''  This  verse  is  said  to  have  been  occasioned  by  a  dispute  between  Abu  Beer  and  Omar, 
concerning  the  appointing  of  a  governor  of  a  certain  place  ;  in  which  they  raised  their 
voices  so  high,  in  the  presence  of  the  apostle,  that  it  was  thought  proper  to  forbid  such  in- 
decencies for  the  future.' 

*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.     Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  84,  87.  *  Jallalo'ddin. 


418  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xlix. 

speak  loud  unto  him  in  discourse,*  as  ye  speak  loud  unto  one  another,  lest 
your  works  become  vain,  and  ye  perceive  it  not.  Verily  they  who  lower 
their  voices  in  the  presence  of  the  apostle  of  God  are  those  whose  hearts 
God  hath  disposed  unto  piety :  they  shall  obtain  pardon,  and  a  great 
reward.  As  to  those  who  call  unto  thee  from  without  the  inner  apart- 
ments ; "  the  greater  part  of  them  do  not  understand  the  respect  due  to  thee.'\ 
If  they  wait  with  patience,  until  thou  come  forth  unto  them,  it  will  cer- 
tainly be  better  for  them :  but  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and  merciful. 
O  true  believers,  if  a  wicked  man  come  unto  you  with  a  tale,  inquire  strictly 
into  the  truth  thereof ;  lest  ye  hurt  people  through  ignorance,  and  afterwards 
repent  of  what  ye  have  done ;  ^  and  know  that  the  apostle  of  God  is 
among  you  :  if  he  should  obey  you  in  many  things,  ye  would  certainly  be 
guHty  of  a  crime,  in  leading  him  into  a  mistake.  But  God  hath  made  the 
faith  amiable  unto  you,  and  hath  prepared  the  same  in  your  hearts  ;  and 
hath  rendered  infidelity,  and  iniquity,  and  disobedience  hateful  unto  you. 
These  are  they  who  walk  in  the  right  way ;  through  mercy  from  God,  and 
grace  :  and  God  is  knowing,  and  wise.  If  two  parties  of  the  believers 
contend  with  one  another,  do  ye  endeavour  to  compose  the  matter  between 
them  :  and  if  the  one  of  them  offer  an  insult  unto  the  other,  fight  against 
that  party  which  offered  the  insult,  until  they  return  unto  the  judgment  of 
God  ;  and  if  they  do  return,  make  peace  between  them  with  equity :  and 
act  with  justice ;  for  God  loveth  those  who  act  justly.^  Verily  the  true 
believers  are  brethren ;  w^herefore  reconcile  your  brethren ;  and  fear  God, 
that  ye  may  obtain  mercy.  O  true  believers,  let  not  men  laugh  other  men 
to  scorn ;  who  peradventure  may  be  better  than  themselves :  neither  let 
women  laugh  other  women  to  scorn ;  who  may  possibly  be  better  than 
themselves.     Neither  defame  one  another  ;  nor  call  one  another  by  oppro- 

*  *'  Speak  not  unto  him  with  that  familiarity  which  ye  use  unto  each  other." — Savary. 

"=  These,  they  say,  were  Oyeyna  Ebn  Hosein,  and  al  Akra  Ebn  Habes ;  who  wanting 
to  speak  with  Mohammed,  when  he  was  sleeping  at  noon  in  his  women's  apartment,  had 
the  rudeness  to  call  out  several  times,  Mohammed,  come  forth  to  us.^ 

t  "  The  interior  of  thy  dwelling  is  a  sanctuary:''  they  who  violate  it  by  calling  unto 
thee  are  deficient  in  the  respect  which  they  owe  to  the  interpreter  of  heaven." — Savary. 

•^  This  passage  was  occasioned,  it  is  said,  by  the  following  accident.  Al  Walid  Ebn  Okba 
being  sent  by  Mohammed  to  collect  the  alms  from  the  tribe  of  al  MostaleU,  when  he  saw 
them  come  out  to  meet  him  in  great  numbers,  grew  apprehensive  they  designed  him  some 
mischief,  because  of  past  enmity  between  him  and  them,  in  the  time  of  ignorance,  and 
immediately  turned  back,  and  told  the  prophet  they  refused  to  pay  their  alms,  and  at- 
tempted to  kill  him  ;  upon  which  Mohammed  was  thinking  to  reduce  them  by  force  :  but 
on  sending  Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid  to  them,  he  found  his  former  messenger  had  wronged 
them,  and  that  they  continued  in  their  obedience.^ 

"  This  verse  is  supposed  to  have  been  occasioned  by  a  fray,  which  happened  between  the 
tribes  of  al  Aws  and  al  Khazraj.  Some  relate,  that  the  prophet  one  day  riding  on  an  ass, 
as  he  passed  near  Al)dallah  Ebn  Obba,  the  ass  chanced  to  stale,  at  which  Ebn  Obba  stopped 
his  nose  ;  and  Ebn  Rawaha  said  to  him.  By  God,  the  piss  of  his  ass  smells  sweeter  than  thy 
musk;  whereupon  a  quarrel  ensued  between  their  followers,  and  they  came  to  blows,  though 
they  struck  one  another  only  with  their  hands  and  slippers,  or  with  palm-branches.' 

"  Al  Beidawi. 

'  (By  the  interior  is  to  be  understood  the  women's  apartment,  to  which  the  Arabs  give 
the  name  of  Harem  (the  forbidden  place.)  Only  the  husband  is  allowed  to  enter  it:  he 
usually  passes  the  afternoon  there,  in  the  midst  of  his  wives  and  children,  and  dislikes  to 
be  called  out  of  it.) — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem. 


CHAP.  XLix.  AL  KORAN.  419 

hrious  appellations.  An  ill  name  it  is  to  he  charged  loitli  wickedness,  after 
having  emhraced  the  faith:  and  whoso  repenteth  not,  they  will  be  the 
unjust  doers.^  O  trne  believers,  carefully  avoid  entertaining  a  suspicion  of 
another:  for  some  suspicions  are  a  crime.  Inquire  not  too  curiously  into 
other  mens  failings :  neither  let  the  one  of  you  speak  ill  of  another  in  his 
absence.  Would  any  of  you  desire  to  eat  the  flesh  of  his  dead  brother  r 
Surely  ye  would  abhor  it.  And  fear  God  ;  for  God  is  easy  to  be  recon- 
ciled, and  merciful.  0  men,  verily  we  have  created  you  of  a  male  and  a 
female  ;  and  we  have  distributed  you  into  nations  and  tribes,  that  ye  might 
know  one  another.  Verily  the  most  honourable  of  you,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  is  the  most  pious  of  you  :  and  God  is  wise  and  knowing.  The  Arabs 
of  the  deserts  say,  We  believe.  Answer,  Ye  do  by  no  means  believe ;  but 
say.  We  have  embraced  Islam :  ^  for  the  faith  hath  not  yet  entered  into 
your  hearts.*  If  ye  obey  God  and  his  apostle,  he  will  not  defraud  you  of 
any  part  of  the  merit  of  your  works:  for  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and 
merciful.  Verily  the  true  believers  are  those  only  who  believe  in  God  and 
his  apostle,  and  afterwards  doubt  not;  and  who  employ  their  substance  and 
their  persons  in  the  defence  of  God's  true  religion :  these  are  they  who 
speak  sincerely.  Say,  Will  ye  inform  God  concerning  your  religion  .?'  But 
God  knoweth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  in  earth  :  for  God  is  omniscient. 
They  upbraid  thee  that  they  have  embraced  Islam.  Answer,  Upbraid  me 
not  with  your  having  embraced  Islam  :  rather  God  upbraideth  you,  that  he 
hath  directed  you  to  the  faith ;  ^  if  ye  speak  sincerely.|  Verily  God 
knoweth  the  secrets  of  heaven  and  earth*  and  God  beholdeth  that 
which  ye  do. 

^  It  is  said  that  this  verse  was  revealed  on  account  of  Safiya  Bint  Hoyai,  one  of  the  pro- 
phet's wives  ;  who  came  lo  her  husband  and  complained  that  the  women  said  to  her,  O 
thou  Jewess,  the  dauf^hter  of  a  Jew  and  of  a  Jewess;  to  which  he  answered,  Canst  thou  not 
say,  Aaron  is  my  father,  and  3Ioses  is  my  uncle,  aiid  Mohammed  is  my  husband  ?  ' 

8  These  were  certain  of  the  tribe  of  Asad,  who  came  to  Medina  in  a  year  of  scarcity, 
and  having  professed  Mohammedism,  told  the  prophet  that  they  had  brought  all  their 
goods  and  their  families,  and  would  not  oppose  him,  as  some  other  tribes  had  done :  and 
this  they  said  to  obtain  a  part  of  the  alms,  and  to  upbraid  him  with  their  having  embraced 
his  religion  and  party.* 

^  That  is,  ye  are  not  sincere  believers,  but  outward  professors  only  of  the  true  religion. 

'  (The  distinction  which  the  Mohammedans  make  between  faith  and  Islamism  is,  that 
the  one  is  the  internal  belief,  and  the  other  the  external  sign  of  that  belief  by  religious 
acts.) — Savary. 

'  J.  e.  Will  ye  pretend  to  deceive  him,  by  saying  ye  are  true  believers? 

^  The  obligation  being  not  on  God's  side,  but  on  yours,  for  that  he  has  favoured  you  so 
far  as  to  guide  you  into  the  true  faiih,  if  ye  are  sincere  believers. 

t  "  They  return  thanks  unto  thee  for  having  embraced  Islamism.  Say  to  them.  His 
religion  cometh  not  from  me  ;  it  is  the  gift  of  heaven :  he  will  lead  you  if  your  hearts  be 
sincere." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.    See  Prid.  Life  of  Moham.  p.  Ill,  &c.  ^  Idem. 


420  AL  KORAN.  chap.  l. 

CHAPTER    L. 
INTITLED,  K;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

K.^  By  the  glorious  Koran :  verily  they  wonder  that  a  preacher  from 
among  themselves  is  come  unto  them ;  and  the  unbelievers  say,  This  is  a 
wonderful  thing :  after  we  shall  be  dead,  and  become  dust,  shall  we  return 
to  life  ?  This  is  a  return  remote  from  thought.  Now  we  know  what  the 
earth  consumeth  of  them ;  and  with  us  is  a  book  which  keepeth  an  account 
thereof  But  they  charge  falsehood  on  the  truth,  after  it  hath  come  unto 
them :  wherefore  they  are  plunged  in  a  confused  business.*"*  Do  they  not 
look  up  to  the  heaven  above  them,  and  consider  how  we  have  raised  it  and 
adorned  it ;  and  that  there  are  no  flaws  therein  ?  We  have  also  spread  forth 
the  earth,  and  thrown  thereon  mountains  firmly  rooted :  °  and  we  caused  every 
beautiful  kind  of  vegetables  to  spring  up  therein ;  for  a  subject  of  meditation, 
and  an  admonition  unto  every  man  who  turneth  unto  us.  And  we  send 
down  rain  as  a  blessing  from  heaven,  whereby  we  cause  gardens  to  spring 
forth,  and  the  grain  of  harvest,  and  tall  palm-trees  having  branches  laden 
with  dates  hanging  one  above  another,!  as  a  provision  for  mankind  ;  and  we 
thereby  quicken  a  dead  country :  so  shall  he  the  coming  forth  of  the  dead 
from  their  graves.  The  people  of  Noah,  and  those  who  dwelt  at  Al  Rass," 
and  Thamud,  and  Ad,  and  Pharaoh,  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture 
before  the  Meccans ;  and  also  the  brethren  of  Lot,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
the  wood  near  Midian^X  ^"^  ^^^  people  of  Tobba  :p  all  these  accused  the 
apostles  of  imposture ;  wherefore  the  judgments  which  I  threatened  were 
justly  inflicted  on  them.  Is  our  power  exhausted  by  the  first  creation  ? 
Yea;  they  are  in  a  perplexity,  because  of  a  new  creation  which  is  foretold 

'  Some  imagine  that  this  letter  is  designed  to  express  the  mountain  Kaf,  which  several 
eastern  writers  fancy  encompasses  the  whole  world. ^  Others  say  it  stands  for  Kada  al 
amr,  i.  e.  The  matter  is  decreed,  viz.  the  chastisement  of  the  infidels.*  See  the  Prelim. 
Disc.  sect.  iii.  p.  42,  &,c. 

™  Not  knowing  what  certainly  to  affirm  of  the  Koran  ;  calling  it  sometimes  a  piece  of 
poetry,  at  other  times  a  piece  of  sorcery,  and  at  other  times  a  piece  of  divination,  &c. 

*  "  The  spirit  of  confusion  hath  seized  upon  them."= — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  16,  p.  215;  and  chap.  31,  p.  335. 

t  (The  date-tree  produces  three  or  four  large  clusters,  which  rise  from  the  summit  of  tne 
tree,  and  hang  round.  They  are  formed  of  small  branches,  long  and  flexible,  from  which 
hang  the  dates.  These  clusters  will  sometimes  weigh  as  much  as  a  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds.  'I'he  date  is  at  first  of  a  deep  green:  as  it  ripens,  it  turns  red,  and  it  becomes 
blackish  when  it  is  ripe.  This  fruit,  which  is  of  a  sugary  and  agreeable  taste,  loses  much 
by  drying.) — Savary 

»  See  chap.  25,  p.  299. 

t  "  The  inhabitants  of  Aleica." — Savary. 

p  See  chap.  44,  p.  403. 

=  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl,  Orient.  Art.  Caf.  *  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 

'  (The  unbelievers  pretended  that  Mohammed  was  a  magician,  and  the  Koran  a  book 
of  magic  ;  others  that  he  was  a  poet,  and  the  Koran  a  book  of  poetry.  The  last  reproach 
is  not  wholly  unfounded  :  the  whole  of  the  Koran  is  written  in  verses.  The  first  chapters 
are  in  rhymed  prose  ;  a  part  of  the  last  in  verse.  Mohammed  has  displayed  in  his  work 
all  the  treasures  of  eloquence  and  poetry.) — Savary. 


CHAP.  L.  AL  KORAN.  421 

them^  namely  the  raismg  of  the  dead.  We  created  man,  and  we  know  what 
his  soul  whispereth  within  him ;  and  we  are  nearer  unto  him  than  his 
jugular  vein.  When  the  two  angels  deputed  to  take  account  of  a  man''s 
hehaviow,  take  an  account  thereof;  one  sitting  on  the  right  hand,  and  the 
other  on  the  left :  he  uttereth  not  a  word,  but  there  is  with  him  a  watcher, 
ready  to  note  ?7.i  And  the  agony  of  death  shall  come  in  truth :  this, 
O  man^  is  what  thou  soughtest  to  avoid.  And  the  trumpet  shall  sound : 
this  ivill  he  the  day  which  hath  been  threatened.  And  every  soul  shall 
come ;  and  therewith  shall  be  a  driver  and  a  witness.  ■■  *  Jlnd  the 
former  shall  say  unto  the  unbeliever,  Thou  wast  negligent  heretofore 
of  this  day  :  but  we  have  removed  thy  veil  from  off  thee ;  and  thy 
sight  is  become  piercing  this  day.  And  his  companions  shall  say. 
This  is  what  is  ready  with  me  to  be  attested.  And  God  shall  say. 
Cast  into  hell  every  unbeliever,  and  perverse  person,  and  every  one 
who  forbade  good,  and  every  transgressor,  and  doubter  of  the  faith,  who 
set  up  another  god  with  the  true  God  ;  and  cast  him  into  a  grievous 
torment.  His  companion^  shall  say,  O  Lord,  I  did  not  seduce  him; 
but  he  was  in  a  wide  error.*  God  shall  say,  Wrangle  not  in  my  pre- 
sence :  since  I  threatened  you  beforehand  with  the  torments  which  ye 
noiv  see  prepared  for  you.  The  sentence  is  not  changed  with  me  :  neither 
do  I  treat  my  servants  unjustly.  On  that  day  we  will  say  unto  hell.  Art 
thou  full }  and  it  shall  answer.  Is  there  yet  any  addition  .'*  "  And  paradise 
shall  be  brought  near  unto  the  pious ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  This 
is  what  ye  have  been  promised ;  unto  every  one  who  turned  himself  unto 
God,  and  kept  his  commandments  ;  who  feared  the  Merciful  in  secret,  and 
came  unto  him  with  a  converted  heart :  enter  the  same  in  peace  :  this  is 
the  day  of  eternity.     Therein  shall  they  have  whatever  they  shall  desire  : 

■1  The  intent  of  the  passage  is  to  exalt  the  omniscience  of  God ;  who  wants  not  the 
information  of  the  guardian  angels,  though  he  has  thought  fit,  in  his  wisdom,  to  give  them 
that  employment :  for  if  they  are  so  exact  as  to  write  down  every  word  which  falls  from  a 
man's  mouth,  how  can  we  hope  to  escape  the  observation  of  him  who  sees  our  inmost 
thoughts  ? 

The  Mohammedans  have  a  tradition  that  the  angel  who  notes  a  man's  good  actions  has 
the  command  over  him  who  notes  his  evil  actions ;  and  that  when  a  man  does  a  good  ac- 
tion, the  angel  of  the  right  hand  writes  it  down  ten  times,  and  when  he  commits  an  ill 
action,  the  same  angel  says  to  the  angel  of  the  left  hand,  Forbear  settiiig  it  down  for  seven 
hours  ;  peradventure  he  may  pray,  or  may  ask  pardon.^ 

"■  i.  e.  Two  angels,  one  acting  as  a  serjeant,  to  bring  every  person  before  the  tribunal ; 
and'  the  other  prepared  as  a  witness,  to  testify  either  for  or  against  him.  Some  say  the 
former  will  be  the  guardian  angel  who  took  down  his  evil  actions,  and  the  other  the  angel 
who  took  down  his  good  actions.^ 

*  "  Every  man  shall  present  himself  there  with  a  guide  and  with  a  witness." — Savary. 

'  viz.  The  devil  which  shall  be  chained  to  him. 

'  This  will  be  the  answer  of  the  devil,  whom  the  wicked  person  will  accuse  as  his 
seducer  ;  for  the  devil  has  no  power  over  a  man,  to  cause  him  to  do  evil,  any  otherwise 
than  by  suggesting  what  is  agreeable  to  his  corrupt  inclinations.* 

"  i.  e.  Are  there  yet  any  more  condemned  to  this  place ;  or  is  my  space  to  be  enlarged 
and  rendered  more  capacious  to  receive  them  ? 

The  commentators  suppose  hell  will  be  quite  filled  at  the  day  of  judgment,  according 
to  that  repeated  expression  in  the  Koran,  Verily  I  will  fill  hell  with  you,  »fcc. 

« Al  Beidawi.         '  Idem.         "  See  chap.  14,  p.  207,  &c. 
2m 


422  AL  KOKAN.  chap.  li. 

and  there  will  he  a  superabundant  addition  of  hiiss  with  us.'^  How  many 
generations  have  we  destroyed  before  the  Meccans,  which  were  more 
mighty  than  they  in  strength  ?  Pass,  therefore,  through  the  regions  of  the 
earth,  and  see  whether  there  he  any  vefuge  from  our  vengeance.  Verily  here- 
in is  an  admonition  unto  him  who  hath  a  heart  to  understand,  or  giveth  ear, 
and  is  present  with  an  attentive  mind.  We  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth,  and  whatever  is  between  them,  in  six  days,  and  no  weariness 
affected  us.'^  Wherefore  patiently  suffer  what  they  say ;  J"  and  celebrate 
the  praise  of  thy  Lord  before  sunrise,  and  before  sunset,  and  praise  him  in 
some  part  of  the  night:  and  perform  the  additional  parts  of  worship.^* 
And  hearken  unto  the  day  whereon  the  crier  shall  call  men  to  judgment 
from  a  near  place  :  *  the  day  whereon  they  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the  trumpet 
in  truth  :  this  will  be  the  day  of  men's  coming  ^oxih.  from  their  graves  :  we 
give  life,  and  we  cause  to  die ;  and  unto  us  shall  he  the  return  of  all  crea- 
tures :  the  day  whereon  the  earth  shall  suddenly  cleave  in  sunder  over 
them.  This  ivill  he  an  assembly  easy  for  us  to  assemble.  We  well  know 
what  the  unbelievers  say ;  and  thou  art  not  sent  to  compel  them  forcibly 
to  the  faith.  Wherefore  warn,  by  the  Koran,  him  who  feareth  my 
threatening. 


CHAPTER    LI. 

INTITLED,  THE  DISPERSING;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  ivinds  dispersing  and  scattering  the  dust ;  *  *  and  by  the  clouds 
bearing  a  load  of  rain ;  *=  by  the  ships  running  swiftly  in  the  sea ;  ^  and  by 

''  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  71. 

^  This  was  revealed  in  answer  to  the  Jews,  who  said  that  God  rested  from  his  work  of 
creation  on  the  seventh  day,  and  reposed  himself  on  his  throne,  as  one  fatigued.' 

y  viz.  Either  what  the  idolaters  say,  in  denying  the  resurrection ;  or  the  Jews,  in  speak- 
ing indecently  of  God. 

^  These  are  the  two  inclinations  used  after  the  evening  prayer,  which  are  not  necessary, 
or  of  precept,  but  voluntary,  and  of  supererogation,  and  may  therefore  be  added  or  omitted 
indifferently. 

*  "  Make  known  his  praise  at  the  beginning  of  the  night,  and  accomplish  the  adora- 
tion." ' — Savary, 

*  That  is,  from  a  place  whence  every  creature  may  equally  hear  the  call.  This  place, 
it  is  supposed,  will  be  the  mountain  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  which  some  fancy  to  be 
nigher  heaven  than  any  other  part  of  the  earth ;  whence  Israfil  will  sound  the  trumpet, 
and  Gabriel  will  make  the  following  proclamation,  0  ye  rotten  bones,  and  torn  Jlesti,  and 
dispersed  hairs,  God  commandeth  you  to  he  gathered  together  to  judgment."^ 

^  Or,  By  the  women  who  hrijig  forth  or  scatter  children,  &c. 
t  "  I  swear  by  the  breath  of  the  impetuous  winds." — Savary. 

*=  Or,  By  the  women  hearing  a  hurden  in  their  womb,  or  the  winds  bearing  the  clouds,  &c. 
^  Or,  By  the  winds  passing  swiftly  in  the  air,  or  the  stars  moving  swiftly  in  their 
courses,  &c. 

'Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin, 

^  (By  these  words  is  to  be  understood  the  prayer  called  el  ache,  that  is,  of  the  supper, 
which  is  repeated  about  two  hours  after  sunset.  Marracci  is  mistaken  in  supposing  that 
the  words  signify  genuflexions  which  are  not  prescribed  by  the  law.  Marracci,  p.  673.) — 
Savary. 

"^AX  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  LI.  AL  KORAN.  423 

the  angels  who  distribute  things  necessary  for  the  support  of  all  creatures  ;^* 
verily  that  wherewith  ye  are  threatened  is  certainly  true;  and  the  last 
judgment  will  surely  come.  By  the  heaven  furnished  with  paths-/  ye 
widely  differ  in  what  ye  say.s  He  will  be  turned  aside  from  the  faith,  who 
shall  be  turned  aside  by  the  divine  decree.  Cursed  be  the  liars ;  who  wade 
in  deep  waters  of  ignorance,  neglecting  their  sahation.'f  They  ask,  When 
vnll  the  day  of  judgment  cofne  ?  On  that  day  shall  they  be  burned  in  hell 
fire;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Taste  your  punishment;  this  is  what  ye 
demanded  to  be  hastened.  But  the  pious  shall  dwell  among  gardens  and 
fountains,  receiving  that  which  their  Lord  shall  give  them ;  because  they 
were  righteous  doers  before  this  day.  They  slept  but  a  small  part  of  the 
night ;  •»  and  early  in  the  morning  they  asked  pardon  of  God  :  and  a  due 
portion  of  their  wealth  was  given  unto  him  who  asked,  and  unto  him  who 
was  forbidden  by  shame  to  ask.  There  are  signs  of  the  divine  poioer  and 
goodness  in  the  earth,  unto  men  of  sound  understanding ;  and  also  in  your 
own  selves :  will  ye  not  therefore  consider }  Your  sustenance  is  in  the 
heaven ;  and  also  that  which  ye  are  promised.'  Wherefore  by  the  Lord 
of  heaven  and  earth  /  sivear  that  this  is  certainly  the  truth  ;  according  to 
what  ye  yourselves  speak.^  Hath  not  the  story  of  Abraham's  honoured 
guests^  come  to  thy  knowledge?  When  they  went  in  unto  him,  and 
said.  Peace :  he  answered  Peace ;  saying  within  himself,  These  are  un- 
known people.  And  he  went  privately  unto  his  family,  and  brought  a 
fatted  calf  And  he  set  it  before  them,  and  when  he  saw  they  touched 
it  not,  he  said.  Do  ye  not  eat .?  And  he  began  to  entertain  a  fear  of 
them.  They  said.  Fear  not :  ™  and  they  declared  unto  him  the  promise 
of  a  wise  youth.  And  his  wife  drew  near  with  exclamation,  and  she 
smote  her  face,"  and  said,  /  am  an  old  woman,  and  barren.  The  angels 
answered.  Thus  saith  thy  Lord  :  verily  he  is  the  wise,  the  knowing. 
*[XXVn.]  And  Abraham  said  unto  them.  What  is  your  errand,  therefore, 
O  messengers  of  God  f  They  answered.  Verily  we  are  sent  unto  a  wicked 
people :  that  we  may  send  down  upon  them  stones  of  baked  clay,  marked 

«  Or,  By  the  winds  which  distribute  the  rain,  &c. 

*  "  By  the  angels  who  execute  the  decrees  of  Heaven." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  The  paths  or  orbs  of  the  stars;  or  the  streaks  which  appear  in  the  sky  Uke  paths, 
being  thin  and  extended  clouds. 

8  Concerning  Mohammed,  or  the  Koran,  or  the  resurrection  and  day  of  judgment; 
speaking  variously  and  inconsistently  of  them, 

t  '•  The  liars  shall  perish :  they  are  buried  in  the  abyss  of  ignorance." — Savary. 

^  Spending  the  greater  part  in  prayer,  and  religious  meditation. 

'  i.  e.  Your  food  cometh  from  above,  whence  proceedeth  the  change  of  seasons  and  rain  : 
and  your  future  reward  is  also  there,  that  is  to  say,  in  paradise,  which  is  situate  above  the 
seven  heavens. 

''  That  is,  without  any  doubt  or  reserved  meaning,  as  ye  affirm  a  truth  unto  one  another. 

'  See  chap.  11,  p.  182,  and  chap.  15,  p.  212. 

"  Some  add,  that  to  remove  Abraham's  fear,  Gabriel,  who  was  one  of  these  strangers, 
touched  the  calf  with  his  wing,  and  it  immediately  rose  up  and  walked  to  its  dam;  upon 
which  Abraham  knew  them  to  be  the  messengers  of  God.^ 

■  This,  some  pretend,  she  did  for  shame  ;  because  she  felt  her  courses  coming  upon  her. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


424  AL  KORAN.  chap.  li. 

from  thy  Lord,  for  the  destruction  of  transgressors  *  And  we  brought 
forth  the  true  behevers  who  were  in  the  city :  but  we  found  not  therein 
more  than  one  family  of  Moslems.  And  we  overthrew  the  same,  and  left 
a  sign  therein  unto  those  who  dread  the  severe  chastisement  of  God.  In 
Moses  also  urns  a  sign  :  when  we  sent  him  unto  Pharaoh  with  manifest 
power.  But  he  turned  back,  with  his  princes,  saying.  This  man  is  a 
sorcerer,  or  a  madman.  Wherefore  we  took  him  and  his  forces,  and  cast 
them  into  the  sea :  and  he  was  one  worthy  of  reprehension.  And  in  the 
tribe  of  Ad  also  was  a  sign  :  when  we  sent  against  them  a  destroying 
wind ;  °  it  touched  not  aught  whereon  it  came,  but  it  rendered  the  same  as 
a  thing  rotten,  and  reduced  to  dust.  In  Thamud  likewise  was  a  sigji :  when 
it  was  said  unto  them.  Enjoy  yourselves  for  a  time.?  But  they  insolently 
transgressed  the  command  of  their  Lord  :  wherefore  a  terrible  noise  from 
heaven  assailed  them,  while  they  looked  on;  and  they  were  not  able 
to  stand  on  their  feet,  neither  did  they  save  themselves  from  destruction. 
And  the  people  of  Noah  did  we  destroy  before  these :  for  they  were  a 
people  who  enormously  transgressed.*  We  have  built  the  heaven  with 
might;  and  we  ha\e  given  it  a  large  extent:  and  we  have  stretched  forth 
the  earth  beneath ;  and  how  evenly  have  we  spread  the  same  !  And  of 
every  thing  have  we  created  two  kinds,""  that  peradventure  ye  may  con- 
sider. Fly,  therefore,  unto  God  ;  verily  I  am  a.  public  warner  unto  you, 
from  him.  And  set  not  up  another  god  with  the  true  God  :  verily  I  am  a. 
public  warner  unto  you,  from  him.J  In  like  manner  there  came  no  apostle 
unto  their  predecessors,  but  they  said.  This  man  is  a  magician,  or  a  mad- 
man. Have  they  bequeathed  this  behaviour  successively  the  one  to  the 
other  ?  Yea ;  they  are  a  people  who  enormously  transgress. §  Wherefore 
withdraw  from  them;  and  thou  shalt  not  he  blameworthy  in  so  doing.  Yet 
continue  to  admonish  :  for  admonition  profiteth  the  true  believers.  I  have 
not  created  genii  and  men  for  any  other  end  than  that  they  should  serve  me. 
I  require  not  any  sustenance  from  them ;  neither  will  I  that  they  feed  me. 
Verily  God  is  he  who  provideth  for  all  creatures ;  possessed  of  mighty 
power.  Unto  those  who  shall  injure  our  apostle  shall  he  given  a  portion 
like  unto  the  portion  of  those  who  behaved  like  them  in  times  past ;  and 
they  shall  not  wish  the  same  to  be  hastened.  Woe,  therefore,  to  the  un- 
believers, because  of  their  day  with  which  they  are  threatened ! 

*  "  We  are  about,"  replied  they,  "  to  chastise  an  infamous  people.  We  shall  cause  to 
fall  on  the  guilty  a  shower  of  stones,  on  which  their  names  are  engraven  by  the  hand  of 
the  Lord." — Savary. 

°  See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  &c. 

p  I.  e.  For  three  days.     See  chap.  11,  p.  181. 

'i  For  this  calamity  happened  in  the  day-time. 

t  "  We  exterminated  the  people  of  Noah,  in  the  midst  of  their  crimes." — Savary. 

^  As  for  example:  male  and  female  ;  the  heaven  and  the  earth;  the  sun  and  the  moon  ; 
light  and  darkness ;  plains  and  mountains ;  winter  and  summer ;  sweet  and  bitter,  &c.* 

X  "  Give  not  unto  him.  an  equal,  or  fear  my  threats." — Savary. 

"5>  "  Have  the  people  bequeathed  themselves  unto  error?  The  people  of  Mecca  persist 
in  their  unbelief." — Savary. 

*  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  Ln.  AL  KORAN.  425 

CHAPTER  LII. 
INTITLED,  THE  MOUNTAIN;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  mountain  of  Sinai ;  and  by  the  book  written  in  an  expanded 
scroll  J*  and  by  the  visited  house  ;  *  and  by  the  elevated  roo(  of  heaven;  and 
by  the  swelling  ocean :  verily  the  punishment  of  thy  Lord  will  surely 
descend  ;  there  shall  he  none  to  withhold  it.  On  that  day  the  heaven  shall 
be  shaken,  and  shall  reel ;  and  the  mountains  shall  walk  and  pass  away. 
And  on  that  day  woe  be  unto  those  who  accused  God^s  apostles  of  impos- 
ture ;  who  amused  themselves  in  wading  in  vain  disputes  !  On  that  day 
shall  they  be  driven  and  thrust  into  the  fire  of  hell ;  and  it  shall  he  said 
unto  them^  This  is  the  fire  which  ye  denied  as  a  fiction.  Is  this  a  magic 
illusion  ?  Or  do  ye  not  see }  Enter  the  same  to  be  scorched  :  whether  ye 
bear  your  torments  patiently,  or  impatiently,  it  will  be  equal  unto  you :  ye 
shall  surely  receive  the  reward  of  that  which  ye  have  wrought.  But  the 
pious  shall  dwell  amidst  gardens  and  pleasures;  delighting  themselves 
in  what  their  Lord  shall  have  given  them :  and  their  Lord  shall 
deliver  them  from  the  pains  of  hell.  And  it  shall  he  said  unto  them^ 
Eat  and  drink  with  easy  digestion;*  because  of  that  which  ye  have 
wrought :  leaning  on  couches  disposed  in  order :  and  we  will  espouse  them 
unto  virgins  having  large  black  eyes.  And  unto  those  who  believe,  and 
whose  offspring  follow  them  in  the  faith,  we  will  join  their  offspring  in 
paradise :  and  we  will  not  diminish  unto  them  aught  of  the  merit  of  their 
works.  (Every  man  is  given  in  pledge  for  that  which  he  shall  have 
wrought.'^)  And  we  will  give  them  fruits  in  abundance,  and  flesh  of  the 
A'/72tZs  which  they  shall  desire.  They  shall  present  unto  one  another  therein 
a  cup  of  wine,  wherein  there  shall  be  no  vain  discourse,  nor  any  incitement 
unto  wickedness.  And  youths  appointed  to  attend  them  shall  go  round 
them  :  beautiful  as  pearls  hidden  in  their  shell.  And  they  shall  approach 
unto  one  another,  and  shall  ask  mutual  questions.  And  they  shall  say, 
Verily  we  were  heretofore  amidst  our  family,  in  great  dread  with  regard  to 
our  state  after  death :  but  God  hath  been  gracious  unto  us,  and  hath 
delivered  us  from  the  pain  of  burning  fire  :  for  we  called  on  him  heretofore; 

'  The  book  here  intended,  according  to  different  opinions,  is  either  the  book  or  register 
wherein  every  man's  actions  are  recorded;  or  the  preserved  tables,  containing  God's  de- 
crees ;  or  the  book  of  the  law,  which  was  written  by  God,  Moses  hearing  the  creaking 
of  the  pen ;  or  else  the  Koran.' 

'  i.  e.  The  Caaba,  so  much  visited  by  pilgrims;  or,  as  some  rather  think,  the  original 
model  of  that  house  in  heaven,  called  al  Dorah,  which  is  visited  and  compassed  by  the 
angels,  as  the  other  is  by  men.* 

*  "  Satiate  yourselves,  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  with  the  blessings  which  are  offered 
anto  you  ;  they  are  the  reward  of  your  virtues." — Savory. 

°  I.  e.  Every  man  is  pledged  unto  God  for  his  behaviour :  and  if  he  docs  well,  he  redeems 
his  pledge  ;  but  if  evil  he  forfeits  it. 

*  Al  Zamakh.  al  Beidawi.  *  See  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4. 

2m 


426  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lii. 

and  he  is  the  beneficent,  the  merciful.  Wherefore  do  thou,  O  prophet^  ad- 
monish thy  people.  Thou  art  not,  by  the  grace  of  thy  Lord,  a  soothsayer, 
or  a  madman.  Do  they  say,  He  is  a  poet ;  we  wait,  concerning  him,  some 
adverse  turn  of  fortune  }  Say,  Wait  ye  7ny  ruin :  verily  I  wait,  with  you, 
the  time  of  your  destruction*  Do  their  mature  understandings  bid  them 
say  this ;  or  are  they  people  who  perversely  transgress .?  Do  they  say, 
He  hath  forged  the  Koran  ?  Verily  they  believe  not.  Let  them  produce 
a  discourse  like  unto  it,  if  they  speak  truth.  Were  they  created  by  nothing; 
or  were  they  creators  of  themselves  ?  Did  they  create  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  ?  Verily  they  are  not  firmly  persuaded  that  God  hath  created 
them.^  Are  the  stores  of  thy  Lord  in  their  hands  }  Are  they  the  supreme 
dispensers  of  all  things  ?  Have  they  a  ladder  whereby  they  may  ascend  to 
heaven^  and  hear  the  discourses  of  the  angels  ?  Let  one,  therefore,  who  hath 
heard  them,  produce  an  evident  proof  thereof  Hath  God  daughters,  and 
have  ye  sons  ?  ^  Dost  thou  ask  them  a  reward  for  thy  preaching  ?  but  they 
are  laden  with  debts.  Are  the  secrets  of  futurity  with  them  ;  and  do  they 
transcribe  the  same  from  the  table  of  God''s  degrees  f  Do  they  seek  to  lay  a 
plot  against  thee  ?  But  the  unbelievers  are  they  who  shall  be  circumvented.^ 
Have  they  any  god,  besides  God  ^  Far  be  God  exalted  above  the  idols 
which  they  associate  with  him !  If  they  should  see  a  fragment  of  the 
heaven  falling  down  upon  them^  they  would  say.  It  is  only  a  thick  cloud. "^ 
Wherefore  leave  them,  until  they  arrive  at  their  day  wherein  they  shall 
swoon  for  fear :  ^  a  day,  in  which  their  subtle  contrivances  shall  not  avail 
them  at  all,  neither  shall  they  be  protected.  And  those  who  act  unjustly 
shall  surely  suffer  another  punishment  besides  this  :  *=  but  the  greater  part  of 
them  do  not  understand.  And  wait  thou  patiently  the  judgment  of  thy 
Lord  concerning  them ;  for  thou  art  in  our  eye :  and  celebrate  the  praise 
of  thy  Lord,  when  thou  risest  up ;  and  praise  him  in  the  night-season,  and 
when  the  stars  begin  to  disappear. 

*  "  Reply  unto  them,  Wait !   I  will  wait  with  you." — Savary. 

*  For  though  they  confess  this  with  their  tongues,  yet  they  deny  it  by  their  averseness 
to  render  him  his  due  worship. 

y  See  chap.  16,  p.  218,  &c. 

^  See  chap.  8,  p.  142,  &c. 

»  This  was  one  of  the  judgments  which  the  idolatrous  Meccans  defied  Mohammed  to 
bnng  down  upon  them  ;  and  yet,  says  the  text,  if  they  should  see  a  part  of  the  heaven 
faUing  on  them,  they  would  not  beheve  it  till  they  were  crushed  to  death  by  it.'" 

••  i.  e.  At  the  first  sound  of  the  trumpet,* 

'  That  is,  Besides  the  punishment  to  which  they  shall  be  doomed  at  the  day  of  judg- 
ment, they  shall  be  previously  chastised  by  calamities  in  this  life,  as  the  slaughter  at  Bedr, 
and  the  seven  years'  famine,  and  also  after  their  death,  by  the  examination  of  the 
sepulchre.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.  ^  See  the  PreHm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59.         *  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lin.  AL  KORAN.  427 

CHAPTER    LIII. 
INTITLED,  THE  STAR;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  star,*  when  it  setteth ; «  your  companion  Mohammed  erreth  not ; 
nor  is  he  led  astray  :  neither  doth  he  speak  oHils  own  will.  It  is  no  other 
than  a  revelation,  which  hath  been  revealed  unto  him.  One  mighty  in 
power,  endued  with  understanding,  taught  it  him:^  and  he  appeared  s  in 
the  highest  part  of  the  horizon.  Afterwards  he  approached  the  prophet^^ 
and  near  unto  him;  until  he  was  at  the  distance  of  two  bows'  length '/rom 
Am,  or  yet  nearer;  and  he  revealed  unto  his  servant  that  which  he  revealed. 
The  heart  of  Mohammed  did  not  falsely  represent  that  which  he  saw.'' 
Will  ye  therefore  dispute  with  him  concerning  that  which  he  saw  ?  He 
also  saw  him  another  time,  by  the  lote-tree  beyond  which  there  is  no 
passing  :i  near  it  is  the  garden  of  eternal  abode.  When  the  lote-tree 
covered  that  which  it  covered,™  Ids  eyesight  turned  not  aside,  neither  did 
it  wander  :*  and  he  really  beheld  some  of  the  greatest  signs  of  his  Lord." 
What  think  ye  of  Allat,  and  Al  Uzza,  and  Manah,  that  other  third  goddess?'' 
Have  ye  male  children,  and  God  female  ?p  This,  therefore,  is  an  unjust 
partition.     They  are  no  other  than  empty  names,  which  ye  and  your 

^  Some  suppose  the  stars  in  general,  and  others  the  Pleiades  in  particular,  to  be  meant 
in  this  place. 

'  Or,  according  to  a  contrary  signification  of  the  verb  here  used,  when  it  riseth. 

'  Namely,  the  angel  Gabriel. 

e  In  his  natural  form,  in  which  God  created  him,  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  sky.  It 
it  said  that  this  angel  appeared  in  his  proper  shape  to  none  of  the  prophets,  except  Mo- 
hammed ;  and  to  him  only  twice  :  once  when  he  received  the  first  revelation  of  the  Koran, 
and  a  second  time  when  he  took  his  night  journey  to  heaven ;  as  it  follows  in  the  text. 

^  In  a  human  shape. 

'  Or,  as  the  word  also  signifies,  two  cubits^  length. 

"  But  he  saw  it  in  reality. 

'  This  tree,  say  the  commentators,  stands  in  the  seventh  heaven,  on  the  right  hand  of 
the  throne  -of  God  ;  and  is  the  utmost  bounds  beyond  which  the  angels  themselves  must 
not  pass  ;  or,  as  some  rather  imagine,  beyond  which  no  creature's  knowledge  can  extend, 

^  The  words  seem  to  signify,  that  what  was  under  this  tree  exceeded  all  description  and 
number.  Some  suppose  the  whole  host  of  angels  worshipping  beneath  it'  arc  intended ; 
and  others,  the  birds  which  sit  on  its  branches.^ 

*  "He  had  before  seen  the  same  angel  near  the  lotos ^  which  bounds  the  abode  of 
delights.  Near  this  tree  is  the  garden  of  refuge.*  The  lotos  was  shadowed  by  the  veil 
which  covers  it.  The  eye  of  the  prophet  bore  the  splendour  of  the  divine  magnificence." 
— Savary. 

°  Seeing  the  wonders  both  of  the  sensible  and  the  intellectual  world. ^ 

"  Those  were  three  idols  of  the  ancient  Arabs,  of  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  Pre- 
liminary Discourse.^ 

As  to  the  blasphemy  which  some  pretend  Mohammed  once  uttered,  through  inadvert- 
ence, as  he  was  reading  this  passage,  see  chap.  22,  p.  279,  note  t. 

p  See  chap.  16,  p.  218,  &c. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  -^  Jallalo'ddin. 

3  This  lotos,  says  Jallalo'ddin,  is  the  tree  called  Nabe. — Savary. 

*  This  garden  is  thus  denominated  because  that  it  will  be  the  asylum  of  the  angels,  the 
martyrs,  and  the  virtuous. — Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  «  Sect.  i.  p.  13. 


428  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lhi. 

fathers  have  named  goddesses.  God  hath  not  revealed  concerning  them 
any  thing  to  authorize  their  worship.  They  follow  no  other  than  a  vain 
opinion,  and  what  their  souls  desire :  yet  hath  the  true  direction  come  unto 
them  from  their  Lord.  Shall  man  have  whatever  he  wisheth  for  ?  i  The 
life  to  come  and  the  present  life  are  God's  :  and  how  many  angels  soever 
there  he  in  the  heavens,  their  intercession  shall  be  of  no  avail,  until  after 
God  shall  have  granted  permission  unto  whom  he  shall  please  and  shall 
accept.  Verily  they  who  believe  not  in  the  life  to  come  give  unto  the 
angels  a  female  appellation.*  But  they  have  no  knowledge  lierein  :  they 
follow  no  other  than  a  bare  opinion ;  and  a  bare  opinion  attaineth  not  any 
thing  of  truth.  Wherefore  withdraw  from  him  who  turneth  away  from  our 
admonition,  and  seeketh  only  the  present  life.  This  is  their  highest  pitch 
of  knowledge.  Verily  thy  Lord  well  knoweth  him  who  erreth  from  his 
way ;  and  he  well  knoweth  him  who  is  rightly  directed.  Unto  God  be- 
longeth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  earth :  that  he  may  reward  those  who 
do  .evil,  according  to  that  which  they  shall  have  wrought;  and  may  reward 
those  who  do  well,  with  the  most  excellent  reward.  As  to  those  who  avoid 
great  crimes,  and  heinous  sins,  and  are  guilty  only  q/*  lighter  faults  ;|  verily 
thy  Lord  will  he  extensive  in  mercy  toioards  them.  He  well  knew  you 
when  he  produced  you  out  of  the  earth,  and  when  ye  ivere  embryos  in 
your  mothers^  wombs  :  wherefore  justify  not  yourselves  :  he  best  knoweth 
the  man  who  feareth  him.  What  thinkest  thou  of  him  who  turneth  aside 
fro7n  folloicing  the  truth,  and  giveth  little,  and  covetously  stoppeth  his 
hand  P""  Is  the  knowledge  of  futurity  with  him,  so  that  he  seeth  the  same?^ 
Hath  he  not  been  informed  of  that  which  is  contained  in  the  books  of 
Moses,  and  of  Abraham  who  faithfully  performed  his  engagements  f  To 
wit :  that  a  burdened  soul  shall  not  bear  the  burden  of  another ;  and  that  no- 
thing shall  he  imputed  to  a  man  for  righteousness,  except  his  own  labour; 
and  that  his  labour  shall  surely  be  made  manifest  hereafter,  and  that  he  shall 
be  rewarded  for  the  same  with  a  most  abundant  reward ;  and  that  unto  thy 
Lord  will  he  the  end  of  all  things ;  and  that  he  causeth  to  laugh^  and  causeth 
to  weep ;  and  that  he  putteth  to  death,  and  giveth  life :  and  that  he  createth 

1  i.  e.  Shall  he  dictate  to  God,  and  name  whom  he  pleases  for  his  intercessors,  or  for  his 
prophet ;  or  shall  he  choose  a  religion  according  to  his  own  fancy,  and  prescribe  the  terms 
on  which  he  may  claim  the  reward  of  this  life  and  the  next  ?  ■" 

*  "  The  unbelievers  pretend  that  the  angels  are  the  daughters  of  God." — Savary. 

t  "  Who  are  guilty  only  of  those  faults  which  are  inevitable  to  human  weakness."— 
Savary. 

"■  This  passage,  it  is  said,  was  revealed  on  account  of  al  WalTd  Ebn  al  Mogheira,  who 
following  the  prophet  one  day,  was  reviled  by  an  idolater  for  leaving  the  religion  of  the 
Koreish,  and  giving  occasion  of  scandal ;  to  which  he  answered,  that  what  he  did  was  out 
of  apprehension  of  the  divine  vengeance  :  whereupon  the  man  offered,  for  a  certain  sum, 
to  take  the  guilt  of  his  apostacy  on  himself;  and  the  bargain  being  made,  al  Walid  re- 
turned to  his  idolatry,  and  paid  the  man  part  of  what  had  been  agreed  on,  but  afterwards, 
on  farther  consideration,  he  thought  it  too  much,  and  kept  back  the  remainder.* 

"  That  is.  Is  he  assured  that  the  person  with  whom  he  made  the  abovementioned  agree- 
ment will  be  allowed  to  suffer  in  his  stead  hereafter  ?  ^ 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  «  Al  Beidawi.  » idem. 


CHAP.  Liv.  AL  KORAN.  429 

the  two  sexes,  the  male  and  the  female,  of  seed  when  it  is  emitted ;  *  and 
that  unto  him  apferlainetli  another  production,  namely,  the  raising  of  ihe 
dead  again  to  life  hereafter ;  and  that  he  enricheth,  and  causeth  to  acquire 
possessions ;  and  that  he  is  the  Lord  of  the  dog-star ;  *■  and  that  he 
destroyed  the  ancient  tribe  of  Ad,  and  Thamud,  and  left  not  any  of  them 
alive ;  and  also  the  people  of  Noah,  before  them ;  for  they  were  most  un- 
just and  wicked  :  and  he  overthrew  the  cities  which  were  turned  upside 
down ;  ^  and  that  which  covered  them^  covered  them.  Which,  therefore, 
of  thy  Lord's  benefits,  0  man,  wilt  thou  call  in  question  ?  This  our  apostle 
is  a  preacher  like  the  preachers  who  preceded  him.  The  approaching  day 
of  judgment  dmweth  near :  there  is  none  who  can  reveal  the  exact  time  of 
the  same,  besides  God.  Do  ye,  therefore,  wonder  at  this  new  revelation ; 
and  do  ye  laugh,  and  not  weep,.t  spending  your  time  in  idle  diversions  ? 
But  rather  worship  God,  and  serve  him. 


CHAPTER   LIY. 
INTITLED,  THE  MOON;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  hour  of  judgment  approacheth ;  and  the  moon  hath  been  split  in 
sunder :  y  but  if  the  unbelievers  see  a  sign,  they  turn  aside,  saying.  This  is  a 
powerful  charm.''  And  they  accuse  thee^  O  Mohammed,  of  imposture,  and 
follow  their  own  lusts  :  but  every  thing  will  be  immutably  fixed.''  And  now 
hath  a  message"  come  unto  them,  wherein  is  a  determent /rom  obstinate  infi- 
delity;  the  same  being  consummate  wisdom :  but  warners  profit  them  not; 
wherefore  do  thou  withdraw  from  them.     The  day  whereon  the  summoner 

*  "  Of  earth  and  water  mingled  together." — Savary. 

'  Sirius,  or  the  greater  dog-star,  was  worshipped  by  some  of  the  old  Arabs.* 

^viz.  Sodom,  and  the  other  cities  involved  in  her  ruin.     See  chap.  11,  p.  183. 

t  "  Ye  laugh  when  ye  ought  to  weep." — Savary. 

y  This  passage  is  expounded  two  different  ways.  Some  imagine  the  words  refer  to  a 
famous  miracle  supposed  to  have  been  performed  by  Mohammed  :  for  it  is  said  that,  on 
the  infidels  demanding  a  sign  of  him,  the  moon  appeared  cloven  in  two,-  one  part  vanish- 
ing, and  the  other  remaining  ;  and  Ebn  Masud  affirmed  that  he  saw  mount  Hara  interpose 
between  the  two  sections.  Others  think  the  preter  tense  is  here  used,  in  the  prophetic 
style,  for  the  future,  and  that  the  passage  should  be  rendered,  The  moon  shall  be  split  in 
sunder:  for  this,  they  say,  is  to  happen  at  the  resurrection.  The  former  opinion  is  sup- 
ported by  reading,  according  to  some  copies,  wakad  inshakka'lkamaro,  i.  e.  since  the  moon 
hath  already  been  split  in  sunder;  the  sphtting  of  the  moon  being  reckoned  by  some  to  be 
one  of  the  previous  signs  of  the  last  day.^ 

^  Or,  as  the  participle  here  used  may  also  signify,  a  contiriued  series  of  magic,  or  a  tran- 
sient magic  illusion. 

^  Or  will  reach  a  final  period  of  ruin  or  success  in  this  world,  and  of  misery  or  happiness 
in  the  next,  which  will  be  conclusive  and  unchangeable  thenceforward  for  ever.* 

^  i.  e.  The  Koran,  containing  stories  of  former  nations  which  have  been  chastised  for  their 
increduhty,  and  threats  of  a  more  dreadful  punishment  hereafter. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  i.  p.  12,  and  Hyd.  not.  in  Ulug.  Beig,  Tab.  Stell.  fix.  p.  53. 
^  See  a  long  and  fabulous  account  of  this  pretended  mira-cle  in  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Moham. 
chap.  19.  =*  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi.  *  lidem. 


430  AL  KORAN.  chap.  liv. 

shall  summon  mankind  to  an  ungrateful  business,"  they  shall  come  forth  from 
/Aeir  graves  with  downcast  looks :  numerous  as  locusts  scattered  far  abroad  ; 
hastening  with  terror  unto  the  summoner.  The  unbelievers  shall  say,  This 
is  a  day  of  distress.*  The  people  of  Noah  accused  that  prophet  of  impos- 
ture, before  thy  people  rejected  thee:  they  accused  our  servant  of  imposture, 
saying,  He  is  a  madman ;  and  he  was  rejected  with  reproach.  He  called, 
therefore,  upon  his  Lord,  saz/in^.  Verily  I  am  overpowered;  wherefore 
avenge  me."^  So  Ave  opened  the  gates  of  heaven,  with  water  pouring  down, 
and  we  caused  the  earth  to  break  forth  into  springs  ;  so  that  the  water  of 
heaven  and  earth  met,  according  to  the  decree  which  had  been  established. 
And  we  bare  him  on  a  vessel  composed  of  planks  and  nails ;  which  moved 
forward  under  our  eyes :  ^^  as  a  recompense  unto  him  who  had  been  un- 
gratefully rejected.  And  we  left  the  said  vessel  for  a  sign  :  but  is  any  one 
Avarned  thereby  ?  And  how  severe  was  my  vengeance,  and  my  threatening !  | 
Now  have  Ave  made  the  Koran  easy  for  admonition :  but  is  any  one  admo- 
nished thereby?  Ad  charged  their  prophet  Avith  imposture  :  but  hoAV  severe 
was  my  vengeance,  and  my  threatening !  Verily  we  sent  against  them  a  roar- 
ing '  Avind,  on  a  day  of  continued  ill  luck ;  s  it  carried  men  away,  as  though 
they  had  been  roots  of  palm-trees  forcibly  torn  up.^  And  how  severe  Avas 
my  vengeance  and  my  threatening  !  Now  have  we  made  the  Koran  easy  for 
admonition :  but  is  any  one  admonished  thereby  ?  Thamud  charged  the  ad- 
monitions of  their  prophet  with  falsehood,  and  said,  Shall  Ave  folloAV  a  single 
man  among  us  ?  verily  we  should  then  be  guilty  of  error,  and  preposterous 
madness  :  is  the  ojice  q/"  admonition  committed  unto  him  preferably  to  the 
rest  of  us  ?  Nay ;  he  is  a  liar,  and  an  insolent  fellow.J  But  God  said  to 
Saleh,  To-morrow  shall  they  know  Avho  is  the  liar,  and  the  insolent  person  : 
for  Ave  will  surely  send  the  she-camel  for  a  trial  of  them :  *  and  do  thou 
observe  them,  and  bear  their  insults  Avith  patience  :  and  prophesy  unto  them 
that  the  water  shall  be  divided  between  them,^  and  each  portion  shall  be  sat 
down  to  alternately.     And  they  called  their  companion :  ^  and  he  took  a 

"  That  is,  When  the  angel  Israfil  shall  call  men  to  judgment. 

*  "  They  shall  hasten  to  whither  the  voice  shall  call  them.  The  unbelievers  shall  say, 
Behold  the  terrible  day." — Savary. 

■^  This  petition  was  not  preferred  by  Noah  till  after  he  had  suffered  repeated  violence 
from  his  people  :  for  it  is  related,  that  one  of  them  having  fallen  upon  him  and  almost 
strangled  him,  when  he  came  to  himself  he  said,  0  Lord  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do.'' 

'  i.  e.  Under  our  special  regard  and  keeping. 

t  "  What  punishments  have  followed  my  threats  !" — Savary. 

^  Or,  a  cold  wind. 

s  viz.  On  a  Wednesday.     See  chap.  41,  p.  390,  note  s. 

''  It  is  related  that  they  sought  shelter  in  the  clefts  of  rocks,  and  in  pits,  holding  fast  by 
one  another;  but  that  the  wind  impetuously  tore  them  away,  and  threw  them  down  dead.* 

t  "  No,  doubtless;  he  is  an  ambitious  impostor." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  &,c. 

^  That  is,  between  the  Thamudites  and  the  camel.     See  chap.  26,  p.  30G,  note  s. 

'  Namely  Kodar  Ebn  Salcf ;  who  was  not  an  Arab,  but  a  stranger  dwelling  among  the 
Thamudites.     See  chap.  7,  p.  123,  note  d. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem. 


CHAP.  Liv.  AL  KORAN.  431 

sivord,"^  and  slew  her.  But  how  severe  was  my  vengeance,  and  my  threat- 
ening !  For  we  sent  against  them  one  cry  of  (he  angel  Gabriel ;  and  they 
became  like  the  dry  sticks  used  by  him  who  buildeth  a  fold /or  cattle*  And 
now  have  we  made  the  Koran  easy  for  admonition :  but  is  any  one  admo- 
nished thereby?  The  people  of  Lot  charged  his  preaching  with  falsehood: 
but  we  sent  against  them  a  wind  driving  a  shower  of  stones,  ivhich  destroyed 
them  all  except  the  family  of  Lot ;  whom  we  delivered  early  in  the  morning, 
through  favour  from  us.  Thus  do  we  reward  those  who  are  thankful.  And 
Lot  had  warned  them  of  our  severity  in  chastising;  but  they  doubted 
of  that  warning.  And  they  demanded  his  guests  of  him,  that  they  might 
abuse  them  :  but  we  put  out  their  eyes,"  saying,  Taste  my  vengeance,  and 
my  threatening.  And  early  in  the  morning  a  lasting  punishment  i'  surprised 
them.  Taste,  therefore,  my  vengeance,  and  my  threatening.^  Now  have 
we  made  the  Koran  easy  for  admonition :  but  is  any  one  admonished 
thereby  ?  The  warning  of  Moses  also  came  unto  the  people  of  Pharaoh  ; 
but  they  charged  every  one  of  our  signs  with  imposture :  wherefore  wc 
chastised  them  with  a  mighty  and  irresistible  chastisement.  Are  your 
unbelievers,  O  Meccans,  better  than  these  ?  Is  immunity  from  punishment 
promised  unto  you  in  the  scriptures  ?  Do  they  say.  We  are  a  body  of  men 
able  to  prevail  against  our  enemies  f  The  multitude  shall  surely  be  put  to 
flight,  and  shall  turn  their  back.*  But  the  hour  of  judgment  is  their  threat- 
ened time  of  punishment :  *■  and  that  hour  shall  be  more  grievous  and  more 
bitter  than  their  afflictions  in  this  life.  Verily  the  wicked  loander  in  error, 
and  shall  be  tormented  hereafter  in  burning  flames.  On  that  day  they  shall 
be  dragged  into  the  fire  on  their  faces  ;  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them.,  Taste 
ye  the  touch  of  hell.  All  things  have  we  created  bound  by  a  fixed  decree  : 
and  our  command  is  no  more  than  a  single  word^^  like  the  twinkling  of  an 
eye.J     We  have  formerly  destroyed  nations  like  unto  you ;  but  is  any  of 

•"  Or,  as  the  word  also  imports,  He  became  resolute  and  daring. 

"  The  words  may  signify  either  the  dry  houghs  with  which,  in  the  east,  they  make  folds 
or  enclosures,  to  fence  their  cattle  from  wind  and  cold  ;  or  the  stubble  and  other  stuff  with 
which  they  litter  them  in  those  folds  during  the  winter  season. 

*  "A  single  cry  was  heard,  and  they  were  reduced  like  unto  dry  and  chopped  straw." 
—Savory. 

"  So  that  their  sockets  became  filled  up  even  with  the  other  parts  of  their  faces.  This, 
it  is  said,  was  done  by  one  stroke  of  the  wing  of  the  angel  Gabriel.     See  chap.  11,  p.  183. 

p  Under  which  they  shall  continue  till  they  receive  their  full  punishment  in  hell. 

t  "  They  wished  to  wrest  from  him  his  guests.  We  deprived  them  of  sight,  and  we  said 
unto  them,  Taste  the  punishments  which  have  been  foretold  unto  you.  A  terrible  scourge 
rushed  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  Undergo  the  punishment 
with  which  ye  have  been  threatened." — Savary. 

'  This  prophecy  was  fulfilled  by  the  overthrow  of  the  Koreish  at  Bedr.  It  is  related, 
from  a  tradition  of  Omar,  that  when  this  passage  was  revealed,  Mohammed  professed  him- 
self to  be  ignorant  of  its  true  meaning ;  but  on  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Bedr,  he  repeated 
these  words  as  he  was  putting  on  his  coat  of  mail.'' 

'  t.  e.  The  time  when  they  shall  receive  their  full  punishment ;  what  they  suffer  in  this 
world  being  only  the  forerunner  or  earnest  of  what  they  shall  feel  in  the  next. 

•  viz.  Kun,  i.  e.  Be.  The  passage  may  also  be  rendered.  The  execution  of  our  purpose  is 
but  a  single  act,  exerted  in  a  moment.  Some  suppose  it  refers  to  the  business  of  the  day 
of  judgment.* 

t  "  And  in  the  twinkhng  of  an  eye  we  are  obeyed." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  •  Idem. 


432  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lv. 

you  warned  by  their  example  f  Every  thing  which  they  do  is  recorded  in 
the  books  kept  by  the  guardian  angels  :  and  every  action  both  small  and 
great,  is  written  down  in  the  preserved  table.  Moreover  the  pious  shall 
dwell  among  gardens  and  rivers,  in  the  assembly  of  truth,  in  the  presence 
of  a  most  potent  king. 


CHAPTER   LV. 
INTITLED,  THE  MERCIFUL;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.' 

IN  THE  NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

The  Merciful  hath  taught  his  servant  the  Koran.  He  created  man :  he 
hath  taught  him  distinct  speech.*  The  sun  and  the  moon  run  their  courses 
according  to  a  certain  rule  :  and  the  vegetables  which  creep  on  the  ground, 
and  the  trees  submit  to  his  hisposition.  He  also  raised  the  heaven  ;  and  he 
appointed  the  balance,*^  that  ye  should  not  transgress  in  respect  to  the 
balance  :  wherefore  observe  a  just  weight ;  and  diminish  not  the  balance. 
And  the  earth  hath  he  prepared  for  living  creatures :  therein  are  various 
fruits,  and  palm-trees  bearing  sheaths  of  flowers  ;  and  grain  having  chaff, 
and  leaves.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully 
deny  ?  ^  He  created  man  of  dried  clay  like  an  earthen  vessel :  but  he  created 
the  genii  of  fire  clear  from  smoke.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  bene- 
fits will  ye  ungratefully  deny  .'*  He  is  the  Lord  of  the  east,  and  the  Lord 
of  the  west.^  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungrate- 
fully deny.?  He  hath  let  loose  the  two  seas,y|  that  they  meet  each  an- 
other :  between  them  is  placed  a  bar  which  they  cannot  pass.  Which, 
therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  From  them 
are  taken  forth  unions  and   lesser  pearls.J     Which,  therefore,  of  your 

'  Most  of  the  commentators  doubt  whether  this  chapter  was  revealed  at  Mecca  or  at 
Medina ;  or  partly  at  the  one  place,  and  partly  at  the  other. 

*  "  He  endowed  them  with  understanding." — Savary. 
"Or  justice  and  equity  in  mutual  dealings. 

'  The  words  are  directed  to  the  two  species  of  rational  creatures,  men  and  genii ;  the 
verb  and  the  pronoun  being  in  the  dual  number. 

This  verse  is  intercalated,  or  repeated  by  way  of  burden,  throughout  the  whole  chapter, 
no  less  than  thirty-one  limes,  which  was  done,  as  Marracci  guesses,  in  imitation  of 
David.'  (With  respect  to  this  verse,  Jaber  tells  the  following  story.  The  envoy  of  the 
Lord  read  to  us  the  chapter  intituled  The  Merciful.  When  he  had  ended,  perceiving  that 
none  of  us  spoke,  he  addressed  this  reproach  to  us.  Why  do  you  remain  silent  ?  The 
genii  know  better  how  to  answer  than  you  do.  Whenever  I  have  read  this  verse  to  them, 
they  have  exclaimed,  Lord,  we  deny  not  any  of  thy  benefits.  Blessed  be  the  name  of  the 
Lord. — Savary.) 

*  The  original  words  are  both  in  the  dual  number,  and  signify  the  different  points  of  the 
horizon  at  which  the  sun  rises  and  sets  at  the  summer  and  winter  solstice.  See  chap.  37, 
p.  366,  note  i. 

y  Of  salt  water  and  fresh  ; '  or  the  Persian  and  Mediterranean  seas.*^ 

t  "  He  hath  balanced  the  waters  of  the  two  neighbouring  seas." — Savary. 

X  "  Both  of  them  furnish  pearls  and  coral." — Savary. 

'  See  Psalm  cxxxvi.  »  See  chap.  25,  p.  299.  ^A\  Beidawi, 


CHAP.  LV. 


AL  KORAN.  433 


Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  His  also  are  the  ships,  carry- 
ing their  sails  aloft  in  the  sea  like  mountains.  Which,  therefore,  of  your 
Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  Every  creature  which  I'lveth 
on  the  earth  is  subject  to  decay :  but  the  glorious  and  honourable  counte- 
nance of  thy  Lord  shall  remain /or  ever.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's 
benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  Unto  him  do  all  creatures  which  are 
in  heaven  and  earth  make  petition :  every  day  is  he  employed  in  so77ie  new 
work.^  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully 
deny  ?  We  will  surely  attend  to  judge  you,  O  men  and  genii,  at  the  last 
day.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ? 
O  ye  collective  body  of  genii  and  men,  if  ye  be  able  to  pass  out  of  the 
confines  of  heaven  and  earth,'^  pass  forth  :*  ye  shall  not  pass  forth  but  by 
absolute  power.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungrate- 
fully deny  ?  A  flame  of  fire  without  smoke,  and  a  smoke  without  flame  " 
shall  be  sent  down  upon  you;  and  ye  shall  not  be  able  to  defend  your- 
selves therefrom.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  un- 
gratefully deny  ?  And  when  the  heaven  shall  be  rent  in  sunder,  and  shall 
become  red  as  a  rose,  and  shall  melt  like  ointment  :•=  "f  (Which,  therefore, 
of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?)  On  that  day  neither 
man  nor  genius  shall  be  asked  concerning  his  sin.*^  Which,  therefore,  of 
your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  The  wicked  shall  be 
known  by  their  marks ;  ^  and  they  shall  be  taken  by  the  forelocks,  and 
the  feet,  and  shall  he  cast  into  hell.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's 
benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  This  is  hell,  which  the  wicked 
deny  as  a  falsehood :  they  shall  pass  to  and  fro  between  the  same  and 
hot  boiling  water.'  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye 
ungratefully  deny  ^  But  for  him  who  dreadeth  the  tribunal  of  his 
Lord  are  prepared  two  gardens  :s  (Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's 
benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny.?)  planted  with  shady  trees.     Which, 

^  In  executing  those  things  which  he  hath  decreed  from  eternity,  by  giving  Hfe  and 
death,  raising  one  and  abasing  another,  hearing  prayers  and  granting  petitions,  &c.^ 

■  To  fly  from  the  power,  and  to  avoid  the  decree  of  God. 

*  "  O  ye  !  men  and  genii,  our  vigilant  eyes  watch  all  your  actions." — Savary. 

**  Or,  as  the  word  also  signifies,  molten  brass,  which  shall  be  poured  on  the  heads  of  the 
damned. 

"  Or,  shall  appear  like  red  leather ;  according  to  a  different  signification  of  the  original 
word. 

t  "  When  the  heaven  shall  open,  it  shall  shine  like  unto  a  rose,  or  a  skin  dyed  red." — 
Savary. 

■*  For  their  crimes  will  be  known  by  their  difierent  marks;  as  it  follows  in  the  texv. 
This,  says  al  Beidawi,  is  to  be  understood  of  the  time  when  they  shall  be  raised  to  hfe, 
and  shall  be  led  towards  the  tribunal :  for  when  they  come  to  trial,  they  will  then  undergo 
an  examination,  as  is  declared  in  several  places  of  the  Koran. 

^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  60,  &-c. 

'  For  the  only  respite  they  shall  have  from  the  flames  of  hell  will  be  when  they  are 
suffered  to  go  to  drink  this  scalding  liquor.     See  chap.  37,  p.  367. 

« i.  e.  One  distinct  paradise  for  men,  and  another  for  genii;  or,  as  some  imagine,  two 
gardens  for  each  person ;  one  as  a  reward  due  to  his  works,  and  the  other  as  a  free  and 
superabundant  gift,  3ic. 

3  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


434  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lv. 

therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  In  each 
of  them  shall  he  two  fountains  flowing.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's 
benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny }  In  each  of  them  shall  there  he  of 
every  fruit  two  kinds.''*  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will 
ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  They  shall  repose  on  couches,  the  linings  whereof 
shall  he  of  thick  silk  interwoven  with  gold :  and  the  fruit  of  the  two  gar- 
dens shall  he  near  at  hand  to  gather. ''\  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's 
benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny.?  Therein  shall  receive  them  beauteous 
damsels^  refraining  their  eyes  from  heholding  any  hesides  their  spouses  : 
whom  no  man  shall  have  deflowered  before  them,  neither  any  genius : 
(Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?) 
Having  complexions  like  rubies  and  pearls.  Which,  therefore,  of  your 
Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny }  Shall  the  reward  of  gooa 
works  he  any  other  good  }  AVhich,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will 
ye  ungratefully  deny  ?  And  besides  these  there  shall  he  two  other  gardens : J 
(Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  ?) 
Of  a  dark  green.^J  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  un- 
gratefully deny .''  In  each  of  them  shall  he  two  fountains  pouring  forth 
plenty  of  water.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  un- 
gratefully deny }  In  each  of  them  shall  he  fruits,  and  palm-trees,  and 
pomegranates.  Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungrate- 
fully deny  }  Therein  shall  he  agreeable  and  beauteous  damsels  :  Which, 
therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny  .?  Having  fine 
black  eyes,  and  kept  in  pavilions  from  public  view  :  Which,  therefore,  of 
your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny .''  Whom  no  man  shall 
have  deflowered  before  their  destined  spouses,  nor  any  genius.  Which, 
therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny .''  Therein 
shall  they  delight  themselves,  lying  on  green  cushions  and  beautiful  carpets. 
Which,  therefore,  of  your  Lord's  benefits  will  ye  ungratefully  deny.? 
Blessed  be  the  name  of  thy  Lord,  possessed  of  glory  and  honour ! 

■^  Some  being  known,  and  like  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  and  others  of  new  and  unknown 
species:  or,  fruits  both  green  and  ripe. 

*  "  In  each  of  them  shall  grow  divers  fruits  in  abundance." — Savary. 

'  So  that  a  man  may  reach  them  as  he  sits  or  lies  down. 

t  "  The  guests  of  this  abode,  reposing  on  silken  beds,  enriched  with  gold,  shall  enjoy 
all  these  blessings  at  their  pleasure." — Savary. 

^  For  the  inferior  classes  of  the  inhabitants  of  paradise. 

•^  From  hence,  says  al  Beidawi,  it  may  be  inferred  that  these  gardens  will  chiefly  pro- 
duce herbs,  or  the  inferior  sorts  of  vegetables;  whereas  the  former  will  be  planted  chiefly 
with  fruit-trees.  The  following  part  of  this  description  also  falls  short  of  that  of  the  other 
gardens,  prepared  for  the  superior  classes. 

t  "  That  shall  be  dressed  in  eternal  verdure." — Savary. 


CHAP.  LVi.  AL  KORAN.  435 

CHAPTER   LVI. 
INTITLED,  THE  INEVITABLE;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

When  the  inevitable^  day  of  judgment  shall  suddenly  come,  no  soul  shall 
charge  ilie  prediction  of  its  coming  with  falsehood  :  it  will  abase  some,  and 
exalt  others.  When  the  earth  shall  be  shaken  with  a  violent  shock ;  and 
the  mountains  shall  be  dashed  in  pieces,  and  shall  become  as  dust  scattered 
abroad ;  and  ye  shall  be  separated  into  three  distinct  classes :  the  com- 
panions of  the  right  hand ;  (how  happy  shall  the  companions  of  the  right 
hand  he  !)  and  the  companions  of  the  left  hand  :  ■"  (how  miserable  shall  the 
companions  of  the  left  hand  be  !)  and  those  who  have  preceded  others 
in  the  faith  shall  precede  them  to  paradise.""  These  are  they  who  shall 
approach  near  unto  God  :  they  shall  dioell  in  gardens  of  delight :  (There 
shall  be  many  of  the  former  religions ;  and  few  of  the  last.")  Reposing  on 
couches  adorned  with  gold  and  precious  stones  ;  sitting  opposite  to  one 
another  thereon. p*  Youths  which  shall  continue  in  their  bloom  for  ever, 
shall  go  round  about  to  attend  them,  with  goblets,  and  beakers,  and  a  cup  of 
flowing  wine  :  their  heads  shall  not  ache  by  drinking  the  same,  neither 
shall  their  reason  be  disturbed :  and  with  fruits  of  the  sorts  which  they 
shall  choose,  and  the  flesh  of  birds  of  the  kind  which  they  shall  desire- 
And  there  shall  accompany  them  fair  damsels  having  large  black  eyes; 
resembling  pearls  hidden  in  their  shells  :  as  a  reward  for  that  which 
they  shall  have  wrought.  They  shall  not  hear  therein  any  vain  discourse,  or 
any  charge  of  sin  ;  but  only  the  salutation.  Peace  !  Peace !  And  the  com- 
panions of  the  right  hand  (how  happy  shall  the  companions  of  the 
right  hand  be  !)  shall  have  their  abode  among  lote  trees  free  from  thorns, 
and  trees  of  mauz  ^  loaded  regularly  with  their  produce  from  top  to  bot- 

'  The  original  word,  the  force  whereof  cannot  well  be  expressed  by  a  single  one  in 
English,  signifies  a  calamitous  accident,  which  falls  surely,  and  with  sudden  violence  ;  and 
is  therefore  made  use  of  here  to  design  the  day  of  judgment. 

""  That  is,  the  blessed,  and  the  damned:  who  may  be  thus  distinguished  here,  because 
the  books  wherein  their  actions  are  registered  will  be  delivered  into  the  right  hands  of 
the  former,  and  into  the  left  hands  of  the  latter  :  ^  though  the  words  translated  right  hand 
and  left  hand,  do  also  signify  happiness,  and  misery. 

"  Either  the  first  converts  to  Mohammedism,  or  the  prophets,  who  were  the  respective 
leaders  of  their  people,  or  any  persons  who  have  been  eminent  examples  of  piety  and 
virtue,  may  be  here  intended.  The  original  words  literally  rendered  are,  The  leaders,  the 
leaders;  which  repetition,  as  some  suppose,  was  designed  to  express  the  dignity  of  these 
persons,  and  the  certainty  of  their  future  glory  and  happiness.* 

"  i.  e.  There  should  be  more  leaders,  who  have  preceded  others  in  faith  and  good  works, 
among  the  followers  of  the  several  prophets  from  Adam  down  to  Mohammed,  than  of  the 
followers  of  Mohammed  himself.' 

p  See  chap.  15,  p.  212,  note  h. 

*  "  They  shall  look  upon  each  other  benevolently." — Savary. 

'^  The  original  word  Talh  is  the  name,  not  only  of  the  mauz,"  but  also  of  a  very  tall 
and  thorny  tree,  which  bears  abundance  of  flowers  of  an  agreeable  smell, ^  and  seems  to 
be  the  Acacia. 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  *  lidem.  '  lidem.  '  See  p.  370.  ■■  Vide  J. 

Leon.  Descript.  Africae,  lib.  9. 


436  AL  KOEAN.  chap.  lvi. 

torn  ;  *  under  an  extended  shade,  near  a  flowing  water, »•  and  amidst  fruits  in 
abundance,  which  shall  not  fail,  nor  shall  be  forbidden  to  be  gathered  :  and 
they  shall  repose  themselves  on  lofty  beds.«  Verily  we  have  created  the 
damsels  of  paradise  by  a  peculiar  creation :  *  and  we  have  made  them 
virgins,''  beloved  by  their  husbands,  of  equal  age  ivith  them  ;  for  the  delight 
of  the  companions  of  the  right  hand.  There  shall  he  many  of  the  former 
religions^  and  many  of  the  latter.^  And  the  companions  of  the  left  hand 
(how  miserable  shall  the  companions  of  the  left  hand  be !)  shall  dwell  amidst 
burning  winds,^  and  scalding  water,  under  the  shade  of  a  black  smoke, 
neither  cool  nor  agreeable.  For  they  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  life  before 
this,  ichile  on  earth ;  and  obstinately  persisted  in  a  heinous  wickedness : 
and  they  said.  After  we  shall  have  died,  and  become  dust  and  bones,  shall 
we  surely  be  raised  to  life  ^  Shall  our  forefathers  also  be  raised  loith  us  f 
Say,  Verily  both  the  first  and  the  last  shall  surely  be  gathered  together 
to  judgment^  at  the  prefixed  time  of  a  known  day.  Then  ye,  0  men.,  who 
have  erred,  and  denied  the  resurrection  as  a  falsehood,  shall  surely  eat 
of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  al  Zakkum,  and  shall  fill  your  bellies  therewith : 
and  ye  shall  drink  thereon  boiling  water ;  and  ye  shall  drink  as  a  thirsty 
camel  drinketh.  This  shall  be  their  entertainment  on  the  day  of  judgment. 
We  have  created  you :  will  ye  not  therefore  believe  that  we  can  raise  you 
from  the  dead  f-  What  think  ye  ?  The  seed  which  ye  emit,  do  ye  create 
the  same,  or  are  we  the  creators  thereof?  We  have  decreed  death  unto  you 
all :  and  we  shall  not  be  prevented.  We  are  able  to  substitute  others  like  unto 
you  in  your  stead.,  and  to  produce  you  again  in  the  condition  or  form  which 
ye  know  not.  Ye  know  the  original  production  by  creation  ;  will  ye  not 
therefore  consider  that  we  are  able  to  produce  you  by  resuscitation  f  What 
think  ye  ?     The  grain  which  ye  sow,  do  ye  cause  the  same  to  spring  forth, 

*  "  They  shall  walk  among  trees  of  Nabe,  which  are  devoid  of  thorns,  and  in  the  midst 
of  Banana  trees,  arranged  in  a  pleasing  order." — Savary. 

■■  Which  shall  be  conveyed  in  channels  to  such  places,  and  in  such  manner,  as  every 
one  shall  desire.^  Al  Beidawi  observes  that  the  condition  of  the  few  who  have  preceded 
others  in  faith  and  good  works  is  represented  by  whatever  may  render  a  city  life  agreea- 
ble ;  and  that  the  condition  of  the  companions  of  the  right  hand,  or  the  generaUty  of  the 
blessed,  is  represented  by  those  things  which  make  the  principal  pleasure  of  a  country 
life  ;  and  that  this  is  done"  to  show  the  difference  of  the  two  conditions. 

«  The  word  translated  beds  signifies  also,  by  way  of  metaphor,  wives  or  concubines;  and 
if  the  latter  sense  be  preferred,  the  passage  may  be  rendered  thus.  And  they  shall  enjoy 
damsels  raised  on  lofty  couches,  whom  we  have  created,  &.c. 

'  Having  created  them  purposely  of  finer  materials  than  the  females  of  this  world,  and 
subject  to  none  of  those  inconveniences  which  are  natural  to  the  sex."  Some  understand 
this  passage  of  the  beatified  women ;  who,  though  they  die  old  and  ugly,  shall  yet  be 
restored  to  their  youth  and  beauty  in  paradise.* 

"  For  how  often  soever  their  husbands  shall  go  in  unto  them,  they  shall  always  find 
them  virgins. 

"  Father  Marracci  thinks  this  to  be  a  manifest  contradiction  to  what  is  said  above,  There 
shall  be  many  of  the  former,  and  few  of  the  latter:  but  al  Beidawi  obviates  such  an  objec- 
tion, by  observing  that  the  preceding  passage  speaks  of  the  leaders  only,  and  those  who 
have  preceded  others  in  faith  and  good  works,  and  the  passage  before  us  speaks  of  the 
righteous  of  inferior  merit  and  degree  ;  so  that  though  there  be  many  of  both  sorts,  yet 
there  may  be  few  of  one  sort,  comparatively  speaking,  in  respect  to  the  other. 

^  Which  shall  penetrate  into  the  passages  of  their  bodies. 

a:  Beidawi.        ''  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  69,  &c.        *  See  ibid.  p.  73. 


CHAP.  Lvi.  AL  KORAN.  437 

or  do  we  cause  it  to  spring  forth  ?  If  we  pleased,  verily  we  could  render 
the  same  dry  and  fruitless,  so  that  ye  would  not  cease  to  wonder,^  sayings 
Verily  we  have  contracted  debts  *ybr  seed  and  labour,  but  we  are  not  per- 
mitted'' to  reap  the  fruit  thereof.  What  think  ye  ?  The  water  which  ye 
drink,  do  ye  send  down  the  same  from  the  clouds,  or  are  we  the  senders 
thereof  f  Jf  we  pleased,  we  could  render  the  same  brackish  :  will  ye  not 
therefore  give  thanks }  What  think  ye  ?  The  fire  which  ye  strike,  do  ye 
produce  the  tree  whence  ye  obtain  the  same,*"  or  are  we  the  producers  , 
thereof?  We  have  ordained  the  same  for  an  admonition,'^  and  an  advan- 
tage to  those  who  travel  through  the  deserts.  Wherefore  praise  the  name 
of  thy  Lord,  the  great  God.  Moreover  I  swear''  by  the  setting  of  the 
stars  ;  (and  it  is  surely  a  great  oath,  if  ye  knew  it ;)  that  this  is  the  excel- 
lent Koran,  the  original  ichereof  is  written  in  the  preserved  book  :  none 
shall  touch  the  same,  except  those  who  are  clean.'^  It  is  a  revelation  from 
the  Lord  of  all  creatures.  Will  ye,  therefore,  despise  this  new  revelation  } 
And  do  ye  make  this  return  for  your  food  which  ye  receive  from  God, 
that  ye  deny  yourselves  to  be  obliged  to  him  for  the  sameP  When  the  soul 
of  a  dying  person  cometh  up  to  his  throat,  and  ye  at  the  same  time  are 
looking  on ;  (and  we  are  nigher  unto  him  than  ye,  but  ye  see  not  his  true 
condition  ;*)  would  ye  not,  if  ye  are  not  to  be  rewarded  for  your  actions 
hereafter,  cause  the  same  to  return  into  the  body,  if  ye  speak  the  truth  ?» 
And  whether  he  be  of  those  who  shall  approach  near  unto  God,^  his 
reioard  shall  be  rest,  and  mercy,  and  a  garden  of  delights  :  or  whether  he 
be  of  the  companions  of  the  right  hand,  he  shall  be  saluted  with  the  salu- 
tation^ Peace  be  unto  thee  !  by  the  companions  of  the  right  hand,  his 
brethren  :  or  whether  he  be  of  those  who  have  rejected  the  true  faith,  and 

y  Or  to  repent  of  your  time  and  labour  bestowed  to  little  purpose,  &c. 

^  Or,  We  are  undone. 

^  Or,  We  are  unfortunate  wretches,  who  are  denied  the  necessaries  of  life. 

"  See  chap.  36,  p.  365,  note  f 

*=  To  put  men  in  mind  of  the  resurrection  ;  =  which  the  production  of  fire  in  some  sort 
resembles :  or,  of  the  fire  of  hell.^ 

•^  The  particle  la  is  generally  supposed  to  be  intensive  in  this  place  ;  but  if  it  be  taken 
for  a  negative,  the  words  must  be  translated,  I  will  not  of  do  not  swear,  because  what  is 
here  asserted  is  too  manifest  to  need  the  confirmation  of  an  oath.*  (Savary  adopts  the 
latter  reading.) 

*  Or,  Let  none  touch  the  same,  &c.  Purity  both  of  body  and  mind  being  requisite  in 
him  who  would  use  this  book  with  the  respect  he  ought,  and  hopes  to  edify  by  it :  for 
which  reason  these  words  are  usually  written  on  the  cover.* 

^  By  ascribing  the  rains,  which  fertilize  your  lands,  to  the  influence  of  the  stars.® 
Some  copies,  instead  of  rizhacom,  i.  e.  your  food,  read  shocracom,  i.  c.  your  gratitude ; 

and  then  the  passage  may  be  rendered  thus.  And  do  ye  make  this  return  of  gratitude  for 

God's  revealing  the  Koran,  that  ye  reject  the  same  as  a  fiction  ? 

*  "  When  some  one  among  you  is  about  to  expire,  and  that  you  see  him  struggling 
against  death,  we  are  nigher  unto  them  than  ye  are,  but  ye  perceive  us  not." — Savary. 

« The  meaning  of  this  obscure  passage  is.  If  ye  shall  not  be  obliged  to  give  an  account 
of  your  actions  at  the  last  day,  as  by  your  denying  the  resurrection  ye  seem  to  believe, 
cause  the  soul  of  the  dying  person  to  return  into  his  body  ;  for  ye  may  as  easily  do  that 
as  avoid  the  general  judgment.' 

^  That  is,  of  the  leaders,  or  first  professors  of  the  faith. 

2  See  chap.  36,  p.  365.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *  Idem.  »  See  the  Prelim.  Disc, 

sect,  3,  p.  49.  «  See  ibid.  sect.  1,  p.  22,  23.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi. 


438  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lvii. 

gone  astray,  his  entertainment  shall  consist  of  boiling  water,  and  the  burn- 
ing of  hell /re.  Verily  this  is  a  certain  truth.  Wherefore  praise  the  name 
of  thy  Lord,  the  great  God. 


CHAPTER   LVII 

INTITLED,  IRON;'  REVEALED  AT  MECCA,  OR  AT  MEDINA.^ 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Whatever  ?s  m  heaven  and  earth  singeth  praise  unto  God  ;  and  he  is 
mighty  and  wise.  His  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth ;  he  giveth 
life,  and  he  putteth  to  death ;  and  he  is  almighty.  He  is  the  first,  and  the 
last ;  the  manifest  and  the  hidden :  and  he  knoweth  all  things.  It  is  he 
who  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  in  six  days,  and  then  ascended  his 
throne.  He  knoweth  that  which  entereth  into  the  earth,  and  that  which 
issueth  out  of  the  same,  and  that  which  descendeth  from  heaven,  and  that 
which  ascendeth  thereto ;  and  he  is  with  you,  wheresoever  ye  be :  for 
God  seeth  that  which  ye  do.  His  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth ; 
and  unto  God  shall  all  things  return.  He  causeth  the  night  to  succeed 
the  day,  and  he  causeth  the  day  to  succeed  the  night ;  and  he  knoweth 
the  innermost  part  of  men^s  breasts.  Believe  in  God  and  his  apostle,  and 
lay  out  in  alms  a  part  of  the  wealth  whereof  God  hath  made  you  in- 
heritors :  for  unto  such  of  you  as  believe,  and  bestow  alms,  shall  be  given 
a  great  reward.  And  what  aileth  you,  that  ye  believe  not  in  God,  when 
the  apostle  inviteth  you  to  believe  in  your  Lord  ;  and  he  hath  received 
your  covenant^  concerning  this  matter^  if  ye  believe  any  proposition?* 
It  is  he  who  hath  sent  down  unto  his  servant  evident  signs,  that  he  may 
lead  you  out  of  darkness  into  light ;  for  God  is  compassionate  and  mer- 
ciful unto  you.  And  what  aileth  you,  that  ye  contribute  not  of  your  sub- 
stance for  the  defence  of  God's  true  religion .''  Since  unto  God  apper- 
taineth  the  inheritance  of  heaven  and  earth.  Those  among  you  who  shall 
have  contributed  and  fought  in  defence  of  the  faith^  before  the  taking  of 
Mecca,  shall  not  be  held  equal  with  those  who  shall  contribute  and  fght  for 
the  same  afterwards}  These  shall  be  superior  in  degree  unto  those  who 
shall  contribute  and  fight  for  the  propagation  of  the  faith,  after  the  above- 
mentioned  success;  but  unto  all  hath  God  promised  a  most  excellent 
reward ;  and  God  well  knoweth  that  which  ye  do.  Who  is  he  that  will 
lend  unto  God  an  acceptable  loan }  for  he  will  double  the  same  unto  him, 
and  he  shall  receive  moreover  an  honourable  reward.^  On  a  certain  day, 
thou  shalt  see  the  true  believers  of  both  sexes  :  their  light  shall  run  before 

'  The  word  occurs  toward  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

^  It  is  uncertain  which  of  the  two  places  was  the  scene  of  revelation  of  this  chapter. 

"  That  is,  ye  are  obhged  to  beheve  in  him  by  the  strongest  arguments  and  motives. 

*  "  If  your  hearts  are  sincere." — Savary. 

'  Because  afterwards  there  was  not  so  great  necessity  for  either ;  the  Mohammedan 
religion  being  firmly  established  by  that  great  success. 

t  "  Who  is  he  who  will  enter  into  the  glorious  covenant  of  God?  He  shall  prosper. 
An  inestimable  reward  shall  crown  his  devotedness." — iSavary. 


CHAP.  LVii.  AL  KORAN.  439 

them,  and  on  their  right  hands;™*  and  it  shall  he  said  unto  them^  Good 
tidings  unto  you  this  day :  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow :  ye  shall 
remain  therein  for  ever.  This  will  be  great  felicity.  On  that  day  the 
hypocritical  men  and  the  hypocritical  women  shall  say  unto  those  who 
believe,  Stay  for  us,"  that  we  may  borrow  some  of  your  light.  It  shall  be 
ans-wered,  Return  back  into  the  world,  and  seek  light.|  And  a  high  wall 
shall  be  set  betwixt  them,  wherein  shall  be  a  gate,  within  which  shall  be 
mercy ;  and  without  it,  over  against  the  same,  the  torment  of  J^ell.  The 
hypocrites  shall  call  out  unto  the  true  believers^  saying,  Were  we  not  with 
you  .?  They  shall  answer.  Yea ;  but  ye  seduced  your  own  souls  by  your 
hypocrisy ;  and  ye  waited  our  ruin ;  and  ye  doubted  concerning  the  faith ; 
and  your  wishes  deceived  you,  until  the  decree  of  God  came,  and  ye 
died  :  and  the  deceiver  deceived  you  concerning  God.  This  day,  there- 
fore, a  ransom  shall  not  be  accepted  of  you,  nor  of  those  who  have  been 
unbelievers.  Your  abode  shall  be  hell  fire:  this  is  what  ye  have  deserved; 
and  an  unhappy  journey  shall  it  be  thither !  Is  not  the  time  yet  come 
unto  those  who  believe,  that  their  hearts  should  humbly  submit  to  the 
admonition  of  God,  and  to  that  truth  which  hath  been  revealed ;  and  that 
they  be  not  as  those  unto  whom  the  scripture  was  given  heretofore,  and 
to  whom  the  time  of  forbearance  was  prolonged,  but  their  hearts  were 
hardened,  and  many  of  them  were  wicked  doers  ?  Know  that  God  quick- 
eneth  the  earth,  after  it  hath  been  dead.  Now  have  we  distinctly  declared 
our  signs  unto  you,  that  ye  may  understand.  Verily  as  to  the  almsgivers, 
both  men  and  women,  and  those  who  lend  unto  God  an  acceptable  loan, 
he  will  double  the  same  unto  them ;  and  they  shall  moreover  receive  an 
honourable  reward.J  And  they  who  believe  in  God  and  his  apostles, 
these  are  the  men  of  veracity,^  and  the  witnesses  in  the  presence  of  their 
Lord  :  they  shall  have  their  reward,  and  their  light.  But  as  to  those  who 
believe  not,  and  accuse  our  signs  of  falsehood,  they  shall  be  the  com- 
panions of  hell.  Know  that  this  present  life  is  only  a  toy  and  a  vain 
amusement :  and  worldly  pomp,  and  the  affectation  of  glory  among  you, 
and  the  multiplying  of  riches  and  children,  are  as  the  plants  nourished  by 
the  rain,  the  springing  up  whereof  delighteth  the  husbandmen ;  after-varde 
they  wither,  so  that  thou  seest  the  same  turned  yellow,  and  at  length 
they  become  dry  stubble.  And  in  the  life  to  come  will  be  a  severe  punish- 
ment/or those  who  covet  worldly  grandeur ;  and  pardon  from  God,  and 
favour  for  those  who  renounce  it :  for  this  present  life  is  no  other  than  a 
deceitful  provision.     Hasten  with  emulation  to  obtain  pardon  from  your 

™  One  light  leading  them  the  right  way  to  paradise,  and  the  other  proceeding  from  the 
book  wherein  their  actions  are  recorded,  which  they  will  hold  in  their  right  hand. 

*  "  'I'hou  shalt  one  day  see  the  faithful  encompassed  by  a  resplendent  lustre." — Savary. 

°  For  the  righteous  will  hasten  to  paradise  swift  as  lightning. 

t  "  Remain,"  it  shall  be  replied  unto  them,  "  remain  in  darkness." — Savari/. 

t  "  Those  who  shall  have  entered  into  the  holy  covenant,  and  who  support  it  by  their 
riches,  shall  be  repaid  twofold  that  which  they  shall  have  given,  and  shall  be  magnifi- 
cently rewarded." — Savary. 

'^  "  These  are  the  true  believers." — Savary. 


440  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lvii. 

Lord,  and  paradise,  the  extent  whereof  equalleth  the  extent  of  heaven  and 
earth,  prepared  for  those  who  believe  in  God  and  his  apostles.  This 
is  the  bounty  of  God  :  he  will  give  the  same  unto  whom  he  pleaseth ;  and 
God  is  endued  with  great  bounty.  No  accident  happeneth  in  the  earth, 
nor  in  your  persons,  but  the  same  was  entered  in  the  book  of  our  decrees, 
before  we  created  it :  verily  this  is  easy  with  God  :  and  this  is  icritten 
lest  ye  ijnmoderaiely  grieve  for  the  good  which  escapeth  you,  or  rejoice 
for  that  which  happeneth  unto  you;  for  God  loveth  no  proud  or  vain- 
glorious person,  or  those  who  are  covetous,  and  command  men  covetous- 
ness.  And  whoso  turneth  aside  from  giving  alms ;  verily  God  is  self- 
sufficient,  worthy  to  be  praised.  We  formerly  sent  our  apostles  with 
evident  miracles  and  arguments ;  and  we  sent  down  with  them  the  scrip- 
tures, and  the  balance,"  that  men  might  observe  justice :  and  we  sent  them 
down  iron,p  wherein  is  mighty  strength  for  war,i  and  various  advantages 
unto  mankind:*  that  God  may  know  who  assisteth  him  and  his  apostles 
in  secret;'"  for  God  is  strong  and  mighty.  We  formerly  sent  Noah  and 
Abraham,  and  we  established  in  their  posterity  the  gift  of  prophecy,  and 
the  scripture  :  and  of  tliem  some  were  directed,  but  many  of  them  icere  evil 
doers.  Afterwards  we  caused  our  apostles  to  succeed  in  their  footsteps ; 
and  we  caused  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  to  succeed  them,  and  we  gave  him 
the  gospel :  and  we  put  in  the  hearts  of  those  that  followed  him  com- 
passion and  mercy :  but  as  to  the  monastic  state,  they  instituted  the  same 
(we  did  not  prescribe  it  to  them)  only  out  of  a  desire  to  please  God  ;  yet 
they  observed  not  the  same  as  it  ought  truly  to  have  been  observed.  And 
we  gave  unto  such  of  them  as  believed  their  reward :  but  many  of  them 
were  wicked  doers.  O  ye  who  believe  in  the  prophets,^  fear  God,  and 
believe  in  his  apostle  Mohammed :  he  will  give  you  two  portions  of  his 
mercy,t  and  he  will  ordain  you  a  light  wherein  ye  may  walk,  and  he  will 
forgive  you ;  for  God  is  ready  to  forgive,  and  merciful :  that  those  who 
have  received  the  scriptures  may  know  that  they  have  not  power  over  any 
of  the  favours  of,GoD,"  and  that  good  is  in  the  hand  of  God;  he  bestoweth 
the  same  on  whom  he  pleaseth;  for  God  is  endued  with  great  beneficence. 

°  i.  e.  A  rule  of  justice.  Some  think  that  a  balance  was  actually  brought  down  from 
heaven  by  the  angel  Gabriel  to  Noah,  the  use  of  which  he  was  ordered  to  introduce 
among  his  people. 

''  That  is.  We  taught  them  how  to  dig  the  same  from  mines.  Al  Zamakhshari  adds, 
that  Adam  is  said  to  have  brought  down  with  him  from  paradise  five  things  made  of  iron, 
'viz.  an  anvil,  a  pair  of  tongs,  two  hammers,  a  greater  and  a  lesser,  and  a  needle. 

•i  Warlike  instruments  and  weapons  being  generally  made  of  iron. 

*  "  We  taught  the  art  of  forging  iron,  to  render  it  fit  for  battle,  and  useful  to  the  wants 
of  hfe." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  sincerely  and  heartily. 

«  These  words  are  directed  to  the  Jews  and  Christians,  or  rather  to  the  latter  only. 

*  One  as  a  recompense  for  their  believing  in  Mohammed,  and  the  other  as  a  recompense 
for  their  believing  in  the  prophets  who  preceded  him :  for  they  will  not  lose  the  reward 
of  their  former  religion,  though  it  be  now  abrogated  by  the  promulgation  of  Islam.' 

°  i.  e.  That  they  cannot  expect  to  receive  any  of  the  favours  above-mentioned,  because 
they  believe  not  in  his  apostle,  and  those  favours  arc  annexed  to  him  in  faith  ;  or,  That 
they  have  not  power  to  dispose  of  God's  favours,  particularly  of  the  greatest  of  them,  the 
gift  of  prophecy,  so  as  to  appropriate  the  same  to  whom  they  please." 

'  Al  Beidawi,  ^  Idem. 


CHAP.  Lvm.  AL  KORAN.  441 

CHAPTER    LVIII. 
INTITLED,  SHE  WHO  DISPUTED ;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA.' 

IN   THE   NAME    OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

*[XXVIII.]  Now  hath  God  heard  the  speech  of  her  who  disputed 
with  thee  concerning  her  husband,  and  made  her  complaint  unto  God;^* 
and  God  hath  heard  your  mutual  discourse  :  for  God  both  heareth  and  seetli. 
As  to  those  among  you  who  divorce  their  wives,  by  declaring  that  they  will 
thereafter  regard  them  as  their  mothers ;  let  them  know  that  they  are  not 
their  mothers.  They  only  are  their  mothers  who  brought  them  forth  ;  >'  and 
they  certainly  utter  an  unjustifiable  saying  and  a  falsehood  :|  hut  God  is 
gracious  and  ready  to  forgive.  Those  who  divorce  their  wives  by  declar- 
ing that  they  will  for  the  future  regard  them  as  their  mothers,  and  after- 
wards would  repair^  what  they  have  said,  shall  he  obliged  to  free  a  captive* 
before  they  touch  one  another.J  That  is  what  ye  are  warned  to  perform  : 
and  God  is  well  apprized  of  that  which  ye  do.  And  whoso  findeth  not 
a  captive  to  redeem,  shall  observe  a  fast  of  two  consecutive  months,  before 
they  touch  one  another.  And  whoso  shall  not  be  able  to  fast  that  time, 
shall  feed  threescore  poor  men.  This  is  ordained  you,  that  ye  may  believe 
in  God  and  his  apostle.  These  are  the  statutes  of  God  :  and  for  the 
unbelievers  is  prepared  a  grievous  torment.  Verily  they  who  oppose  God 
and  his  apostle  shall  be  brought  low,  as  the  unbelievers  who  preceded  them 
were  brought  low.  And  now  have  we  sent  down  manifest  signs  :  and  an 
ignominious  punishment  awaiteth  the  unbelievers.     On  a  certain  day  God 

'  Some  are  of  opinion  that  the  first  ten  verses  of  this  chapter,  ending  with  these  words, 
and  fear  God,  before  whom  yc  shall  he  assembled,  were  revealed  at  Mecca,  and  the  rest 
at  Medina.' 

*  This  was  Khawla  bint  Thalaba,  the  wife  of  Aws  Ebn  al  Samat,  who,  being  divorced  by 
her  husband  by  a  form  in  use  among  the  Arabs  in  the  time  of  ignorance,  viz.  by  saying  to 
her,  Thou  art  to  me  as  the  back  of  my  mother,^  came  lo  ask  Mohammed's  opinion  whether 
they  were  necessarily  obhged  to  a  separation  ;  and  he  told  her  that  it  was  not  lawful  for  her 
to  cohabit  with  her  husband  any  more  :  to  which  she  replying,  that  her  husband  had  not 
put  her  away,  the  prophet  repeated  his  former  decision,  adding  that  such  form  of  speaking 
was  by  general  consent  understood  to  imply  a  perpetual  separation.  Upon  this  the  woman 
being  greatly  concerned  because  of  the  smallness  of  her  children,  went  home,  and  uttered 
her  complaint  to  God  in  prayer :  and  thereupon  this  passage  was  revealed,'  allowing  a  man 
to  take  his  wife  again,  notwithstanding  his  having  pronounced  the  above-mentioned  form 
of  divorce,  on  doing  certain  acts  of  charily,  or  mortification,  by  way  of  penance. 

*  "  Heaven  hath  heard  the  voice  of  her  who  brought  unto  thee  her  complaint  against 
her  husband,  and  who  raised  to  the  Lord  her  eyes  bathed  in  tears." — Savary. 

y  And  therefore  no  woman  ought  to  be  placed  in  the  same  degree  of  prohibition,  except 
those  whom  God  has  joined  with  them,  as  nursing  mothers,  and  the  wives  of  the  prophet.* 

t  "  They  cannot  become  their  wives." — Savary. 

»  This  seems  to  be  here  the  true  meaning  of  the  original  word,  which  properly  signifies 
to  return,  and  is  variously  expounded  by  the  Mohammedan  doctors. 

»  Which  captive,  according  to  the  most  received  decision,  ought  to  be  a  true  believer : 
as  is  ordered  for  the  expiation  of  manslaughter.' 

X  "  They  who  swear  to  live  no  longer  with  their  wives,  and  who  repent  of  their  oath, 
must  not  have  intercourse  with  them  before  they  have  hberated  a  captive." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  ^  See  chap.  33,  p.  341.  »  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c. 

*  Al  Beidawi.     See  chap.  4,  p.  62,  and  chap.  33,  p.  349.  »  See  ibid.  p.  71,  72. 

2n 


442  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lvih. 

shall  raise  them  all  to  life,  and  shall  declare  unto  them  that  which 
they  have  wrought.  God  hath  taken  an  exact  account  thereof;  but  they 
have  forgotten  the  same :  and  God  is  witness  over  all  things.  Dost  thou 
not  perceive  that  God  knoweth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ?  There 
is  no  private  discourse  among  three  persons,  but  he  is  the  fourth  of 
them;  nor  among  five,  but  he  is  the  sixth  of  them;  neither  among 
a  smaller  number  than  this,  nor  a  larger,  but  he  is  with  them, 
wheresoever  they  be :  and  he  will  declare  unto  them  that  which 
they  have  done,  on  the  day  of  resurrection ;  for  God  knoweth  all 
things.  Hast  thou  not  observed  those  who  have  been  forbidden  to  use 
clandestine  discourse,  but  afterwards  return  to  what  they  have  been 
forbidden,*  and  discourse  privily  among  themselves  of  wickedness, 
and  enmity,  and  disobedience  towards  the  apostle?''  And  when  they 
come  unto  thee,  they  salute  thee  with  that  form  of  salutation  wherewith 
God  doth  not  salute  thee ;  •=  and  they  say  among  themselves,  hy  way  of 
derision,  Would  not  God  punish  us  for  what  we  say,  if  this  man  were  a 
prophet  ?  Hell  shall  be  tlieir  sufficient  punishment :  they  shall  go  down 
into  the  same  to  be  burned  ;  and  an  unhappy  journey  shall  it  be  !  O  true 
believers,  when  ye  discourse  privily  together,  discourse  not  of  wickedness, 
and  enmity,  and  disobedience  towards  the  apostle;  but  discourse  of  justice 
and  piety  :  and  fear  God,  before  whom  ye  shall  be  assembled.  Verily  the 
clandestine  discourse  of  the  infidels  proceedeth  from  Satan,!  that  he  may 
grieve  the  true  believers :  but  there  shall  be  none  to  hurt  them  in  the 
least,  unless  by  the  permission  of  God  ;  wherefore  in  God  let  the  faithful 
trust.  O  true  believers,  when  it  is  said  unto  you.  Make  room  in  the 
assembly ;  make  room  :'^  God  will  grant  you  ample  room  in  paradise.  And 
when  it  is  said  unto  you,  Rise  up;  rise  up:  God  will  raise  those  of  you 
who  believe,  and  those  to  whom  knowledge  is  given,  to  superior  degrees  of 
honour ;  and  God  is  fully  apprized  of  that  which  ye  do.  O  true  believers, 
when  ye  go  to  speak  with  the  apostle,  give  alms  previously  to  your  dis- 
coursing with  him  ;^  this  will  be  better  for  you,  and  more  pure.  But  if  ye 
find  not  what  to  give^  verily  God  will  be  gracious  ancZ  merciful  unto  you.  Do 
ye  fear  to  give  alms  previously  to  your  discoursing  with  the  prophet,  lest  ye 
should  impoverish  yourselves  ?     Therefore  if  ye  do  it  not,  and  God  is  gra- 

*  '•  Hast  thou  considered  those  to  whom  clandestine  asscmbUes  have  been  forbidden, 
and  who  resort  to  them  in  spite  of  the  prohibition." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  the  Jews  and  hypocritical  Moslems,  who  caballed  privately  together  against 
Mohammed,  and  made  signs  to  one  another  when  they  saw  the  true  behevers  :  and  this 
they  continued  to  do,  notwithstanding  they  were  forbidden. 

=  "lt  seems  they  used,  instead  of  yl/  Salam  aleica,  i.  e.  Fence  be  upon  thee,  to  say,  Al  sum 
aleica,  i.  e.  Mischief  on  thee,  &c.^ 

t  "  The  clandestine  assemblies  are  prompted  by  Satan." — Savary. 

<*  In  this  passage  the  Moslems  are  commanded  to  give  place,  in  the  pubhc  assemblies,  to 
the  prophet  and  the  more  honourable  of  his  companions  ;  and  not  to  press  and  crowd  upon 
him.  as  they  used  to  do,  out  of  a  desire  of  being  near  him,  and  hearing  his  discourse. 

^  To  show  your  sincerity,  and  to  honour  the  apostle.  It  is  doubted  whether  this  be  a 
counsel  or  a  precept ;  but  however  it  continued  but  a  very  little  while  in  force,  being  agreed 
on  all  hands  to  be  abrogated  by  the  following  passage,  Do  ye  fear  to  give  alms,  &c.' 

8  Al  Beidgiwi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem. 


CHAP.  Lix.  AL  KORAN.  443 

cioiis  unto  you,  hy  dispensing  with  the  said  precept  for  the  future^  be  constant 
at  prayer,  and  pay  the  legal  alms ;  and  obey  God  and  his  apostle  in  all 
other  matters :  for  God  well  knoweth  that  which  ye  do.  Hast  thou  not 
observed  those  who  have  taken  for  their  friends  a  people  against  whom 
God  is  incensed.?'  They  are  neither  of  you,  nor  of  themis  and  they 
swear  to  a  lie''  knowingly.  God  hath  prepared  for  them  a  grievous 
punishment ;  for  it  is  evil  wliich  they  do.  They  have  taken  their  oaths 
for  a  cloak,  and  they  have  turned  men  aside  from  the  way  of  God  :* 
wherefore  a  shameful  punishment  awaiteth  them;  neither  their  wealth 
nor  their  children  shall  avail  them  at  all  against  God.  These  shall  he  the 
inhabitants  of  hell  fire ;  they  shall  abide  therein  for  ever.  On  a  certain  day 
God  shall  raise  them  all :  then  will  they  swear  unto  him,  as  they  swear 
now  unto  you,  imagining  that  it  will  be  of  service  to  them.  Are  they  not 
liars  }  Satan  hath  prevailed  against  them,  and  hath  caused  them  to  forget 
the  remembrance  of  God.  These  are  the  party  of  the  devil ;  and  shall  not 
the  party  of  the  devil  he  doomed  to  perdition .?  Verily  they  who  oppose 
God  and  his  apostle  shall  he  placed  among  the  most  vile.  God  hath 
written.  Verily  I  will  prevail,  and  my  apostles :  for  God  is  strong  and 
mighty.  Thou  shalt  not  find  people  who  believe  in  God  and  the  last  day 
to  love  him  who  opposeth  God  and  his  apostle ;  although  they  be  their 
fathers,  or  their  sons,  or  their  brethren,  or  their  nearest  relations.  In  the 
hearts  of  these  hath  God  written  faith ;  and  he  hath  strengthened  them 
with  his  spirit :  and  he  will  lead  them  into  gardens,  beneath  which  rivers 
flow,  to  remain  therein  for  ever.  God  is  well  pleased  in  them ;  and  they 
are  well  pleased  in  him.  These  are  the  party  of  God  :  and  shall  not  the 
party  of  God  prosper  ? 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  EMIGRATION;'    REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Whatever  is  in  heaven  and  earth  celebrateth  the  praise  of  God  : 
and  he  is  the  mighty,  the  wise.  It  was  he  who  caused  those  who  believed 
not,  of  the  people  who  receive  the  scripture,  to  depart  from  their  habi- 
tations at  the  first  emigration.j     Ye  did  not   think  that  they  would    go 

f  i.  e.  The  Jews. 

8  Being  hypocrites,  and  wavering  between  the  two  parties. 

'■•  i.  e.  They  have  solemnly  professed  Islam,  which  they  believe  not  in  their  hearts. 

*  "  Under  the  shelter  of  their  perjuries,  they  turn  aside  others  from  the  divine  law." 
— Savary. 

'  The  original  word  signifies  the  quitting  or  removing  from  one's  native  country,  or  set- 
tlement, to  dwell  elsewhere,  whether  it  be  by  choice  or  compulsion. 

'  The  people  here  intended  were  the  Jews  of  the  tribe  of  al  Nadir,  who  dwelt  in  Medina, 
and  when  Mohammed  fled  thither  from  Mecca,  promised  him  to  stand  neuter  between  him 
and  his  opponents,  and  made  a  treaty  with  him  to  that  purpose.  Wlien  he  had  gamed  the 
battle  of  licdr,  they  confessed  that  lie  was  the  propiiet  described  in  the  law:  but  upon  his 
receiving  that  disgrace  at  Ohod,  they  changed  their  note:  and  Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf  with 


444  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lix. 

forth  :*  and  they  thought  that  their  fortresses  would  protect  them  against 
God.  But  the  chastisement  of  God  came  upon  them,  from  whence  they  did 
not  expect ;  and  he  cast  terror  into  their  hearts.  They  pulled  down  their 
houses  with  their  own  hands,''  and  the  hands  of  the  true  believers.  Wherefore 
take  example /rom  them,  O  ye  who  have  eyes.  And  if  God  had  not  doomed 
them  to  banishment,  he  had  surely  punished  them  in  this  world  :  '|  and  in 
the  world  to  come  they  shall  suffer  the  torment  of  hell  fire.  This,  because 
they  opposed  God  and  his  apostle:  and  whoso  opposeth  God,  verily  God 
icill  he  severe  in  punishing  him.  What  palm-trees  ye  cut  down,  or  left 
standing  on  their  roots,  were  so  cut  down  or  left  by  the  will  of  God  ;  and 
that  he  might  disgrace  the  wicked  doers.  And  as  to  the  spoils  of  these 
people  which  God  hath  granted  wholly  to  his  apostle,*"  ye  did  not  push 
forward  any  horses  or  camels  against  the  same ; "  but  God  giveth  unto  his 
apostles  dominion  over  whom  he  pleaseth  :  for  God  is  almighty.  The  spoils 
of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  which  God  hath  granted  to  his  apostle  are 
due  unto  God  and  to  the  apostle,  and  to  him  who  is  of  kin  to  the  apostle,  and 
the  orphans,  and  the  poor,  and  the  traveller;  that  they  may  not  he  for  ever 
divided  in  a  circle  among  such  of  you  as  are  rich.  What  the  apostle  shall 
give  you,  that  accept;  and  what  he  shall  forbid  you,  that  abstain  from :  and 
fear  God  ;  for  God  is  severe  in  chastising.     A  part  also  belongeth  to  the 

forty  force  went  and  made  a  league  with  Abu  Sofian,  which  they  confirmed  by  oath.  Upon 
this,  Mohammed  got  Caab  despatched,  and,  in  the  fourth  year  of  the  Hejra,  set  forward 
against  al  Nadir,  and  besieged  them  in  their  fortress,  which  stood  about  three  miles  from 
Medina,  for  six  days,  at  the  end  of  which  they  capitulated,  and  were  allowed  to  depart  on 
condition  that  they  should  entirely  quit  that  place :  and  accordingly  some  of  them  went 
into  Syria,  and  others  to  Khaibar  and  Hira.* 

This  was  the /rs<  emigration,  mentioned  in  the  passage  before  us.  The  other  happened 
several  years  after,  in  the  reign  of  Omar,  when  that  Khahf  banished  those  who  had  settled 
at  Khaibar,  and  obliged  them  to  depart  out  of  Arabia.^ 

Dr.  Prideaux,  speaking  of  Mohammed's  obliging  those  of  al  Nadir  to  quit  their  settle- 
ments, says  that  a  parly  of  his  men  pursued  those  who  fled  into  Syria,  and  having  overtaken 
them,  put  them  all  to  the  sword,  excepting  only  one  man  that  escaped.  With  such  cruelty, 
continues  he,  did  those  barbarians  first  set  up  to  fight  for  that  imposture  they  had  been  deluded 
into.^  But  a  learned  gentleman  has  already  observed  that  this  is  all  grounded  on  a  mistake, 
which  the  doctor  was  led  into  by  an  imperfection  in  the  printed  edition  of  Elmacinus, 
where,  after  mentioning  the  expulsion  of  the  Nadirites,  are  inserted  some  incoherent  words 
relating  to  another  action,  which  happened  the  month  before,  and  wherein  seventy  Moslems, 
instead  of  putting  others  to  the  sword,  were  surprised  and  put  to  the  sword  themselves, 
together  with  their  leader  al  Mondar  Ebn  Omar,  Caab  Ebn  Zeid  alone  escaping." 

*  "  It  was  He  who  made  to  descend  from  their  fortress  the  unbelieving  Jews,  assembled 
for  the  first  time.     You  did  not  think  that  they  could  be  forced  from  thence." — Savary. 

^  Doing  what  damage  they  could,  that  the  Moslems  might  take  the  less  advantage  of 
what  they  were  obliged  to  leave  behind  them. 

'  By  delivering  them  up  to  slaughter  and  captivity,  as  he  did  those  of  Koreidha. 

t  "  He  would  have  exterminated  them." — Savary. 

"  It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  expedition  the  spoils  were  not  divided  according  to  the 
law  given  for  that  purpose  m  the  Koran, ^  but  were  granted  to  the  apostle,  and  declared  to 
be  entirely  in  his  disposition :  and  the  reason  was,  because  the  place  was  taken  without 
the  assistance  of  horse  ;  which  became  a  rule  for  the  future.' 

°  For  the  settlement  of  those  of  al  Nadir  being  so  near  Medina,  the  Moslems  went  all 
on  foot  thither,  except  only  the  prophet  himself.' 

«  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &,c.     Vide  Abulf.  vit.  Moh.  cap.  35.  "  Idem,  Interpp. 

»  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  82.  ^  Vide  Gagnier.  not.  in  Abulf.  vit.  Moh.  p.  72.  ^  Chap. 
8,  p.  143.  "  Vide  Abulf.  vit.  Moh.  p.  91.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lix.  AL  KORAN.  445 

poor  Mohajerin,°  wlio  have  been  dispossessed  of  their  houses  and  their 
substance,  seeking  favour  from  God,  and  his  good  will,  and  assisting  God 
and  his  apostle.  These  are  the  men  of  veracity.*  And  they  who  quietly 
possessed  the  town  of  Medina^  and  jirofessed  the  faith  loUhout  molestation, 
before  theni,p  love  him  who  hath  fled  unto  them,  and  find  in  their  breasts 
no  want  of  that  which  is  given  the  Mohajerin,'^  but  prefer  them  before 
themselves,  although  there  be  indigence  among  them.  And  whoso  is  pre- 
served from  the  covetousness  of  his  own  soul,  those  shall  surely  prosper. 
And  they  who  have  come  after  them""  say,  O  Lord,  forgive  us  and  our 
brethren  who  have  preceded  us  in  the  faith,  and  put  not  into  our  hearts 
ill-will  against  those  who  have  believed  :  O  Lord,  verily  thou  art  com- 
passionate and  merciful.  Hast  thou  not  observed  them  who  play  the 
hypocrites  ?  They  say  unto  their  brethren  who  believe  not,  of  those  who 
have  received  the  scriptures,^  Verily  if  ye  be  expelled  your  habitations^  we 
will  surely  go  forth  with  you ;  and  we  will  not  pay  obedience,  in  your 
respect,  unto  any  one  for  ever :  and  if  ye  be  attacked,  we  will  certainly 
assist  you.  But  God  is  witness  that  they  are  liars.  Verily  if  they  be 
expelled,  they  will  not  go  forth  with  them :  and  if  they  be  attacked,  they 
will  not  assist  them  :^  and  if  they  do  assist  them,  they  will  surely  turn  their 
backs  :  and  they  shall  not  be  protected.  Verily  ye  are  stronger  than  they, 
by  reason  of  the  terror  cast  into  their  breasts  from  God.  This,  because  they 
are  not  people  of  prudence.  They  will  not  fight  against  you  in  a  body, 
except  in  fenced  towns,  or  from  behind  walls.  Their  strength  in  war 
among  themselves  is  great :"  thou  thinkest  them  to  be  united;  but  their 
hearts  are  divided.  This,  because  they  are  people  who  do  not  understand. 
Like  those  who  lately  preceded  them,^  they  have  tasted  the  evil  con- 
sequence of  their  deed ;  and  a  painful  torment  is  prepared  for  them 
hereafter.  Thus  have  the  hypocrites  deceived  the  Jews  :  like  the  devil,  when 
he  saith  unto  a  man,  Be  thou  an  infidel ;  and  when  he  is  become  an  infidel,  he 
saith,  Verily  I  am  clear  of  thee ;  for  I  fear  God,  the  Lord  of  all  creatures. 
Wherefore  the  end  of  them  both  shall  be  that  they  shall  dicell  in  hell  fire, 

°  Wherefore  Mohammed  distributed  those  spoils  among  the  Mohajerin,  or  those  who 
had  fled  from  Mecca,  only  ;  and  gave  no  part  thereof  to  the  Anaars,  or  those  of  Medina, 
except  only  to  three  of  them,  wfto  were  in  necessitous  circumstances.^ 

*  "  Those  who  aid  God  and  the  prophet  are  the  true  believers." — Savary. 

p  That  is,  the  Ansars  ;  who  enjoyed  their  houses,  and  the  free  exercise  of  their  religion 
before  the  Hejra,  while  the  converts  of  Mecca  were  persecuted  and  harassed  by  the 
idolaters. 

•<  i.  e.  And  bear  them  no  grudge  or  envy  on  that  account. 

■■  The  persons  here  meant  seem  to  be  those  who  fled  from  Mecca  after  Mohammed  be- 
gan to  gain  strength,  and  his  religion  had  made  a  considerable  progress. 

'  That  is,  the  Jews  of  the  tribe  of  al  Nadir. 

'  And  it  happened  accordingly  :  for  Ebn  Obba  and  his  confederates  wrote  to  the 
Nadirites  to  this  purpose,  but  never  performed  their  promise.'' 

"  t,  e.  It  is  not  their  weakness  or  cowardice  which  makes  them  decline  a  field  battle 
with  you,  since  they  show  strength  and  valour  enough  in  their  wars  with  one  another;  but 
both  fail  them  when  they  enter  into  the  lists  with  God  and  his  apostle. 

*  viz.  The  idolaters  who  were  slain  at  Bedr ;  or  the  Jews  of  Kainoka,  who  were  plun- 
dered and  sent  into  exile  before  those  of  al  Nadir. 

s  Al  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


446  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lx. 

abiding  therein  for  ever:  and  this  shall  he  the  recompense  of  the  unjust. 
O  true  believers,  fear  God  ;  and  let  a  soul  look  vvliat  it  sendeth  before  for 
the  morrow  -J  and  fear  God,  for  God  is  well  acquainted  with  that  which 
ye  do.  And  be  not  as  those  who  have  forgotten  God,  and  whom  he  hath 
caused  to  forget  their  own  souls :  these  are  the  wicked  doers.  The  in- 
habitants of  hell  fire  and  the  inhabitants  of  paradise  shall  not  be  held 
equal.  The  inhabitants  of  paradise  are  they  who  shall  enjoy  felicity.  If 
we  had  sent  down  this  Koran  on  a  mountain,  thou  wouldest  certainly  have 
seen  the  same  humble  itself,  and  cleave  in  sunder  for  fear  of  God.  These 
similitudes  do  we  propose  unto  men,  that  they  may  consider.  He  is  God, 
besides  whom  there  is  no  God  ;  who  knoweth  that  which  is  future,  and 
that  which  is  present :  he  is  the  most  Merciful ;  he  is  God,  besides  whom 
there  is  no  God  :  the  King,  the  Holy,  the  Giver  of  peace,  the  Faithful,  the 
Guardian,  the  Powerful,  the  Strong,  the  most  High.  Far  be  God  exalted 
above  the  idols  which  they  associate  ivith  him  !  He  is  God,  the  Creator, 
the  Maker,  the  Former.  He  hath  most  excellent  names. '^  Whatever  is  in 
heaven  and  in  earth  praiseth  him :  and  he  is  the  Mighty,  the  Wise. 


CHAPTER    LX. 

INTITLED,  SHE  WHO  IS  TRIED;-   REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  TRUE  believers,  take  not  my  enemy  and  your  enemy  for  your  friends,* 
showing  kindness  towards  them ;  since  they  believe  not  in  the  truth  which 
hath  come  unto  you,  having  expelled  the  apostle  and  yourselves  from  your 
native  city,  because  ye  believe  in  God,  your  Lord.  If  ye  go  forth  to  fight 
in  defence  of  my  religion,  and  out  of  a  desire  to  please  me,  and  privately 


y  That  is,  For  the  next  life,  which  may  be  called  the  morrow,  as  this  present  life  maybe 
called  to-day. 

^  See  chap.  7,  p.  136,  note  s. 

^  The  chapter  bears  this  title,  because  it  directs  the  women  who  desert  and  come  over 
from  the  infidels  to  the  Moslems  to  be  examined,  and  tried  whether  they  be  sincere  in 
their  profession  of  the  faith. 

"  This  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  Hateb  Ebn  Abi  Baltaa,  who  understanding 
that  Mohamrned  had  a  design  to  surprise  Mecca,  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Koreish,  giving  them 
notice  of  the  intended  expedition,  and  advised  them  to  be  on  their  guard  :  which  letter  he 
sent  by  Sarah,  a  maid-servant  belonging  to  the  family  of  Hashem.  The  messenger  had  not 
been  gone  long  before  Gabriel  discovered  the  affair  to  the  prophet,  who  immediately  sent 
after  her,  and  having  intercepted  the  letter,  asked  Hateb  how  he  came  to  be  guilty  of  such 
an  action  ?  to  which  he  replied,  that  it  was  not  out  of  infidelity,  or  a  desire  to  return  to 
idolatry,  but  merely  to  induce  the  Koreish  to  treat  his  family,  which  was  still  at  Mecca, 
with  some  kindness  ;  adding,  that  he  was  well  assured  his  intelligence  would  be  of  no  ser- 
vice at  all  to  the  Meccans,  because  he  was  satisfied  God  would  take  vengeance  on  them. 
Whereupon  Mohammed  received  his  excuse,  and  pardoned  him  :  but  it  was  thought  pro- 
per to  forbid  any  such  practices  for  the  future.' 

«  Al  Beidawi.    Vide  Abulf.  Vit.  Moh.  p.  103. 


CHAP.  LX.  AL  KORAN.  447 

show  friendsliip  unto  them;**=  verily  I  well  know  that  which  ye  conceal, 
and  that  which  ye  discover :  and  whoever  of  you  doth  this,  hath  already 
erred  from  the  straight  path.  If  they  get  the  better  of  you,  they  will  be 
enemies  unto  you,  and  they  will  stretch  forth  their  hands  and  their  tongues 
against  you  with  evil :  and  they  earnestly  desire  that  ye  should  become  un- 
believers. Neither  your  kindred  nor  your  children  will  avail  you  at  all  on 
the  day  of  resurrection,  which  will  separate  you  from  one  another :  and 
God  seeth  that  which  ye  do.  Ye  have  an  excellent  pattern  in  Abraham, 
and  those  who  were  with  him,  when  they  said  unto  their  people.  Verily  we 
are  clear  of  you,  and  of  the  idols  which  ye  worship,  besides  God  :  we  have 
renounced  you ;  and  enmity  and  hatred  is  begun  between  us  and  you  for 
ever,  until  ye  believe  in  God  alone :  except  Abraham's  saying  unto  his 
father.  Verily  I  will  beg  pardon  for  thee :  •*  but  I  cannot  obtain  aught  of 
God  in  thy  behalf.  O  Lord,  in  thee  do  we  trust,  and  unto  thee  are 
we  turned ;  and  before  thee  shall  we  be  assembled  hereafter.  O  Lord, 
sufler  us  not  to  be  put  to  trial  by  the  unbelievers  : «  and  forgive  us,  O  Lord  ; 
for  thou  art  mighty  and  wise.  Verily  ye  have  in  them  an  excellent 
example,  unto  him  who  hopeth  in  God  and  the  last  day:  and  whoso 
turneth  back  ;  verily  God  is  self-sufficient,  and  praiseworthy.  Perad venture 
God  will  establish  friendsliip  between  yourselves  and  such  of  them  as  ye 
now  hold  for  enemies:'  for  God  is  powerful;  and  God  is  inclined  to 
forgive,  and  merciful.  As  to  those  who  have  not  borne  arms  against  you 
on  account  of  religion,  nor  turned  you  out  of  your  dwellings,  God  forbiddeth 
you  not  to  deal  kindly  with  them,  and  to  behave  justly  towards  them  :s  for 
God  loveth  those  who  act  justly.  But  as  to  those  who  have  borne  arms 
against  you  on  account  of  religion,  and  have  dispossessed  you  of  your 
habitations,  and  have  assisted  in  dispossessing  you,  God  forbiddeth  you  to 
enter  into  friendship  with  them  :  and  whosoever  of  you  entereth  into  friend- 
ship with  them,  those  are  unjust  doers.  O  true  believers,  when  believing 
women  come  unto  you  as  refugees,  try  them  :  "f  God  well  knoweth  their 
faith.     And  if  ye  know  them  to  he  true  believers,  send  them  not  back  to 

*  "  If  ye  fi^ht  against  them  in  defence  of  my  law,  and  to  merit  my  rewards,  will  ye 
retain  friendship  for  them." — Savary. 

"  The  verb  here  used  has  also  a  contrary  signification,  according  to  which  the  word  may 
be  rendered,  and  yet  openly  show  friendship  u?ito  them. 
"^  For  in  this,  Abraham's  example  is  not  to  be  followed.     See  chap.  9. 

*  i.  e.  Suffer  them  not  to  prevail  against  us,  lest  they  thence  conclude  themselves  to  be 
in  the  right,  and  endeavour  to  make  us  deny  our  faith  by  the  terror  of  persecution.* 

'  And  this  happened  accordingly  on  the  taking  of  Mecca;  when  Abu  Sofian  and  others 
of  the  Koreish,  who  had  till  then  been  inveterate  enemies  to  the  Moslems,  embraced  the 
same  faiih,  and  became  their  friends  and  brethren.  Some  suppose  the  marriage  of  Mo- 
hammed with  0mm  Habiba,  the  daughter  of  Abu  Sofian,  which  was  celebrated  the  year 
before,  to  be  here  intended.* 

«  This  passage,  it  is  said,  was  revealed  on  account  of  Koteila  bint  Abd'al  Uzza,  who 
having,  while  she  was  an  idolatress,  brought  some  presents  to  her  daughter,  Asma  bint 
Abi  Beer,  the  latter  not  only  refused  to  accept  them,  but  even  denied  her  admittance.^ 

t  (When  such  women  sought  an  asylum  at  Medina,  Mohammed  obliged  them  to  swear 
that  they  were  prompted  only  by  the  desire  of  embracing  Islamism,  and  that  hatred  of 
their  husbands,  or  love  of  some  Mussulman,  had  not  had  any  influence  on  their  conduct.) 
— Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  '  Vide  Gagnier,  not.  in  Abulf.  Vit.  Moham.  p.  91.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 


448  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lx. 

the  infidels  :  they  are,  not  lawful  for  the  unbelievers  to  have  in  marriage ; 
neither  are  the  unbelievers  lawful  for  them.  But  give  their  unbelieving  hus- 
bands  what  they  shall  have  expended/or  their  dowers.^  Nor  shall  it  be  any 
crime  in  you  if  ye  marry  them,  provided  ye  give  them  their  dowries.'  And 
retain  not  the  patronage  of  the  unbelieving  women  :  but  demand  back  that 
which  ye  have  expended/or  the  dowry  of  such  of  your  wives  as  go  over  to 
the  unbelievers ;  and  let  them  demand  back  that  which  they  have  expended 
for  the  doiory  of  those  who  come  over  to  you.  This  is  the  judgment  of  God, 
which  he  estabhsheth  among  you  :  and  God  is  knowing  and  wise.  If  any  of 
your  wives J  escape  from  you  to  the  unbelievers,  and  ye  have  your  turn  by 
the  coming  over  of  any  of  the  unbelievers'^  ivives  to  you  ;^  give  unto  those 
believers  whose  wives  shall  have  gone  away,  out  of  the  dowries  of  the  latter, 
so  much  as  they  shall  have  expended /or  the  dowers  of  the  former  :  and  fear 
God,  in  whom  ye  believe.  O  prophet,  when  believing  women  come  unto 
thee,  and  plight  their  faith  unto  thee,^  that  they  will  not  associate  anything 
with  God,  nor  steal,  nor  commit  fornication,  nor  kill  their  children,*"  nor 
come  with  a  calumny  which  they  have  forged  between  their  hands  and 
their  feet,"  nor  be  disobedient  to  thee  in  that  which  shall  be  reasonable : 
then  do  thou  plight  thy  faith  unto  them,  and  ask  pardon  for  them  of  God  ; 
for  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and  merciful.  O  true  believers,  enter  not 
into  friendship  with  a  people  against  whom  God  is  incensed  ;  °  they  despair 
of  the  life  to  come,p  as  the  infidels  despair  of  the  resurrection  of  those  who 
dwell  in  the  graves. 

^  For  according  to  the  terms  of  the  pacification  of  al  Hodeibiya,'  each  side  was  to  return 
whatever  came  into  their  power  belonging  to  the  other;  wherefore  when  the  Moslems 
were,  by  this  passage,  forbidden  to  restore  the  married  women  who  should  come  over  to 
them,  they  were  at  the  same  time  commanded  to  make  some  sort  of  satisfaction,  by  re- 
turning their  dowry. 

It  is  related,  that  after  the  aforesaid  pacification,  while  Mohammed  was  yet  at  al  Hodei- 
biya,  Sobeia  bint  al  Hareth,  of  the  tribe  of  Aslam,  having  embraced  Mohammedism,  her 
husband,  Mosafer  the  Makhzumite,  came  and  demanded  her  back  ;  upon  which  this 
passage  was  revealed  :  and  Mohammed,  pursuant  thereto,  administered  to  her  the  oath 
thereafter  directed,  and  returned  her  husband  her  dower  ;  and  then  Omar  married  her.* 

*  For  what  is  returned  to  their  former  husbands  is  not  to  be  considered  as  their  dower. 

J  Literally,  any  thing  of  your  wives  ;  which  some  interpret,  any  part  of  their  dowry. 

^  Or,  as  the  original  verb  may  be  translated,  and  ye  take  spoils  :  in  which  case  the 
meaning  will  be,  that  those  Moslems,  whose  wives  shall  have  gone  over  to  the  infidels, 
shall  have  a  satisfaction  for  their  dower  out  of  the  next  booty.  This  law,  they  say,  was 
given,  because  the  idolaters,  after  the  preceding  verse  had  been  revealed,  refused  to  comply 
therewith,  or  to  make  any  return  of  the  dower  of  those  women  who  went  over  to  them 
from  the  Moslems ; '  so  that  the  latter  were  obliged  to  indemnify  themselves  as  they  could. 

'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  34.  Some  are  of  opinion  that  this  passage  was  not 
revealed  till  the  day  of  the  taking  of  Mecca  ;  when,  after  having  received  the  solemn  sub- 
mission of  the  men,  he  proceeded  to  receive  that  of  the  women.^ 

^  See  chap.  81. 

°  Jallalo'ddin  understands  these  words  of  their  laying  their  spurious  children  to  their 
husbands. 

°  i.  e.  The  infidels  in  general ;  or  the  Jews  in  particular.' 

p  By  reason  of  their  infidelity ;  or  because  they  well  know  they  cannot  expect  to  be 
made  partakers  of  the  happiness  of  the  next  life,  by  reason  of  their  rejecting  of  the  pro- 
phet foretold  in  the  law,  and  whose  mission  is  confirmed  by  miracles.^ 

=•  See  chap.  48,  p.  417,  &c.  ■•  Al  Beidawi.  'Idem.  ^  Idem.  ''  See  chap.  1, 
p.  1.  '  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lxi.  AL  KORAN.  449 


CHAPTEE    LXI. 
INTITLED,  BATTLE  ARRAY;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN   THE   NAME    OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Whatever  is  in  heaven  and  in  earth  celebrateth  the  praise  of  God  ;  for 
he  is  miglity  and  wise.  O  true  believers,  why  do  ye  say  that  which  ye  do 
not?""*  //  is  most  odious  in  the  sight  of  God,  that  ye  say  that  which  ye 
do  not.  Verily  God  loveth  those  who  fight  for  his  religion  in  battle  array, 
as  though  they  icere  a  well  compacted  building.  Remember  when  Moses 
said  unto  his  people,  O  my  people,  why  do  ye  injure  me ;  ^  since  ye  know 
that  I  am  the  apostle  of  God  sent  unto  you  .''  And  when  they  had  deviated 
from  the  truth,  God  made  their  hearts  to  deviate  from  the  right  way ;  for 
God  directeth  not  wicked  people.  And  when  Jesus  the  Son  of  Mary  said, 
O  children  of  Israel,  verily  I  am  the  apostle  of  God  sent  unto  you,  confirm- 
ing the  law  which  z^as  delivered  before  me,  and  bringing  good  tidings  of  an 
apostle  who  shall  come  after  me,  and  whose  name  shall  be  Ahmed.*  And 
when  he  produced  unto  them  evident  miracles,  they  said.  This  is  manifest 
sorcery. I  But  who  is  more  unjust  than  he  who  forgeth  a  lie  against  God, 
when  he  is  invited  unto  Islam .?  And  God  directeth  not  the  unjust  people. 
They  seek  to  extinguish  God's  light  with  their  mouths  :  but  God  will  per- 
fect his  light,  though  the  infidels  be  averse  thereto.  It  is  he  who  hath  sent 
his  apostle  with  the  direction,  and  the  religion  of  truth,  that  he  may  exalt 
the  same  above  every  religion,  although  the  idolaters  be  averse  thereto.  O 
true  believers,  shall  I  show  you  a  merchandize  which  will  deliver  you  from 
a  painful  torment  hereafter  f'l  Believe  in  God  and  his  apostle ;  and  defend 
God's  true  religion  with  your  substance,  and  in  your  own  persons.  This  will 
be  better  for  you,  if  ye  knew  it.  He  will  forgive  you  your  sins,  and  will 
introduce  you  into  gardens  through  which  rivers  flow,  and  agreeable  habi- 
tations in  gardens  of  perpetual  abode.  This  will  be  great  felicity.  And  ye 
shall  obtain  other  things  which  ye  desire,  namely,  assistance  from  God,  and 
a  speedy  victory.    And  do  thou  bear  good  tidings  to  the  true  believers.     O 

?  Or,  as  some  rather  judge,  at  Medina ;  which  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  explication 
in  the  next  note. 

'  The  commentators  generally  suppose  these  words  to  be  directed  to  the  Moslems,  who, 
notwithstanding  they  had  solemnly  engaged  to  spend  their  lives  and  fortunes  in  defence 
of  their  faith,  yet  shamefully  turned  their  backs  at  the  battle  of  Ohod.  They  may  how- 
ever be  applied  to  hypocrites  of  all  sorts,  whose  actions  contradict  their  words. 

*  "  0  believers !  why  do  you  yet  not  fulfil  the  promise  made  unto  God  ?" — Savary. 
'viz.  By  your  disobedience;  or  by  maliciously  aspersing  me?^ 

'  For  Mohammed  also  bore  the  name  of  Ahmed  ;  both  names  being  derived  from  the 
same  root,  and  nearly  of  the  same  signification.  The  Persian  paraphrast,  to  support  what 
is  here  alleged,  quotes  the  following  words  of  Christ,  I  go  to  my  Father,  and  the  Paraclete 
shall  come  :  *  the  Mohammedan  doctors  unanimously  teaching,  that  by  the  Paraclete  (or, 
as  they  choose  to  read  it,  the  Periclyte,  or  Illustrious),  their  prophet  is  intended,  and  no 
other.' 

t  "He  is  an  impostor." — Savary. 

t  "  O  believers,  shall  I  teach  unto  you  a  means  of  averting  the  rigour  of  torments."— 
Savary. 

*  See  chap.  3,  pp.  36,  50,  &c.  '  See  chap.  33,  p.  350.  ^  See  John  xvi.  7,  &c 
3  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  53. 


450  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxii. 

true  believers,  be  ye  the  assistants  of  God  ;  as  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  said 
to  the  apostles,  Who  will  be  my  assistants  with  respect  to  God?'^  The 
apostles  answered,  We  will  be  the  assistants  of  God.  So  a  part  of  the 
children  of  Israel  believed,  and  a  part  believed  not :  ^  but  we  strengthened 
those  who  believed,  above  their  enemy ;  wherefore  they  became  victorious 
over  them. 


CHAPTER  LXII. 

INTITLED,  THE  ASSEMBLY;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Whatever  is  in  heaven  and  earth  praiseth  God;  the  King,  the  Holy, 
the  Mighty,  the  Wise.  It  is  he  who  hath  raised  up  amidst  the  illiterate 
Arabians  an  apostle  from  among  themselves,y  to  rehearse  his  signs  unto 
them,  and  to  purify  them,  and  to  teach  them  the  scriptures  and  wisdom ; 
whereas  before  they  were  certainly  in  a  manifest  error  ;*  and  others  of  them 
have  not  yet  attained  unto  them,  by  embracing  the  faith  ;  though  they  also 
shall  be  converted  in  Gocfs  good  time ;  for  he  is  mighty  and  wise.  This  is 
the  free  grace  of  God  :  he  bestoweth  the  same  on  whom  he  pleaseth :  and 
God  is  endued  with  great  beneficence.  The  likeness  of  those  who  were 
charged  with  the  observance  of  the  law,  and  then  observed  it  not,  is  as  the 
likeness  of  an  ass  laden  with  books.^  How  wretched  is  the  likeness  of  the 
people  who  charge  the  signs  of  God  with  falsehood  !|  and  God  directeth 
not  the  unjust  people.  Say,  O  ye  who  follow  the  Jewish  religion,  if  ye  say 
that  ye  are  the  friends  of  God  above  o/Aer  men,  wish  for  death, '^  if  ye  speak 
truth.  But  they  will  never  wish  for  it,  because  of  that  which  their  hands 
have  sent  before  them:^  and  God  well  knoweth  the  unjust.  Say,  Verily 
death,  from  which  ye  fly,  will  surely  meet  you :  then  shall  ye  be  brought 
before  him  who  knoweth  as  well  what  is  concealed  as  what  is  discovered ; 
and  he  will  declare  unto  you  that  which  ye  have  done.  O  true  believers, 
when  ye  are  called  to  prayer  on  the  day  of  the  assembly,'^  hasten  to  the 

°  See  chap.  3,  p.  42. 

*  Either  by  rejecting  him,  or  by  affirming  him  to  be  God,  and  the  son  of  God." 
'  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  30. 

*  "  Before  his  time,  the  Arabs  were  involved  in  the  profoundest  darkness." — Savary. 
'■  Because  they  understand  not  the  prophecies  contained  in  the  law,  which  bear  witness 

to  Mohammed,  no  more  than  the  ass  does  the  books  which  he  carries, 
t  "  Woe  unto  those  who  abjure  the  holy  religion." — Savary. 

*  i.  e.  Make  it  your  request  to  (jod,  that  he  would  translate  you  from  this  troublesome 
world  to  a  state  of  never-fading  bliss. 

"See  chap.  2,  p.  12. 

"  That  is,  Friday,  which  being  more  peculiarly  set  apart  by  Mohammed  for  the  public 
worship  of  God,  is  therefore  called  Yawn  al  joma,  i.  e.  the  day  of  the  assembly  or  congre- 
gation ;  whereas  it  was  before  called  al  Eruba.  The  first  time  this  day  was  particularly 
observed,  as  some  say,  was  on  the  prophet's  arrival  at  Medina,  into  which  city  he  made 
his  first  entry  on  a  Friday  ;  but  others  tell  us  that  Caab  Ebn  Lowa,  one  of  Mohammed's 

*  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  Lxni.  AL  KORAN.  451 

commemoration  of  God  and  leave  merchandizing.  This  will  be  better  for 
you,  if  you  knew  it.  And  when  prayer  is  ended,  then  disperse  yourselves 
through  the  land  as  ye  list^  and  seek  gain  of  the  liberality  of  God  :^  and 
remember  God  frequently,  that  ye  may  prosper.  But  when  they  see  any 
merchandizing,  or  sport,  they  flock  thereto,  and  leave  thee  standing  up  in 
the  pulpits  Say,  The  reward  which  is  with  God  is  better  than  any  sport 
or  merchandize :  and  God  is  the  best  provider.* 


CHAPTER    LXIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  HYPOCRITES;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  aOD. 

When  the  hypocrites  come  unto  thee,  they  say.  We  bear  witness  that 
thou  art  indeed  the  apostle  of  God.  And  God  knoweth  that  thou  art 
indeed  his  apostle :  but  God  beareth  witness  that  the  hypocrites  are  cer- 
tainly liars.  They  have  taken  their  oaths  for  a  protection,  and  they  turn 
others  aside  from  the  way  of  God  :  it  is  surely  evil  which  they  do.  This  is 
testijied  of  them,  because  they  believed,  and  afterwards  became  unbelievers; 
wherefore  a  seal  is  set  on  their  hearts,  and  they  shall  not  understand.  When 
thou  beholdest  them,  their  persons  please  thee  :^  and  if  they  speak,  thou 
hearest  their  discourse  with  delight.  They  resemble  pieces  of  timber  set 
up  against  a  wall.^  They  imagine  every  shout  to  he  against  them.^  They 
are  enemies  :  wherefore  beware  of  them.  God  curse  them  :  how  are  they 
turned  aside  from  the  truth  /f     And  when  it  is  said  unto  them.  Come,  that 

ancestors,  gave  the  day  its  present  name,  because  on  that  day  the  people  used  to  be 
assembled  before  him.*  One  reason  given  for  the  observation  of  Friday,  preferably  to 
any  other  day  of  the  week,  is  because  on  that  day  God  finished  the  creation.® 

^  By  returning  to  your  commerce  and  worldly  occupations,  if  ye  think  fit :  for  the  Mo- 
hammedans do  not  hold  themselves  obliged  to  observe  the  day  of  their  public  assembly 
with  the  same  strictness  as  the  Christians  and  Jews  do  their  respective  Sabbath ;  or  par- 
ticularly to  abstain  from  work,  after  they  have  performed  their  devotions.  Some,  however, 
from  a  tradition  of  their  prophet,  are  of  opinion  that  works  of  charity,  and  religious  exer- 
cises, which  may  draw  down  the  blessing  of  God,  are  recommended  in  this  passage. 

'  It  is  related  that  one  Friday,  while  Mohammed  was  preaching,  a  caravan  of  mer- 
chants happened  to  arrive  with  their  drums  beating,  according  to  custom  ;  which  the  con- 
gregation hearing,  they  all  ran  out  of  the  mosque  to  see  them,  except  twelve  only.'' 

*  "  Say,  the  treasures  which  God  offers  unto  you  are  more  precious  than  any  momen- 
tary advantages.     God  is  the  most  magnificent  of  dispensers." — Savary. 

'  The  commentators  tell  that  Abdallah  Ebn  Obba,  a  chief  hypocrite,  was  a  tall  man 
of  a  very  graceful  presence,  and  of  a  ready  and  eloquent  tongue  ;  and  used  to  frequent 
the  prophet's  assembly,  attended  by  several  like  himself:  and  that  these  men  were  greatly 
admired  by  Mohanimed,  who  was  taken  with  their  handsome  appearance,  and  hstened 
to  their  discourse  with  pleasure.^ 

s  Being  tall  and  big,  but  void  of  knowledge  and  consideration.' 

•>  Living  under  continual  apprehensions ;  because  they  are  conscious  of  their  hypocrisy 
towards  God,  and  their  insincerity  towards  the  Moslems. 

t  "  They  have  beauty  for  their  portion.  They  speak  with  elegance.  Their  stature  is 
straight  and  majestic;  but  they  shudder  at  the  slightest  sound.     They  are  your  enemies: 

« Al  Beidawi.  *  Vide  Gol.     Alfrag.  p.  15.  ■■  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 

*  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 


452  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxiv. 

the  apostle  of  God  may  ask  pardon  for  you  ;  they  turn  away  their  heads, 
and  thou  seest  them  retire  big  with  disdain.  It  shall  he  equal  unto  them, 
whether  thou  ask  pardon  for  them,  or  do  not  ask  pardon  for  them :  God 
will  by  no  means  forgive  them ;  for  God  directeth  not  the  prevaricating 
people.  These  are  the  men.  who  say  to  the  inhabitants  of  Medina,  Do  not 
bestow  any  thing  on  the  refugees  who  are  with  the  apostle  of  God,  that  they 
may  be  ohliged  to  separate yrom  him.  Whereas  unto  God  belong  tlie  stores 
of  heaven  and  earth :  but  the  hypocrites  do  not  understand.  They  say, 
Verily,  if  we  return  to  Medina,  the  worthier  shall  expel  thence  the  meaner.' 
Whereas  superior  worth  belongeih  unto  God  and  his  apostle,  and  the  true 
believers  :  but  the  hypocrites  know  it  not.*  O  true  believers,  let  not  your 
riches  or  your  children  divert  you  from  the  remembrance  of  God  :  for  who- 
soever doth  this,  they  will  surely  be  losers.  And  give  alms  out  of  that 
which  we  have  bestowed  on  you ;  before  death  come  unto  one  of  you,  and 
he  say,  O  Lord,  wilt  thou  not  grant  me  respite  for  a  short  term  :  that  I 
may  give  alms,  and  become  one  of  the  righteous .''  For  God  will  by  no 
means  grant  further  respite  to  a  soul,  when  its  determined  time  is  come  : 
and  God  is  fully  apprized  of  that  which  ye  do. 


CHAPTER   LXIY. 

INTITLED,  MUTUAL  DECEIT;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA."^ 

IN   THE   NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Whatever  is  in  heaven  and  earth  celebrateth  the  praises  of  God  :  his  is 
the  kingdom,  and  unto  him  is  the  praise  due ;  for  he  is  almighty.  It  is  he 
who  hath  created  you  ;|  and  one  of  you  is  predestined  to  he  an  unbeliever, 
and  another  of  you  is  predestined  to  he  a  believer :  and  God  beholdeth  that 
which  ye  do.  He  hath  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth  with  truth ;  and 
he  hath  fashioned  you,  and  given  you  beautiful  forms  :  and  unto  him  must 
ye  all  go.  He  knoweth  whatever  is  in  heaven  and  earth :  and  he  knoweth 
that  which  ye  conceal,  and  that  which  ye  discover;  for  God  knoweth  the 
innermost  part  of  men^s  breasts.  Have  ye  not  been  acquainted  with  the  story 
of  those  who  disbelieved  heretofore,  and  tasted  the  evil  consequence  of  their 
behaviour .?     And  for  them  is  prepared  in  the  life  to  come  a  tormenting 

beware  of  their  perfidy.     The  Almighty  shall  fight  against  them,  because  that  they  have 
abandoned  the  faith." — Savary. 

*  These,  as  well  as  the  preceding,  were  the  words  of  Ebn  Obba  to  one  of  Medina,  who 
in  a  certain  expedition,  quarrelling  with  an  Arab  of  the  desert  about  water,  received  a 
blow  on  the  head  with  a  stick,  and  made  his  complaint  thereof  to  him.'° 

*  "  Power  belongeth  unto  God.  He  imparteth  it  to  his  prophet,  and  to  the  faithful; 
and  the  impious  know  it  not." — Savary. 

*  The  commentators  are  not  agreed  whether  this  chapter  was  revealed  at  Mecca,  or  at 
Medina  ;  or  partly  at  the  one  place,  and  partly  at  the  other. 

t  "  He  hath  created  all  men  from  nothing." — Savary. 

'« AI  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  LXiv.  AL  KORAN.  453 

punishment.  This  shall  they  suffer^  iDecause  their  apostles  came  vnito  them 
with  evident  proofs  of  their  mission^  and  they  said,  Shall  men  direct  us  ? 
Wherefore  they  believed  not,  and  turned  their  backs.  But  God  standeth 
in  need  of  no  person  :  for  God  is  self-sufficient,  and  worthy  to  be  praised. 
The  unbelievers  imagine  that  they  shall  not  be  raised  again.  Say,  Yea,  by 
my  Lord,  ye  shall  surely  be  raised  again ;  then  shall  ye  be  told  that  which 
ye  have  wrought ;  and  this  is  easy  with  God.  Wherefore  believe  in  God 
and  his  apostle,  and  the  light  which  we  have  sent  down :  for  God  is  well 
acquainted  with  that  which  ye  do.  On  a  certain  day  he  shall  assemble 
you,  at  the  day  of  the  general  assembly :  that  zcill  be  the  day  of  mutual 
deceit.^*  And  whoso  shall  believe  in  God,  and  shall  do  that  which  is  right, 
from  him  will  he  expiate  his  evil  deeds,  and  he  will  lead  him  into  gardens 
beneath  v/hich  rivers  flow,  to  remain  therein  for  ever.  This  will  be  great 
felicity.  But  they  who  shall  not  believe,  and  shall  accuse  our  signs  of 
falsehood,  those  shall  be  the  inhabitants  of  hell  fire,  wherein  they  shall 
remain  ybr  ever ;  and  a  wretched  journey  shall  it  be  thither  /  No  misfor- 
tune happeneth  but  by  the  permission  of  God  ;  and  whoso  believeth  in 
God,  he  will  direct  his  heart :  and  God  knoweth  all  things.  Wherefore 
obey  God,  and  obey  the  apostle  :  but  if  ye  turn  back,  verily  the  duty  incuni' 
bent  on  our  apostle  is  only  public  preaching.  God  !  there  is  no  God  but 
he :  wherefore  in  God  let  the  faithful  put  their  trust.  O  true  believers, 
verily  of  your  wives  and  your  children  ye  have  an  enemy :""  wherefore 
beware  of  them.  But  if  ye  pass  over  their  offences,  and  pardon,  and  forgive 
them ;"  God  is  likewise  inclined  to  forgive,  and  mercifuLI  Your  wealth 
and  your  children  are  only  a  temptation ;  but  with  God  is  a  great  reward. 
Wherefore  fear  God,  as  much  as  ye  are  able ;  and  hear,  and  obey  :J  and 
give  alms,  for  the  good  of  your  souls ;  for  whoso  is  preserved  from  the 
covetousness  of  his  own  soul,  they  shall  prosper.  If  ye  lend  unto  God  an 
acceptable  loan,  he  will  double  the  same  unto  you,  and  will  forgive  you : 
for  God  is  grateful,  and  long-sufTering,  knowing  both  what  is  hidden,  and 
what  is  divulged ;  the  Mighty,  the  Wise.§ 

'  When  the  blessed  will  deceive  the  damned,  by  taking  the  places  which  they  would 
have  had  in  paradise,  had  they  been  true  believers  ;  and  contrariwise.* 

*  "On  the  day  of  the  universal  assembUng,  ye  shall  all  appear  before  his  tribunal. 
Fraud  shall  be  unmasked." — Savary. 

^  For  these  are  apt  to  distract  a  man  from  his  duty,  especially  in  time  of  distress  ;^  a 
married  man  caring  for  the  thmgs  that  are  of  this  world,  while  the  unmarried  careth  for 
the  things  that  belong  to  the  Lord.^ 

°  Considering  that  the  hindrance  they  may  occasion  you  proceeds  from  their  affection, 
and  their  ill  bearing  your  absence  in  time  of  war,  &c. 

t  "  O  believers,  your  wiveg  and  your  children  are  oftentimes  your  enemies;  distrust 
their  caresses ;  but  if  the  voice  of  nature,  or  if  condescension  should  induce  you  to  yield 
to  their  wishes,  God  is  indulgent  and  merciful." — Savary. 

\  "  Fear  God  with  all  your  hearts.     Listen  !     Obey  !" — Savary. 

%  "  If  ye  enter  into  a  glorious  covenant  with  God,  he  will  multiply  his  favours,  he  will 
pardon  your  offences :  he  is  grateful  and  beneficent.  He  knoweth  that  which  is  unveiled, 
and  that  which  is  hidden  in  the  shades  of  mystery :  he  is  mighty  and  wise." — Savary. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Yahya.   .      'lidem.  'See  1  Cor.  vii.  25,  &c. 


454  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxv. 

CHAPTER   LXV. 

INTITLED,  DIVORCE;   REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  Prophet,  when  ye  divorce  women,  put  them  away  at  their  appointed 
term ;  •*  and  compute  the  term  exactly  :  and  fear  God,  your  Lord.  Oblige 
them  not  to  go  out  of  their  apartments,  neither  let  them  go  out,  itniil 
the  term  he  expired^  unless  they  be  guilty  of  manifest  uncleanness.  These 
are  the  statutes  of  God  :  and  whoever  transgresseth  the  statutes  of 
God  assuredly  injureth  his  own  soul.  Thou  knowest  not  whether  God 
will  bring  something  new  to  pass,*  which  may  reconcile  them  after  this. 
And  when  they  shall  have  fulfilled  their  term,  either  retain  them  with 
kindness,  or  part  from  them  honourably  :  and  take  witnesses  from  among 
you,  men  of  integrity;  and  give  your  testimony  as  in  the  presence  of 
God.  This  admonition  is  given  unto  him  who  believeth  in  God  and 
the  last  day :  and  whoso  feareth  God,  unto  him  will  he  grant  a  happy 
issue  out  of  all  his  afflictions^  and  he  will  bestow  on  him  an  ample  pro- 
vision from  whence  he  expecteth  it  not :  and  whoso  trusteth  in  God,  he 
will  be  his  sufficient  support;  for  God  will  surely  attain  his  purpose. 
Now  hath  God  appointed  unto  every  thing  a  determined  period.j"  ^s  to 
such  of  your  wives  as  shall  despair  having  their  courses,  by  reason  of  their 
age  ;  if  ye  be  in  doubt  thereof  let  their  term  be  three  months  :  and  let  the 
same  be  the  term  of  those  who  have  not  yet  had  their  courses.  But  as  to 
those  who  are  pregnant,  their  term  shall  be,  until  they  be  delivered  of  their 
burden.p  And  whoso  feareth  God,  unto  him  will  he  make  his  command 
easy.  This  is  the  command  of  God,  which  he  hath  sent  down  unto  you. 
And  whoso  feareth  God,  he  will  expiate  his  evil  deeds  from  him,  and  will 
increase  his  reward.  Suffer  the  women  whom  ye  divorce  to  dwell  in  some 
part  of  the  houses  wherein  ye  dwell ;  according  to  the  room  and  conveniences 
of  the  habitations  which  ye  possess  :  and  make  them  not  uneasy,  that  ye 
may  reduce  them  to  straits.     And  if  tliey  be  with  child,  expend  on  them 

°  That  is,  when  they  shall  have  had  their  courses  thrice,  after  the  time  of  their  divorce, 
if  they  prove  not  to  be  with  child;  or,  if  they  prove  with  child,  when  they  shall  have  been 
delivered."  Al  Beidawi  supposes  husbands  are  hereby  commanded  to  divorce  their  wives 
while  they  are  clean  ;  and  says  that  the  passage  was  revealed  on  account  of  Ebn  Omar, 
who  divorced  his  wife  when  she  had  her  courses  upon  her,  and  was  therefore  obliged  to 
take  her  again. — (When  a  Mohammedan  has  sworn  that  he  will  divorce  his  wife,  he  ceases 
to  have  intercourse  with  her.  As  soon  as  she  hears  of  the  oath,  she  covers  herself  with 
a  veil,  retires  to  her  apartment,  and  ceases  to  let  her  husband  see  her.  When  the  four 
months  allowed  for  reconciliation  are  expired,  all  ties  are  dissolved,  the  wife  recovers  her 
liberty,  and  receives  at  her  departure  the  dowry  which  was  fixed  by  the  marriage  con- 
tract.    The  daughters  go  with  the  mother,  the  sons  remain  with  the  father.— -.Sa vary,) 

*  "  Thou  knowest  not  what  are  the  designs  of  God  with  respect  to  the  future." — Savary. 

t  "  His  will  shall  infallibly  be  executed.  He  has  assigned  to  each  cause  a  certain 
effect.' ' — Savary. 

p  See  chap.  2,  p.  27. 

*  See  chap.  2,  p.  27. 


CHAP.  Lxvi.  AL  KORAN.  455 

what  shall  he  needful^  until  they  be  delivered  of  their  burden.  And  if  they 
suckle  their  children  for  you,  give  them  their  hire ;  i  and  consult  among 
yourselves,  according  to  what  shall  be  just  and  reasonable.  And  if  ye  be 
put  to  a  difficulty  herein^  and  another  woman  shall  suckle  the  child  for  him, 
let  him  who  hath  plenty  expend  proportionally  in  the  maintenance  of  the 
mother  and  the  nurse^  out  of  his  plenty :  and  let  him  whose  income  is 
scanty  expend  in  proportion  out  of  that  which  God  hath  given  him.  God 
obligeth  no  man  to  more  than  he  hath  given  him  ability  to  perform :  God 
will  cause  ease  to  succeed  hardship.*  How  many  cities  have  turned  aside 
from  the  command  of  the  Lord  and  his  apostles !  Wherefore  we  brought 
them  to  a  severe  account ;  and  we  chastised  them  with  a  grievous  chastise- 
ment :  and  they  tasted  the  evil  consequence  of  their  business ;  and  the  end 
of  their  business  was  perdition.  God  hath  prepared  for  them  a  severe 
punishment :  wherefore  fear  God,  O  ye  who  are  endued  with  understanding. 
True  believers,  now  hath  God  sent  down  unto  you  an  admonition,  an 
apostle  who  may  rehearse  unto  you  the  perspicuous  signs  of  God  ;  that  he 
may  bring  forth  those  who  believe  and  do  good  works,  from  darkness  into 
light.  And  whoso  believeth  in  God,  and  doth  that  which  is  right,  him  will 
he  lead  into  gardens  beneath  which  rivers  flow,  to  remain  therein  for  ever : 
now  hath  God  made  an  excellent  provision  for  him.  It  is  God  who  hath 
created  seven  heavens,  and  as  many  different  stories  of  the  earth  :  |  the 
divine  command  descendeth  between  them ; '"  that  ye  may  know  that  God 
is  omnipotent,  and  that  God  comprehendeth  all  things  by  his  knowledge. 


CHAPTER    LXVI. 

INTITLED,  PROHIBITION;  REVEALED  AT  MEDINA. 

IN   THE   NAME    OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  PR0PHET,why  boldest  thou  that  to  be  prohibited  which  God  hath  allowed 
thee,  seeking  to  please  thy  wives ; «  since  God  is  inclined  to  forgive,  and 

^  Which  ought  at  least  to  be  sufficient  to  maintain  and  clothe  them  during  the  time  of 
suckling.     See  chap.  2,  p.  28. 

*  "  He  will  cause  competence  to  succeed  unto  poverty." — Savary. 

t  It  is  God  who  hath  created  the  seven  heavens,  and  the  seven  earths :  he  causeth  them 
to  obey  his  voice,  to  the  end  that  ye  may  know  that  his  power  is  boundless,  and  that  the 
universe  is  filled  with  his  wisdom." — Savary. 

(According  to  Zamakshari,  God  created  seven  heavens  and  seven  earths,  at  the  distance 
of  five  hundred  days'  journey  from  each  other.  The  whole  of  them  are  inhabited.  The 
Supreme  Being  governs  this  universe. — Savary.) 

'  Penetrating  and  pervading  them  all,  with  absolute  efficacy. 

"  There  are  some  who  suppose  this  passage  to  have  been  occasioned  by  Mohammed's 
protestingnever  to  eat  honey  any  more,  because,  having  once  eaten  some  in  the  apartment 
of  Hafsa,  or  of  Zeinab,  three  other  of  his  wives,  namely,  Ayesha,  Sawda,  and  Safia,  all  told 
him  they  smelt  he  had  been  eating  of  the  juice  which  distils  from  certain  shrul>s  in  those 
parts,  and  resembles  honey  in  taste  and  consistence,  but  is  of  a  very  strong  savour,  and 
which  the  prophet  had  a  great  aversion  to.'    But  the  more  received  opinion  is,  that  the 

'  Al  Zamakh,  al  Beidawi. 


456  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxvi. 

merciful  ?  God  hath  allowed  you  the  dissolution  of  your  oaths  :  *  and  God 
is  your  master ;  and  he  is  knowing  and  wise.  When  the  prophet  entrusted 
as  a  secret  unto  one  of  his  wives  a  certain  accident ;  and  when  she  disclosed 
the  same,  and  God  made  it  known  unto  him ;  he  acquainted  her  with  part 
of  what  she  had  done^  and  forbore  to  upbraid  her  with  the  other  part  thereof.* 
And  when  he  had  acquainted  her  therewith,  she  said,  Who  hath  discovered 
this  unto  thee  .''    He  answered,  The  knowing,  the  sagacious  God  hath  dis- 

chapter  was  revealed  on  the  following  occasion.  Mohammed  having  Iain  with  a  slave  of 
his,  named  Mary,  of  Coptic  extract  (who  had  been  sent  him  as  a  present  by  al  Mokawkas, 
governor  of  Egypt),  on  the  day  which  was  due  to  Ayesha,  or  to  Hafsa,  and,  as  some  say, 
on  Hafsa's  own  bed,  while  she  was  absent ;  and  this  coming  to  Hafsa's  knowledge,  she  took 
it  extremely  ill,  and  reproached  her  husband  so  sharply,  that,  to  pacify  her,  he  promised, 
with  an  oath,  never  to  touch  the  maid  again :  ®  and  to  free  him  from  the  obligation  of  this 
promise,  was  the  design  of  the  chapter. 

I  cannot  here  avoid  observing,  as  a  learned  writer ■■  has  done  before  me,  that  Dr.  Prideaux 
has  strangely  misrepresented  this  passage.  For  having  given  the  story  of  the  prophet's 
amour  with  his  maid  Mary,  a  little  embeUished,  he  proceeds  to  tell  us,  that  in  this  chapter 
Mohammed  brings  in  God  allowing  him,  and  all  his  Moslems,  to  lie  with  their  maids  when 
they  will,  notwithstanding  their  wives ;  (whereas  the  words  relate  to  the  prophet  only, 
who  wanted  not  any  ne\v  permission  for  that  purpose,  because  it  was  a  privilege  already 
granted  him,®  though  to  none  else :)  and  then,  to  show  what  ground  he  had  for  his  assertion, 
adds,  that  the  first  words  of  the  chapter  are,  0  prophet,  why  dost  thou  forbid  what  God  hath 
allowed  thee,  that  thou  mayest  please  thy  wives  ?  God  hath  granted  unto  you  to  lie  with  your 
maid  servaiits.^  Which  last  words  are  not  to  be  found  here,  or  elsewhere  in  the  Koran,  and 
contain  an  allowance  of  what  is  expressly  forbidden  therein : '  though  the  doctor  has  thence 
taken  occasion  to  make  some  reflections  which  might  as  well  have  been  spared.  I  shall 
say  nothing  to  aggravate  the  matter ;  but  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  what  this  reverend 
divine  would  have  said  of  a  Mohammedan,  if  he  had  caught  him  tripping  in  the  like 
manner. 

Having  digressed  so  far,  I  will  venture  to  add  a  word  or  two,  in  order  to  account  for  one 
circumstance  which  Dr.  Prideaux  relates  concerning  Mohammed's  concubine  Mary  ;  viz. 
that  after  her  master's  death,  no  account  was  had  of  her  or  the  son  which  she  had  borne 
him,  but  both  were  sent  away  into  Egypt,  and  no  mention  made  of  either  ever  after  among 
them  ;  and  then  he  supposes  (for  he  seldom  is  at  a  loss  for  a  supposition)  that  Ayesha,  out 
of  the  hatred  which  she  bore  her,  procured  of  her  father,  who  succeeded  the  impostor  in  the 
government,  to  have  her  thus  disposed  of  ^  But  it  being  certain,  by  the  general  consent  of 
all  the  eastern  writers,  that  Mary  continued  in  Arabia  till  her  death,  which  happened  at 
Medina,  about  five  years  after  that  of  her  master,  and  was  buried  in  the  usual  burying-place 
there,  called  al  Baki,  and  that  her  son  died  before  his  father,  it  has  been  asked,  whence  the 
doctor  had  this  ?  ^  I  answer,  That  I  guess  he  had  it  partly  from  Abu'lfaragius,  according 
to  the  printed  edition  of  whose  work,  the  Mary  we  are  speaking  of  is  said  to  have  been  sent 
with  her  sister  Shirin  (not  with  her  son)  to  Alexandria  by  al  Mokawkas :  *  though  I  make 
no  doubt  but  we  ought  in  that  passage  to  read  min,  from,  instead  of  ila,  to  ;  (notwith- 
standing the  manuscript  copies  of  this  author  used  by  Dr.  Pocock,  the  editor,  and  also  a 
very  fair  one  in  my  own  possession,  agree  in  the  latter  reading;)  and  that  the  sentence 
ought  to  run  thus,  quam  (viz.  Mariam)  una  cum  sorore  Shirina  ab  Alexandria  miserat  al 
Mokawkas. 

'  By  having  appointed  an  expiation  for  that  purpose  :  *  or,  as  the  words  may  be  trans- 
lated, God  hath  allowed  you  to  use  an  exception  in  your  oaths,  that  is,  to  add  the  words  if 
it  please  God ;  in  which  case  a  man  is  excused  from  guilt  if  he  perform  not  his  oath.* 
The  passage  though  directed  to  all  the  Moslems  in  general,  seems  to  be  particularly 
designed  for  quieting  the  prophet's  conscience  in  regard  to  the  oath  above-mentioned; 
but  al  Beidawi  approves  not  this  opinion,  because  such  an  oath  was  to  be  looked  upon  as 
an  inconsiderate  one,  and  required  no  expiation. 

*  "At  first  he  mildly  admonished  her,  and  then  he  declared  unto  her  the  whole  of  that 
which  she  had  divulged." — Savary. 

^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.    Yahya.  '  Gagnier,  not.  ad  Abulf.  Vit. 

Moh.  p.  150.  «  See  chap.  33,  p.  347,  348.  "  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  113.  »  See 

chap.  17,  p.  230  ;  chap.  4,  p.  63  ;  and  chap.  24,  p.  287,  &c.  =  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p.  114. 
=»  Gagnier,  ubi  supra.  *  Abu'lfarag.  Hist.  Dyn.  p.  165.  *  See  chap.  5,  p.  93. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lxvi.  AL  KORAN.  457 

covered  it  unto  me.°  If  ye  both  be  turned  unto  God  (for  your  hearts  have 
swerved)  it  is  tcell :  but  if  ye  join  against  him,  verily  God  is  his  patron ; 
and  Gabriel,  and  the  good  man  among  the  faithful,  and  the  angels  also  are 
his  assistants.*^  If  he  divorce  you,  his  Lord  can  easily  give  him  in 
exchange  other  wives  better  than  you,  women  resigned  unto  God,  true  be- 
lievers,  devout,  penitent,  obedient,  given  to  fasting,  both  such  as  have  been 
known  by  other  men,  and  virgins.  O  true  believers,  save  your  souls,  and 
those  of  your  families,  from  the  fire  whose  fuel  is  men  and  stones,  over 
which  are  set  angels  fierce  and  terrible ;  y  who  disobey  not  God  in  what  he 
hath  commanded  them,  but  perform  what  they  are  commanded.  O  un- 
believers, excuse  not  yourselves  this  day ;  ye  shall  surely  be  rewarded  for 
what  ye  have  done.*  O  true  believers,  turn  unto  God  with  a  sincere 
repentance :  peradventure  your  Lord  will  do  away  from  you  your  evil 
deeds,  and  will  admit  you  into  gardens,  through  which  rivers  flow ;  on  the 
day  whereon  God  will  not  put  to  shame  the  prophet,  or  those  who  believe 
with  him :  their  light  shall  run  before  them,  and  on  their  right  hands,^  and 
they  shall  say.  Lord,  make  our  light  perfect,  and  forgive  us :  for  thou  art 
almighty.  O  prophet,  attack  the  infidels  with  arms,  and  the  hypocrites 
with  arguments ;  and  treat  them  with  severity :  their  abode  shall  be  hell, 
and  an  ill  journey  shall  it  be  thither.  God  propoundeth  as  a  similitude 
unto  the  unbelievers,  the  wife  of  Noah,  and  the  wife  of  Lot :  they  were 
under  two  of  our  righteous  servants,  and  they  deceived  them  both :  •• 
wherefore  their  husbands  were  of  no  advantage  unto  them  at  all,  in  the 
sight  of  God  :  "^  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  at  the  last  day,  Enter  ye  into 

"  When  Mohammed  found  that  Hafsa  knew  of  his  having  injured  her,  or  Ayesha,  by 
lying  with  his  concubine  Mary  on  the  day  due  to  one  of  them,  he  desired  her  to  keep  the 
affair  secret,  promising,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would  not  meddle  with  Mary  any  more ; 
and  foretold  her,  as  a  piece  of  news  which  might  soothe  her  vanity,  that  Abu  Beer  and 
Omar  should  succeed  him  in  the  government  of  his  people.  Hafsa,  however,  could  not 
conceal  this  from  Ayesha,  with  whom  she  lived  in  strict  friendship,  but  acquainted  her 
with  the  whole  matter :  whereupon  the  prophet,  perceiving,  probably  by  Ayesha's  beha- 
viour, that  his  secret  had  been  discovered,  upbraided  Hafsa  with  her  betraying  him,  tell- 
ing her  that  God  had  revealed  it  to  him ;  and  not  only  divorced  her,  but  separated  him 
from  all  his  other  wives  for  a  whole  month,  which  time  he  spent  in  the  apartment  of 
Mary.  In  a  short  time,  notwithstanding,  he  took  Hafsa  again,  by  the  direction,  as  he 
gave  out,  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  who  commended  her  for  her  frequent  fasting  and  other  ex- 
ercises of  rehgion,  assuring  him  likewise  that  she  should  be  one  of  his  wives  in  paradise.'' 

*  "  If  ye  are  rebellious  unto  the  prophet,  his  protectors  are  the  Lord,  Gabriel,  and  the 
true  believers,  and  the  angels  will  avenge  him." — Savary. 

"^  This  sentence  is  directed  to  Hafsa  and  Ayesha,  the  pronouns  and  verbs  of  tlie  second 
person  being  in  the  dual  number. 

y  See  chap.  74  ;  and  the  Prelim.  Disc,  sect.  iv.  p.  66. 

^  These  words  will  be  spoken  to  the  infidels  at  the  last  day. 

»  See  chap.  57,  p.  439. 

"  Who  were  both  unbelieving  women,  but  deceived  their  respective  husbands  by  their 
hypocrisy.  Noah's  wife,  named  Waila,  endeavoured  to  persuade  the  people  her  husband 
was  distracted;  and  Lot's  wife,  whose  name  was  Wahela  (though  some  writers  give  this 
name  to  the  other,  and  that  of  Waila  to  the  latter),  was  in  contederacy  with  the  men  of 
Sodom,  and  used  to  give  them  notice  when  any  strangers  came  to  lodge  with  him,  by  a 
sign  of  smoke  by  day,  and  of  fire  by  night.^ 

"  For  they  both  met  with  a  disastrous  end  in  this  world,'  and  will  be  doomed  to  eternal 
misery  in  the  next.  In  hke  manner,  as  Mohammed  would  insinuate,  the  infidels  of  his  time 

^  Al  Beidawi,  al  Zamakh,  &-c.  «  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Zamakh.  '  See  chap.  11, 

p.  179  and  183. 
2o 


458  AL  KORAN.  .  chap,  lxvii. 

hell  fire,  with  those  who  enter  therein.  God  also  propoundeth  as  a  simi- 
litude unto  those  who  believe,  the  wife  of  Pharaoh  ;^  when  she  said.  Lord, 
build  me  a  house  with  thee  in  paradise ;  and  deliver  me  from  Pharaoh  and 
his  doings,  and  deliver  me  from  the  unjust  people :  and  Mary  the  daughter 
of  hnran ;  who  preserved  her  chastity,  and  into  whose  womb  we  breathed 
of  our  spirit,^*  and  who  believed  in  the  words  of  her  Lord,  and  his  scrip- 
tures, and  was  a  devout  and  obedient  person.*" 


CHAPTER   LXVII. 

INTITLED,  THE  KINGDOM  ;g  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

*[XXIX]  Blessed  be  he  in  whose  hand  is  the  kingdom,  for  he  is 
almighty !  f  Who  hath  created  death  and'  life,  that  he  might  prove  you, 
which  of  you  is  most  righteous  in  his  actions  :  and  he  is  mighty,  and  ready 
to  forgive.  Who  hath  created  seven  heavens,  one  above  another :  thou  canst 
not  see  in  a  creature  of  the  most  Merciful  any  unfitness  or  disproportion. 
Lift  up  thine  eyes  again  to  heaven.)  and  look  whether  thou  seest  any  flaw : 
then  take  two  other  views ;  and  thy  sight  shall  return  unto  thee  dull  and 
fatigued.  Moreover  we  have  adorned  the  lowest  heaven  with  lamps,  and 
have  appointed  them  to  be  darted  at  the  devils,'!  for  whom  we  have  prepared 
the  torment  of  burning  fire  :  and  for  those  who  believe  not  in  their  Lord  is 
also  prepared  the  torment  of  hell ;  an  ill  journey  shall  it  he  thither.  When 
they  shall  be  thrown  thereinto,  they  shall  hear  it  bray  like  an  ass ; '  and  it 

had  no  reason  to  expect  any  mitigation  of  their' punishment,  on  account  of  their  relation 
to  himself  and  the  rest  of  the  true  beUevers. 

'^  viz.  Asia  the  daughter  of  Mozahem.  The  commentators  relate,  that  because  she 
believed  in  Moses,  her  husband  cruelly  tormented  her,  fastening  her  hands  and  feet  to 
four  stakes,  and  laying  a  large  millstone  on  her  breast,  her  face,  at  the  same  time,  being 
exposed  to  the  scorching  beams  of  the  sun:  these  pains,  however,  were  alleviated  by  the 
angels  shading  her  with  their  wings,  and  the  view  of  the  mansion  prepared  for  her  in 
paradise,  which  was  exhibited  to  her  on  her  pronouncing  the  prayer  in  the  text :  at  length 
God  received  her  soul ;  or,  as  some  say,  she  was  taken  up  alive  into  paradise,  where  she 
eats  and  drinks.'" 

"=  See  chap.  19,  p.  249,  &c. 

*  "Who  preserved  her  virginity.  Gabriel  transmitted  unto  her  the  breath  of  the 
Lord." — Savary. 

^  On  occasion  of  the  honourable  mention  here  made  of  these  two  extraordinary  women, 
the  commentators  introduce  a  saying  of  their  prophet,  That  among  me7i  there  had  been 
many  perfect,  but  no  more  than  four  of  the  other  sex  had  attaitied  perfection  ;  to  wit,  Asia 
the  wife  of  Pharaoh,  Mary  the  daughter  of  hnran,  Khadijah  the  daughter  of  Khowailed 
(the  prophet's  first  wife),  and  Fdtema  the  daughter  of  Mohammed. 

s  It  is  also  entitled  by  some  The  Saving,  or  The  Delivering,  because,  say  they,  it  will 
save  him  who  reads  it  from  the  torture  of  the  sepulchre. 

+  "  Blessed  is  he  who  holdeth  the  reins  of  the  universe,  and  whose  power  hath  no 
bounds." — Savary. 

"See  chap.  15,  p  210. 

'  See  chap.  31,  p.  337. 

'"  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Zamakh. 


CHAP.  Lxvii.  AL  KORAN*  459 

shall  boil,  and  almost  burst  for  fury.*  So  often  as  a  company  of  them 
shall  be  thrown  therein,  the  keepers  thereof  shall  ask  them,  saying,  Did  not 
a  Warner  come  unto  you  ?  They  shall  answer,  Yea,  a  warner  came  unto 
us  :  but  we  accused  km  of  imposture,  and  said,  God  hath  not  revealed  any 
thing ;  ye  are  in  no  other  than  a  great  error  :  and  they  shall  say.  If  we  had 
hearkened,  or  liad  rightly  considered,  we  should  not  have  been  among  the 
inhabitants  of  burning  fire :  and  they  shall  confess  their  sins ;  but  far  be 
the  inhabitants  of  burning  fire  from  oUaining  mercy !  Verily  they  who 
fear  their  Lord  in  secret  shall  receive  pardon  and  a  great  reward.  Either 
conceal  your  discourse,  or  make  it  public ;  he  knoweth  the  innermost  parts 
of  your  breasts :  shall  not  he  know  all  things  who  hath  created  iJiem ; 
since  he  is  the  sagacious,  the  knowing  }  It  is  he  who  hath  levelled  the 
earth  for  you :  therefore  walk  through  the  regions  thereof,  and  eat  of  his 
provision  ;  unto  him  shall  he  the  resurrection.  Are  ye  secure  that  he  who 
dwelleth  in  heaven  will  not  cause  the  earth  to  swallow  you  up  ?  and  behold, 
it  shall  shake.  Or  are  you  secure  that  he  who  dwelleth  in  heaven  will  not 
send  against  you  an  impetuous  whirhvind,  driving  the  sands  to  overwhelm 
you  ?  then  shall  ye  know  how  important  my  warning  ivas.  Those  also  who 
were  before  you  disbelieved  ;  and  how  grievous  was  my  displeasure !  Do 
they  not  behold  the  birds  above  them,  extending  and  drawing  back  their 
wings  }  None  sustaineth  them,  except  the  Merciful ;  for  he  regardeth  all 
things.  Or  who  is  he  that  will  he  as  an  army  unto  you,  to  defend  you 
against  the  Merciful }  Verily  the  unbelievers  are  in  no  other  than  a  mis- 
take. Or  who  is  he  that  will  give  you  food,  if  he  withholdeth  his  provision  ? 
yet  they  persist  in  perverseness,  and  flying /rom  the  truth.  Is  he,  therefore, 
who  goeth  grovelling  upon  his  face,  better  directed  than  he  who  walketh 
upright  in  a  straight  way  ?  ^  Say,  It  is  he  who  hath  given  you  being,  and 
endued  you  with  hearing,  and  sight,  and  understanding;  yet  how  little 
gratitude  have  ye !  |  Say,  It  is  he  who  hath  sown  you  in  the  earth,  and 
imto  him  shall  ye  be  gathered  together.  They  say,  When  shall  this  menace 
he  put  in  execution^  if  ye  speak  truth  ?  Answer,  The  knowledge  of  this 
matter  is  with  God  alone  :  for  I  a7n  only  a  public  warner.  But  when  they 
shall  see  the  same  nigh  at  hand,  the  countenance  of  the  infidels  shall  grow 
sad  :  and  it  shall  be  said  unto  them,  This  is  what  ye  have  been  demanding. 
Say,  What  think  ye  }  Whether  God  destroy  me  and  those  who  are  with 
me,  or  have  mercy  on  us ;  who  will  protect  the  unbelievers  from  a  painful 
punishment  ?  Say,  He  is  the  Merciful ;  in  him  do  we  believe,  and  in  him 
do  we  put  our  trust.  Ye  shall  hereafter  know  who  is  in  a  manifest  error. 
Say,  What  think  ye  ?  If  your'  water  be  in  the  morning  swallowed  up  by 
the  earth,  who  will  give  you  clear  and  running  water } 

*  "  They  shall  hear  the  cries  of  despair.     The  fire  shall  but  bum  with  greater  fury. 
Could  they  be  destroyed,  its  fury  would  destroy  them." — Savary. 
k  This  comparison  is  applied  by  the  expositors  to  the  infidel  and  the  true  believer, 
t  "  How  few  are  there  who  thank  him  for  these  benefits  !" — Savary. 


460  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxviii. 

CHAPTER  LXVIII. 
INTITLED,  THE  PEN;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE    NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

N.^  By  the  pen,  and  what  they  write,*"  thou,  O  Mohammed^  through 
the  grace  of  thy  Lord,  art  not  distracted.*'  Verijy  there  is  lorejmred  for 
thee  an  everlasting  reward:  for  thou  art  of  a  noble  disposition." f  Thou 
shalt  see,  and  the  infidels  shall  see,  which  of  you  are  bereaved  of  your 
senses.  Verily  thy  Lord  well  knoweth  him  who  wandereth  from  his  path ; 
and  he  well  knoweth  those  who  are  rightly  directed :  wherefore  obey  not 
those  who  charge  thee  with  imposture.  They  desire  that  thou  shouldest 
be  easy  with  them^  and  they  will  be  easy  with  thee."  But  obey  not  any  who 
is  a  common  swearer,  a  despicable  fellow,  a  defamer,  going  about  with 
slander,  who  forbiddeth  that  which  is  good,  who  is  also  a  transgressor,  a 
wicked  person,  cruel,  and  besides  this,  of  spurious  birth  ;p  although  he  be 
possessed  of  wealth  and  many  children :  when  our  signs  are  rehearsed  unto 
him,  he  saith.  They  are  fables  of  the  ancients.  We  will  stigmatize  him  on 
the  nose.J*!     Verily  we  have  tried  the  Meccans,''  as  we  formerly  tried  the 

'  This  letter  is  sometimes  made  the  title  of  the  chapter,  but  its  meaning  is  confessedly 
uncertain.  They  who  suppose  it  stands  for  the  word  Niln,  are  not  agreed  as  to  its  signi- 
fication in  this  place ;  for  it  is  not  only  the  name  of  the  letter  N  in  Arabic,  but  signifies 
also  an  inkhorn,  and  ajish:  some  are  of  opinion  the  former  signification  is  the  most  proper 
here,  as  consonant  to  what  is  immediately  mentioned  of  the  pen,  and  writing,  and,  con- 
sidering that  the  blood  of  certain/sA  is  good  ink,  not  inconsistent  with  the  latter  significa- 
tion ;  which  is,  however,  preferred  by  others,  saying  that  either  the  whole  species  oi  fish 
in  general  is  thereby  intended,  or  the  fish  which  swallowed  Jonas  (who  is  mentioned  in 
this  chapter),  or  else  that  vast  one  called  Behemoth,  fancied  to  support  the  earth,  in  par- 
ticular. Those  who  acquiesce  in  none  of  the  foregoing-explications  have  invented  others 
of  their  own,  and  imagine  this  character  stands  for  the  table  of  God's  decrees,  or  07ie  of  the 
rivers  in  paradise,  &c.' 

"^  Some  understand  these  words  generally,  and  others  of  the  pen  with  which  God's 
decrees  are  wrhten  on  the  preserved  table,  and  of  the  angels  who  register  the  same. 

*  "  I  swear  by  the  pen,  and  that  which  the  angels  write,  it  is  not  Satan,  it  is  Heaven 
which  inspireth  thee." — Savary. 

°  In  that  thou  hast  borne  with  so  much  patience  and  resignation  the  wrongs  and  insults 
of  thy  people,  which  have  been  greater  than  those  ofiered  to  any  apostle  before  thee.^ 

t  "  Thou  professest  the  sublime  religion." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  If  thou  wilt  let  them  alone  in  their  idolatry  and  other  wicked  practices,  they  will 
cease  to  revile  and  persecute  thee. 

p  The  person  at  whom  this  passage  was  particularly  levelled  is  generally  supposed  to 
have  been  Mohammed's  inveterate  enemy  al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mogheira,  whom,  to  complete 
his  character,  he  calls  bastard,  because  al  Mogheira  did  not  own  him  for  his  son  till  he  was 
eighteen  years  of  age.^  Some,  however,  think  it  was  al  Akhnas  Ebn  Shoraik,  who  was 
really  of  the  tribe  of  Thakif,  though  reputed  to  be  of  that  of  Zahra.* 

t  "  We  will  imprint  a  fiery  mark  upon  his  nose." — Savary. 

■»  Which  being  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  face,  a  mark  set  thereon  is  attended  with 
the  utmost  ignominy.  It  is  said  that  this  prophetical  menace  was  actually  made  good,  al 
Walid  having  his  nose  slit  by  a  sword,  at  the  battle  of  Eedr,  the  markof  which  wound  he 
carried  with  him  to  his  grave.' 

^  By  afflicting  them  with  a  grievous  famine.     See  chap.  23,  p.  284. 

'  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  ^AIBeidawi.  ^Tdem,  Jallalo'ddin.  *Iidein. 
*  lidem. 


CHAP.  Lxviii.  AL  KORAN.  461 

owners  of  the  garden ;  *  *  when  they  swore  that  they  would  gather  the  fruit 
thereof*  in  the  morning,  and  added  not  the  exception,  if  it  please  God  : 
wherefore  a  surrounding  destruction  from  thy  Lord  encompassed  it,  while 
they  slept ;  and  in  the  morning  it  became  like  a  garden  whose  fruits  had 
been  gathered.'*  And  they  called  the  one  to  the  other  as  they  rose  in 
the  morning,  saying,  Go  out  early  to  your  plantation,  if  ye  intend  to  gather 
the  fruit  thereof:  so  they  went  on,  whispering  to  one  another,  No  poor 
man  shall  enter  the  garden  upon  you,  this  day.  And  they  went  forth  early, 
with  a  determined  purpose.|  And  when  they  saw  the  garden  blasted  and 
destroyed,  they  said,  We  have  certainly  mistaken  our  way :  hut  when  they 
found  it  to  he  their  own  garden,  they  cried,Yeri\y  we  are  not  permitted^  to 
reap  the  fruit  thereof.  The  worthier  of  them  said.  Did  I  not  say  unto  you, 
Will  ye  not  give  praise  unto  God  ?  They  answered,  Praise  be  unto  our 
Lord  !  Verily  we  have  been  unjust  doers.  And  they  began  to  blame  one 
another,^  and  they  said.  Woe  be  unto  us !  verily  we  have  been  trans- 
gressors :  peradventure  our  Lord  will  give  us  in  exchange  a  better  garden 
than  this  :  and  we  earnestly  beseech  our  Lord  to  pardon  us.  Thus  is  the 
chastisement  of  this  life  :  but  the  chastisement  of  the  next  shall  he  more 
grievous  :  if  they  had  known  it,  they  would  have  taken  heed.  Verily  for  the 
pious  are  prepared,  with  their  Lord,  gardens  of  delight.  Shall  we  deal 
with  the  Moslems,  as  with  the  wicked  ?  '^  What  aileth  you  that  ye  judge 
thus  .''  Have  ye  a  book  from  heaven,  wherein  ye  read  that  ye  are  therein 
promised  that  which  ye  shall  choose  ?  Or  have  ye  received  oaths  which 
shall  be  binding  upon  us  to  the  day  of  resurrection,  that  ye  shall  enjoy 
what  ye  imagine  ?  Ask  them,  which  of  them  will  he  the  voucher  of  this. 
Or  have  they  companions  *  ivho  will  vouch  for  them  ?  Let  them  produce 
their  companions,  therefore,  if  they  speak  truth.     On  a  certain  day  the  leg 

*  This  garden  was  a  plantation  of  palm-trees,  about  two  parasangs  from  Sanaa,  belonging 
to  a  certain  charitable  man,  who,  when  he  gathered  his  dates,  used  to  give  public  notice 
to  the  poor,  and  to  leave  them  such  of  the  fruit  as  the  knife  missed,  or  was  blown  do\vn 
by  the  wind,  or  fell  beside  the  cloth  spread  under  the  tree  to  receive  it :  after  death,  his 
sons,  who  were  then  become  masters  of  the  garden,  apprehending  they  should  come  to 
want  if  they  followed  their  father's  example,  agreed  to  gather  the  fruit  early  in  the  morning, 
when  the  poor  could  have  no  notice  of  the  matter:  but  when  they  came  to  execute  their 
purpose,  they  found,  to  their  great  grief  and  surprise,  that  their  plantation  had  been 
destroyed  in  the  night.^ 

*  "  We  have  punished  the  Meccans,  like  unto  the  owners  of  the  garden." — Savary. 

'  Literally,  that  they  would  cut  it;  the  manner  of  gathering  dates  being  to  cut  the  clusters 
off  with  a  knife.  Marracci  supposes  they  intended  to  cut  down  the  trees,  and  destroy  the 
plantation;  which,  as  he  observes,  renders  the  story  ridiculous  and  absurd. 

"  Or,  as  the  original  may  also  be  rendered,  like  a  dark  night  ,•  it  being  burnt  up  and 
black. 

t  "Already  they  reckoned  upon  an  assured  harvest." — Savary. 

*  The  same  expression  is  used,  chap.  56,  p.  437. 

^For  one  advised  this  expedition,  another  approved  of  it,  a  third  gave  consent  by  his 
silence,  but  the  fourth  was  absolutely  against  it.'' 

^  This  passage  was  revealed  in  answer  to  the  infidels,  who  said.  If  we  shall  be  raised 
again,  as  Mohammed  and  his  followers  imagine,  they  will  not  excel  us;  but  wc  sliall  cer- 
tainly be  in  a  better  condition  than  they  in  the  next  world,  as  we  are  in  this.^ 

*  Or,  as  some  interpret  the  word,  idols;  which  can  make  their  condition  in  the  next  life 
equal  to  that  of  the  Moslems  ? 

«  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  ■"  Al  Beidawi  '  Idem. 


462  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxix. 

shall  be  made  bare  ;*  ^  and  they  shall  be  called  upon  to  worship,  but  they 
shall  not  be  able.^  Their  looks  shall  he  cast  down  :  ignominy  shall  attend 
them ;  for  that  they  were  invited  to  the  worship  of  God,  while  they  ivere  in 
safety,  hut  would  not  hear.  Let  me  alone,  therefore,  with  him  who  accuselh 
this  new  revelation  of  imposture.  We  will  lead  them  gradually  to  destruc- 
tion, by  ways  which  they  know  not :  ^  and  I  will  bear  with  them  for  a  long 
time;  for  my  stratagem  is  effectual.!  Dost  thou  ask  them  any  reward /or 
thy  preaching  f  But  they  are  laden  with  debts.  Are  the  secrets  of  futurity 
with  them;  and  do  they  transcribe  the  same  from  the  tahle  of  God''s 
decrees  f^X  Wherefore  patiently  wait  the  judgment  of  thy  Lord  :  and  be 
not  like  him  who  was  swallowed  by  the  fish ;  ^  when  he  cried  unto  God, 
being  inwardly  vexed.  Had  not  grace  from  his  Lord  reached  him,  he  had 
surely  been  cast  forth  on  the  naked  shore,  covered  with  shame :  but  his 
Lord  chose  him,  and  made  him  one  of  the  righteous.  It  wanteth  little  but 
that  the  unbelievers  strike  thee  down  with  their  malicious  looks,  when  they 
hear  the  admonition  of  the  Koran ;  and  they  say.  He  is  certainly  distracted  : 
but  it  is  no  other  than  an  admonition  unto  all  creatures. 


CHAPTER   LXIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  INFALLIBLE;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  infallible  !  s  What  is  the  infallible  }  And  what  shall  cause  thee  to 
understand  what  the  infallible  is? ^  The  tribes  o/Thamud  and  Ad  denied 
as  a  falsehood  the  day  which  shall  strike  ^  men's  hearts  with  terror.  But 
Thamud  were  destroyed  by  a  terrible  noise :  and  Ad  were  destroyed  by  a 

*  "  The  wicked  shall  one  day  be  unmasked." — Savary. 

*>  This  expression  is  used  to  signify  a  grievous  and  terrible  calamity :  thus  they  say, 
War  has  made  bare  the  leg,  when  they  would  express  the  fury  and  rage  of  battle.^ 

'^  Because  the  time  of  acceptance  shall  be  past.  Al  Beidawi  is  uncertain  whether  the 
words  respect  the  day  of  judgment,  or  the  article  of  death  :  but  Jallalo'ddin  supposes  them 
to  relate  to  the  former,  and  adds  that  the  infidels  shall  not  be  able  to  perform  the  act  of 
adoration,  because  their  backs  shall  become  stiff  and  inflexible. 

^  i.  e.  By  granting  them  long  hfe  and  prosperity  in  this  world  ;  which  will  deceive  them 
to  their  ruin. 

t  Ifl  prolong  their  days,  it  is  but  a  snare  which  I  spread  for  them." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  52,  p.  425. 

t  "Know  they  the  mysteries  of  nature  ?    Nevertheless,  they  write !" — Savary. 

^  That  is,  Be  not  impatient  and  pettish,  as  Jonas  was.    See  chap.  21,  p.  271. 

s  The  original  word  al  Hakkat  is  one  of  the  names  or  epithets  of  the  day  of  judgment. 
As  the  root  from  which  it  is  derived  signifies  not  only  to  he  or  come  to  pass  of  necessity, 
but  also  to  verify,  some  rather  think  that  day  to  be  so  called  because  it  will  verify,  and 
show  the  truth  of  what  men  doubt  of  in  this  life  ;  viz.  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  their 
being  brought  to  account,  and  the  consequent  rewards  and  punishments.' 

^  "  The  inevitable  day  !  How  terrible  will  be  that  day  !  who  can  depict  it  unto  thee  ?'' 
"—Savary. 

^  Arab,  al  Karidt,  or  the  striking;  which  is  another  name  or  epithet  of  the  last  day. 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  lidem. 


CHAP.  LXix.  AL  KORAN.  463 

roaring  and  furious  wind ;  which  God  caused  to  assail  them  for  seven  nights 
and  eight  days  successively :  thou  mightest  have  seen  people  during  the 
same,  lying  prostrate,  as  though  they  had  been  the  roots  of  hollow  palm- 
trees  ; '  and  couldest  thou  have  seen  any  of  them  remaining  r*  Pharaoh 
also,  and  those  who  were  before  him,  and  the  cities  which  were  overthrown,^ 
were  guilty  of  sin :  and  they  severally  were  disobedient  to  the  apostle  of  their 
Lord  ;  wherefore  he  chastised  them  with  an  abundant  chastisement.  When 
the  w^ater  of  the  deluge  arose,  we  carried  you  in  the  ark  which  swam  there- 
on ;  that  we  might  make  the  «ame  a  memorial  unto  you,  and  the  retaining 
ear  might  retain  iff  And  when  one  blast  shall  sound  the  trumpet,  and  the 
earth  shall  be  moved  from  its  place,  and  the  mountains  also,  and  sliall  be 
dashed  in  pieces  at  one  stroke  :  on  that  day  the  inevitable  hour  of  judgment 
shall  suddenly  come ;  and  the  heavens  shall  cleave  in  sunder,  and  shall  fall 
in  pieces,  on  that  day :  and  the  angels  shall  he  on  the  sides  thereof  ;^  J  and 
eiglit  shall  bear  the  throne  of  thy  Lord  above  them,  on  that  day."*  On  that 
day  ye  shall  be  presented  before  the  judgment  seat  of  God;  and  none  of  your 
secret  actions  shall  be  hidden.  And  he  who  shall  have  his  book  delivered 
into  his  right  hand  shall  say.  Take  ye,  read  this  my  book ;  verily  I  thouglit 
that  I  should  be  brought  to  this  my  account :  he  shall  lead  a  pleasing 
life,  in  a  lofty  garden,  the  fruits  whereof  shall  be  near  to  gather.  Eat  and 
drink  with  easy  digestion ;  because  of  the  good  loorks  which  ye  sent  before 
you,  in  the  days  which  are  past.§  But  he  who  shall  have  his  book  deli- 
vered into  his  left  hand  shall  say,  O  that  I  had  not  received  this  book ;  and 
that  I  had  not  known  what  this  my  account  icas !  O  that  death  had  made 
an  end  of  me  !  My  riches  have  not  profited  me  ;  and  my  power  is  passed 
from  me.  And  God  shall  say  to  the  keepers  of  hell,  Take^  him,  and  bind 
him,  and  cast  him  into  hell  to  be  burned :  then  put  him  into  a  chain  of  the 
length  of  seventy  cubits  :  "^  because  he  believed  not  in  the  great  God  ;  and 
was  not  solicitous  to  feed  the  poor:  wherefore  this  day  he  shall  have 
no  friend  here ;  nor  any  food,  but  the  filthy  corruption  flowing  from  the 
bodies  of  the  damned,  which  none  shall  eat  but  the  sinners.  I  swear"  by 
that  which  ye  see,  and  that  which  ye  see  not,  that  this  is  the  discourse  of 
an  honourable  apostle,  and  not  the  discourse  of  a  poet :  how  little  do  ye 

'  See  chap.  54,  p.  430. 

*  "  The  guilty  were  overthrown  on  the  earth,  Hke  unto  uprooted  palm-trees.  The 
scourge  spared  not  one  of  them." — Savary. 

^  viz.  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.     See  chap.  9,  p.  157,  note  1. 

+  "Let  it  be  a  memorial  unto  the  earth;  let  your  hearts  preserve  the  remembrance 
of  it." — Savary. 

'  These  words  seem  to  intimate  the  death  of  the  angels,  at  the  demolition  of  their 
habitation :  beside  the  ruins  whereof  they  shall  lie  hke  dead  bodies. 

t  "  An  angel  shall  guard  the  entrance  thereof." — Savary. 

'"  The  number  of  those  who  bear  it  at  present  being  generally  supposed  to  be  but  four ; 
to  whom  four  more  will  be  added  at  the  last  day,  for  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion.^ 

<i>  "  Satiate  thyself  with  the  pleasures  which  are  offered  unto  thee.  They  are  the  reward 
of  the  good  which  thou  hast  done  upon  earth." — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Wrap  him  round  with  it,  so  that  he  may  not  be  able  to  stir. 

°  Or,  /  will  not  swear.  See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.  (This  is  the  reading  adopted  by 
Savary.) 

^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


464  AL  KORAN. 


CHAP.  LXX. 


believe !  Neither  is  it  the  discourse  of  a  soothsayer :  how  little  are  ye 
admonished !  It  is  a  revelation  from  the  Lord  of  all  creatures.  If  Mo- 
liammed  had  forged  any  part  of  these  discourses  concerning  us,  verily  we 
had  taken  him  by  the  right  hand,  and  had  cut  in  sunder  the  vein  of  his 
heart  ;*  neither  would  we  have  withheld  any  of  you  from  chastising  him. 
And  verily  this  book  is  an  admonition  unto  the  pious ;  and  we  well  know 
that  there  are  some  of  you  who  charge  the  same  with  imposture :  but  it 
shall  surely  he  an  occasion  of  grievous  sighing  unto  the  infidels ;  for  it  is 
the  truth  of  a  certainty.  Wherefore  praise  the  name  of  thy  Lord,  the 
great  God. 


CHAPTER   LXX. 

INTITLED,  THE  STEPS;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

One  demanded  and  called  for  vengeance  to  fall  on  the  unbelievers  :  p  f 
there  shall  be  none  to  avert  the  same  from  being  inflicted  by  God,  the  pos- 
sessor of  the  steps  :i  by  which  the  angels  ascend  unto  him,  and  the  spirit 
Gabriel  also,  in  a  day  whose  space  is  fifty  thousand  years :  •"  J  wherefore  bear 

*  "  We  should  have  seized  him  on  the  spot,  and  should  have  cut  the  vein  of  the  heart. 
No  one  should  have  had  the  power  to  suspend  our  vengeance." — Savary. 

p  The  person  here  meant  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  al  Nodar  Ebn  al  Hareth, 
who  said,  O  God,  if  what  Mohammed  preaches  he  the  truth  from  thee,  rain  down  tipon 
us  a  shower  of  stones,  or  send  some  dreadful  judgment  to  punish  us.^  Others,  however, 
think,  it  was  Abu^  Jahl,  who  challenged  Mohammed  to  cause  a  fragment  of  heaven  to 
fall  on  them.* 

t  "  The  prophet  hath  been  questioned  concerning  the  punishments  which  are  to  come." 
— Savary. 

•1  By  which  prayers  and  righteous  actions  ascend  to  heaven ;  or  by  which  the  angels 
ascend  to  receive  the  divine  commands,  or  the  believers  will  ascend  to  paradise.  Some 
understand  thereby  the  difierent  orders  of  angels ;  or  the  heavens,  which  rise  gradually 
one  above  another. 

■■  This  is  supposed  to  be  the  space  which  would  be  required  for  their  ascent  from  the 
lowest  part  of  the  creation  to  the  throne  of  God,  if  it  were  to  be  measured ;  or  the  time 
which  it  would  take  a  man  to  perform  a  journey :  and  this  is  not  contradictory  to  what  is 
said  elsewhere  ;*  (if  it  be  to  be  interpreted  of  the  ascent  of  the  angels)  that  the  length  of 
the  day  whereon  they  ascend  is  1000  years ;  because  that  is  meant  only  of  their  ascent 
from  earth  to  the  lower  heaven,  including  also  the  time  of  their  descent. 

But  the  commentators  generally,  taking  the  day  spoken  of  in  both  these  passages  to  be 
the  day  of  judgment,  have  recourse  to  several  expedients  to  reconcile  them,  some  of 
which  we  have  mentioned  in  another  place  :^  and  as  both  passages  seem  to  contradict 
what  Mohammedan  doctors  teach,  that  God  will  judge  all  creatures  in  the  space  of  half 
a  day,'  they  suppose  those  large  numbers  of  years  are  designed  to  express  the  time  of 
the  previous  attendance  of  those  who  are  to  be  judged  f  or  else  to  the  space  wherein  God 
will  judge  the  unbeheving  nations,  of  which,  they  say,  there  will  be  fifty,  the  trial  of 
each  nation  taking  up  1000  years,  though  that  of  the  true  believers  will  be  over  in  the 
short  space  above-mentioned.* 

t  "  God  is  the  author  of  them.  He  possesseth  the  celestial  steps.  By  them  the  angels 
and  Gabriel  will  ascend  towards  his  throne  on  the  day  of  judgment,  the  duration  of  which 
shall  be  fifty  thousand  years." — Savary. 

==  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi.  «  Al  Beidawi.  «  Chap.  32,  p.  339. 

«  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  60.  '  See  ibid.  p.  63.  «  See  ibid.  p.  61,  62. 

"  Al  Zamakh. 


CHAP.  Lxx.  AL  KORAN.  405 

the  insults  of  the  Meccans  with  becoming  patience ;  for  they  see  their 
punishment  afar  off,  but  we  see  it  nigh  at  hand.  On  a  certain  day  the 
heaven  shall  become  like  molten  brass*  and  the  mountains  like  wool  of 
various  colours,  scattered  abroad  by  the  loind  :  and  a  friend  shall  not  ask 
a  friend  concerning  his  condition,  although  they  see  one  another.  The 
wicked  shall  wish  to  redeem  himself  from  the  punishment  of  that  day,  by 
giving  up  his  children,  and  his  wife,  and  his  brother,  and  his  kindred  who 
showed  kindness  unto  him,  and  all  who  are  in  the  earth ;  and  that  this 
.  might  deliver  him :  by  no  means :  for  hell  fire,  dragging  them  by  ihe,ir 
scalps,  shall  call  him  who  shall  have  turned  his  back,  and  fled  from  the 
faith^  and  shall  have  amassed  riches,  and  covetously  hoarded  them.  Verily 
man  is  created  extremely  impatient :  ^  when  evil  toucheth  him,  he  is  full 
of  complaint ;  but  when  good  befalleth  him,  he  becometh  niggardly :  except 
those  who  are  devoutly  given,  and  who  persevere  in  their  prayers ;  and 
those  of  whose  substance  a  due  and  certain  portion  is  ready  to  be  given 
unto  him  who  asketh,  and  him  who  is  forbidden  by  shame  to  ask :  and 
those  who  sincerely  beheve  the  day  of  judgment,  and  who  dread  the 
punishment  of  their  Lord  :  (for  there  is  none  secure  from  the  punishment 
of  their  Lord  :)  and  who  abstain  from  the  carnal  knowledge  of  women  other 
than  their  wives,  or  the  slaves  which  their  right  hands  possess :  (for  as  to 
ihern  they  shall  be  blameless ;  but  whoever  coveteth  any  woman  besides 
these,  they  are  transgressors :)  and  those  who  faithfully  keep  what  they 
are  intrusted  with,  and  their  covenant ;  and  who  are  upright  in  their  testi- 
monies, and  who  carefully  observe  the  requisite  rites  in  their  prayers :  these 
shall  dwell  amidst  gardens,  highly  honoured.  What  aileth  the  unbelievers, 
that  they  run  before  thee  in  companies,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left } 
Doth  every  man  of  them  wish  to  enter  into  a  garden  of  delight .?  By  no 
means  :  verily  we  have  created  them  of  that  which  they  know.*  I  swear  ° 
by  the  Lord  of  the  east  and  of  the  west,*  that  we  are  able  to  destroy  them, 
and  to  substitute  better  than  them  in  their  room ;  neither  are  we  to  be  pre- 
vented, if  we  shall  please  so  to  do.  Wherefore  suffer  them  to  wade  in  vain 
disputes,  and  to  amuse  themselves  with  sport :  until  they  meet  their  day 
-with  which  they  have  been  threatened ;  |  the  day  ivhereon  they  shall  come 
forth  hastily  from  their  graves,  as  though  they  v/ere  troops  hastening  to 
their  standard :  their  looks  shall  be  downcast ;  ignominy  shall  attend  them. 
This  is  the  day  with  which  they  have  been  threatened. 

*  "  Like  molten  silver." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  17,  p.  228. 

'  viz.  Of  filthy  seed,  which  bears  no  relation  or  resemblance  to  holy  beings :  wherefore 
it  is  necessary  for  him  who  would  hope  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  paradise,  to  perfect  him- 
self in  faith  and  spiritual  virtues,  to  fit  himself  for  that  place/ 

"  Or,  /  will  not  swear,  &,c.    See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.    (Savary  prefers  this  reading.) 

'  The  original  words  are  in  the  plural  number,  and  signify  the  different  points  of  the 
horizon  at  which  the  sun  rises  and  sets  in  the  course  of  the  year.  See  chap.  37,  p.  366, 
note  i. 

t  "  Suffer  them  to  waste  their  lives  in  frivolous  disputes.  The  day  with  which  they  are 
threatened  shall  come  on  them  unawares." — Savary, 

'■  Al  Beidawi. 


466  AL  KORAN.  chap.  lxxi. 

CHAPTER   LXXI. 

INTITLED,  NOAH;*   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Verily  we  sent  Noah  unto  his  people,  saying,  Warn  thy  people,  before 
a  grievous  punishment  overtake  them.  JVoah  said,  O  my  people,  verily  I 
am  a  public  warner  unto  you;  wherefore  serve  God,  and  fear  him,  and 
obey  me ;  he  will  forgive  you  part  of  your  sins ;  y  and  will  grant  you 
respite  until  a  determined  time  :  for  God's  determined  time,  when  it 
Cometh,  shall  not  be  deferred ;  if  ye  were  men  of  understanding,  ye  would 
know  this.  He  said.  Lord,  verily  I  have  called  my  people  night  and  day ; 
but  my  calling  only  increaseth  their  aversion :  and  whensoever  I  call  them 
to  the  true  faith,  that  thou  mayest  forgive  them,  they  put  their  fingers  in 
their  ears,  and  cover  themselves  with  their  garments,  and  persist  in  their 
infidelity,  and  proudly  disdain  my  counsel.'\  Moreover  I  invited  them 
openly,  and  I  spake  to  them  again  in  public;  and  I  also  secretly  ad- 
monished them  in  private ;  and  I  said.  Beg  pardon  of  your  Lord  ;  for 
he  is  inclined  to  forgive :  and  he  will  cause  the  heaven  to  pour  down 
rain  plentifully  upon  you,  and  will  give  you  increase  of  wealth  and  of 
children ;  *  and  he  will  provide  you  gardens,  and  furnish  you  with  rivers. 
What  aileth  you,  that  ye  hope  not  for  benevolence  in  God;^  since  he 
hath  created  you  variously?''  Do  ye  not  see  how  God  hath  created  the 
seven  heavens,  one  above  another;  and  hath  placed  the  moon  therein 
for  a  light,  and  hath  appointed  the  sun  for  a  taper  ?  J  God  hath  also  pro- 
duced and  caused  you  to  spring  forth  from  the  earth :  hereafter  he  will 
cause  you  to  return  into  the  same ;  and  he  will  again  take  you  thence,  by 
bringing  you  forth  from  your  graves.  And  God  hath  spread  the  earth 
as  a  carpet  for  you,  that  ye  may  walk  therein  through  spacious  paths. 
Noah  said.  Lord,  verily  they  are  disobedient  unto  me ;  and  they  follow 
him  whose  riches  and  children  do  no  other  than  increase  his  perdition. 
And  they  devised  a  dangerous  plot  against  JVoah  :  and  the  chief  men  said 

*  "  Peace  be  with  him." — Savary. 

y  i.  e.  Your  past  sins ;  which  are  done  away  by  the  profession  of  the  true  faith. 

t  "  They  cover  their  faces  with  their  garments.  They  persist  in  error.  They  manifest 
only  pride  and  obstinacy." — Savary. 

^  It  is  said,  that  after  Noah  had  for  a  long  time  preached  to  them  in  vain,  God  shut  up 
the  heaven  for  forty  years,  and  rendered  their  women  barren.'^ 

»  i.  e.  That  God  will  accept  and  amply  reward  those  who  serve  him  ?  For  some  sup- 
pose  Noah's  people  made  him  this  answer,  If  what  we  now  follow  be  the  truth,  we  ought 
not  to  forsake  it  ;  but  if  it  be  false,  how  will  God  accept,  or  be  favourable  unto  tcs,  who 
have  rebelled  against  him  ? ' 

^  That  is,  as  the  commentators  expound  it,  by  various  steps  or  changes,  from  the  ori- 
ginal matter,  till  ye  become  perfect  men." 

t  "  He  hath  hung  the  moon  in  the  firmament  to  reflect  the  light,  and  the  sun  to  im- 
part it." — Savary. 

'  Al  Zamakh.  '  Idem.  *  See  chap.  22,  p.  274,  and  chap.  23,  p.  281,  &c. 


CHAP.  Lxxn.  AL  KORAN.  467 

to  the  others,  Ye  shall  by  no  means  leave  your  gods ;  neither  shall  ye 
forsake  Wadtl,  nor  Sowa,  nor  Yaghiith,  and  Yauk,  and  Nesr.<=  And 
they  seduced  many;  (for  thou  shalt  only  increase  error  in  the  wicked:) 
because  of  their  sins  they  were  drowned,  and  cast  into  the  fire  of  hell ; 
and  they  found  none  to  protect  them  against  God.  And  Noah  said, 
Lord,  leave  not  any  families  of  the  unbelievers  on  the  earth :  for  if 
thou  leave  them,  they  will  seduce  thy  servants,  and  will  beget  none  but 
a  wicked  and  unbelieving  offspring.  Lord,  forgive  me  and  my  parents,-^ 
and  every  one  who  shall  enter  my  house,'  being  a  true  believer,  and  the 
true  believers  of  both  sexes ;  and  add  unto  the  unjust  doers  nothing  but 
destruction. 


CHAPTER   LXXII. 
INTITLED,  THE  GENII;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Say,  It  hath  been  revealed  unto  me  that  a  company  of  genii  attentively 
heard  me  reading  the  Kordn,^  and  said,  Verily  we  have  heard  an  admirable 
discourse ;  which  directeth  unto  the  right  institution  •,  wherefore  we  believe 
therein,  and  we  will  by  no  means  associate  any  other  with  our  Lord.  He 
(may  the  majesty  of  our  Lord  be  exalted !)  hath  taken  no  wife,  nor  hath 
he  begotten  any  issue.  Yet  the  foolish  among  US'*  hath  spoken  that  which 
is  extremely  false  of  God ;  but  we  verily  thought  that  neither  man  nor 
genius  would  by  any  means  have  uttered  a  lie  concerning  God.  And  there 
are  certain  men  who  fly  for  refuge  unto  certain  of  the  genii ; '  but  they 
increase  their  folly  and  transgression  :  and  they  also  thought,  as  ye  thought,*^ 
that  God  would  not  raise  any  one  to  life.  And  we  formerly  attempted  to 
pry  into  what  was  transacting  in  heaven ;  but  we  found  the  same  filled  with 
a  strong  guard  of  angels,  and  with  flaming  darts  :  and  we  sat  on  some  of  the 

''  These  were  five  idols  worshipped  by  the  antediluvians,  and  afterwards  by  the  ancient 
Arabs.     See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  1,  p.  13. 

^  They  say  Noah  preferred  not  this  prayer  for  the  destruction  of  his  people,  till  after 
he  had  tried  them  for  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  found  them  incorrigible  re- 
probates. 

«  His  father  Lamech,  and  his  mother,  whose  name  was  Shamkha,  the  daughter  of  Enosh, 
being  true  behevers. 

f  The  commentators  are  uncertain  whether  Noah's  dwelUng-house  be  here  meant,  or 
the  temple  he  had  built  for  the  worship  of  God,  or  the  ark. 

8  See  chap.  46,  p.  409,  note  o. 

••  viz.  Eblis,  or  the  rebellious  genii. 

'  For  the  Arabs,  when  they  found  themselves  in  a  desert  in  the  evening  (the  genii  being 
supposed  to  haimt  such  places  about  that  time),  used  to  say,  I fiy  for  refuge  unto  the  Lord 
of  this  valley,  that  he  may  defend  me  from  the  foolish  among  his  people.'-' 

*  It  Is  uncertain  which  of  these  pronouns  is  to  be  referred  to  mankind,  and  which  to  the 
genii :  some  expositors  taking  that  of  the  third  person  to  relate  to  the  former,  and  that  of 
the  second  person  to  the  latter ;  and  others  being  of  the  contrary  opinion. 

»  Al  Beidawi. 


468  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxii. 

seats  thereof  to  hear  the  discourse  of  its  inhahltants ;  but  whoever  listeneth 
now,  findeth  a  flame  laid  in  ambush  for  him,  to  guard  the  celestial  confines} 
And  we  know  not  whether  evil  be  herehy  intended  against  those  who  are 
in  the  earth,  or  whether  their  Lord  intendeth  to  direct  them  aright.  There 
are  some  among  us  who  are  upright ;  and  there  are  some  among  us  who  are 
otherwise  :  we  are  of  different  ways.  And  we  verily  thought  that  we  could 
by  no  means  frustrate  God  in  the  earth,  neither  could  we  escape  him  by 
flight :  wherefore,  when  we  had  heard  the  direction  contained  in  the  Koran, 
we  believed  therein.  And  whoever  believeth  in  his  Lord,  need  not  fear  any 
diminution  of  his  reioard,  nor  any  injustice.  There  are  some  Moslems 
among  us ;  and  there  are  others  of  us  who  swerve  from  righteousness." 
And  whoso  embraceth  Islam,  they  earnestly  seek  true  direction :  but  those 
who  swerve  from  righteousness  shall  be  fuel  for  hell.  If  they  tread  in  the 
way  of  truth,  we  will  surely  water  them  with  abundant  rain ;  »  that  we  may 
prove  them  thereby  :  but  whoso  turneth  aside  from  the  admonition  of  his 
Lord,  him  will  he  send  into  a  severe  torment.  Verily  the  places  of  wor- 
ship are  set  apart  unto  God  :  wherefore  invoke  not  any  other  therein 
together  with  God.  When  the  servant  of  God  "  stood  up  to  invoke  him,  it 
wanted  little  but  that  the  genii  had  pressed  on  him  in  crowds,  to  hear  him 
rehearse  the  Koran.  Say,  Verily  I  call  upon  my  Lord  only,  and  I  associate 
no  other  god  with  him.  Say,  Verily  I  am  not  able,  of  myself ^  to  procure 
you  either  hurt,  or  a  right  institution.  Say,  Verily  none  can  protect  me 
against  God  ;  neither  shall  I  find  any  refuge  besides  him.*  /  can  do  no 
more  than  publish  what  hath  been  revealed  unto  me  from  God,  and  his 
messages.  And  whosoever  shall  be  disobedient  unto  God,  and  his  apostle, 
for  him  is  the  fire  of  hell  prepared ;  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever. 
Until  they  see  the  vengeance  with  which  they  are  threatened,  they  will  not 
cease  their  opposition  :  but  then  shall  they  know  who  were  the  weaker  in  a 
protector,  and  the  fewer  in  number.  Say,  I  know  not  whether  the  punish- 
ment with  which  ye  are  threatened  be  nigh,  or  whether  my  Lord  will 
appoint  for  it  a  distant  term.  He  knoweth  the  secrets  of  futurity ;  and  he 
doth  not  communicate  his  secrets  unto  any,  except  an  apostle  in  whom  he 
is  well  pleased :  and  he  causeth  a  guard  of  angels  to  march  before  him,  and 
behind  him ;  that  he  may  know  that  they  have  executed  the  commissions 
of  their  Lord  ;  p  he  comprehendeth  whatever  is  with  them ;  and  counteth 
all  things  by  number. 

>  See  chap.  15,  p.  210. 

""  See  the  PreUm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  52,  &c. 

°  i.  e.  We  will  grant  them  plenty  of  all  good  things.  Some  think  by  these  words  rain 
is  promised  to  the  Meccans,  after  their  seven  years'  drought,  on  their  embracing  Islam. 

°  vie.  Mohammed. 

*  "  I  shall  find  no  shelter  from  his  wrath." — Savary. 

p  That  is  to  say,  Either  that  the  prophet  may  know  that  Gabriel  and  the  other  angels, 
who  bring  down  the  revelation,  have  communicated  it  to  him  pure  and  free  from  any  dia- 
bolical suggestions ;  or  that  God  may  know  that  the  prophet  has  published  the  same  to 
mankind.* 

^  Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lxxm.  AL  KORAN.  469 

CHAPTER  LXXIII. 
INTITLED,  THE  WRAPPED  UP;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.' 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

O  THOU  wrapped  up,*"  arise  to  prayer,  and  continue  therein  during  the 
night,  except  a  small  part;«  that  is  to  say,  during  one  half  thereof:  or  do 
thou  lessen  the  same  a  little  or  add  thereto.^  And  repeat  the  Koran  with 
a  distinct  and  sonorous  voice :  for  we  will  lay  on  thee  a  weighty  word. 
Verily  the  rising  by  night  ^  is  more  efficacious  for  stedfast  continuance  in 
devotion,  and  more  conducive  to  decent  pronunciation  :*'^  for  in  the  day-time 
thou  hast  long  employment.  And  commemorate  the  name  of  thy  Lord  ; 
and  separate  thyself  unto  him,  renouncing  worldly  vanities.  He  is  the 
Lord  of  the  east,  and  of  the  west ;  there  is  no  God  but  he.  Wherefore 
take  him  for  thy  patron :  and  patiently  suffer  the  contumelies  which  the 

1  Some  will  have  the  last  verse,  beginning  at  these  words,  Verily  thy  Lord  hnoweth,  &c. 
to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

^  When  this  revelation  was  brought  to  Mohammed,  he  was  wrapped  up  in  his  garments, 
being  affrighted  at  the  appearance  of  Gabriel ;  or,  as  some  say,  he  lay  sleeping  unconcern- 
edly, or,  according  to  others,  praying,  wrapped  up  in  one  part  of  a  large  mantle,  or  rug, 
with  the  other  part  of  which  Ayesha  had  covered  herself  to  sleep.'' 

This  epithet  of  wrapped  up,  and  another  of  the  same  import  given  to  Mohammed  in  the 
next  chapter,  have  been  imagined,  by  several  learned  men,^  pretty  plainly  to  intimate  his 
being  subjept  to  the  falling  sickness ;  a  malady  generally  attributed  to  him  by  the  Chris- 
tians,^ but  mentioned  by  no  Mohammedan  writer.  Though  such  an  inference  may  be 
made,  yet  I  think,  it  scarcely  probable,  much  less  necessary.^ 

*  For  a  half  is  such,  with  respect  to  the  whole.  Or,  as  the  sentence  may  be  rendered, 
Pray  half  the  night,  within  a  small  matter,  &c.  Some  expound  these  words  as  an  excep- 
tion to  nights  in  general ;  according  to  whom  the  sense  will  be,  Spend  07ie  half  of  every 
night  in  prayer,  except  some  few  nights  in  the  year? 

'  Set  apart  either  less  than  half  the  night,  as  one-third,  for  example,  or  more,  as  two- 
thirds.  Or  the  meaning  may  be.  Either  take  a  small  matter  from  a  lesser  part  of  the  night 
than  one-half,  e.  g.  from  one-third,  and  so  reduce  it  to  a  fourth ;  or  add  to  such  lesser 
part,  and  make  it  a  full  half.^ 

"  viz.  The  precepts  contained  in  the  Koran ;  which  are  heavy  and  difficult  to  those  who 
are  obliged  to  observe  them,  and  especially  to  the  prophet,  whose  care  it  was  to  see  that 
his  people  observed  them  also." 

'  Or,  The  person  who  riseth  by  night ;  or  the  hours  or  particularly  the  first  hours  of  the 
night,  &.C. 

*  "  At  the  beginning  of  the  night,  we  have  more  strength  of  conception,  and  more  fa- 
cility of  expression." — Savary. 

*  For  the  night-time  is  most  proper  for  meditation  and  prayer,  and  also  for  reading 
God's  word  distinctly  and  with  attention;  by  reason  of  the  absence  of  every  noise  and 
object  which  may  distract  the  mind. 

Marracci,  having  mentioned  this  natural  explication  of  the  Mohammedan  commentators 
because  he  finds  one  word  in  the  verse  which  may  be  taken  in  a  sense  tending  that  way, 
says  the  whole  may  with  greater  exactness  be  expounded  of  the  fitness  of  the  night  season 
for  amorous  diversions  and  discourse  ;  and  he  paraphrases  it  in  Latin  thus  :  Certe  in  prin- 
cipio  noctis  majus  rohur  et  vim  habel  homo,  ad  foeminas  premendas  et  subagila?idas,  et  ad 
clarioribus  verbis  amores  suos  propalandos.^  A  most  effectual  way  this,  to  turn  a  book  into 
ridicule  ! 

'' Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi.  «  Hotting.  Hist.  Orient,  lib.  1,  c,  3.  Marracc.  in  Ale. 
p.  763.  Vide  Gagnier,  not.  ad  Abulf.  vit.  Mohamm.  p.  9.  '  See  Frideaux,  Life  of  Moh. 
p.  16,  and  the  authors  there  cited.  *  See  Ockley's  Hist,  of  the  Saracens,  vol.  1,  p.  300. 
&c.        "  Al  Beidawi.        ^  Idem.        *  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.        '  Marracc.  in  Ale.  p.  759. 


470  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxiii. 

infidels  utter  against  thee ;  and  depart  from  them  with  a  decent  departure. 
And  let  me  alone  with  those  who  charge  the  Koran  with  falsehood,  who 
enjoy  the  blessings  of  this  life;  and  bear  with  them  for  a  while:  verily 
with  us  are  heavy  fetters,  and  a  burning  fire,  and  food  ready  to  choke  him 
loho  swalloweth  it^^  and  painful  torment.  On  a  certain  day  the  earth  shall 
be  shaken,  and  the  mountains  also,  and  the  mountains  shall  become  a  heap 
of  sand  poured  forth.*  Verily  we  have  sent  unto  you  an  apostle,  to  bear 
witness  against  you ;  as  we  sent  an  apostle  unto  Pharaoh  \  but  Pharaoh 
was  disobedient  unto  the  apostle ;  wherefore  we  chastised  him  with  a  heavy 
chastisement.  How,  therefore,  will  ye  escape,  if  ye  believe  not,  the  day 
which  shall  make  children  become  grey-headed  through  terror  f  The 
heaven  shall  be  rent  in  sunder  thereby  :  the  promise  thereof  shall  surely  be 
performed.  Verily  this  is  an  admonition ;  and  whoever  is  willing  to  he 
admonished  will  take  the  way  unto  his  Lord.  Thy  Lord  knoweth  that 
thou  continuest  in  prayer  and  meditation  sometimes  near  two  third  parts  of 
the  night,  and  sometimes  one  half  thereof,  and  at  other  times  one  third  part 
thereof;  and  a  part  of  thy  companions^  who  are  with  thee,  do  the  same. 
But  God  measureth  the  night  and  the  day ;  he  knoweth  that  ye  cannot 
exactly  compute  the  same :  wherefore  he  turneth  favourably  unto  you.' 
Read,  therefore,  so  much  of  the  Koran  as  may  be  easy  unto  you.  He 
knoweth  that  there  will  be  some  infirm  among  you;  and  others  travel 
through  the  earth,  that  they  may  obtain  a  competency  of  the  bounty  of  God  : 
and  others  fight  in  the  defence  of  God's  faith.  Read,  therefore,  so  much  of 
the  same  as  may  be  easy.  And  observe  the  stated  times  of  prayer,  and  pay 
the  legal  alms ;  and  lend  unto  God  an  acceptable  loan  ;|  for  whatever  good 
ye  send  before  your  souls,  ye  shall  find  the  same  with  God.  This  will  be 
better,  and  will  merit  a  greater  reward.'"  And  ask  God  forgiveness ;  for 
God  is  ready  to  forgive,  and  merciful. 

^  As  thorns  and  thistles,  the  fruit  of  the  infernal  tree  al  Zakkum,  and  the  corruption 
flowing  from  the  bodies  of  the  damned. 

*  "  The  earth  shall  one  day  be  shaken,  and  the  mountains,  crumbled  to  dust,  shall  be 
the  sport  of  the  winds." — Savary. 

^  By  making  the  matter  easy  to  you,  and  dispensing  with  your  scrupulous  counting  of 
the  hours  of  the  night  which  ye  are  directed  to  spend  in  reading  and  praying :  for  some  of 
the  Moslems,  not  knowing  how  the  time  passed,  used  to  watch  the  whole  night,  standing 
and  walking  about  till  their  legs  and  feet  swelled  in  a  sad  manner.  The  commentators 
add,  that  this  precept  of  dedicating  a  part  of  the  night  to  devotion  is  abrogated  by  the  in- 
stitution of  the  five  hours  of  prayer.^ 

t  "  Form  with  the  Lord  a  glorious  covenant." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  The  good  which  ye  shall  do  in  your  life-time  will  be  much  more  meritorious  in 
the  sight  of  God  than  what  ye  shall  defer  till  death,  and  order  by  will.'' 

®  Al  Beidawi.  ^  Idem. 


CHAP.  Lxxiv.  AL  KORAN.  471 

CHAPTER    LXXIV. 

INTITLED,  THE  COVERED;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

O  THOU  covered,*  arise  and  preach,""  and  magnify  thy  Lord.  And 
cleanse  thy  garments :  and  fly  ever?/ abomination  :•=  and  be  not  liberal  in 
hopes  to  receive  more  in  return :  and  patiently  wait  for  thy  Lord.  When 
the  trumpet  shall  sound,  verily  that  day  shall  he  a  day  of  distress  and 
uneasiness  unto  the  unbelievers.  Let  me  alone  with  him  whom  I  have 
creat^,*^  on  whom  I  have  bestowed  abundant  riches,  and  children  dwell- 
ing in  his  presence,^  and  for  whom  I  have  disposed  affairs  in  a  smooth  and 
easy  manner,^  and  who  desireth  that  I  will  yet  add  other  blessings  unto  him. 
By  no  means :  because  he  is  an  adversary  to  our  signs.s  I  will  afflict  him 
with  grievous  calamities:"^  for  he  hath  devised  and  prepared  contumelious 
expressions  to  ridicule  the  Koran.  May  he  be  cursed :  how  maliciously 
hath  he  prepared  the  same  !  And  again,  may  he  be  cursed :  how  mali- 
ciously hath  he  prepared  the  same  !  Then  he  looked,  and  frowned,  and 
put  on  an  austere  countenance :  then  he  turned  back,  and  was  elated  with 
pride ;  and  he  said.  This  is  no  other  than  a  piece  of  magic,  borrowed 
from  others :  these  are  only  the  words  of  a  man.  I  will  cast  him  to  be 
burned  in  hell.  And  what  shall  make  thee  to  understand  what  hell  is? 
It  leaveth  not  any  thing  unconsumed,  neither  doth  it  sufler  any  thing  to 

*  It  is  related,  from  Mohammed's  own  mouth,  that  being  on  mount  Hara,  and  hearing 
himself  called,  he  looked  on  each  hand,  and  saw  nobody,  but  looking  upwards  he  saw 
the  angel  Gabriel  on  a  throne,  between  heaven  and  earth :  at  which  sight  being  much 
terrified,  he  returned  to  his  wife  Khadija,  and  bid  her  cover  him  up  ;  and  that  then  the 
angel  descended,  and  addressed  him  in  the  words  of  the  text.  From  hence  some  think 
this  chapter  to  have  been  the  first  which  was  revealed  :  but  the  more  received  opinion  is 
that  it  was  the  96th.  Others  say  that  the  prophet,  having  been  reviled  by  certain  of  the 
Koreish,  was  sitting  in  a  melancholy  and  pensive  posture,  wrapped  up  in  his  mantle, 
when  Gabriel  accosted  him :  and  some  say  he  was  sleeping.  See  the  second  note  to  the 
preceding  chapter. 

"  It  is  generally  supposed  that  Mohammed  is  here  commanded  more  especially  to  warn 
his  near  relations,  the  Koreish;  as  he  is  expressly  ordered  to  do  in  a  subsequent  revelation.' 

-'  By  the  word  abomination  the  commentators  generally  agree  idolatry  to  be  principally 
intended. 

"*  The  person  here  meant  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been  al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mog- 
heira,^  a  principal  man  among  the  Koreish. 

'  Being  well  provided  for,  and  not  obliged  to  go  abroad  to  seek  their  livings,  as  most 
others  of  the  Meccans  were.* 

f  By  facilitating  his  advancement  to  power  and  dignity  ;  which  were  so  considerable 
that  he  was  surnamed  Rihana  Koreish,  i.  e.  The  sweet  odour  of  the  Koreish,  and  al  Wahid, 
i.  e.  The  only  one,  or  The  iiicomyarahle. 

e  On  the  revelation  of  this  passage  it  is  said  that  VValid's  prosperity  began  to  decay, 
and  continued  daily  so  to  do  to  the  time  of  his  death.' 

^  Or,  as  the  words  may  be  strictly  rendered,  /  will  drive  him  up  the  crag  ^ a  mountain  ; 
which  some  understand  of  a  mountain  of  fire,  agreeably  to  a  tradition  of  their  prophet, 
importing  that  al  Walid  will  be  condemned  to  ascend  this  mountain,  and  then  to  be  cast 
down  from  thence,  alternately  for  ever ;  and  that  he  will  be  seventy  years  in  climbing  up, 
and  as  many  in  falling  down." 

«  See  chap.  20,  p.  307,  and  the  PreHm.  Disc.  sect.  ii.  p.  31.  "  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi, 
Jallalo'ddin.         '  Al  Beidawi.         ^  idem.         '  Idem.  *  Idem. 


472  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxiv. 

escape :  it  scorcheth  men's  flesh :  over  the  same  are  nineteen  angels  ap- 
pointed. We  have  appointed  none  but  angels  to  preside  over  hell  fire:* 
and  we  have  expressed  the  number  of  them  only  for  an  occasion  of  discord 
to  the  unbelievers ;  ^  that  they  to  whom  the  scriptures  have  been  given 
may  be  certain  of  the  veracity  of  this  hook^  and  the  true  believers  may 
increase  in  faith ;  and  that  those  to  whom  the  scriptures  have  been  given, 
and  the  true  believers,  may  not  doubt  hereafter ;  and  that  those  in  whose 
hearts  there  is  an  infirmity,  and  the  unbelievers,  may  say,  What  mystery 
doth  God  intend  by  this  nuraber  ?  Thus  doth  God  cause  to  err  whom  he 
pleaseth ;  and  he  directeth  whom  he  pleaseth.  None  knoweth  the  armies 
of  thy  Lord  "»  besides  him ;  and  this  "^  is  no  other  than  a  memento  unto 
mankind.  Assuredly.  By  the  moon,  and  the  night  when  it  retreateth,  and 
the  morning  when  it  redden eth,  I  swear  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  terrible 
calamities,  giving  warning  unto  men,  as  well  as  unto  him  among  you  who 
desireth  to  go  forward,  as  unto  him  who  chooseth  to  remain  behind.^  Every 
soul  is  given  in  pledge  for  that  which  it  shall  have  wrought : "  except  the 
companions  of  the  right  hand  ;p  who  shall  dwell  in  gardens,  and  shall  ask 
one  another  questions  concerning  the  wicked,  and  shall  also  ask  the  ivicked 
themselves,  saying,  What  hath  brought  you  into  hell .?  They  shall  answer, 
We  were  not  of  those  who  were  constant  at  prayer,  neither  did  we  feed  the 
poor ;  and  we  waded  in  vain  disputes  with  the  fallacious  reasoners ;  and  we 
denied  the  day  of  judgment,  until  deaths  overtook  us  :  and  the  intercession 
of  the  interceders  shall  not  avail  them.  What  aileth  them,  therefore,  that 
they  turn  aside  from  the  admonition  of  the  Koran,  as  though  they  were 
timorous  asses  flying  from  a  lion  ?  But  every  man  among  them  desireth 
that  he  may  have  expanded  scrolls  delivered  to  him  from  GodJ  By  no 
means.  They  fear  not  the  life  to  come.  By  no  means  :  verily  this  is  a 
sufficient  warning.  Whoso  is  willing  to  he  warned,  him  shall  it  warn :  but 
they  shall  not  be  warned,  unless  God  shall  please.  He  is  worthy  to  be 
feared ;  and  he  is  inclined  to  forgiveness. 

'  The  reason  of  which  is  said  to  be,  that  they  might  be  of  a  different  nature  and  species 
from  those  who  are  to  be  tormented,  lest  they  should  have  a  fellow  feeling  of,  and  com- 
passionate their  sufferings;  or  else,  because  of  their  great  strength,  and  severity  of  temper.* 

^  Or,  For  a  trial  of  them :  because  they  might  say  this  was  a  particular  borrowed  by 
Mohammed  of  the  Jews. 

'  And  especially  the  Jews;  this  being  conformable  to  what  is  contained  in  their  books.'' 

™  I.  e.  All  his  creatures  ;  or  particularly  the  number  and  strength  of  the  guards  of  hell. 

°  The  antecedent  seems  to  be  hell. 

*  "  I  swear  by  the  moon,  by  the  night  when  she  foldeth  her  veils,  by  the  dawn  when 
it  advanceth,  encompassed  by  light,  that  hell  is  a  tremendous  abyss  ;  that  it  threateneth 
the  human  race  ;  that  it  warneth  him  who  walketh  in  the  right  path,  and  him  who  re- 
traceth  his  footsteps." — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  52,  p.  425. 

p  i.  e.  The  blessed ; ''  who  shall  redeem  themselves  by  their  good  works.  Some  say 
these  are  the  angels :  and  others,  such  as  die  infants.^ 

••  Literally,  That  which  is  cerlaiii. 

^  For  the  infidels  told  Mohammed  that  they  would  never  obey  him  as  a  prophet,  till 
he  brought  each  man  a  writing  from  heaven  to  this  effect,  viz.  From  God  to  such  a  one  : 
Follow  Mohammed.^ 

'  Al  Beidawi.  *  Jallalo'ddin.  ^  See  chap.  56,  p.  435,  note  m.  ^  Al  Beidawi. 
"  Idem. 


CHAP.  Lxxv.  AL  KORAN.  473 

CHAPTER  LXXV. 

INTITLED,  THE  RESURRECTION;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Verily  I  swear «  by  the  day  of  resurrection ;  and  I  swear  by  the  soul 
which  accuseth  itself  :^  doth  man  think  that  we  will  not  gather  his  bones 
together  ?  Yea :  loe  are  able  to  put  together  the  smallest  bones  of  his  fin- 
gers. But  man  chooseth  to  be  wicked,  for  the  time  which  is  before  him.* 
He  asketh,  When  loill  the  day  of  resurrection  he  f  But  when  the  sight 
shall  be  dazzled,  and  the  moon  shall  be  eclipsed,  and  the  sun  and  the  moon 
shall  be  in  conjunction  ;'^  on  that  day  man  shall  say.  Where  is  a  place  of 
refuge  .?  By  no  means  :  there  shall  he  no  place  to  fly  unto.  With  thy  Lord 
shall  he  the  sure  mansion  of  rest  on  that  day :  on  that  day  shall  a  man  be 
told  that  which  he  hath  done  first  and  last."^  Yea ;  a  man  shall  he  an 
evidence  against  himself:  and  though  he  offer  his  excuses,  they  shall  not  he 
received.  Move  not  thy  tongue,  0  Mohammed,  in  repeating  the  revelations 
brought  thee  hy  Gabriel,  before  he  shall  have  finished  the  same,  that  thou 
mayest  quickly  commit  them  to  memory :  for  the  collecting  the  Koran  in 
thy  mind,  and  the  teaching  thee  the  true  reading  thereof,  are  incumbent  on 
us.  But  when  we  shall  have  read  the  same  unto  thee  hy  the  tongue  of  the 
angel,  do  thou  follow  the  reading  thereof:  and  afterwards  it  shall  he  our 
part  to  explain  it  unto  thee.  By  no  means  shall  thou  he  thus  hasty  for  the 
future.  But  ye  love  that  which  hasteneth  away,*  and  neglect  the  life 
to  come.  Some  countenances  on  that  day  shall  be  bright,  looking  towards 
their  Lord  :  and  some  countenances,  on  that  day,  shall  he  dismal :  they  shall 
think  that  a  crushing  calamity  shall  be  brought  upon  them.  Assuredly. 
When  a  man's  soul  shall  come  up  to  his  throat,  in  his  last  agony,  and  the 
standers  by  shall  say.  Who  bringeth  a  charm  to  recover  him  ?  and  shall 
think  it  to  be  his  departure  out  of  this  world ;  and  one  leg  shall  be  joined 
with  the  other  leg  :y  on  that  day  unto  thy  Lord  shall  he  be  driven.     For 

"  Or,  I  will  not  swear.    See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.    (Savary  prefers  this  reading.) 

'  Being  conscious  of  having  offended,  and  of  failing  of  perfection,  notwithstanding  its 
endeavours  to  do  its  duty :  or,  the  pious  soul  which  shall  blame  others  at  the  last  day,  for 
having  been  remiss  in  their  devotions,  &c.  Some  understand  the  words  of  the  soul  of 
Adam,  in  particular,  who  is  continually  blaming  himself  for  having  lost  paradise  by  his 
disobedience.' 

*  "But  he  denieth  the  evidence  which  striketh  his  sight." — Savary. 

"  Rising  both  in  the  west :  ^  which  conjunction  is  no  contradiction  to  what  is  mentioned 
just  before,  of  the  moon's  being  echpsed ;  because  those  words  are  not  to  be  understood  of 
a  regular  eclipse,  but  metaphorically,  of  the  moon's  losing  her  light,  at  the  last  day  in  a 
preternatural  manner.  Some  think  the  meaning  rather  to  be,  that  the  sun  and  the  moon 
shall  he  joined  in  the  loss  of  their  light. ^ 

"  Or  the  good  which  he  hath  done,  and  that  which  he  hath  left  undone,  &c. 

^  i.  e.  The  fleeting  pleasures  of  this  life.  The  words  intimate  the  natural  hastiness  and 
impatience  of  man,*  who  takes  up  with  a  present  enjoyment,  though  short,  and  bitter  in 
its  consequences,  rather  than  wait  for  real  happiness  in  futurity. 

y  i.  e.  And  when  he  shall  stretch  forth  his  legs  together  ;  as  is  usual  with  dying  persons. 
The  words  may  also  be  translated.  And  when  one  affliction  shall  be  joined  with  another 
affliction. 

1  Al  Beidawi.      ^  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  p.  57.       '  Al  Beidawi.      *  See  chap.  17,  p.  228. 
2p 


474  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxvi. 

he  believed  not,'^  neither  did  he  pray  ;  but  he  accused  God's  apostle  of  im- 
posture, and  turned  back  from  obeying  him  :  then  he  departed  unto  his 
family,  walking  with  a  haughty  mien.  Wherefore,  woe  be  unto  thee ;  woe  ! 
And  again,  woe  be  unto  thee  ;  woe !  Doth  man  think  that  he  shall  be  left 
at  full  liberty,  icilhout  control  f  Was  he  not  a  drop  of  seed,  which  was 
emitted  ?  Afterwards  he  became  a  little  coagulated  blood ;  and  God  formed 
hnn,  and  fashioned  him  with  just  proportion  ;  and  made  of  him  two  sexes, 
the  male  and  the  female.  Is  not  he  who  hath  done  this  able  to  quicken  the 
dead .''  * 


CHAPTER   LXXIjy. 

INTITLED,  MAN ;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Did  there  not  pass  over  man  a  long  space  of  time ;  during  which  he  was 
a  thing  not  worthy  of  remembrance  }^  Verily  we  have  created  man  of  the 
mingled  seed  of  both  sexes,  that  we  might  prove  him :  and  we  have  made 
him  to  hear  and  to  see.'^  We  have  surely  directed  him  in  the  way; 
whether  he  be  grateful,  or  ungrateful.  Verily  we  have  prepared  for  the 
unbelievers  chains,  and  collars,  and  burning  fire.  But  the  just  shall  drink 
of  a  cup  of  wine,  mixed  with  the  ivater  of  Cafur,*'  a  fountain  whereof  the 
servants  of  God  shall  drink;  they  shall  convey  the  same  by  channels 
whithersoever  they  please.  These  fulfil  their  vow,  and  dread  the  day,  the  evil 
whereof  will  disperse  itself  far  abroad ;  and  give  food  unto  the  poor,  and 
the  orphan,  and  the  bondman,  for  his  sake,  saying,  We  feed  you  for  God's 
sake  only  :  we  desire  no  recompense  from  you,  nor  any  thanks  :  verily  we 
dread,  from  our  Lord,  a  dismal  and  calamitous  day.«     Wherefore  God  shall 

*  Or,  He  did  not  give  alms;  or,  He  was  not  a  man  of  veracity.  Some  suppose  Abu  Jah!, 
and  others  one  Adi  Ebn  Rabia,  to  be  particularly  inveighed  against  in  this  chapter. 

*  "  Did  not  God  form  you  from  a  little  blood  ?  Hath  he  not  given  just  proportions  to 
your  bodies  ?  Did  he  not  bring  from  nothing  the  first  pair  ?  Can  the  creator  of  the  hu- 
man race  be  deficient  in  power  to  revive  the  dead  ?" — Savary. 

""  It  is  somewhat  doubtful,  whether  this  chapter  was  revealed  at  Mecca,  or  at  Medina. 

^  Some  take  these  words  to  be  spoken  of  Adam,  whose  body,  according  to  the  Mo- 
hammedan tradition,  was  at  first  a  figure  of  clay,  and  was  left  forty  years  to  dry,  before 
God  breathed  life  into  it :  ^  others  understand  them  of  man  in  general,  and  of  the  time  he 
lies  in  the  womb. 

-  That  he  might  .be  capable  of  receiving  the  rules  and  directions  given  by  God  for  his 
guidance  ;  ^  and  of  meriting  reward  or  punishment  for  his  observance  or  neglect  of  them. 

•^  Is  the  name  of  a  fountain  in  paradise,  so  called  from  its  resembling  camp/zor  (which  the 
word  signifies)  in  odour,  and  whiteness.  Some  take  the  word  for  an  appellative,  and 
think  the  wine  of  paradise  will  be  mixed  with  camphor,  because  of  its  agreeable  coolness 
and  smell.'' 

*  It  is  related  that  Hasan  and  Hosein,  Mohammed's  grandchildren,  on  a  certain  time 
being  both  sick,  the  prophet,  among  others,  visited  them  ;  and  they  wished  Ali  to  riiake 
some  vow  to  God  for  the  recovery  of  his  sons :  whereupon  Ali,  and  Fatema,  and  Fidda, 
their  maid-servant,  vowed  a  fast  of  three  days  in  case  they  did  well :  as  it  happened  they 
did.     This  vow  was  performed  with  so  great  strictness,  that  the  first  day,  having  no  pro- 

*  See  the  notes  to  chap,  2,  pp.  4,  5.  ®  AI  Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP.  Lxxvi.  AL  KORAN.  475 

deliver  them  from  the  evil  of  that  day,  and  shall  cast  on  them  brightness  of 
countenance,  and  joy ;  and  shall  reward  them,  for  their  patient  persevering, 
with  a  garden  and  silk  garments  :  therein  shall  they  repose  themselves  on 
couches;  they  shall  see  therein  neither  sun  nor  moon;^*  and  the  shades 
thereof  shall  be  near  spreading  above  them,  and  the  fruits  thereof  shall  hang 
low,  so  as  to  be  easily  gathered.  And  their  attendants  shall  go  round  about 
unto  them,  with  vessels  of  silver,  and  goblets  :  the  bottles  shall  be  bottles  of 
silver  shining  like  glass  ;  they  shall  determine  the  measure  thereof  hy  their 
wish.  And  therein  shall  they  be  given  to  drink  of  a  cup  of  wine ^  mixed 
with  the  water  of  Zenjebil,s  a  fountain  in  paradise  named  Salsabil :  ^  and 
youths,  which  shall  continue /or  ever  in  their  bloom,  shall  go  round  to  attend 
them ;  when  thou  seest  them,  thou  shalt  think  them  to  be  scattered  pearls  : 
and  when  thou  lookest,  there  shalt  thou  behold  delights,  and  a  great  king- 
dom. Upon  them  shall  be  garments  of  fine  green  silk,  and  of  brocades,  and 
they  shall  be  adorned  with  bracelets  of  silver :  and  their  Lord  shall  give 
them  to  drink  of  a  most  pure  liquor ;  and  shall  say  unto  them,  Verily 
this  is  your  reward :  and  your  endeavour  is  gratefully  accepted.  Verily 
w^e  have  sent  down  unto  thee  the  Koran,  by  a  gradual  revelation. 
Wherefore  patiently  wait  the  judgment  of  thy  Lord  ;  and  obey  not  any 
wicked  person  or  unbeliever  among  them.  And  commemorate  the  name 
of  thy  Lord,  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening :  and  during  some  part  of 
the  night  worship  him,  and  praise  him  a  long  part  of  the  night.^  Verily 
these  men  love  the  transitory  life,  and  leave  behind  them  the  heavy  day  of 
judgment.  We  have  created  them,  and  have  strengthened  their  joints;  and 
when  we  please,  we  will  substitute  others  like  unto  them,  in  their  stead. 
Verily  this  is  an  admonition :  and  whoso  willeth,  taketh  the  way  unto  his 
Lord  :  but  ye  shall  not  will,  unless  God  willeth  ;  for  God  is  knowing  and 
wise.  He  leadeth  whom  he  pleaseth  into  his  mercy ;  but  for  the  unjust 
hath  he  prepared  a  grievous  punishment. 

visions  in  the  house,  Ali  was  obliged  to  borrow  three  measures  of  barley  of  one  Simeon,  a 
Jew  of  Khaibar  ;  one  measure  of  which  Fatema  ground  the  same  day,  and  baked  five  cakes 
of  the  meal ;  and  they  were  set  before  them,  to  break  their  fast  with  after  sunset :  but  a  poor 
man  coming  to  them,  they  gave  all  their  bread  to  him,  and  passed  the  night  without  tasting 
any  thing,  except  water.  The  next  day,  Fatema  made  another  measure  into  bread,  for  the 
same  purpose  ;  but  an  orphan  begging  some  food,  they  chose  to  let  him  have  it,  and  passed 
that  night,  as  the  first :  and  the  third  day  they  likewise  gave  their  whole  provision  to  a 
famished  captive.  Upon  this  occasion  Gabriel  descended  with  the  chapter  before  us,  and 
told  Mohammed  that  God  congratulated  him  on  the  virtues  of  his  family.^ 

■■  Because  they  shall  not  need  the  light  of  either.'  The  word  Zamharir,  here  translated 
moon,  properly  signifies  extreme  cold:  for  which  reason  some  understand  the  meaning  of  the 
passage  to  be,  that  in  paradise  there  shall  be  felt  no  excess  either  oi  heat,  or  of  cold. 

*  "  They  repose  on  the  nuptial  couch ;  they  shall  not  bo  incommoded  by  the  splendour 
of  tlie  sun  or  of  the  moon." — Savary. 

e  The  word  signifies  ginger,  which  the  Arabs  delight  to  mix  with  the  water  they  drink ; 
and  therefore  the  water  of  this  fountain  is  supposed  to  have  the  taste  of  that  spice."" 

•"  Signifies  water  which  flows  gently  and  pleasantly  down  the  throat. 

t  "Adore  him  during  the  night.  Make  known  his  praise  in  the  midst  of  the  darkness." 
— Savary. 

«  Al  Beidawi.  "  See  Rev.  xxi.  23.  "*  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


476  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxvii. 

CHAPTER  LXXVII. 
INTITLED,  THOSE  WHICH  ARE  SENT;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE    NAME  OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  angels  which  are  sent  hy  God,  following  one  another  in  a  con- 
tinual series ;  and  those  which  move  swiftly,  with  a  rapid  motion  ;  and  by 
those  which  disperse  his  commands,  by  divulging  them  through  the  earth ; 
and  by  those  which  separate  trute  from  falsehood,  by  distinguishing  the 
same  ;  and  by  those  which  communicate  the  divine  admonitions,  to  excuse, 
or  to  threaten  : '  verily  that  which  ye  are  promised  ^  is  inevitable.*  When 
the  stars,  therefore,  shall  be  put  out,  and  when  the  heaven  shall  be  cloven 
in  sunder,  and  when  the  mountains  shall  be  winnowed,  and  when  the 
apostles  shall  have  a  time  assigned  to  them  to  appear  and  hear  testimony 
against  their  respective  people ;  to  what  a  day  shall  that  appointment  be 
deferred !  to  the  day  of  separation :  and  what  shall  cause  thee  to  under- 
stand what  the  day  of  separation  is  f  On  that  day,  woe  be  unto  them  who 
accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  Have  we  not  destroyed  the  ohstinaie 
unhelievers  of  old  ?  We  will  also  cause  those  of  the  latter  times  to  follow 
them.  Thus  do  we  deal  with  the  wicked.  Woe  be,  on  that  day,  unto  them 
who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  Have  we  not  created  you  of  a 
contemptible  drop  of  seed,  which  we  placed  in  a  sure  repository,  until  the 
fixed  term  of  delivery  f  And  we  were  able  to  do  this :  for  we  are  most 
powerful.  On  that  day,  woe  be  unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of 
imposture :  Have  we  not  made  the  earth  to  contain  the  living  and  the 
dead,  and  placed  therein  stable  and  lofty  mountains,  and  given  you  fresh 
water  to  drink  ?  Woe  be,  on  that  day,  unto  those  who  accused  the  pro- 
phets of  imposture  !  It  shall  be  said  unto  them,  Go  ye  to  the  punishment 
which  ye  denied  as  a  falsehood  :  go  ye  into  the  shadow  of  the  smoke  of  hell, 
which  shall  ascend  in  three  columns,  and  shall  not  shade  you  from  the  heat, 
neither  shall  it  be  of  service  against  the  flame  ;  but  it  shall  cast  forth  sparks 
as  big  as  towers,  resembling  yellow  camels  in  colour M[  Woe  be,  on  that  day. 

'  Some  understand  the  whole  passage  of  the  verses  of  the  Koran,  which  continued  to  be 
sent  down,  parcel  after  parcel,  during  the  space  of  several  years,  and  which  rescind  (for  so 
the  verb  dsafa  may  also  be  translated)  and  abolish  all  former  dispensations,  divulging  and 
making  known  the  ways  of  salvation,  distinguisldng  truth  from  falsehood,  and  communicat- 
ing admo?iiiio7i,  &c.  Some  interpret  the  first  three  verses  of  the  winds  sent  in  a  continual 
.succession,  hlowing  with  a  violent  gust,  and  dispersing  rain  over  the  earth:  and  others 
give  different  explications. 

^  viz.  The  day  of  judgment. 

*  "  By  the  messengers  which  follow  each  other,  by  the  frightful  tempests,  by  the  winds 
which  bring  fruitfulness,  by  the  verses  of  the  Koran,  by  the  angels  who  bear  warnings, 
the  punishments  which  are  announced  to  you  will  come." — Savary. 

'  Being  of  a  fiery  colour.  Others,  however,  suppose  these  sparks  will  be  of  a  dusky 
hue,  like  that  o{  black  camels,  which  always  inclines  a  little  to  the  yellow  ;  the  word  trans- 
lated yellow  signifying  sometimes  black.  Some  copies,  by  the  variation  of  a  vowel,  have 
cables  instead  of  camels. 

t  "  Go  ye  under  the  trees  which  have  only  three  branches  to  cover  you.  That  shade 
shall  bring  unto  you  no  coolness,  neither  shall  it  afford  unto  you  a  refuge  from  the  flames. 
They  shall  dart  up  on  all  sides  in  pyramids  lofty  as  the  roofs  of  palaces.  Their  colour 
shall  be  Uke  unto  that  of  red  camels." — Savary. 


CHAP.  Lxxviii.  AL  KORAN.  477 

unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  This  shall  he  a  day 
whereon  they  shall  not  speak  to  any  purpose ;  neither  shall  they  be  per- 
mitted to  excuse  themselves.  Woe  be,  on  that  day,  unto  those  who  ac- 
cused the  prophets  of  imposture  !  This  shall  he  the  day  of  separation : 
we  will  assemble  both  you  and  your  predecessors.  Wherefore,  if  ye  have 
any  cunning  stratagem,  employ  stratagems  against  me.  Woe  be,  on  that 
day,  unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  But  the  pious 
shall  dwell  amidst  shades  and  fountains,  and  fruits  of  the  kinds  which  they 
shall  desire :  and  it  shall  he  said  unto  them.  Eat  and  drink  with  easy  diges- 
tion, in  recompense  for  that  which  ye  have  wrought;  for  thus  do  we  reward 
the  righteous  doers.*  Woe  be,  on  that  day,  unto  those  who  accused  the 
prophets  of  imposture !  Eat,  O  unhelievers,  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  this 
life,  for  a  little  while  :  verily  ye  are  wicked  men.  Woe  be,  on  that  day, 
unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  And  when  it  is  said 
unto  them.  Bow  down ;  they  do  not  bow  down.  Woe  be,  on  that  day, 
unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture !  In  what  new  revela- 
tion will  they  believe,  after  this 


CHAPTER    LXXVIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  NEWS;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

*[XXX.]  Concerning  what  do  the  unhelievers  ask  questions  of  one  an- 
other ?  Concerning  the  great  news  of  the  resurrection,  about  which  they 
disagree.  Assuredly  they  shall  hereafter  know  the  truth  thereof.  Again, 
Assuredly  they  shall  hereafter  know  the  truth  thereof.  Have  we  not  made 
the  earth  for  a  bed,  and  the  mountains  for  stakes  tofx  the  same  f  |™  And 
have  we  not  created  you  of  two  sexes  ;  J  and  appointed  your  sleep  for  rest ; 
and  made  the  night  a  garment  to  cover  you ;  and  destined  the  day  to  the 
gaining  your  livelihood;  and  built  over  you  seven  solid  heavens;  and 
placed  therein  a  burning  lamp  ?  And  do  we  not  send  down  from  the  clouds 
pressing  forth  rain,  water  pouring  down  in  abundance,  that  we  may  thereby 
produce  corn,  and  herbs,  and  gardens  planted  thick  with  trees?  Verily  the 
day  of  separation  is  a  fixed  period :  the  day  whereon  the  trumpet  shall 
sound,  and  ye  shall  come  in  troops  to  judgment ;  and  the  heaven  shall  be 
opened,  and  shall  be  full  of  gates  for  the  angels  to  pass  through ;  and  the 
mountains  shall  pass  away,  and  become  as  a  vapour ;  verily  hell  shall  be  a 
place  of  ambush,  a  receptacle  for  the  transgressors,  who  shall  remain  therein 
for  ages  :  they  shall  not  taste  any  refreshment  therein,  or  any  drink,  except 
boiling  water,  and  filthy  corruption :  §  a  fit  recompense  for  their  deeds !    For 

*  "  Eat  and  drink  at  pleasure.     Enjoy  the  reward  of  your  virtues." — Savary. 
t  "Have  we  not  spread  out  the  earth  hke  unto  a  carpet?     Have  we  not  raised  the 
mountains  to  serve  for  a  support  unto  it." — Savary. 
™  See  chap.  16,  p.  215,  and  chap.  31,  p.  335. 
t  "  We  have  drawn  man  and  woman  from  nothing." — Savary. 
i  "  Boiliner  and  putrid  water  shall  be  their  only  dnnk." — Savary. 


478  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxix. 

they  hoped  that  they  should  not  be  brought  to  an  account,  and  they  dis- 
believed our  signs,  accusing  them  of  falsehood.  But  every  thing  have  we 
computed,  and  written  down.  Taste,  therefore :  we  will  not  add  unto  you 
any  other  than  torment."  But  for  the  pious  is  prepared  a  place  of  bliss  : 
gardens  planted  with  trees,  and  vineyards,  and  damsels  with  swelling  breasts, 
of  equal  age  loith  themselves^  and  a  full  cup.  They  shall  hear  no  vain  dis- 
course there,  nor  any  falsehood.  This  shall  he  their  recompense  from  thy 
Lord  ;  a  gift  fully  sufficient :  from  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of 
whatever  is  between  them  ;  the  Merciful.  The  inhabitants  of  heaven  or  of 
earth  shall  not  dare  to  demand  audience  of  him  :  the  day  whereon  the  spirit 
Gabriel  and  the  other  angels  shall  stand  in  order,  they  shall  not  speak  in 
behalf  of  themselves  or  others,  except  he  only  to  whom  the  Merciful  shall 
grant  permission,  and  who  shall  say  that  which  is  right.*  This  is  the  in- 
fallible day.  Whoso,  therefore,  willeth,  let  him  return  unto  his  Lord. 
Verily  we  threaten  you  with  a  punishment  nigh  at  hand :  the  day  whereon 
a  man  shall  behold  the  good  or  evil  deeds  which  his  hands  have  sent  be- 
fore him ;  and  the  unbeliever  shall  say,  Would  to  God  1  were  dust! 


i 


CHAPTER    LXXIX. 

INTITLED,  THOSE  WHO  TEAR  FORTH;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  angels  who  tear  forth  the  souls  of  some  v;ith  violence;  and  by  those 
who  draw  forth  the  souls  of  others  with  gentleness ; "  by  those  who  glide 
swimmingly  through  the  air  with  the  commands  of  God ;  and  those  who 
precede  and  usher  the  righteous  to  paradise ;  and  those  who  subordinately 
govern  the  affairs  of  this  world  :  on  a  certain  day,  the  disturbing  blast  of 
the  trumpet  shall  disturb  the  universe ;  and  the  subsequent  blast  shall  follow 
it.  On  that  day  mew's  hearts  shall  tremble  :  their  looks  shall  be  cast  down. 
TJie  infidels  say.  Shall  we  surely  be  made  to  return  whence  we  came  .?p  After 
we  shall  have  become  rotten  bones,  shall  we  be  again  raised  to  life  ?    They 

"  This,  say  the  commentators,  is  the  most  severe  and  terrible  sentence  in  the  whole 
Koran,  pronounced  against  the  inhabitants  of  hell ;  they  being  hereby  assured  that  every 
change  in  their  torments  will  be  for  the  worse. 

*  "  In  that  day  Gabriel  shall  remain  standing,  the  angels  shall  keep  their  ranks.  They 
shall  speak  to  no  one  without  the  permission  of  the  Highest,  and  they  shall  say  only  that 
which  is  filling." — Savary. 

°  These  are  the  angel  of  death,  and  his  assistants  ;  who  will  take  the  souls  of  the  wicked 
in  a  rough  and  cruel  manner,  from  the  inmost  part  of  their  bodies,  as  a  man  drags  up  a 
thing  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea ;  but  will  take  the  souls  of  the  good  in  a  gentle  and  easy 
manner,  from  their  lips,  as  when  a  man  draws  a  bucket  of  water  at  one  pull.* 

There  are  several  other  interpretations  of  this  whole  passage  ;  some  expounding  all  the 
five  parts  of  the  oath  of  the  stars,  others  of  the  souls  of  men,  others  of  the  souls  of  war- 
riors in  particular,  and  others  of  war-horses:  a  detail  of  which,  I  apprehend,  would  rather 
tire  than  please. 

p  i.  e.  Shall  we  be  restored  to  our  former  condition  ? 

^Al  Beidawi. 


CHAP.  Lxxx.  AL  KOEAN.  479 

say,  This  then  2vill  be  a  return  to  loss  *  Verily  it  will  he  but  one  sounding 
of  the  trumpet,'^  and,  behold,  they  shall  appear  alive  on  the  face  of  the 
earth/  Ilath  not  the  story  of  JVIoses  reached  thee?  When  his  Lord 
called  unto  him  in  the  holy  valley  Towa,"  saying,  Go  unto  Pharaoh;  for  he 
is  insolently  wicke^l :  and  say,  Hast  thou  a  desire  to  become  just  and  holy ; 
and  I  will  direct  thee  unto  thy  Lord,  that  thou  mayest  fear  to  transgress. 
And  he  showed  him  the  very  great  sign  of  the  rod  turned  into  a  serpent : 
but  he  charged  Moses  with  imposture,  and  rebelled  against  God.  Then  he 
turned  back  hastily;  and  he  assembled  the  magicians^and  cried  aloud,  say- 
ing, I  am  your  supreme  Lord.  Wherefore  God  chastised  him  with  the 
punishment  of  the  life  to  come,  and  also  of  this  present  life.  Verily  herein 
is  an  example  unto  him  who  feareth  to  rebel.  Are  ye  more  difficult  to  create, 
or  the  heaven  which  God  hath  built  ?  He  hath  raised  the  height  thereof, 
and  hath  perfectly  formed  the  same :  and  he  hath  made  the  night  thereof 
dark,  and  hath  produced  the  light  thereof  After  this,  he  stretched  out  the 
earth,*  whence  he  caused  to  spring  forth  the  water  thereof,  and  the  pasture 
thereof;  and  he  established  the  mountains,  for  the  use  of  yourselves,  and 
of  your  cattle.  When  the  prevailing,  the  great  day  shall  come,  on  that  day 
shall  a  man  call  to  remembrance  what  he  hath  purposely  done :  and  hell 
shall  be  exposed  to  the  view  of  the  spectator.  And  whoso  shall  have 
transgressed,  and  shall  have  chosen  this  present  life;  verily  hell  shall  be  his 
abode ;  but  whoso  shall  have  dreaded  the  appearing  before  his  Lord,  and 
shall  have  refrained  his  soul  from  lust,  verily  paradise  shall  be  his  abode. 
They  will  ask  thee  concerning  the  last  hour,  when  will  be  the  fixed  time 
thereof?  By  what  means  canst  thou  give  any  information  of  the  same? 
Unto  thy  Lord  belongeth  the  knowledge  of  the  period  thereof :  and  thou  art 
only  a  warner,  who  fearest  the  same.  The  day  whereon  they  shall  see  the 
same,  it  shall  seem  to  them  as  though  they  had  not  tarried  in  the  world 
longer  than  an  evening,  or  a  morning  thereof.| 


CHAPTER   LXXX. 
INTITLED,  HE  FROWNED;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  prophet  frowned,  and  turned  aside,  because  the  blind  man  came  unto 
him  :°  and  how  dost  thou  know  whether  he  shall  peradventure  be  cleansed 

*  "Assuredly  this  resurrection  is  chimerical." — Savary. 

■I  viz.  The  second  or  third  blast,  according  to  different  opinions. 

'  Or,  They  shall  appear  at  the  place  of  judgment.  The  original  word  al  Sabira  is  also 
one  of  the  names  of  hell. 

'  See  chap.  20,  p.  256. 

'  Which  had  been  created  before  the  heavens,  but  without  expansion.'* 

t  "  It  shall  seem  unto  men,  as  if  that  they  had  abode  but  an  evening,  or  a  morning,  in 
the  tomb." — Savary. 

°  This  passage  was  revealed  on  the  following  occasion.    A  certain  blind  man,  named 

'  Jallalo'ddin. 


480  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxxi. 

from  his  sins ;  or  whether  he  shall  be  admonished,  and  the  admonition  shall 
profit  him?  The  man  who  is  wealthy, thou  receivest respectfully;  whereas 
it  is  not  to  he  charged  on  thee,  that  he  is  not  cleansed :  but  him  who  cometh 
unto  thee  earnestly,  seeking  his  salvation,  and  who  feareth  God,  dost  thou 
neglect.  By  no  means  shouldst  thou  act  thus.  Verily  the  Koran  is  an 
admonition  (and  he  who  is  willing  retaineth  the  same;)  written  in  volumes 
honourable,  exalted,  and  pure ;  by  the  hands  of  scribes  honoured,  and 
just.^  May  man  be  cursed  !  What  hath  seduced  him  to  infidelity  ?*  Of 
what  thing  doth  God  create  him .''  Of  a  drop  of  seed  doth  he  create  him ; 
and  he  formeth  him  with  proportion ;  and  then  facilitateth  his  passage  out 
of  the  womb  :  afterwards  he  causeth  him  to  die,  and  layeth  him  in  the 
grave ;  hereafter,  when  it  shall  please  him,  he  shall  raise  him  to  life. 
Assuredly,  He  hath  not  hitherto  fully  performed  what  God  hath  com- 
manded him.  Let  man  consider  his  food  ;  in  what  manner  it  is  provided. 
We  pour  down  water  by  showers  ;  afterwards  we  cleave  the  earth  in  clefts, 
and  we  cause  corn  to  spring  forth  therein,  and  grapes,  and  clover,  and  the 
olive,  and  the  palm,  and  gardens  planted  thick  with  trees,  and  fruits,  and 
grass,  for  the  use  of  yourselves  and  of  your  cattle.  When  the  stunning 
sound  of  the  trumpet  shall  be  heard ;  on  that  day  shall  a  man  fly  from  his 
brother,  and  his  mother,  and  his  father,  and  his  wife,  and  his  children. 
Every  man  of  them,  on  that  day,  shall  have  business  of  his  own  sufiicient  to 
employ  his  thoughts.  On  that  day  the  faces  of  some  shall  he  bright,  laughing, 
and  joyful :  and  upon  the  faces  of  others,  on  that  day,  shall  there  be  dust ; 
darkness  shall  cover  them.     These  are  the  unbelievers,  the  wicked. 


CHAPTER    LXXXI. 
INTITLED,  THE  FOLDING  UP;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

When  the  sun  shall  be  folded  up ;  yf  and  when  the  stars  shall  fall ;  and 
when  the  mountains  shall  be  made  to  pass  away ;  and  when  the  camels  ten 

Abdallah  Ebn  0mm  Mactum,  came  and  interrupted  Mohammed  while  he  was  engaged 
in  earnest  discourse  with  some  of  the  principal  Koreish,  whose  conversion  he  had  hopes 
of;  but  the  prophet  taking  no  notice  of  him,  the  blind  man,  not  knowing  he  was  other- 
wise busied,  raised  his  voice,  and  said,  0  apostle  of  God,  teach  me  some  part  of  ivhat  God 
hath  taught  thee  ;  but  Mohammed,  vexed  at  this  interruption,  frowned  and  turned  away 
from  him  ;  for  which  he  is  here  reprehended.  After  this,  whenever  the  prophet  saw  Ebn 
0mm  Mactum,  he  showed  him  great  respect,  saying,  The  man  is  welcome,  on  whose  ac- 
count my  Lord  hath  reprimanded  me  ;  and  he  made  him  twice  governor  of  Medina.^ 

^  Being  transcribed  from  the  preserved  table,  highly  honoured  in  the  sight  of  God,  kept 
pure  and  uncorrupted  from  the  hands  of  evil  spirits,  and  touched  only  by  the  angels.  Some 
understand  hereby  the  books  of  the  prophets,  with  which  the  Koran  agrees  in  substance." 

(The  Mohammedans  are  faithful  to  this  precept :  they  transcribe  the  Koran  with  the 
greatest  exactness,  and  preserve  it  with  the  profoundest  veneration.) — Savary. 

*  "  Perish  the  wicked !    Who  hath  had  the  power  to  render  him  unfaithful  ?"     Savary, 

y  As  a  garment  that  is  to  be  laid  by. 

t  *'  When  the  sun  shall  be  covered  with  darkness." — Savary. 

'  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  *  Al  Zamakh. 


CHAP.  Lxxxi.  AL  KORAN.  481 

months  gone  with  young  shall  be  neglected ;  ^  and  when  the  wild  beasts 
shall  be  gathered  together  ;*  and  when  the  seas  shall  boil ;  ^  and  when  the 
souls  shall  be  joined  again  to  their  bodies  ;  and  when  the  girl  who  hath  been 
buried  alive  shall  be  asked  for  what  crime  she  was  put  to  death  ;"=  and 
when  the  books  shall  be  laid  open ;  and  when  the  heaven  shall  be  re- 
moved ;'^  and  when  hell  shall  burn  fiercely ;  and  when  paradise  shall  be 
brought  near;  every  soul  shall  know  what  it  hath  wrought.  Verily  I 
swear "  by  the  stars  which  are  retrograde,  which  move  swiftly,  and  which 
hide  themselves ;'  and  by  the  night,  when  it  cometh  on ;  and  by  the 
morning,  when  it  appeareth  •,*  that  these  are  the  words  of  an  honourable 
messenger,^  endued  with  strength,  of  established  dignity  in  the  sight  of  the 
possessor  of  the  throne,  obeyed  by  the  angels  under  his  authority^  and 
faithful :  and  your  companion  Mohammed  is  not  distracted.  He  had 
already  seen  him  in  the  clear  horizon  :  ^  and  he  suspected  not '  the  secrets 
revealed  unto  him.  Neither  are  these  the  words  of  an  accursed  devil.*^ 
Whither,  therefore,  are  you  going  .?  This  is  no  other  than  an  admonition 
unto  all  creatures-,  unto  him  among  you  who  shall  be  wiUing  to  walk 
uprightly :  but  ye  shall  not  will,  unless  God  willeth,  the  Lord  of  all 
creatures. 

*  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59. 
'  See  ibid.  pp.  59  and  61. 

"  See  ibid.  p.  59. 

"  For  it  was  customary  among  the  ancient  Arabs  to  bury  their  daughters  alive,  as  soon 
as  they  were  born,  for  fear  they  should  be  impoverished  by  providing  for  them,  or  should 
suffer  disgrace  on  their  account.     See  chap.  16,  p.  218. 

^  Or  plucked  away  from  its  place,  as  the  skin  is  plucked  off  from  a  camel  which  is  flaying ; 
for  that  is  the  proper  signification  of  the  verb  here  used.  Marracci  fancies  the  passage 
alludes  to  that  in  the  Psalms,*  where,  according  to  the  versions  of  the  Septuagint  and 
Vulgate,  God  is  said  to  have  stretched  out  the  heaven  like  a  skin. 

*  Or,  /  will  not  swear,  &c.    See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.    (Savary  prefers  this  reading.) 
^  Some  understand  hereby  the  stars  in  general ;  but  the  more  exact  commentators  five 

of  the  planets,  viz.  the  two  which  accompany  the  sun,  and  the  three  superior  planets,  which 
have  both  a  retrograde  and  a  direct  motion,  and  hide  themselves  in  the  rays  of  the  sun, 
or  when  they  set. 

*  "By  the  night,  when  it  spreads  its  shades;  by  the  dawn,  when  it  expands  in 
new-born  fires." — Savary. 

s  I.  e.  Gabriel. 

^  See  chap.  53,  p.  427. 

'  Some  copies,  by  a  change  of  one  letter  only,  instead  of  dhanamn,  read  daninin;  and 
then  the  words  should  be  rendered,  He  is  not  tenacious  of,  or  grudges  not  to  communicate 
to  you,  the  secret  revelations  which  he  has  received. 

"  Who  has  overheard,  by  stealth,  the  discourse  of  the  angels.  The  verse  is  an  answer 
to  a  calumny  of  the  infidels,  who  said  the  Koran  was  only  a  piece  of  divination,  or  magic  : 
for  the  Arabs  suppose  the  soothsayer,  or  magician,  receives  his  intelligence  from  those  evil 
spirits  who  are  continually  Uslening  to  learn  what  they  can  from  the  inhabitants  of  heaven. 

» Psalm  civ.  2. 


482  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxxiii. 

CHAPTER  LXXXII. 

INTITLED,  THE  CLEAVING  IN  SUNDER;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.* 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

VV^HEN  the  heaven  shall  be  cloven  in  sunder ;  and  when  the  stars  shall 
be  scattered ;  and  when  the  seas  shall  be  suffered  to  join  their  waters  ;, 
and  when  the  graves  shall  be  turned  upside  down :  every  soul  shall  know 
what  it  hath  committed,  and  what,  it  hath  omitted.  O  man,  what  hath 
seduced  thee  against  thy  gracious  Lord,  who  hath  created  thee,  and  put 
thee  together,  and  rightly  disposed  thee .?  In  what  form  he  pleased  hath 
he  fashioned  thee.  Assuredly.  But  ye  deny  the  Zas^  judgment  as  a  false- 
hood. Verily  there  are  appointed  over  you  guardian  angels,^  honourable  in 
the  sight  of  God^  writing  down  your  actions ;  who  know  that  which  ye  do. 
The  just  shall  surely  he  in  a  place  of  delight :  but  the  wicked  shall  surely  he 
in  hell ;  they  shall  be  cast  therein  to  be  turned,  on  the  day  of  judgment, 
and  they  shall  not  be  absent  therefrom ybr  ever.  What  shall  cause  thee  to 
understand  what  the  day  of  judgment  is  ?  Again,  What  shall  cause  thee 
to  understand  what  the  day  of  judgment  is?  It  is  a  day  whereon  one  soul 
shall  not  be  able  to  obtain  any  thing  in  behalf  of  another  soul :  and  the 
command,  on  that  day,  shall  be  God's. 


CHAPTER  LXXXIII. 

INTITLED,  THOSE  WHO  GIVE  SHORT  MEASURE  OR  WEIGHT; 
REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

Woe  be  unto  those  who  give  short  measure  or  weight :  who,  when  they 
receive  by  measure  from  other  men,  take  the  full ;  but  when  they  measure 
unto  them,  or  weigh  unto  them,  defraud !  Do  not  these  think  they  shall 
be  raised  again,  at  the  great  day,  the  day  whereon  mankind  shall  stand 
before  the  Lord  of  all  creatures  .?  By  no  means.-f  Verily  the  register  of 
the  actions  of  the  wicked  is  surely  in  Sejjtn.™     And  what  shall  make  thee 

*  (Zamakhshari  says,  that  the  believer  who  shall  read  this  chapter  shall  receive  a  divine 
favour  for  every  drop  of  water  which  falls  from  the  clouds,  and  another  for  each  grave  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth.) — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  50,  p.  421 ;  and  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  51. 

t  "  Thou  canst  not  doubt  of  it." — Savary. 

™  Sejjin  is  the  name  of  the  general  register,  wherein  the  actions  of  all  the  wicked,  both 
men  and  genii,  are  distinctly  entered.  Sejn  signifies  a  prison;  and  this  book,  as  some  think, 
derives  its  name  from  thence,  because  it  will  occasion  those  whose  deeds  are  there  re- 
corded to  be  imprisoned  in  hell.  Sejjin  or  Sajin  is  also  the  name  of  the  dungeon  beneath 
the  seventh  earth,  the  residence  of  Eblis  and  his  host ;  where  it  is  supposed,  by  some,  that 
this  book  is  kept,  and  where  the  souls  of  the  wicked  will  be  detained  till  the  resurrection.*^ 
If  the  latter  explication  be  admitted,  the  words,  A7id  what  shall  make  thee  to  U7iderstand 
what  Sejjin  is  ?  should  be  enclosed  within  a  parenthesis. 

^  Jallalio'ddin,  al  Beidawi.    See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  pp.  55,  56. 


CHAP.  Lxxxm.  AL  KORAN.  4S3 

to  understand  what  Sejjin  isf  It  is  a  book  distinctly  written.  Woe  be  on 
that  day,  unto  those  who  accused  the  prophets  of  imposture ;  who  denied 
the  day  of  judgment  as  a  falsehood !  And  none  denieth  the  same  as  a 
falsehood,  except  every  unjust  and  flagitious  person :  who,  when  our  signs 
are  rehearsed  unto  him,  saith.  They  are  fables  of  the  ancients.  By  no 
means :  but  rather  their  lusts  have  cast  a  veil  over  their  hearts.  By  no 
means.  Verily  they  shall  be  shut  out  from  their  Lord  on  that  day ;  and 
they  shall  be  sent  into  hell  to  be  burned  :  then  shall  it  be  said  unto  them  by 
the  infernal  guards^  This  is  what  ye  denied  as  a  falsehood.*  Assuredly. 
But  the  register  of  ^/ie  actions  o/the  righteous  is  Illiyyun:"  and  what  shall 
cause  thee  to  understand  what  Illiyyun  is  ?  It  is  a  book  distinctly  written : 
those  who  approach  near  unto  God  are  witnesses  thereto."  Verily  the 
righteous  shall  dwell  among  delights :  seated  on  couches  they  shall  behold 
objects  of  pleasure ;  thou  shalt  see  in  their  faces  the  brightness  of  joy. 
They  shall  be  given  to  drink  of  pure  wine,  sealed ;  the  seal  whereof  shall 
be  musk:P  and  to  this  let  those  aspire,  who  aspire  to  happiness  :'f  and  the 
loafer  mixed  therewith  shall  be  of  Tasnim,i  a  fountain  whereof  those 
shall  drink  who  approach  near  unto  the  divine  presence.^  They  who  act 
wickedly  laugh  the  true  believers  to  scorn :  and  when  they  pass  by  them, 
they  wink  at  one  another :  and  when  they  turn  aside  to  their  people,  they 
turn  aside  making  scurrilous  jests;  and  when  they  see  them,  they  say, 
Verily  these  are  mistaken  men.  But  they  are  not  sent  to  be  keepers  over 
them.^  Wherefore  one  day  the  true  believers,  in  their  turn,  shall  laugli 
the  infidels  to  scorn :  *  lying  on  couches  they  shall  look  down  upon  them  in 
hell.     Shall  not  the  infidels  be  rewarded  for  that  which  they  have  done .'' 

*  "  At  the  day  of  judgment,  God  shall  envelope  them  in  a  veil,  and  shall  plunge  them 
into  hell.  Behold,  will  he  say  unto  them,  the  torments  which  you  treated  as  a  chimera !" 
— Savary. 

°  The  word  is  a  plural,  and  signifies  high  places.  Some  say  it  is  the  general  register 
wherein  the  actions  of  the  righteous,  whether  angels,  men,  or  genii,  are  distinctly  recorded. 
Others  will  have  it  to  be  a  place  in  the  seventh  heaven,  under  the  throne  of  God  ;  where 
this  book  is  kept,  and  where  the  souls  of  the  just,  as  many  think,  will  remain  to  the  last 
day.''  If  we  preter  the  latter  opinion,  the  words,  And  what  shall  make  thee  to  understand 
what  lllyyun  is  ?  should  likewise  be  enclosed  in  a  parenthesis. 

"  Or,  Are  present  with,  and  keep  the  same. 

p  i.  e.  The  vessels  containing  the  same  shall  be  sealed  with  musk,  instead  of  clay.  Some 
understand  by  the  seal  of  this  wine,  its  farewell,  or  the  flavour  it  will  leave  in  the  mouth 
after  it  is  drunk. 

t  "  Let  those  who  aspire  to  this  happiness  exert  themselves  to  merit  it." — Savary. 

*>  Tasnim  is  the  name  of  a  fountain  in  paradise,  so  called  from  its  being  conveyed  to  the 
highest  apartments. 

'  For  they  shall  drink  the  water  of  Tasnim  pure  and  unmixed,  being  continually  and 
wholly  employed  in  the  contemplation  of  God ;  but  the  other  inhabitants  of  paradise  shall 
drink  it  mixed  with  their  wine.* 

"  i.  e.  The  infidels  are  not  commissioned  by  God  to  call  the  believers  to  account,  or  to 
judge  of  their  actions. 

'  When  they  shall  see  them  ignominiously  driven  into  hell.  It  is  also  said  that  a  door 
shall  be  shown  the  damned,  opening  into  paradise,  and  they  shall  be  bidden  to  go  in  ; 
but  when  they  come  near  the  door,  if  shall  suddenly  shut;  and  the  believers  within  shall 
laugh  at  them.' 

'  Jallalo'ddin.    See  the  Prehra.  Disc,  ubi  sup.  '  Al  Beidawi.  *Idem. 


484  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxxiv. 

CHAPTER  LXXXIV. 

INTITLED,  THE  RENDING  IN  SUNDER;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

When  the  heaven  shall  be  rent  in  sunder,  and  shall  obey  its  Lord,  and 
shall  be  capable  thereof;  and  when  the  earth  shall  be  stretched  out,^  and 
shall  cast  forth  that  which  is  therein,^  and  shall  remain  empty,  and  shall 
obey  its  Lord,  and  shall  be  capable  thereof:  O  man,  verily  labouring  thou 
labourest  to  meet  thy  Lord,  and  thou  shalt  meet  him.^  And  he  who  shall 
have  his  book  given  into  his  right  hand  shall  be  called  to  an  easy  account, 
and  shall  turn  unto  his  family  ^  with  joy :  but  he  who  shall  have  his  book 
given  him  behind  his  back'^  shall  invoke  destruction  to  fall  upon  him^  and 
he  shall  be  sent  into  hell  to  be  burned ;  because  he  rejoiced  insolently 
amidst  his  family  on  earth.  Verily  he  thought  he  should  never  return 
unto  God  :  yea  verily,  but  his  Lord  beheld  him.  Wherefore  I  swear  **  by 
the  redness  of  the  sky  after  sun-set,  and  by  the  night,  and  the  animals 
which  it  driveth  together,*  and  by  the  moon  when  she  is  in  the  full ;  ye 
shall  surely  be  transferred  successively  from  state  to  state.^  What  aileth 
them,  therefore,  that  they  believe  not  the  resurrection ;  and  that,  when  the 
Kordn  is  read  unto  them,  they  worship  not  ?  •=  Yea  :  the  unbelievers  ac- 
cuse the  same  of  imposture :  but  God  well  knoweth  the  malice  which  they 
keep  hidden  in  their  breasts.  Wherefore  denounce  unto  them  a  grievous 
punishment,  except  those  who  believe  and  do  good  works :  for  them  is 
prepared  a  never  failing  reward. 

"  There  are  some  who  take  this  chapter  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

'  Like  a  skin :  every  mountain  and  hill  being  levelled. 

^  As  the  treasures  hidden  in  its  bowels,  and  the  bodies  which  lie  in  their  graves. 

*  Or,  And  thou  shalt  meet  thy  labour,  whether  thy  works  be  good,  or  whether  they  be 
evil. 

^  i.  e.  His  relations  or  friends,  who  are  true  believers  ;  or  rather,  to  his  wives  and  ser- 
vants, of  the  damsels  and  youths  of  paradise,  who  wait  to  receive  him.'" 

^  That  is,  into  his  left  hand ;  for  the  wicked  shall  have  that  hand  bound  behind  their 
back,  and  their  right  hand  to  their  neck. 

"  Or,  /  will  not  swear.    See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.     (Savary  adopts  this  reading.) 

*  "  By  the  night,  and  that  which  it  enfoldeth  in  its  shades." — Savary. 

^  i.  e.  From  the  state  of  the  living,  to  that  of  the  dead ;  and  from  the  state  of  the  dead, 
to  a  new  state  of  hfe  in  another  world. 
''Or,  humble  not  themselves. 

^AlBeidawi.  "Idem. 


CHAP.  Lxxxv.  AL  KORAN.  485 

CHAPTER   LXXXV. 

INTITLED,  THE  CELESTIAL  SIGNS;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

By  the  heaven  adorned  with  signs  ;  ^  by  the  promised  day  of  judgment ; 
by  the  witness,  and  the  witnessed ; «  cursed  were  the  contrivers  of  the  pit,' 
of  fire  supplied  with  fuel ;  when  they  sat  around  the  same,  and  were 
witnesses  of  what  they  did  against  the  true  believers  *s  and  they  afflicted 
them  for  no  other  reason,  but  because  they  believed  in  the  mighty,  the 
glorious  God,  unto  whom  helongeth  the  kingdom  of  heaven  and  earth  :  and 
God  is  witness  of  all  things.  Verily  for  those  who  persecute  the  true 
believers  of  either  sex,  and  afterwards  repent  not,  is  prepared  the 
torment  of  hell ;  and  they  shall  suffer  the  pain  of  burning.''  f  But  for  those 
who  believe,  and  do  that  which  is  right,  are  destined  gardens  beneath  which 
rivers  flow  :  this  shall  be-  great  felicity.  Verily  the  vengeance  of  thy  Lord 
is  severe.  He  createth,  and  he  restoreth  to  life:  he  is  inclined  to  forgive, 
and  gracious;  the  possessor  of  the  glorious  throne,  who  efTecteth  that 
which  he  pleaseth.     Hath  not  the  story  of  the  hosts  of  Pharaoh '  and 


*  The  original  word  properly  signifies  towers,  which  some  interpret  of  real  towers.' 
wherein  it  is  supposed  the  angels  keep  guard  ;^  and  others,  of  the  stars  of  the  first  magni- 
tude :  but  the  generality  of  expositors  understand  thereby  the  twelve  signs  of  the  zodiac, 
wherein  the  planets  make  their  several  stations.' 

*  The  meaning  of  these  words  is  very  uncertain,  and  the  expUcations  of  the  commenta- 
tors consequently  vary.  One  thinks  the  wit7iess  to  be  Mohammed,  and  that  which  is  borne 
witness  of  to  be  the  resurrection,  or  the  prof essors  of  the  Mohammedan /ai7A/  or  else  that 
these  latter  are  the  witness,  and  the  professors  of  every  other  religion  those  who  will  be 
witnessed  against  by  them.  Another  supposes  the  witness  to  be  the  guardian  angel,  and 
his  charge  the  person  witnessed  against.  Another  expounds  the  words  of  the  day  of 
Arafat,  the  9th  Dhu'lhajja,  and  of  the  day  of  slaying  the  victims,  which  is  the  day  fol- 
lowing ;  or  else  of  Friday,  the  day  of  the  weekly  assembling  of  the  Mohammedans  at  their 
mosques,  and  of  the  people  who  are  assembled  on  those  days,  (Sec* 

^  Literally,  the  lords  of  the  pit.  These  were  the  ministers  of  the  persecution  raised  by 
Dhu  Nowas.  king  of  Yaman,  who  was  of  the  Jewish  religion,  against  the  inhabitants 
of  Najran:  for  they  having  embraced  Christianity  (at  that  time  the  true  religion,  by  the 
confession  of  Mohammed  himself),  the  bigoted  tyrant  commanded  all  those  who  would 
not  renounce  their  faith  to  be  cast  mto  a  pit,  or  trench,  filled  with  fire,  and  there  burnt  to 
ashes.*    Others,  however,  tell  the  story  with  different  circumstances.^ 

*  "  By  the  signs  which  are  in  the  heavens,  by  the  promised  day,  by  the  witness  and 
the  day  of  witnessing, ■"  the  dwellers  of  the  cavern  have  perished.  They  kept  up  there  a 
guilty  fire :  while  that  they  were  seated  around  it,  they  devised  plots  against  the  be- 
lievers."— Savary. 

s  Or,  as  some  choose  to  understand  the  words.  And  shall  be  witnesses  against  themselves, 
at  the  day  of  judgment,  of  their  unjust  treatment  of  the  true  believers. 

^  VVhich  pain,  it  is  said,  the  persecutors  of  the  Christian  martyrs  above-mentioned  felt 
in  this  life  ;  the  fire  bursting  forth  upon  them  from  the  pit,  and  consuming  them.' 

t  "  Those  who  have  burned  the  believers  of  both  sexes,  and  who  have  not  repented 
thereof,  shall  be  plunged  into  the  flames  of  hell." — Savary. 

'  See  chap.  7,  p.  127. 

'  Yahya.  '  See  chap.  15,  p.  210,  and  chap.  72,  p.  467.  '  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi, 
Yahya.  *  lidem.  » lidem.  Vide  Poc.  Spec.  p.  62.  Ecchellens,  Hist.  Arab,  part  1. 

c.  10;  and  Prid.  Life  of  Mohammed,  p.  61.      "  Vide  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Abou 
Navas.        ■"  The  day  of  resurrection.        «  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya. 


486  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxxvil 

of  Thamud  '^  reached  thee  ?  Yet  the  unbelievers  cease  not  to  accuse  the 
divine  revelations  of  falsehood  :  but  God  encompasseth  them  behind,  that 
they  cannot  escape.  Verily  that  which  they  reject  is  a  glorious  Koran ;  the 
original  whereof  is  written  in  a  table  kept  in  heaven} 


CHAPTER   LXXXVI. 

INTITLED,  THE  STAR  WHICH  APPEARED  BY  NIGHT;  REVEALED 

AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  heaven,  and  that  which  appeareth  by  night :  but  what  shall 
cause  thee  to  understand  what  that  which  appeareth  by  night  is  f  it  is  the 
star  of  piercing  brightness  :  ™  *  every  soul  hath  a  guardian  set  over  it.  Let 
a  man  consider,  therefore,  of  what  he  is  created.  He  is  created  of  seed 
poured  forth,  issuing  from  the  loins,  and  the  breast  bones. •*  Verily  God  is 
able  to  restore  him  to  life^  the  day  whereon  all  secret  thoughts  and  actions 
shall  be  examined  into ;  and  he  shall  have  no  power  to  defend  himself  nor 
any  protector.  By  the  heaven  which  returneth  the  rain ; "  and  by  the 
earth  which  openeth  to  let  forth  vegetables  and  springs  :  verily  this  is  a 
discourse  distinguishing  good  from  evil ;  and  it  is  not  composed  with  light- 
ness. Verily  the  infidels  are  laying  a  plot  to  frustrate  my  designs :  but  I 
will  lay  a  plot  for  their  ruin.  Wherefore,  O  prophet,,  bear  with  the  unbe- 
lievers :  let  them  alone  a  while. 


CHAPTER    LXXXVII. 
INTITLED,  THE  MOST  HIGH;?  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.t 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Praise  the  name  of  thy  Lord,  the  most  high ;  who  hath  created,  and 
completely  formed  his  creatures :  and  who  determineth  them  to  various 

"^  See  chap.  7,  p.  123. 

'  And  preserved  from  the  least  change  or  corruption.  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  3.  p. 
46,  and  sect.  4,  p.  71. 

™  Some  take  the  words  to  signify  any  bright  star,  without  restriction :  but  others  think 
some  particular  star  or  stars  to  be  thereby  intended  ;  which  one  supposes  to  be  the  morning 
star,  (peculiarly  called  al  Tdrek,  or  the  appearing  by  night;)  another,  Saturn,  (that  planet 
being  by  the  Arabs  surnamed  al  Thakeb,  or  the  piercing,  as  it  was  by  the  Greeks,  Fhccnon, 
or  the  shining  ;)  and  a  third,  the  Pleiades. 

*  "By  the  heaven,  and  the  nocturnal  star:  who  shall  depict  unto  thee  this  star,  the 
fires  of  which  are  penetrating?" — Savanj. 

°t.  e.  From  the  loins  of  the  man,  and  the  breastbones  of  the  woman.' 

"  Or,  as  some  expound  it,  Which  performeth  its  periodic  motion,  returning  to  the  point 
from  whence  it  began  the  same.  The  words  seem  designed  to  express  the  alternate  re- 
turns of  the  different  seasons  of  the  year. 

p  Some  take  the  first  word  of  this  chapter,  viz.  Praise,  for  its  title. 

t  "  The  believer  who  shall  read  the  chapter,  intitlcd  the  Most  High,  shall  receive  ten 

'  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya. 


CHAP.  Lxxxvin.  AL  KORAN.  487 

ends^'*'  and  directeth  them  to  attain  the  same ;  *  "■  and  who  produceth  the 
pasture /or  cattle^  and  afterwards  rendereth  the  same  dry  stubble  of  a  dusky 
hue.  We  will  enable  thee  to  rehearse  our  revelations ;^  and  thou  shalt  not 
forget  any  part  thereof  except  what  God  shall  please ;  *  for  he  knoweth 
that  which  is  manifest,  and  that  which  is  hidden.  And  we  will  facilitate 
unto  thee  the  most  easy  way."^  Wherefore  admonish  thy  people^  if  thy 
admonition  shall  be  profitable  unto  them.  Whoso  feareth  God.)  he  will  be 
admonished  :  but  the  most  wretched  unbeliever  will  turn  away  therefrom ; 
who  shall  be  cast  to  be  broiled  in  the  greater  fire  of  hell.,  wherein  he  shall 
not  die,  neither  shall  he  live.  Now  hath  he  attained  felicity,  who  is  puri- 
fied hy  faith.)  and  who  remembereth  the  name  of  his  Lord,  and  prayeth. 
But  ye  prefer  this  present  life :  yet  the  life  to  come  is  better,  and  more 
durable.  Verily  this  is  written  in  the  ancient  books,  the  books  of  Abra- 
ham and  Moses. 


CHAPTER   LXXXVIII. 

•INTITLED,  THE  OVERWHELMING  r  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

Hath  the  news  of  the  overwhelming  day  of  judgment  reached  thee  ? 
The  countenances  of  some^  on  that  day,  shall  be  cast  down ;  labouring  and 
toiling :^'f"  they  shall  be  cast  into  scorching  fire  to  be  broiled:  they  shall  be 
given  to  drink  of  a  boiling  fountain  :  they  shall  have  no  food,  but  of  dry 
thorns  and  thistles  -J  which  shall  not  fatten,  neither  shall  they  satisfy  hunger. 
But  the  countenances  of  others,  on  that  day,  shall  be  joyful;  well  pleased 
with  their  past  endeavour :  they  shall  be  placed  in  a  lofty  garden,  wherein 
thou  shalt  hear  no  vain  discourse  :  therein  shall  be  a  running  fountain : 

celestial  ^ifts  for  every  letter  which  is  contained  in  the  books  sent  from  heaven,  to  Abra- 
ham, Moses,  and  Mohammed.     So  say  the  Mohammedan  theologians." — Savary. 

"i  Determining  their  various  species,  properties,  ways  of  hfe,  &c.' 

■■  Guiding  the  rational  by  their  reason  and  also  by  revelation,  and  the  irrational  by  in- 
stinct, &c.^ 

*  "  He  hath  created  and  perfected  his  works.  Eternal  wisdom  presideth  over  his  de- 
crees."— Savary. 

'  See  chap.  75,  p.  473. 

^  I.  e.  Except  such  revelations  as  God  shall  think  fit  to  abrogate,  and  blot  out  of  thy 
memory.    See  chap.  2,  p.  14,  and  chap.  75,  p.  473. 

^'  To  retain  the  revelations  communicated  to  thee  by  Gabriel :  or,  as  some  understand 
the  words,  We  will  dispose  thee  to  the  profession  anil  strict  observance  of  the  most  easy 
religion,  that  is,  of  Islam. 

"  This  is  a  name,  or  epithet  of  the  last  day ;  because  it  will  suddenly  overwhelm  all 
creatures  with  fear  and  astonishment.     It  is  also  a  name,  or  epithet,  of  hell  tire. 

^  t.  e.  Draggins  their  chains,  and  labouring  through  hell  fire,  as  camels  labour  through 
mud,  &c.     Or,  Employing  and  fatiguing  themselves  in  what  shall  not  avail  them.^ 

t  "  Hath  any  one  depicted  unto  thee  the  gloomy  veil?  Those  of  whom  the  counte- 
nance shall  be  covered  by  it  shall  be  Uke  unto  hireUngs  exhausted  by  fatigue..' — Savary. 

y  Such  as  the  camels  eat  when  green  and  tender.  Some  take  the  original  word  al  Dari 
for  the  name  of  a  thorny  tree.     (Savary  is  of  this  opinion.) 

'  Al  Beidawi.  »  Idem.  =•  Idem. 


488  AL  KORAN.  chap,  lxxxix. 

therein  shall  he  raised  beds,  and  goblets  placed  lefore  tJiem^  and  cushions 
laid  in  order,  and  carpets  ready  spread.  Do  they  not  consider  the  camels,^ 
how  they  are  created ;  and  the  heaven,  how  it  is  raised ;  and  the  moun- 
tains, how  they  are  fixed ;  and  the  earth,  how  it  is  extended  }  Wherefore 
warn  thy  people  ;  for  thou  art  a  warner  only :  thou  art  not  impowered  to 
act  with  authority  over  them.  But  whoever  shall  turn  back,*  and  dis- 
believe, God  shall  punish  him  with  the  greater  punishment  of  the  life,  to 
come.  Verily  unto  us  shall  they  return  :  then  shall  it  be  our  part  to  bring 
them  to  account. 


CHAPTER    LXXXIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  DAY-BREAK;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA." 

IN  THE  NAME  OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

By  the  day-break,  and  ten  nights ;  "^  by  that  which  is  double,  and  that 
which  is  single ; ^*  and  by  the  night  when  it  cometh  on :  is  there  not  in 
this  an  oath  formed  with  understanding  ?  Hast  thou  not  considered  how 
thy  Lord  dealt  with  Ad,  the  people  of  Irem,^  adorned  with  lofty  buildings,^ 

*  These  animals  are  of  such  use,  or  rather  necessity,  in  the  east,  that  the  creation  of  a 
species  so  wonderfully  adapted  to  those  countries  is  a  very  proper  instance,  to  an  Arabian, 
of  the  power  and  wisdom  of  God. 

Some,  however,  think  the  clouds,  (which  the  original  word  ibl  also  signifies,)  are  here 
intended :  the  heaven  being  mentioned  immediately  after. 

"  Or,  Except  him  who  shall  turn  back,  and  be  an  infidel;  and  God  shall  also  punish 
him,  &c.  By  which  exception  some  suppose  that  power  is  here  given  to  Mohammed  to 
chastise  obstinate  infidels  and  apostates. 

^  Some  are  of  opinion  this  chapter  was  revealed  at  Medina. 

°  That  is,  The  ten  nights  of  Dhu'Ihajja,  or  the  tenth  of  that  month,  (whence  some  un- 
derstand the  day-break  mentioned  just  before,  of  the  morning  of  that  day,  or  of  the  pre- 
ceding ;)  or  the  nights  of  the  10th  of  Moharram  ;  or  as  others  rather  think,  the  10th,  11th, 
and  12th  of  Dhu'lhajji.    All  which  are  days  peculiarly  sacred  among  the  Mohammedans. 

^  These  words  are  variously  interpreted.  Some  understand  thereby  all  things  in  gene- 
ral ;  some,  all  created  beings,  (which  are  said  to  have  been  created  by  pairs,  or  of  two 
kinds,*)  and  the  creator,  who  is  single  :  some,  of  the  primum  mobile,  and  the  other  orbs  ; 
some,  of  the  constellations,  and  the  planets;  some,  of  the  nights  before  mentioned,  taken 
either  together  or  singly  ;  and  some,  of  the  day  of  slaying  the  victims,  (the  10th  of  Dhu'I- 
hajja,) and  of  the  day  of  Arafat,  which  is  the  day  before,  &c.* 

*  "  By  the  union  and  the  separation." — Savary. 

'  Irem  was  the  name  of  the  territory  or  city  of  the  Adites,  and  of  the  garden  mentioned 
in  the  next  note  ;  which  were  so  called  from  Irem,  or  Aram,  the  grandlather  of  Ad,  theu* 
progenitor.  Some  think  Aram  himself  to  be  here  meant,  and  his  nanie  to  be  added  to 
signify  the  ancient  Adites,  his  immediate  descendants,  and  to  distinguish  them  from  the 
latter  tribe  of  that  name  :^  but  the  adjective  and  relative  joined  to  the  word  are,  in  the 
original,  of  the  feminine  gender,  which  seems  to  contradict  this  opinion. 

f  Or  pillars.  Some  imagine  these  words  are  used  to  express  the  great  size  and  strength 
of  the  old  Adites  ; '  and  then  they  should  be  translated,  who  were  of  enormous  stature.  But 
the  more  exact  commentators  take  the  passage  to  relate  to  the  sumptuous  palace  and  de- 
lightful gardens  built  and  made  by  Sheddad  the  son  of  Ad.  For  they  say  Ad  left  two  sons. 
Sheddad  and  Sheddid,  who  reigned  jointly  after  his  decease,  and  extended  their  power  over 
the  greater  part  of  the  world  :  but  Sheddid  dying,  his  brother  became  sole  monarch  ;  who, 
having  heard  of  the  celestial  paradise,  made  a  garden,  in  imitation  thereof,  in  the  deserts 
of  Aden,  and  called  it  Irem,  after  the  name  of  his  great-grandfather :  when  it  wa^  finished, 
he  set  out,  with  a  great  attendance,  to  take  a  view  of  it ;  but  when  they  were  come  within  a 

*  See  chap.  51 ,  p.  424.  '  Al  Zamakh.  «  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem. 
See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  5. 


CHAP.  Lxxxix.  AL  KORAN.  489 

the  like  whereof  hath  not  been  erected  in  the  land ;  s  and  with  Thamud, 
who  hewed  the  rocks  in  the  valley  •>  into  houses;  and  with  Pharaoh, 
the  contriver  of  the  stakes  : '  who  had  behaved  insolently  in  the  earth,  and 
multiplied  corruption  therein  ?  *  Wherefore  thy  Lord  poured  on  them 
various  kinds  '^  of  chastisement :  for  thy  Lord  is  surely  in  a  watch-tower, 
whence  he  ohscrveth  the  actions  of  men.  Moreover  man,  when  his  Lord 
trieth  him  hij  prosperity^  and  honoureth  him,  and  is  bounteous  unto  him, 
saith.  My  Lord  honoureth  me ;  but  when  he  proveth  him  hy  afflictions^  and 
withholdeth  his  provisions  from  him,  he  saith.  My  Lord  despiseth  me.  By 
no  means  : '  but  ye  honour  not  the  orphan,  neither  do  ye  excite  one  another 
to  feed  the  poor ;  and  ye  devour  the  inheritance  of  the  weak^"^  with  undis- 
tinguishing  greediness,  and  ye  love  riches  with  much  alTection.  By  no  means 
should  ye  do  thus.'\  When  the  earth  shall  be  minutely  ground  to  dust ;  and 
thy  Lord  shall  come,  and  the  angels  rank  by  rank ;  and  hell,  on  that  day, 
shall  be  brought  nigh  :  °  on  that  day  shall  man  call  to  remembrance  his  evil 
deeds  ;  but  how  shall  remembrance  avail  him  ?  He  shall  say.  Would  to 
God  that  1  had  heretofore  done  good  toorks  in  my  life-time ! "  On  that  day 
none  shall  punish  with  his  punishment ;  nor  shall  any  bind  with  his  bonds.? 

day's  journey  of  the  place,  they  were  all  destroyed  by  a  terrible  noise  from  heaven. 
Al  Beidawi  adds  that  one  Abdallah  Ebn  Kelabah  (whom,  after  D'Herbelot,  I  have  else- 
where named  Colabah')  accidentally  hit  on  this  wonderful  place,  as  he  was  seeking  a 
camel. 

« If  we  suppose  the  precedinij  words  to  relate  to  the  vast  stature  of  the  Adites,  these 
must  be  translated,  The  like  of  whom  have  not  been  created,  &,c. 

•■The  learned  Greaves,  in  his  translation  of  Abu'lteda's  description  of  Arabia,®  has 
falsely  rendered  these  words,  which  are  there  quoted,  Quibus  petrm  vallis  responsum  de- 
derunt,  i.  e.  To  whom  the  rocks  of  the  valley  returned  answer:  which  slip  being  made  by 
so  great  a  man,  I  do  not  at  all  wonder  that  la  Roque,  and  Petis  de  la  Croix,  from  whose 
Latin  version,  and  with  whose  assistance,  la  Roque  made  his  French  translation  of  the 
aforesaid  treatise,  have  been  led  into  the  same  mistake,  and  rendered  these  words,  A  qui 
les  pierres  de  la  vallee  redirent  reponse.'-  The  valley  here  meant,  say  the  commentators,^ 
is  Wadi'lkora,  lying  about  one  day's  journey,^  (not  five  and  upwards,  as  Abu'lfeda  will 
have  it)  from  al  Hejr. 

'  See  chap.  38,  p.  372. 

*  "Art  thou  ignorant  how  God  took  vengeance  on  the  Adites ;  on  the  Iremites,  whose 
stature  equalled  the  height  of  columns ;  (the  earth  never  bore  men  like  unto  them  ;)  on 
the  Thamuds,  who  hewed  the  rocks  into  valleys  ;  and  on  Pharaoh,  who,  surrounded  by  a 
splendid  court,  ruled  Egypt  haughtily." — Savary. 

''The  original  word  signifies  a  mixture,  and  also  a  scourge  of  platted  thongs:  whence 
some  suppose  the  chastisement  of  this  life  is  here  represented  by  a  scourge,  and  intimated 
to  be  as  much  lighter  than  that  of  the  next  life,  as  scourging  is  lighter  than  death.* 

'  For  worldly  prosperity  or  adversity  is  not  a  certain  mark  either  of  the  favour  or  dis- 
favour of  God. 

^  Not  suffering  women  or  young  children  to  have  any  share  in  the  inheritance  of  their 
husbands  or  parents.     See  chap.  4,  p.  CO. 

t  "Are  not  these  your  faults  ?" — Savary. 

°  There  is  a  tradition  that  at  the  last  day  hell  will  be  dragged  towards  the  tribunal  by 
70,000  halters,  each  halter  being  hawled  by  70,000  angels ;  and  that  it  will  come  with 
great  roaring  and  fury.' 

"Or,  For  this  my  latter  life. 

p  i.  e.  None  shall  be  able  to  punish  or  to  bind,  as  God  shall  then  punish  and  bind  the 
wicked.® 

»  Prelim.  Disc.  p.  5.  »  Page  23.  It  was  published  by  Dr.  Hudson,  in  the  third  vol. 
of  the  Geographiae  veteris  Scriptor.  Gr.  minor.  '  Descr.  de  l' Arabic,  niise  a  la  suite  du 
Voyage  de  la  Palestine,  par  La  Roque,  p.  35.  ^  Jallal.,  al  Beidawi.  ^  Ebn  Ilawkal, 
apud  Abulf.  ubi  sub.  Geogr.  Nub.  p.  110.  *  Al  Beidawi.  '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallal. 

*  lidem. 

2q 


490  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xc. 

O  ihou  soul  which  art  at  rest,i  return  unto  thy  Lord,  well  pleased  with  thy 
reicard,  and  well  pleasing  unto  God  :  enter  among  my  servants ;  and  enter 
my  paradise, 

CHAPTER    XC. 
INTITLED,  THE  TERRITORY;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.* 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

1  SWEAR'  by  this  territory,*  (and  thou,  0  prophet,  residest  in  this  ter- 
ritory,* I)  and  by  the  begetter,  and  that  which  he  hath  begotten ;  ^  verily 
we  have  created  man  in  misery.^  Doth  he  think  that  none  shall  prevail 
over  him  .'*  ^  He  saith,  I  have  wasted  plenty  of  riches.''  Doth  he  think 
that  none  seeth  him  ?  Have  we  not  made  him  two  eyes,  and  a  tongue,  and 
two  lips  ;  and  shown  him  the  two  highways  of  good  and  evil  ?  Yet  he 
attempteth  not  the  cliff.  What  shall  make  thee  to  understand  what  the 
cliff  isf'l  It  is  to  free  the  captive  ;  or  to  feed,  in  the  day  of  famine,  the 
orphan  who  is  of  kin,  or  the  poor  man  who  lieth  on  the  ground.  Whoso 
doth  this,  and  is  one  of  those  who  believe,  and  recommend  perseverance  unto 
each  other,  and  recommend  mercy  unto  each  other ;  these  shall  he  the  com- 
panions of  the  right  hand.*  But  they  who  shall  disbelieve  our  signs  shall 
be  the  companions  of  the  left  hand  :  *•  above  them  shall  be  arched  fire. 

"J  Some  expound  this  of  the  soul  which  having,  by  pursuing  the  concatenation  of  natural 
causes,  raised  itself  to  the  knowledge  of  that  Being  which  produced  them,  and  exists  of 
necessity,  rests  fully  contented,  or  acquiesces  in  the  knowledge  of  him,  and  the  contem- 
plation of  his  perfections.  By  this  the  reader  will  observe  that  the  Mohammedans  are  no 
strangers  to  Quietism.  Others,  however,  understand  the  words  of  the  soul  which,  having 
attained  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  rests  satisfied,  and  relies  securely  ihereon,  undisturbed 
by  doubts  ;  or  of  the  soul  which  is  secure  of  its  salvation,  and  free  from  fear  or  sorrow.'' 

*  "  The  faithful  who  shall  read  this  chapter  devoutly,  says  Zamakhshari,  shall  enjoy 
the  protection  of  heaven;  at  the  day  of  resurrection,  God  will  give  them  a  safe-guard 
against  his  wrath." — Savary. 

^  Or,  I  will  not  swear,  ^c.    See  chap.  56,  p.  437,  note  d.     (Savary  prefers  this  reading.) 

*  viz.  The  sacred  territory  of  Mecca. 

'  Or,  Thou  shalt  he  allowed  to  do  what  thou  pleasest  in  this  territory;  the  words,  in  this 
sense,  importing  a  promise  of  that  absolute  power  which  Mohammed  attained  on  the 
taking  of  Mecca.® 

t  "  It  is  thy  asylum." — Savary. 

"  Some  understand  these  words  generally  ;  others  of  Adam,  or  Abraham,  and  of  their 
offspring,  and  of  Mohammed  in  particular.® 

^  Or,  to  trouble.  This  passage  was  revealed  to  comfort  the  prophet  under  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Koreish.' 

■'  Some  expositors  take  a  particular  person  to  be  here  intended,  who  was  one  of  Mo- 
hammed's most  inveterate  adversaries;  as  Al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mogheira:^  others  suppose 
Abu'l  Ashadd  Ebn  Calda  to  be  the  man:  who  was  so  very  strong,  that  a  large  skin 
being  spread  under  his  feet,  and  ten  men  pulling  at  it,  they  could  not  make  him  fall, 
though  they  tore  the  skin  to  pieces.^ 

^  In  a  vain  and  ostentatious  manner ;  or,  in  opposing  of  Mohammed.* 

X  "  We  have  made  him  experience  the  one  and  the  other  fortune.  But  we  have  not 
put  him  to  the  last  proof.     What  is  that  proof?" — Savary. 

"  See  chap.  56,  p.  435.  "  See  ibid. 

'  Al  Beidawi.  « Idem.  ^  Idem.  '  Idem.  =>  Al  Zamakh.  ^  ^1  Beidawi. 
*  Idem. 


CHAP.  xcii.  AL  KORAN.  491 

CHAPTER  XCI. 

INTITLED,  THE  SUN;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA.* 

IN    THE    NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  Sun,  and  its  rising  brightness;!  by  the  moon,  when  she  followeih 
him  ;■=  by  the  day,  when  it  showeth  his  splendour;  by  the  night,  when  it 
covereth  him  with  darkness; J  by  the  heaven,  and  him  who  built  it;  by 
the  earth,  and  him  who  spread  it  forth ;  by  the  soul,  and  him  who  com- 
pletely formed  it,  and  inspired  into  the  same  its  faculty  of  distinguishing^ 
and  power  of  choosing,  wickedness  and  piety :  now  is  he  who  hath  purified 
the  same,  happy;  but  he  who  hath  corrupted  the  same,  is  miserable. 
Thamud  accused  their  prophet  Saleh  of  imposture,  through  the  excess  of 
their  wickedness:  when  the  wretch*  among  them  was  sent  to  slay  the 
camel ;  and  the  apostle  of  God  said  unto  them,  Let  alone  the  camel  of 
God;  and  hinder  not  her  drinking.  But  they  charged  him  with  imposture; 
and  they  slew  her.  Wherefore  their  Lord  destroyed  them,  for  their  crime, 
and  made  their  punishment  equal  unto  them  all :  and  he  feareth  not  the 
issue  thereof. 


CHAPTER    XCII. 
INTITLED,  THE  NIGHT;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.^ 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD 

By  the  night,  when  it  covereth  all  things  with  darkness ;  by  the  day, 
when  it  shineth  forth;  ||  by  his  who  hath  created  the  male, and  the  female: 
verily  your  endeavour  is  different.TF  Now  whoso  is  obedient,  and  feareth 
God**  and  profcsseth  the  truth  of  that /a  i//i  which  is  most  excellent;  unto 
him  will  we  facilitate  the  ivay  to  happiness :  but  whoso  shall  be  covetous, 
and  shall  be  wholly  taken  up  loith  this  world^  and  shall  deny  the  truth  of 
that  which  is  most  excellent;  unto  him  will  we  facilitate  the  way  to  misery; 

*  "  The  Mohammedan,  says  Zamakhshari,  who  shall  devoutly  read  this  chapter,  shall 
be  rewarded  as  if  he  had  bestowed  in  alms  all  that  the  sun  and  the  moon  enlighten  in 
their  course." — Savary. 

t  "  By  the  sun,  and  its  brilliant  fires." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  When  she  rises  just  after  him,  as  she  does  at  the  beginning  of  the  month ;  or 
when  she  sets  after  him,  as  happens  when  she  is  a  little  past  the  full.* 

t  "  By  the  night,  which  covereth  his  luminous  countenance." — Savary. 

^  viz.  Kedar  Ebn  Salef.     See  chap.  7,  p.  124,  and  chap.  54,  p.  430. 

^  "  God  will  fulfil  all  the  desires  of  the  faithful  who  shall  read  this  chapter;  he  will 
mitigate  for  thern  the  troubles  of  life,  and  will  crown  all  their  undertakings  with  success. 
Such  is  the  opinion  of  the  Mohammedan  theologians." — Savary. 

II  "  By  the  day  when  it  shineth  with  the  purest  radiance."— 5'arar?/. 

^  "  Your  zeal  shall  have  a  different  success." — Savary. 

•*  "  He  who  giveth  alms  and  who  feareth  God." — Savary. 

*  Al  Beidawi. 


492  AL  KORAN.  chap,  xciii. 

and  his  riches  shall  not  profit  him,  when  he  shall  fall  headlong  into  hell. 
Verily  unto  us  appertaineth  the  direction  of  mankind  :  and  ours  is  the  life 
to  come,  and  the  present  life.  Wherefore  I  threaten  you  with  fire  which 
burneth  fiercely,  which  none  shall  enter  to  be  burned  except  the  most 
wretched ;  who  shall  have  disbelieved,  and  turned  back.  But  he  who 
strictly  bewareth  idolatry  and  rebellion  shall  be  removed  far  from  the  same; 
who  giveth  his  substance  in  alms,  and  by  whom  no  benefit  is  bestowed  on 
any,  that  it  may  be  recompensed,  but  ivho  bestoweth  the  same  for  the  sake 
of  his  Lord,  the  most  High,''  and  hereafter  he  shall  be  well  satisfied  with 
his  reward* 


CHAPTER  XCIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  BRIGHTNESS;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

By  the  brightness  of  the  morning ;  ^  and  by  the  night,  when  it  groweth 
dark: I  thy  Lord  hath  not  forsaken  thee,  neither  doth  he  hate  thee.^  Verily 
the  life  to  come  shall  be  better  for  thee  than  this  present  life :  and  thy 
Lord  shall  give  thee  a  reward  wherewith  thou  shalt  be  well  pleased.  Did 
he  not  find  thee  an  orphan,  and  hath  he  not  taken  care  of  thee  ?  And  did 
he  not  find  thee  wandering  in  error,  and  hath  he  not  guided  thee  into  the 
truth  f  And  did  he  not  find  thee  needy,  and  hath  he  not  enriched  thee  f 
Wherefore  oppress  not  the  orphan :  neither  repulse  the  beggar :  but  declare 
the  goodness  of  thy  Lord. 

*  Jallalo'ddin  thinks  this  whole  description  belongs  peculiarly  to  Abu  Beer  :  for  when 
he  had  purchased  Belal,  the  Ethiopian  (afterwards  the  prophet's  Muedhdhin,  or  crier  to 
prayers),  who  had  been  put  to  the  rack  on  account  of  his  faith,  the  infidels  said  he  did  it 
only  out  of  a  view  of  interest ;  upon  which  this  passage  was  revealed. 

*  "  The  pious  man  shall  dwell  in  a  far  different  abode.  He  made  the  sacrifice  of  that 
which  he  possessed,  that  he  might  become  more  pure.  He  never  allowed  a  benefit  to 
remain  unrecompensed.  To  please  God  was  his  sole  desire.  The  enjoyment  of  paradise 
shall  constitute  his  felicity." — Savary. 

^  The  original  word  properly  signifies  the  bright  part  of  the  day,  when  the  sun  shines 
full  out,  three  or  four  hours  after  it  is  risen. 

t  "  By  the  sun  in  his  meridian  splendour,  by  the  shades  of  night." — Savary. 

e  It  is  related,  that  no  revelation  having  been  vouchsafed  to  Mohammed  for  several 
days  in  answer  to  some  questions  put  to  him  by  the  Koreish,  because  he  had  confidently 
promised  to  resolve  them  the  next  day,  without  adding  the  exception,  If  it  please  God,  or 
because  he  had  repulsed  an  importunate  beggar,  or  else  because  a  dead  puppy  lay  under 
his  seat,  or  for  some  other  reason;  his  enemies  said  that  God  had  left  him:  whereupon 
this  chapter  was  sent  down  for  his  consolation.'' 

«  See  chap.  18,  p.  240.  '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  xcv.  AL  KORAN.  493 

CHAPTER   XCIV. 

INTITLED,  HAVE  WE  NOT  OPENED  ;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

Have  we  not  opened  thy  breast  ;*  *  and  eased  thee  of  thy  burden,'' which 
galled  thy  back ;  and  raised  thy  reputation  for  thee  }  Verily  a  difficulty 
shall  he  attended  with  ease.|  Verily  a  difficulty  shall  be  attended  with  ease. 
When  thou  shalt  have  ended  thy  preaching ;  labour  to  serve  God  in  return 
for  his  favours  ;^  and  make  thy  supplication  unto  thy  Lord. 


CHAPTER    XCV. 

INTITLED,  THE  FIG;    WHERE  IT  WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  fig,  and  the  olive ; "  and  by  mount  Sinai,  and  this  territory  of 
security;  J °  verily  we  created  man  of  a  most  excellent  fabric;  afterwards  we 
rendered  him  the  vilest  of  the  vile  : "  except  those  who  believe,  and  work 

*  "  Have  we  not  expanded  thy  heart !" — Savary. 

'  By  disposing  and  enlarging  it  to  receive  the  truth,  and  vi^isdom,  and  prophecy;  or,  by 
freeing  thee  from  uneasiness  and  ignorance  ?  This  passage  is  thought  to  intimate  the 
opening  of  Mohammed's  heart,  in  his  infancy,  or  when  he  took  his  journey  to  heaven,  by 
the  angel  Gabriel;  who,  having  wrung  out  the  black  drop,  or  seed  of  original  sin,  washed 
and  cleansed  the  same,  and  filled  it  with  wisdom  and  faith  :  ^  but  some  think  it  relates  to 
the  occasion  of  the  preceding  chapter. 

*  i.  e.  Of  thy  sins  committed  before  thy  mission ;  or  of  thy  ignorance,  or  trouble  of 
mind. 

t  "  By  the  side  of  pain  is  pleasure  ;  by  the  side  of  misfortune  is  happiness." — Savary. 

*  Or,  When  thou  shalt  have  finished  thy  prayer,  labour  in  preaching  the  faith.  ^"^ 

^  God,  say  the  commentators,  swears  by  these  two  fruits,  because  of  their  great  uses 
and  virtues :  for  the  fig  is  wholesome  and  easy  of  digestion,  and  physically  good  to  carry 
off  phlegm,  and  gravel  in  the  kidneys  or  bladder,  and  to  remove  obstructions  of  the  liver 
and  spleen,  and  also  cures  the  piles,  and  the  gout,  &c. ;  the  ohve  produces  oil,  which  is 
not  only  excellent  to  eat,  but  otherwise  useful  for  the  compounding  of  ointments;*  the 
wood  of  the  olive-tree,  moreover,  is  good  for  cleansing  the  teeth,  preventing  their  growing 
rotten,  and  giving  a  good  odour  to  the  mouth  ;  for  which  reason  the  prophets,  and  Mo- 
hammed in  particular,  made  use  of  no  other  for  toothpicks.^ 

Some,  however,  suppose  that  these  words  do  not  mean  the  fruits  or  trees  above-men- 
tioned, but  two  mountains  in  the  Holy  Land,  where  they  grow  in  plenty ;  or  else  the 
temple  of  Damascus  and  that  at  Jerusalem.' 

X  "And  this  faithful  land." — Savary. 

°  viz.  The  territory  of  Mecca.*  These  words  seem  to  argue  the  chapter  to  have  been 
revealed  there. 

°  i.  e.  As  the  commentators  generally  expound  this  passage.  We  created  man  of  comely 
proportion  of  body,  and  great  perfection  of  mind;  and  yet  we  have  doomed  him,  in  case  of 
disobedience,  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  hell.  Some,  however,  understand  the  words  of  the 
vigorous  constitution  of  man  in  the  prime  and  strength  of  his  age,  and  of  his  miserable 
decay  when  he  becomes  old  and  decrepit :  but  they  seem  rather  to  intimate  the  perfect 

8  Al  Beidawi,  Yahya.  Vide  Abulf.  vit.  Moh.  p.  9,  and  33.  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  p. 
105,  &c.  '  A!  Beidawi.  '"  Idem.  '  Idem,  al  Zamakh.  ^  Al  Zamakh. 

'  Idem,  Yahya,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  *  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv. 


494                                       AL  KORAN.  chap.  xcvi. 

righteousness ;  for  they  shall  receive  an  endless  reward.  What,  therefore, 

shall  cause  thee  to  deny  the  day  of  judgment  after  thisf^  Is  not  God  the 
most  wise  judge  ?  * 


CHAPTER   XCVI. 

TNTITLED,  CONGEALED  BLOOD;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA.-' 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST   MERCIFUL  GOD. 

Read,  in  the  name  of  thy  Lord,  who  hath  created  all  things;  who  hath 
created  man  of  congealed  blood.'"  f  Read,  by  thy  most  beneficent  Lord  ;  ^ 
Avho  taught  the  use  of  the  pen ;  who  teacheth  man  that  which  he  knoweth 
not.  Assuredly.  Verily  man  becometh  insolent,  because  he  seeth  himself 
abound  in  riches.*  Verily  unto  thy  Lord  shall  he  the  return  of  all.  What 
thinkest  thou  as  to  him  who  forbiddeth  our  servant,  when  he  prayeth .''  "^ 
What  thinkest  thou;  if  he  follow  the  right  direction;  or  command  piety .?  J 
What  thinkest  thou ;  if  he  accuse  the  divine  revelations  of  falsehood,  and 
turn  his  back  .?  Doth  he  not  know  that  God  seeth  ?  Assuredly.  Verily, 
if  he  forbear  not,  we  will  drag  him  by  the  forelock,^  the  lying,  sinful  fore- 
lock. And  let  him  call  his  council  ^  to  his  assistance:  we  also  will  call  the 
infernal  guards  to  cast  him  into  hell.  Assuredly.  Obey  him  not :  but  con- 
tinue to  adore  God ;  and  draw  nigh  unto  him. 

state  of  happiness  wherein  man  was  originally  created,  and  his  fall  from  thence,  in  conse- 
quence of  Adam's  disobedience,  to  a  state  of  misery  in  this  world,  and  becoming  liable  to 
one  infinitely  more  miserable  in  the  next.* 

"  Some  suppose  these  words  directed  to  Mohammed,  and  others  to  man  in  general,  by 
way  of  apostrophe. 

*  "  Is  not  the  Eternal  the  most  equitable  of  judges  !" — Savary. 

''  The  first  five  verses  of  this  chapter,  ending  with  the  words.  Who  taught  man  that  which 
he  Jtneic  not,  are  generally  allowed  to  be  the  first  passage  of  the  Koran  which  was  revealed, 
though  some  give  this  honour  to  the  seventy-fourth  chapter,  and  others  to  the  first,  the 
next,  they  say,  being  the  sixty-eighth. 

'  All  men  being  created  of  thick  or  concreted  blood,^  except  only  Adam,  Eve,  and  Jesus." 

t  "  He  formed  man  by  the  union  of  the  sexes." — Savary. 

'  These  words,  containing  a  repetition  of  the  command,  are  supposed  to  be  a  reply  to 
Mohammed,  who  in  answer  to  the  former  words  spoken  by  the  angel  had  declared  that  he 
could  not  read,  being  perfectly  illiterate ;  and  intimate  a  promise  that  God,  who  had  in- 
spired man  with  the  art  of  writing,  would  graciously  remedy  this  defect  in  him.* 

'  The  commentators  agree  the  remaining  part  of  the  chapter  to  have  been  revealed 
against  Abu  Jahl,  Mohammed's  great  adversary. 

"  For  Abu  Jahl  threatened  that  if  he  catched  Mohammed  in  the  act  of  adoration  he 
would  set  his  foot  on  his  neck  ;  but  when  he  came  and  saw  him  in  that  posture,  he  sud- 
denly turned  back  as  in  a  fright ;  and  being  asked  what  was  the  matter,  said  there  was  a 
ditch  of  fire  between  himself  and  Mohammed,  and  a  terrible  appearance  of  troops,  to  de- 
fend him.^ 

t  "  What  thinkest  thou  of  him  who  disturbeth  the  servant  of  the  Lord  when  he  prayeth, 
when  he  accomplisheth  the  command  of  Heaven,  when  he  exhorteth  to  piety  ?" — Savary. 

y  See  chap.  11,  p.  181. 

^  i.  e.  The  council  or  assembly  of  the  principal  Meccans,  the  far  greater  part  of  whom 
adhered  to  Abu  Jahl. 

'  Vide  Marracc.  in  loc  p.  809.  «  See  chap.  22,  p.  27*.  '  Yahya.  '  Al 

Beidawi.  '  Idem. 


CHAP,  xcviii.  AL  KORAN.  495 

CHAPTER  XCYII. 

INTITLED,  AL  KADR;    WHERE  IT  WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED. 

IN   THE   NAME  OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Vertly  we  sent  down  the  Koran  in  the  night  of  al  Kadr.*  And  what 
shall  make  thee  understand  how  excellent  the  night  of  al  Kadr  is  ?  The 
night  of  al  Kadr  is  better  than  a  thousand  months.  Therein  do  the  angels 
descend,  and  the  spirit  of  Gabriel  also,  by  the  permission  of  their  Lord, 
jvith  his  decrees  concerning  every  matter.''*  It  is  peace  until  the  rising  of 
the  morn. 


CHAPTER  XCVIII. 

INTITLED,   THE  EVIDENCE-   WHERE  IT   WAS  REVEALED  IS 

DISPUTED. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  unbelievers  among  those  to  whom  the  scriptures  were  given,  and 
among  the  idolaters,  did  not  stagger,*^  until  the  clear  evidence^  had  come 
unto  them  :  an  apostle  from  God,  rehearsing  unto  them  pure  books  of  reve- 
lations ;  wherein  are  contained  right  discourses.  Neither  were  they  unto 
whom  the  scriptures  were  given  divided  among  themselves,  until  after  the 

^  The  word  al  Kadr  signifies  power,  and  honour,  or  dignity,  and  also  the  divine  decree  ; 
and  the  night  is  so  named,  either  from  its  excellence  above  all  other  nights  in  the  year,  or 
because,  as  the  Mohammedans  believe,  the  divine  decrees  for  the  ensuing  year  are  annu- 
ally on  this  night  fixed  and  settled,  or  taken  from  the  preserved  table  by  God's  throne, 
and  given  to  the  angels  to  be  executed.^  On  this  night  Mohammed  received  his  first 
revelations  ;  when  the  Koran,  say  the  commentators,  was  sent  down  from  the  aforesaid 
table,  entire  and  in  one  volume,  to  the  lowest  heaven,  from  whence  Gabriel  revealed  it 
to  Mohammed  by  parcels,  as  occasion  required. 

The  Moslem  doctors  are  not  agreed  where  to  fix  the  night  al  Kadr :  the  greater  part  are 
of  opinion  that  it  is  one  of  the  ten  last  nights  of  Ramadan,  and,  as  is  commonly  believed, 
the  seventh  of  those  nights,  reckoning  backwards  ;  by  which  means  it  will  fall  between 
the  twenty-third  and  twenty-fourth  days  of  that  month.^ 

"  See  the  preceding  note,  and  chap.  44,  p.  402. 

*  "It  was  consecrated  by  the  coming  of  angels  and  of  the  spirit  (Gabriel).  They 
obeyed  the  orders  of  the  Eternal,  and  brought  laws  concerning  every  matter." — Savary. 

t  "  The  virtuous  Mohammedans  (say  the  Mussulman  theologians),  who  shall  read  the 
chapter  of  the  Evidence,  shall,  at  the  day  of  the  resurrection,  be  placed  among  the  most 
excellent  of  the  creatures  which  have  been  pardoned  by  the  hand  of  the  Eternal." — Savary. 

^  Some  mtitle  this  chapter  from  the  first  words,  Did  not.  -'' 

■*  i.  e.  Did  not  waver  in  their  relifjion,  or  in  their  promises  to  follow  the  truth,  when  an 
apostle  should  come  unto  them.  For  the  commentators  pretend  that  before  the  appear- 
ance of  Moharnmed,  the  Jews  and  Christians,  as  well  as  the  worshippers  of  idols,  unani- 
mously believed  and  expected  the  coming  of  that  prophet,  until  which  time  they  declared 
they  would  persevere  in  their  respective  religions,  and  then  would  follow  him :  but  when 
he  came,  they  rejected  him  through  envy.' 

'  xnz.  Mohammed,  or  th&  Koran. 

*  See  chap.  44,  p.  402.  '  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem. 


496  AL  KORAN.  chap.  xcix. 

clear  evidence  had  come  unto  tliem.^  And  they  were  commanded  no  other 
in  the  scriptures  than  to  worship  God,  exhibiting  unto  him  the  pure  reli- 
gion, and  being  orthodox;  and  to  be  constant  at  prayer,  and  to  give  ahns;s 
and  this  is  the  right  religion.  Verily  those  who  believe  not,  among  those 
who  have  received  the  scriptures,  and  among  the  idolaters,  shall  he  cast 
into  the  fire  of  hell,  to  remain  therein  for  ever.  These  are  the  worst  of 
creatures.*  But  they  who  believe,  and  do  good  works ;  these  are  the  best 
of  creatures :  their  reward  with  their  Lord  shall  he  gardens  of  perpetual 
abode,  through  which  rivers  flow;  they  shall  remain  therein  for  ever. 
God  will  be  well  pleased  in  them ;  and  they  shall  be  well  pleased  in  him. 
This  is  prepared  for  him  who  shall  fear  his  Lord. 


CHAPTER   XCIX. 

INTITLED,   THE  EARTHQUAKE;    WHERE   IT  WAS  REVEALED   LS 

DISPUTED. 

IN   THE  NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

When  the  earth  shall  be  shaken  by  an  earthquake ;  ^  and  the  earth  shall 
cast  forth  her  burdens;'  and  a  man  shall  say.  What  aileth  her?|  On 
that  day  the  earth  shall  declare  her  tidings,  for  that  thy  Lord  will  inspire 
her.''  On  that  day  men  shall  go  forward  in  distinct  classes,  that  they  may 
behold  their  works.  And  whoever  shall  have  wrought  good  of  the  weight 
of  an  ant,^  shall  behold  the  same.  And  whoever  shall  have  wrought  evil 
of  the  weight  of  an  ant,  shall  behold  the  same. 

^  But  when  the  promised  apostle  was  sent,  and  the  truth  became  manifest  to  them, 
they  withstood  the  clearest  conviction,  differing  from  one  another  in  their  opinions;  some 
beheving  and  acknowledging  Mohammed  to  be  the  prophet  foretold  ia  the  scriptures, 
and  others  denying  it.* 

8  But  these  divine  precepts  in  the  law  and  the  gospel  have  they  corrupted,  changed, 
and  violated.* 

*  "  They  are  the  most  perverse  of  mankind."— 5'amrj/. 

^  This  earthquake  will  happen  at  the  first,  or,  as  others  say,  at  the  second  blast  of  the 
trumpet.^ 

'  viz.  The  treasures  and  dead  bodies  within  it.'' 

t  "  Man  shall  say,  What  a  spectacle!" — Savary. 

"  i.  e.  Will  inform  all  creatures  of  the  occasion  of  her  trembling,  and  casting  forth  her 
treasures  and  her  dead,  by  the  circumstances  which  shall  immediately  attend  them. 
Some  say  the  earth  will,  at  the  last  day,  be  miraculously  enabled  to  speak,  and  will  give 
evidence  of  the  actions  of  her  inhabitants.® 

'  See  chap.  4,  p.  65,  note  x. 

*  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  '  lidem.  ^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi. 
See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  59.  ''  See  chap.  84,  p.  484.  *  Al  Beidawi.  See 
the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  63. 


CHAP.  CI.  AL  KORAN.  497 


CHAPTER  C. 

INTITLED,  THE  WAR-HORSES  WHICH  RUN  SWIFTLY:   WHERE  IT 
WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED. 

IN    THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  loar-horses  which  run  swiftly  to  the  battle^  with  a  panting-  noise ; 
and  by  those  which  strike  fire,  by  dashing  their  hoofs  against  the  stones ; 
and  by  those  which  make  a  sudden  incursion  on  the  enemy  early  in  the 
morning,  and  therein  raise  the  dust,  and  therein  pass  through  the  midst  of 
the  adverse  troops  : "»  verily  man  is  ungrateful  unto  his  Lord  ;  *  and  he  is 
witness  thereof:  and  he  is  immoderate  in  the  love  of  worldly  good.  Doth 
he  not  know,  therefore,  when  that  which  is  in  the  graves  shall  be  taken 
forth,  and  that  which  is  in  men'^s  breasts  shall  be  brought  to  light,  that  their 
Lord  will,  on  that  day,  be  fully  informed  concerning  them  ? 


CHAPTER    CI. 

INTITLED,  THE  STRIKING;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  striking !°  What  is  the  striking?  And  what  shall  make  thee  to 
understand  how  terrible  the  striking  will  be  ?  On  that  day  men  shall  be 
like  moths  scattered  abroad,!  and  the  mountains  shall  become  like  carded 
wool  of  various  colours  driven  by  the  wind.  Moreover  he  whose  balance 
shall  be  heavy  ivith  good  tcorks,  shall  lead  a  pleasing  life :  but  as  to  him 
whose  balance  shall  be  light,  his  dwelling  shall  be  the  pit  of  hell."  What 
shall  make  thee  to  understand  how  frightful  the  pit  of  hell  is  f  It  is  a 
burning  fire.J 

™  Some  will  have  it  that  not  horses,  but  the  camels  which  went  to  the  battle  of  Bedr, 
are  meant  in  this  passage.^  Others  interpret  all  the  parts  of  the  oath  of  the  human  soul ;'° 
but  their  explications  seem  a  little  forced,  and  therefore  I  choose  to  omit  them. 

*  "  By  those  who  in  the  morning  are  exercised  in  running;  who  make  the  dust  fly 
under  their  rapid  feet ;  who  pass  through  the  hostile  battalions ;  verily  man  is  ungrateful 
unto  the  Lord." — Savary. 

°  This  is  one  of  the  names  or  epithets  given  to  the  last  day,  because  it  will  strike  the 
hearts  of  all  creatures  with  terror.^ 

t  "  Day  of  calamities  !  Terrible  day  !  Who  is  able  to  depict  it  unto  thee  ?  In  that 
day  men  shall  be  like  unto  scattered  locusts." — Savary. 

"  The  original  word  Hawiyat  is  the  name  of  the  lowest  dungeon  of  hell,  and  probably 
signifies  a  deep  pit  or  gulf. 

i  "Who  shall  give  unto  thee  an  idea  of  the  abyss  ?  It  is  the  most  devouring  of  fires." 
— Savary. 

'  Yahya,  ex  trad.  Ali  Ebn  Abi  Taleb.         >°  Al  Beidawi.        '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


498  AL  KORAN.  chap.  cm. 


CHAPTER   CII. 

INTITLED,  THE  EMULOUS  DESIRE  OF  MULTIPLYING;    WHERE  IT 
WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED.* 

IN   THE  NAME  OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  emulous  desire  of  multiplying  riches  and  children  employeth  you, 
until  ye  visit  the  graves.p  By  no  means  should  ye  thus  employ  your  time  : 
hereafter  shall  ye  know  your  folly.  Again,  By  no  means  :  hereafter  shall 
ye  know  your  folly.  By  no  means  :  if  ye  knew  the  consequence  hereof  with 
certainty  of  knowledge,  ye  ivould  not  act  thus.  Verily  ye  shall  see  hell : 
again,  ye  shall  surely  see  it  with  the  eye  of  certainty.  Then  shall  ye  be 
examined,  on  that  day,  concerning  the  pleasures  with  which  ye  have  amused 
yourselves  in  this  life.'\ 


CHAPTER  CIII. 

INTITLED,  THE  AFTERNOON;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.! 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

By  the  afternoon ;  ^  verily  man  employeth  himself  in  that  which  will  prove 
of  loss :  except  those  who  believe,  and  do  that  which  is  right ;  and  who 
mutually  recommend  the  truth;  and  mutually  recommend  perseverance 
unto  each  other. 


*  (The  believer  who  shall  read  this  chapter  (say  the  Mohammedan  expositors)  shall  be 
rewarded  as  if  he  had  read  a  thousand  verses  of  the  Koran,  and  God  shall  not  demand  of 
him  an  account  of  the  benefits  which  he  has  received  in  this  life.) — Savary. 

p  i.  e.  Until  ye  die.  According  to  the  exposition  of  some  commentators,  the  words  should 
be  rendered  thus :  The  contending  or  vying  in  numbers  wholly  employeth  you,  so  that  ye 
visit  even  the  graves,  to  number  the  dead :  to  explain  which,  they  relate  that  there  was  a 
great  dispute  and  contention  between  the  descendants  of  Abd  Menaf  and  the  descendants 
of  Sahm,  which  of  the  two  families  were  the  more  numerous;  and  it  being  found,  on  cal- 
culation, that  the  children  of  Abd  Menaf  exceeded  those  of  Sahm,  the  Sahmites  said  that 
their  numbers  had  been  much  diminished  by  wars  in  the  time  of  ignorance,  and  insisted 
that  the  dead,  as  well  as  the  living,  should  be  taken  into  the  account ;  and  by  this  way 
of  reckoning  they  were  found  to  be  more  than  the  descendants  of  Abd  Menaf.^ 

t  "  The  care  of  heaping  up  occupieth  you  until  ye  descend  into  the  tomb  !  Alas,  one 
day  ye  will  know  !  Alas  !  I  repeat  it  to  you,  your  eyes  will  one  day  be  opened.  Ah  ! 
if  ye  but  certainly  knew  !  Ye  will  see  the  gulfs  of  hell ;  ye  will  see  them  opened  !  Then 
must  ye  give  an  account  of  your  pleasures." — Savary. 

t  (He  who  shall  read  this  chapter  shall  experience  the  indulgence  of  the  Lord,  and 
shall  be  reckoned  in  the  number  of  the  fahhful  who  have  made  truth  and  patience  a  law 
to  themselves.) — Savary. 

"*  Or  the  time  from  the  sun's  declination  to  his  setting ;  which  is  one  of  the  five  appointed 
times  of  prayer.     The  original  word  also  signifies.  The  age  or  time  in  general. 

^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  cv.  AL  KORAN.  499 

CHAPTER   CIY. 
INTITLED,  THE  SLANDERER;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Woe  unto  every  slanderer,  and  backbiter :  *"  who  heapeth  up  riches,  and 
prepareth  the  same /or  the  time  to  come !  He  thinketh  that  his  riches  will 
render  him  immortal.  By  no  means.  He  shall  surely  be  cast  into  Al 
Hotama.^  And  who  shall  cause  thee  to  understand  what  al  Hotama  is  ? 
It  is  the  kindled  fire  of  God  ;*  which  shall  mount  above  the  hearts  of  those 
who  shall  he  cast  therein.  Verily  it  shall  he  as  an  arched  vault  above 
them  on  columns  of  vast  extent. 


CHAPTER    CV. 
INTITLED,  THE  ELEPHANT;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Hast  thou  not  seen  how  thy  Lord  dealt  with  the  masters  of  the  ele- 
phant ?  '^    Did  he  not  make  their  treacherous  design  an  occasion  of  drawing 

^  This  passage  is  said  to  have  been  revealed  against  al  Aknas  Ebn  Shoreik,  or  al  WalTd 
Ebn  al  Mogheira,  or  Omeyya  Ebn  Khalf,  who  were  all  guilty  of  slandering  others,  and 
especially  the  prophet.^ 

"  Al  Hotama  is  one  of  the  names  of  hell,  or  the  name  of  one  of  its  apartments ;  *  which 
is  so  called  because  it  will  break  in  pieces  whatever  shall  be  thrown  into  it. 

'  And  therefore  shall  not  be  extinguished  by  any.* 

"  This  chapter  relates  to  the  following  piece  of  history,  which  is  famous  among  the 
Arabs.  Abraha  Ebn  al  Sabah,  surnamed  al  Ashram,  i.  e.  the  Slit-?iosed,  king  or  viceroy 
of  Yaman,  who  was  an  Ethiopian,'  and  of  the  Christian  religion,  having  built  a  magnifi- 
cent church  at  Sanaa,  with  a  design  to  draw  the  Arabs  to  go  in  pilgrimage  thither,  instead 
of  visiting  the  temple  of  Mecca,  the  Koreish,  observing  the  devotion  and  concourse  of  the 
pilgrims  at  the  Caaba  began  considerably  to  diminish,  sent  one  Nofail,  as  he  is  named  by 
some,  of  the  tribe  of  Kenanah,  who,  getting  into  the  aforesaid  church  by  night,  defiled  the 
altar  and  walls  thereof  with  his  excrements.  At  this  profanation  Abraha  being  highly 
incensed,  vowed  the  destruction  of  the  Caaba,  and  accordingly  set  out  against  Mecca  at 
the  head  of  a  considerable  army,  wherein  were  several  elephants,  which  he  had  obtained 
of  the  king  of  Ethiopia,  their  number  being,  as  some  say,  thirteen,  though  others  mention 
but  one.  The  Meccans,  at  the  approach  of  so  considerable  a  host,  retired  to  the  neigh- 
bouring mountains,  being  unable  to  defend  their  city  or  temple  :  but  God  himself  under- 
took the  protection  of  both.  For  when  Abraha  drew  near  to  Mecca,  and  would  have 
entered  it,  the  elephant  on  which  he  rode,  which  was  a  very  large  one,  and  named 
Mahmud,  refused  to  advance  any  nigher  to  the  town,  but  knelt  down  whenever  they 
endeavoured  to  force  him  that  way,  though  he  would  rise  and  march  briskly  enough  if 
they  turned  him  towards  any  other  quarter:  and  while  matters  were  in  this  posture,  on 
a  sudden  a  large  flock  of  birds,  like  swallows,  came  flying  from  the  sea-coast,  every  one 
of  which  carried  three  stones,  one  in  each  foot,  and  one  in  its  bill ;  and  these  stones  they 
threw  down  upon  the  heads  of  Abraha's  men,  certainly  killing  every  one  they  struck. 
Then  God  sent  a  flood,  which  swept  the  dead  bodies,  and  some  of  those  who  had  not 
been  struck  with  the  stones,  into  the  sea:  the  rest  fled  towards  Yaman,  but  perished  by 
the  way  ;  none  of  them  reaching  Sanaa,  except  only  Abraha  himself,  who  died  soon  after 
his  arrival  there,  being  struck  with  a  sort  of  plague  or  putrefaction,  so  that  his  body 

^  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin.  "  See  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iv.  p.  65.  ^  Al 
Beidawi.  '  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  pp.  7,  8. 


500  AL  KOHAN.  chap.  cv. 

them  into  error;*  and  send  against  them  flocks  of  birds,  which  cast  down 
upon  them  stones  of  baked  clay ;  "^  and  render  them  like  the  leaves  of  corn 
eaten  hy  cattle  ?  "j" 

opened,  and  his  limbs  rotted  off  by  piece-meal.  It  is  said  that  one  of  Abraha's  army, 
named  Abu  Yacsum,  escaped  over  the  Red  Sea  into  Ethiopia,  and  going  directly  to  the 
king,  told  him  the  tragical  story ;  and  upon  that  prince's  asking  him  what  sort  of  birds 
they  were,  that  had  occasioned  such  a  destruction,  the  man  pointed  to  one  of  them,  which 
had  followed  him  all  the  way,  and  was  at  that  lime  hovering  directly  over  his  head,  when 
immediately  the  bird  let  fall  the  stone,  and  struck  him  dead  at  the  king's  feet.'' 

This  remarkable  defeat  of  Abraha  happened  in  the  very  year  Mohammed  was  born,  and 
as  this  chapter  was  revealed  before  the  Hejra,  and  within  fifty-four  years,  at  least,  after  it 
came  to  pass,  when  several  persons,  who  could  have  detected  the  lie,  had  Mohammed 
forged  this  story  out  of  his  own  head,  were  alive,  it  seems  as  if  there  was  really  something 
extraordinary  in  the  matter,  which  might,  by  adding  some  circumstances,  have  been 
worked  up  into  a  miracle  to  his  hands.  Marracci^  judges  the  whole  to  be  either  a  fable, 
or  else  a  feat  of  some  evil  spirits,  of  which  he  gives  a  parallel  instance,  as  he  thinks,  in 
the  strange  defeat  of  Brennus,  when  he  was  marching  to  attack  the  temple  of  Apollo  at 
Delphi.^  Dr.  Prideaux  directly  charges  Mohammed  with  coining  this  miracle,  notwith- 
standing he  might  have  been  so  easily  disproved,  and  supposes,  without  any  foundation, 
that  this  chapter  might  not  have  been  published  till  Othman's  edition  of  the  Koran,'  which 
was  many  years  after,  when  all  might  be  dead  who  could  remember  any  thing  of  the 
above-mentioned  war.^  But  Mohammed  had  no  occasion  to  coin  such  a  miracle  himself, 
to  gain  the  temple  of  Mecca  any  greater  veneration:  the  Meccans  were  but  too  supersti- 
tiously  fond  of  it,  and  obliged  him,  against  his  inchnations  and  original  design,  to  make 
it  the  chief  place  of  his  new-invented  worship.  I  cannot,  however,  but  observe  Dr.  Pri- 
deaux's  partiality  on  this  occasion,  compared  with  the  favourable  reception  he  gives  to 
the  story  of  the  miraculous  overthrow  of  Brennus  and  his  army,  which  he  concludes  in 
the  following  words  :  "  Thus  was  God  pleased  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner  to  execute 
his  vengeance  upon  those  sacrilegious  wretches  for  the  sake  of  religion  in  general,  how 
false  and  idolatrous  soever  that  particular  religion  was,  for  which  that  temple  at  Delphos 
was  erected."^  If  it  be  answered,  that  the  Gauls  believed  the  religion,  to  the  devotions 
of  which  that  temple  was  consecrated,  to  be  true,  (though  that  be  not  certain)  and  there- 
fore it  was  an  impiety  in  them  to  offer  violence  to  it,  whereas  Abraha  acknowledged  not 
the  hoHness  of  the  Caaba,  or  the  worship  there  practised ;  I  reply.  That  the  doctor,  on 
occasion  of  Cambyses  being  killed  by  a  wound  he  accidently  received  in  the  same  part 
of  the  body  where  he  had  before  mortally  wounded  the  Apis,  or  bull  worshipped  by  the 
Egyptians,  whose  religion  and  worship  that  prince  most  certainly  believed  to  be  false  and 
superstitious,  makes  the  same  reflection:  "The  Egyptians,"  says  he,  "reckoned  this 
as  an  especial  judgment  from  heaven  upon  him  for  that  fact,  and  perchance  they  were  not 
much  out  in  it :  for  it  seldom  happening  in  an  affront  given  to  any  mode  of  worhip,  how 
erroneous  soever  it  may  be,  but  that  religion  is  in  general  wounded  hereby,  there  are 
many  instances  in  history,  wherein  God  hath  very  signally  punished  the  profanations  of 
religion  in  the  worst  of  times,  and  under  the  worst  modes  of  heathen  idolatry."  * 

*  "  Did  he  not  turn  their  perfidiousness  to  their  own  ruin  ?" — Savary. 

'  These  stones  were  of  the  same  kind  with  those  by  which  the  Sodomites  were  de- 
stroyed,* and  were  no  bigger  than  vetches,  though  they  fell  with  such  force  as  to  pierce 
the  helmet  and  the  man  through,  passing  out  at  his  fundament.  It  is  said  also  that  on  each 
stone  was  written  the  name  of  him  who  was  to  be  slain  by  it. 

t  "  The  perfidious  were  rendered  like  the  leaves  of  the  harvest  which  hath  been  reaped." 
— tSavary. 

■"  Al  Zamakh.,  al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  Abulf  Hist.  Gen.  &c.  See  Prid.  Life  of  Moh. 
p.  61,  &c.  and  D'Herbel.  Bibl.  Orient.  Art.  Abrahah.  «  Refut.  in  Alcor.  p.  823. 

"  See  Prid.  Connection,  part.  II.  book  1,  p.  25,  and  the  authors  there  quoted.  '  See 

the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  iii.  ^  Prid.  Life  of  Moh.  pp.  63,  64.  '  Prid.  Connection 

in  the  place  above  cited.  *  Ibid.  pan.  I.  book  3,  p.  173.  *  See  chap.  U,  p.  184. 


CHAP.  cvii.  AL  KORAN.  501 

CHAPTER    CVI. 

INTITLED,  KOREISH;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME    OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

For  the  uniting  of  the  tribe  of  Koreish  ;^  their  uniting  in  sending  forth 
the  caravan  of  merchants  and  purveyors^  in  winter  and  summer;*  let  them 
serve  the  Lord  of  this  house ;  who  supplieth  them  with  food  against  hun- 
ger,y  and  hath  rendered  them  secure  from  fear.* 


CHAPTER    CVII. 


INTITLED,   NECESSARIES;   WHERE  IT   WAS  REVEALED   IS 
DISPUTED. t 


IN  THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL  GOD. 

What  thinkest  thou  of  him  who  denieth  the /w^wre  judgment  as  a  false- 
hood }     It  is  he  who  pusheth  away  the  orphan ;  *   and  stirreth  not  up 

^  Some  connect  these  words  with  the  following,  and  suppose  the.  natural  order  to  be, 
Let  them  serve  the  Lord  of  this  house,  for  the  uniting,  &c.  Others  connect  them  with  the 
preceding  chapter,  and  take  the  meaning  to  be,  that  God  had  so  destroyed  the  army  of 
Abraha  for  the  uniting  of  the  Koreish,  &c.  And  this  last  opinion  is  confirmed  by  one 
copy,  mentioned  by  al  Beidawi,  wherein  this  and  the  preceding  make  but  one  chapter. 
It  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  that  the  tribe  of  Koreish,  the  most  noble  among  all  the 
Arabians,  and  of  which  was  Mohammed  himself,  were  the  posterity  of  Fehr,  surnamed 
Koreish,  the  son  of  Malec,  the  son  of  ail  JNadr,  who  was  descended  in  a  right  line  from 
Ismael.  Some  writers  say  that  al  Nadr  bore  the  surname  of  Koreish,  but  the  niore  re- 
ceived opinion  is,  that  it  was  his  grandson  Fehr,  who  was  so  called  because  of  his  intrepid 
boldness,  the  word  being  a  diminutive  of  Karsh,  which  is  the  name  of  a  sea-monster, 
very  strong  and  daring ;  though  there  be  other  reasons  given  for  its  imposition.^ 

^  It  was  Hashem,  the  great-grandfather  of  Mohammed,  who  first  appointed  the  two 
yearly  caravans,  here  mentioned;''  one  of  which  set  out  in  the  winter  for  Yaman,  and 
the  other  in  summer  for  Syria.^ 

*  "  It  importeth  the  safety  of  commerce  during  the  winter  and  the  summer." — Savary. 

y  By  means  of  the  aforesaid  caravans  of  purveyors  ;  or.  Who  supplied  them  with  food  in 
time  of  famine,  which  those  of  Mecca  had  suffered.^ 

^  By  delivering  them  from  Abraha  and  his  troops ;  or,  by  making  the  territory  of  Mecca 
a  place  of  security. 

t  "God,  saith  Zamakhshari,  will  blot  out  the  sins  of  the  believer  who  shall  read  this 
chapter,  provided  that  he  have  been  punctual  in  obeying  the  precept  of  alms." — Savary. 

^  The  person  here  intended,  according  to  some,  was  Abu  Jahl,  who  turned  away  an 
orphan,  to  whom  he  was  guardian,  and  who  came  to  him  naked,  and  asked  for  some 
relief  out  of  his  own  money.  Some  say  it  was  Abu  Sofian,  who  haying  killed  a  camel, 
when  an  orphan  begged  a  piece  of  the  flesh,  beat  him  away  with  his  staff;  and  others 
think  it  was  al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mogheira,  &c. 

6  Vide  Gagnier,  Vie  de  Mohammed,  tom.  1,  pp.  44,  46.  '  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  p.  3. 
»  Al  Zamakh.,  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.  '  lidem. 


502  AL  KORAN.  chap,  cviii. 

others  to  feed  the  poor.  Woe  be  unto  those  who  pray,  and  who  are  neg- 
ligent at  their  prayer :  who  play  the  hypocrites,  and  deny  necessaries ''  to 
the  needy* 


CHAPTER    CVIII. 

INTITLED,  AL  CAWTHAR ;  REVEALED  AT  MECCA.-^ 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE  MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD, 

Verily  we  have  given  thee  al  Cawthar.*^  Wherefore  pray  unto  thy 
Lord,  and  slay  the  victims."    Verily  he  who  hateth  thee  shall  be  childless.^ f 

"  The  original  word  al  Maun  properly  signifies  utensils,  or  whatever  is  of  necessary  use, 
as  a  hatchet,  a  pot,  a  dish,  a7id  a  needle,  to  which  some  add  a  bucket  and  a  hand-mill ;  or, 
according  to  a  tradition  of  Ayesha,  fire,  water,  and  salt  ;  and  this  signification  it  bore  in 
the  time  of  ignorance :  but  since  the  establishment  of  the  Mohammedan  rehgion,  the 
word  has  been  used  to  denote  alms,  either  legal,  or  voluntary ;  which  seems  to  be  the 
true  meaning  in  this  place. 

*  "Hast  thou  remarked  the  unbeliever  who  denieth  the  day  of  judgment?  It  is  he 
who  devoureth  the  substance  of  the  orphan.  He  thinketh  not  of  feeding  the  poor.  Woe 
to  the  hypocrites.  They  pray  negligently,  and  only  from  ostentation.  They  refuse  to 
stretch  out  a  succouring  hand  unto  their  fellow-creatures." — Savary. 

*^  There  are  some,  however,  who  think  it  to  have  been  revealed  at  Medina. 

^  This  word  signifies  abundance,  especially  of  good,  and  thence  the  gift  of  wisdom  and 
prophecy,  the  Koran,  the  office  of  iiitercessor ,  &c.  Or  it  may  imply  abunda?ice  of  child  re  Ji, 
followers,  and  the  like.  It  is  generally,  however,  expounded  of  a  river  in  paradise  of  that 
name,  whence  the  water  is  derived  into  Mohammed's  pond,  of  which  the  blessed  are  to 
drink  before  their  admission  into  that  place. ^  According  to  a  tradition  of  the  prophet's, 
this  river,  wherein  his  Lord  promised  him  abundant  good,  is  sweeter  than  honey,  whiter 
than  milk,  cooler  than  snow,  and  smoother  than  cream  ;  its  banks  are  of  chrysolites,  and 
the  vessels  to  drink  thereout  of  silver  ;  and  those  who  drink  of  it  shall  never  thirst.'^ 

Euthymius  Zigabenus,^'  instead  of  Cauthar,  reading  Canthar,  supposes  the  word  to 
have  the  same  signification  in  Arabic  as  in  Greek,  and  translates  the  two  first  verses  of 
the  chapter  thus:  'Hjut?  ScSwKaiiiv  cot  tov'  KdvBapov  kcI  Iv^ul  -rrpos  tov  Kvpiov  crov,  Kal  a^d^ov, 
We  have  given  thee  the  beetle  :  wherefore  pray  unto  thy  Lord,  and  slay  it  ;  and  then  he 
cries  out,  0  loonderful  and  magnificent  sacrifice,  worthy  of  the  legislator  ! 

*  Which  are  to  be  sacrificed,  at  the  pilgrimage,  in  the  valley  of  Mina.  Al  Beidawi 
explains  the  words  thus  :  Pray  with  fervency  and  intense  devotion,  not  out  of  hypocrisy  ; 
and  slay  the  fatted  camels  and  oxen,  and  distribute  the  flesh  among  the  poor:  for  he  says 
this  chapter  is  the  counterpart  of  the  preceding,  exhorting  to  those  virtues  which  are  op- 
posite to  the  vices  there  condemned. 

f  These  words  were  revealed  against  al  As  Ebn  Wayel,  who,  on  the  death  of  Al  Kasem, 
Mohammed's  son,  called  that  prophet  Abtar,  which  signifies  one  who  has  no  children,  or 
posterity.* 

t  "  He  who  hateth  thee  shall  perish," 

'  See  the  Prelim,  Disc.  sect.  4,  p.  68.  ^  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  =*  In 

Panopha  dogmat.  inter  Sylvurgii  Saracenic,  p.  29.  ••  Jallalo'ddin. 


CHAP.  ex.  AL  KORAN.  503 

CHAPTER   CIX. 

INTITLED,  THE  UNBELIEVERS;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN    THE    NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Say  :  O  imbelievers,^  I  will  not  worship  that  which  ye  worship ;  nor 
will  ye  worship  that  which  I  worship.  Neither  do  I  worship  that  which 
ye  worship ;  neither  do  ye  worship  that  which  I  worship.  Ye  have  your 
religion,  and  I  my  religion. 


CHAPTER   ex. 
INTITLED,  ASSISTANCE;   REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

m   THE  NAME   OF   THE  MOST   MERCIFUL    GOD. 

WhExV  the  assistance  of  God  shall  come,  and  the  victory  ;^  and  thou  shall 
see  the  people  enter  into  the  religion  of  God  by  troops : '  celebrate  the 
praise  of  thy  Lord,  and  ask  pardon  of  him ;  ^  for  he  is  inclined  to  forgive. 

8  It  is  said  that  certain  of  the  Koreish  once  proposed  to  Mohammed,  that  if  he  would 
worship  their  gods  for  a  year,  they  would  #-orship  his  God  for  the  same  space  of  time ; 
upon  which  this  chapter  was  revealed.* 

(This  chapter  is  one  of  those  which  the  Mohammedans  repeat  daily  as  a  prayer.)  — 
Savary. 

^  i.  e.  When  God  shall  cause  thee  to  prevail  over  thy  enemies,  and  thou  shalt  take  the 
city  of  Mecca. 

'  Which  happened  in  the  ninth  year  of  the  Hejra,  when,  Mohammed  having  made  him- 
self master  of  Mecca,  and  obliged  the  Koreish  to  submit  to  hnn,  the  rest  of  the  Arabs 
came  in  to  him  in  great  numbers,  and  professed  Islam.® 

''  Most  of  the  commentators  agree  this  chapter  to  have  been  revealed  before  the  taking 
of  Mecca,  and  suppose  it  gave  Mohammed  warning  of  his  death :  for  they  say  that  when 
he  read  it  al  Abbas  wept,  and  being  asked  by  the  prophet  what  was  the  reason  of  his 
weeping,  answered,  Because  it  hiddeth  thee  to  prepare  for  death;  to  which  Mohammed 
replied,  It  is  as  thou  sayest.^  And  hence,  adds  Jallalo'ddin.  after  the  revelation  of  this 
chapter,  the  prophet  was  more  frequent  in  praising  and  asking  pardon  of  God  ;  because  he 
thereby  knew  that  his  end  approached :  for  Mecca  was  taken  in  the  eighth  year  of  the 
Hejra,  and  he  died  in  the  beginning  of  the  tenth. 

*  Jallalo'ddin,  al  Beidawi.       ^  See  the  Prelim.  Disc.  sect.  2,  p.  39.        ''  Al  Beidawi. 


501  AL  KORAN.  chap.  cxii. 

CHAPTER  CXI. 
INTITLED,  ABU  LAHEB ;    REVEALED  AT  MECCA. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

The  hands  of  Abu  Laheb  shall  perish,^  and  he  shall  perish.™*  His 
riches  shall  not  profit  him,  neither  that  which  he  hath  gained."  He  shall 
go  down  to  be  burned  into  flaming  fire;"  and  his  wife  also,^  bearing 
wood,^  having  on  her  neck  a  cord  of  twisted  fibres  of  a  palm-tree. 


CHAPTER    CXII. 

INTITLED,  THE  DECLARATION  OF  GOD'S  UNITY;'   WHERE  IT 
WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED. 

IN   THE   NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Say,  God  is  one  God  ;  the  eternal  God  :  he  begetteth  not,  neither  is  he 
begotten :  and  there  is  not  any  one  like  unto  him. 

'  Abu  Laheb  was  the  surname  of  Abd'al  Uzza,  one  of  the  sons  of  Abd'almotalleb,  and 
uncle  to  Mohammed.  He  was  a  most  bitter  enemy  to  his  nephew,  and  opposed  the  estab- 
lishment of  his  new  rehgion  to  the  utmost  of  his  power.  When  that  prophet,  in  obedience 
to  the  command  he  had  received  to  admonish  his  relations,^  had  called  them  all  together, 
and  told  them  that  he  was  a  warner  sent  unto  them  before  a  grievous  chastisement,  Abu 
Laheb  cried  out,  May  est  thou  perish  !  hast  thou  called  us  together  for  this  ?  and  took  up  a 
stone  to  cast  at  him.     Whereupon  this  passage  was  revealed.' 

By  the  hands  of  Abu  Laheb  some  commentators,  by  a  synecdoche,  understand  his  per- 
son ;  others,  by  a  metonymy,  his  affairs  in  general,  they  being  transacted  with  those 
members  ;  or  his  hopes  in  this  world,  and  the  next. 

""  He  died  of  grief  and  vexation  at  the  defeat  his  friends  had  received  at  Bedr,  surviving 
that  misfortune  but  seven  days.*  They  add,  that  his  corpse  was  left,  above  ground  three 
days,  till  it  stank,  and  then  some  negroes  were  hired  to  bury  him.'^ 

*  "  The  power  of  Abu  Laheb  hath  vanished.    He  himself  hath  perished." — Savary. 

°  And  accordingly  his  great  possessions,  and  the  rank  and  esteem  in  which  he  lived  at 
Mecca,  were  of  no  service  to  him,  nor  could  protect  him  against  the  vengeance  of  God. 
AI  Beidawi  mentions  also  the  loss  of  his  son  Otba,  who  was  torn  to  pieces  by  a  lion,  in 
the  way  to  Syria,  though  surrounded  by  the  whole  caravan. 

°  Arab,  ndr  dhdt  laheb;  alluding  to  the  surname  of  Abu  Laheb,  which  signifies  the  father 
of  flames. 

p  Her  name  was  0mm  Jemil ;  she  was  the  daughter  of  Harb,  and  sister  of  Abu  Sofian. 

•J  For  fuel  in  hell ;  because  she  fomented  the  hatred  which  her  husband  bore  to  Mo- 
hammed ;  or,  bearing  a  bundle  of  thorns  and  brambles,  because  she  carried  such,  and 
Strewed  them  by  night  in  the  prophet's  way.^ 

'This  chapter  is  held  in  particular  veneration  by  the  Mohammedans,  and  declared,  by 
a  tradition  of  their  prophet,  to  be  equal  in  value  to  a  third  part  of  the  whole  Koran.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  revealed  in  answer  to  the  Koreish,  who  asked  Mohammed  concerning 
the  distinguishing  attributes  of  the  God  he  invited  them  to  worship. 

«  See  the  Prehm.  Disc.  sect.  2,  p.  3L  '  Al  Beidawi,  Jallalo'ddin,  &c.  »  Abulf 

Vit.  Mohammed,  p.  57.        '^  Al  Beidawi.        '  Idem,  Jallalo'ddin.        *  lidem. 


CHAP.  cxiv.  AL  KORAN.  505 


CHAPTER  CXIII. 

INTITLED,   THE  DAY-BREAK;    WHERE  IT   WAS   REVEALED   IS 

DISPUTED. 

IN  THE   NAME   OF  THE   MOST  MERCIFUL   GOD, 

Say,  I  fly  for  refuge  unto  the  Lord  of  the  day-break,**  that  he  viay 
deliver  me  from  the  mischief  of  those  things  which  he  hath  created;*  and 
from  the  mischief  of  the  night,  when  it  cometh  on;"|  and  from  the  mis- 
chief of  women  blowing  on  knots ;  *  and  from  the  mischief  of  the  envious, 
when  he  envieth. 


CHAPTER    CXIV. 

INTITLED,  MEN;   WHERE  IT  WAS  REVEALED  IS  DISPUTED  J 

IN   THE  NAME   OF   THE   MOST   MERCIFUL   GOD. 

Say,  I  fly  for  refuge  unto  the  Lord  of  men,  the  king  of  men,  the  God  of 
men,  that  he  may  deliver  me  from  the  mischief  of  the  whisperer  who  slily 
withdraweth,*  J  who  whispereth  evil  suggestions  into  the  breasts  of  men ; 
from  genii  and  men. 

'  The  original  word  properly  signifies  a  cleaving,  and  denotes,  says  al  Beidawi,  the  pro- 
duction of  all  things  in  general  from  the  darkness  of  privation  to  the  light  of  existence,  and 
especially  of  those  things  which  proceed  from  others,  as  springs,  rain,  plants,  children, 
&c.  and  hence  it  is  used  more  particularly  to  signify  the  breaking  forth  of  the  light  from 
darkness,  which  is  a  most  wonderful  instance  of  the  divine  power. 

*  "Say,  I  put  my  trust  in  the  God  of  the  morning." — Savary. 

'  i.  e.  From  the  mischiefs  proceeding  either  from  the  perverseness  and  evil  choice  of 
those  beings  which  have  a  power  to  choose,  or  the  natural  effects  of  necessary  agents,  as 
fire,  poison,  &c.  the  world  being  good  in  the  whole,  though  evils  may  follow  from  those 
two  causes.' 

°  Or,  as  the  words  may  be  rendered,  From  the  mischief  of  the  moon  when  she  is  eclipsed. 

t  "  That  he  may  deliver  me  from  the  evils  with  which  the  human  race  is  surrounded ; 
from  the  influence  of  the  moon,  shrouded  in  darkness." — Savary. 

^  That  is,  of  witches,  who  used  to  tie  knots  in  a  cord,  and  to  blow  on  them,  uttering  at 
the  same  time  certain  magical  words  over  them,  in  order  to  work  on,  or  debiUtate  the 
person  they  had  a  mind  to  injure.  This  was  a  common  practice  in  former  days:®  what 
they  call  in  France,  Nouer  Veguillette,  and  the  knots  which  the  wizards  in  the  northern 
parts  tie,  when  they  sell  mariners  a  wind,  (if  the  stories  told  of  them  be  true,)  are  also 
rehcs  of  the  same  superstition. 

The  commentators  relate,  the  Lobeid,  a  Jew,  with  the  assistance  of  his  daughters,  be- 
witched Mohammed,  by  tying  eleven  knots  on  a  cord,  which  they  hid  in  a  well :  where- 
upon Mohammed  falling  ill,  God  revealed  this  chapter  and  the  following,  and  Gabriel 
acquainted  him  with  the  use  he  was  to  make  of  them,  and  of  the  place  where  the  cord 
was  hidden  :  according  to  whose  directions  the  prophet  sent  Ali  to  fetch  the  cord,  and  the 
same  being  brought,  he  repeated  the  two  chapters  over  it,  and  at  every  verse  (for  they 
consist  of  eleven),  a  knot  was  loosed,  till  on  finishing  the  last  words,  he  was  entirely  freed 
from  the  charm.'' 

(The  Mohammedans  have  an  implicit  faith  in  the  efficacy  of  the  words  contained  ka  these 
two  chapters.  They  consider  them  as  a  sovereign  specific  against  magic,  lunar  influences, 
and  the  temptations  of  the  evil  spirit.  They  never  fail  to  repeat  them  evening  and  morn- 
ing.)— Savary. 

>  This  chapter  was  revealed  on  the  same  occasion,  and  at  the  same  time  with  the  former. 

^  i.  e.  The  devil;  who  withdraweth  when  a  man  mentioneth  God,  or  hath  recourse  to 
his  protection. 

X  "  That  he  may  deliver  me  from  the  temptations  of  Satan." — Savary. 

» Al  Beidawi.  •  Vide  Virgil,  in  Pharmaceutria.  ''  Al  Beida\vi,  Jallalo'ddin. 

2r 


AN  INDEX 


OF    THB 


PRINCIPAL  MATTERS  CONTAINED  IN  THE  KORAN, 
AND  THE  NOTES  THEREON. 


Aaro^-,  vide  Moses. 

Al  Abbas,  one  of  Mohammed's  uncles, 
taken  at  Bedr,  and  obliged  to  ransom 
himself,  14G,  n. ;  professes  Islam,  147, 
n. ;  confesses  a  passage  of  the  Koran  to 
be  fulfilled  in  respect  to  himself,  ib.  n.; 
remarkable  for  his  loud  voice,  151,  n. 

Abda'lhareth,  a  son  of  Adam  so  named 
Abda'llah  Dhu'lbajadin,  161,  n. 

Abda'llah  Ebn  Obba  Solul  the  hypocrite, 
admired  for  his  person  and  eloquence, 
451,  n.;  threatens  to  drive  Mohammed 
from  Medina,  453  ;  raises  and  inflames 
a  scandalous  story  of  Ayesha,  288,  n.; 
is  present  at  an  interview  between 
Mohammed  and  his  adversaries,  341, 
n.;  occasions  a  quarrel,  418,  n.;  pro- 
mises to  assist  the  Nadirites,  but  fails 
them,  445,  n.;  endeavours  to  debauch 
Mohammed's  men  at  Ohod,  50,  n. ;  ex- 
cused from  going  on  the  expedition  to 
Tabuc,  154,  n.;  desires  Mohammed's 
prayers  in  his  last  sickness,  159,  n.; 
and  to  be  buried  in  the  prophet's  shirt, 
ib. 

Abda'llah  Ebn  0mm  Mactum,  a  blind 
man,  occasions  a  passage  of  the  Koran, 
480,  n. 

Abda'llah  Ebn  Rawaha,  rebukes  Ebn 
Obba,  341,  n. 

Abda'llah  Ebn  Saad,  one  of  Mohammed's 
amanuenses,  imagines  himself  inspired, 
and  corrupts  the  Koran,  108,  n.;  apos- 
tatizes and  is  proscribed,  but  escapes 
with  life,  ib. 

Abda'llah  Ebn  Salani,  a  Jew  intimate 
with  Mohammed,  his  honesty,  45,  n.; 
supposed  to  have  assisted  in  composing 
the  Koran,  223,  n.;  confounded  by  Dr. 
Prideaux  with  Salman  the  Persian,  i6.; 
commended  for  his  knowledge  and 
faith,  79. 

Abd  Menaf,  a  dispute  between  his  de- 
scendants and  the  Sahmites,  498,  n. 

Abdalrahman  Ebn  Awf,  one  of  Moham- 
med's first  converts.  Prelim.  Disc.  31, 
n.;  an  instance  of  his  charity,  158,  n. 


Abel,  vide  Cain;  his  ram  sacrificed  by 
Abraham,  369,  n. 

Abraha  al  Ashram,  king  of  Yaman,  his 
expedition  against  Mecca;  the  occa- 
sion and  success  thereof,  499,  n. 

Abraham,  the  patriarch,  an  idolater  in 
his  youth,  100,  n.;  how  he  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  true  God,  ib.\  demo- 
lishes the  idols  of  the  Chaldeans,  268; 
preaches  to  his  people,  326;  his  reli- 
gion commended,  15,  16,  47,  115.;  dis- 
putes with  Nimrod,  31 ;  escapes  the 
fire  into  which  he  was  thrown  by 
Nimrod's  order,  269 ;  his  praying  for 
his  father,  163,  447  ;  desires  to  be  con- 
vinced of  the  resurrection,  31,  32;  his 
sacrifice  of  birds,  32;  entertains  the 
angels,  182,423;  receives  the  promise 
of  Isaac,  182 ;  called  the  friend  of  God, 
75 ;  is  miraculously  supplied  by  the 
changing  of  sand  into  meal,  ib.  n. ;  his 
sacrifice  of  his  son,  369 ;  praises  God 
for  Ismael  and  Isaac,  208 ;  commanded, 
together  with  Ismael,  to  build  and 
cleanse  the  Caaba,  16 ;  prays  to  God 
to  raise  up  a  prophet  of  their  seed,  and 
for  the  plenty  and  security  of  Mecca, 
ib.;  bequeaths  the  religion  of  Islam  to 
his  children,  ib. 

Abu  Amer,  vide  Amer,  &c. 

Ad,  a  potent  tribe  of  Arabs,  destroyed 
for  their  infidelity,  123,  282,  305,  390, 
408,  490  ;  vide  Hud. 

Adam,  traditions  concerning  his  creation, 
4,  n.,  228,  n.;  worshipped  by  the  an- 
gels, 5,  117,  211,  232,  243,  376;  his 
fall,  5,  117;  repents  and  prays,  6; 
meets  Eve  at  Mount  Arafat,  5,  n. ;  re- 
tires with  her  to  Ceylon,  ib.;  their  sta- 
ture, ib.;  his  posterity  extracted  from 
his  loins  by  God  to  acknowledge  him 
for  their  Lord,  135,  n.;  names  his  eld- 
est son  as  directed  by  the  devil,  137,  n. 

Adoption  creates  no  matrimonial  impedi- 
ment, 341. 

Adulterers,Mohammed's  sentence  against 
them,  37,  n.,  87,  n. 

(659) 


660 


INDEX. 


Adultery,  its  punishment,  37,  63  ;  what 
evidence  required  to  convict  a  woman 
of  it,  61. 

Adversaries,  the  dispute  of  two  termi- 
nated by  David,  373. 

Ahmed,  the  name  under  which  Moham- 
med was  foretold  by  Christ,  449. 

Al  Ahkaf,  the  habitation  of  the  Adites, 
406. 

Aila,  or  Elath,  the  sabbath-breakers  there 
changed  into  apes,  9,  134. 

Al  Akhnas,  a  hypocrite,  24,  n.,  460,  n. 

Alexander,  vide  Dhu'lkarnein. 

Ali  is  sent  to  Mecca  to  publish  part  of 
the  Koran,  148,  n.;  the  abstinence  and 
charity  of  him  and  his  family,  474,  n. 

Allat,  an  idol  of  the  Koreish,  74,  n., 
427. 

Alms  recommended,  6,  14,  23,  118,  438; 
the  punishment  of  not  giving  alms,  in 
the  next  life,  56,  n. 

Amena,  Mohammed's  mother,  he  is  not 
permitted  to  pray  for  her,  163. 

Amer  and  Arbad  attempt  to  kill  Moham- 
med, and  their  punishment,  201,  n. 

Amer  (Abu),  a  Christian  monk,  and  vio- 
lent enemy  to  Mohammed,  162,  n. 

Amer  (Banu),  their  abstinence  on  the 
pilgrimage,  118,  n. 

Ammar  Ebn  Yaser,  tortured  on  account 
of  his  faith,  224,  n. 

Amru  Ebn  Lohai,  the  great  introducer 
of  idolatry  among  the  Arabs,  113,  n., 
167,  n. 

Amru  (Banu)  builds  a  mosque  at  Koba, 
162,  n. 

Anam,  the  name  of  Lokman's  son,  336,  n. 

Angel  of  death,  vide  Azrail. 

Angels,  their  original,  117,  376  ;  worship 
Adam,  vide  Adam ;  impeccable,  243, 
n.;  of  different  forms  and  orders,  357  ; 
not  the  objects  of  worship,  280 ;  nor 
ought  to  be  hated,  13  ;  the  number  of 
them  which  support  God's  throne,  463 ; 
are  deputed  to  take  an  account  of 
men's  actions,  421 ;  some  of  them  ap- 
pointed to  take  the  souls  of  men,  478  ; 
to  preside  over  hell,  and  to  keep  guard 
against  the  devils,  472;  assist  the 
Moslems  at  Bedr,  36,  145;  believed 
by  the  Arabs  to  be  daughters  of  God, 
74,  218,  &c.;  appear  to  Abraham  and 
Lot,  182,  183,  423. 

Animals,  irrational,  will  be  raised  at  the 
resurrection  and  judged,  102,  n.;  cre- 
ated of  water,  293. 

Ans  Ebn  al  Nadar,  his  behaviour  at  Ohod, 
52,  n. 

Ansars,  or  helpers,  who,  160,  n.;  three 
of  them  excommunicated  for  refusing 
to  attend  Mohammed  to  Tabuc,  164. 

Ants,  the  valley  of,  310;  their  queen's 


speech  to  them  on  the  approach  of 
Solomon's  army,  ib. 

Apostles  were  not  believed  who  wrought 
miracles,  57;  those  before  Mohammed 
accused  likewise  of  imposture,  57,  101 ; 
of  Christ,  42  ;  two  of  them  sent  to 
preach  at  Antioch,  361. 

Apparel,  what  kind  ought  to  be  worn  by 
those  who  approach  the  divine  pre- 
sence, 118. 

Arabians,  their  acuteness,  115;  their  cus- 
toms in  relation  to  divorce,  341,  n.;  to 
adoption,  ib.]  in  burying  their  daugh- 
ters alive,  112,  481 ;  their  chief  idols, 
137,  n.;  their  superstitions  in  relation 
to  eating,  113,  295,  &c.;  and  in  rela- 
tion to  cattle,  &c.,  74,  95  ;  used  to  wor- 
ship naked,  and  why,  118,  n.;  their 
injustice  to  orphans  and  women,  75, 
n.;  deem  the  birth  of  a  daughter  a 
misfortune,  218,  n.;  the  reconciliation 
of  their  tribes  deemed  miraculous,  145, 
n. ;  quit  their  new  religion  in  great 
numbers  on  Mohammed's  death,  89, 

Arabs  of  the  desert,  more  obstinate,  160. 

Al  Araf,  what,  116,  n. 

Arafat,  Mount,  why  so  called,  5,  n.;  the 
procession  thereto,  23. 

Arbad,  vide  Amer. 

Al  Arem,  the  inundation  of,  353,  n. 

Ark  of  Israel  taken  by  the  Amalekites, 
30,  n. 

Arrows  for  divination  forbidden,  81. 

Al  As  Ebn  Wayel,  an  enemy  of  Moham- 
med's, 214,  254. 

Asaf,  Solomon's  vizir,  312,  n. 

Asem,  his  charity,  158,  n. 

Ashadd(Abu'l)his  extraordinary  strength, 
490,  n. 

Ashama,  king  of  Ethiopia,  embraces  Mo- 
hammedism,  92,  n.;  prayed  for  after 
his  death  by  Mohammed,  58,  n. 

Asia,  the  wife  of  Pharaoh,  martyred  by 
her  husband  for  believing  in  Moses, 
458,  n. ;  is  taken  alive  into  paradise, 
ib.]  one  of  the  four  perfect  women,  ib. 

Aslam,  414,  n. 

Astrology,  hinted  at,  57. 

Al  Aswad  al  Ansi,  the  false  prophet,  89,  n. 

Al  Aswad  Ebn  Abd  Yaghuth,  al  Aswad 
Ebn  al  Motalleb,  two  of  Mohammed's 
enemies,  214. 

Aws  and  Khazrai,  their  enmity,  48,  n. 

Ayesha,  Mohammed's  wife  ;  the  history 
of  her  accusation,  288,  n. 

Azer,  the  name  given  to  Terah,  Abra- 
ham's father,  105,  n. 

Azrail,  the  angel  of  death,  why  appointed 
to  that  office,  4,  n. ;  a  story  of  him  and 
Solomon,  338,  n. 

Baal,thechief  idolof  the  Chaldeans,  268,n. 


INDEX. 


6G1 


Babel,  the  tower  of,  destroyed,  216,  n. 

Backbiting,  vide  Slander. 

Bahira,  95. 

Bakhtnasr,  vide  Nebuchadnezzar. 

Balaam,  his  punishment  for  cursing  the 
Israelites,  135,  n. 

Balkis,  queen  of  Saba,  visits  Solomon, 
and  her  reception,  312;  her  legs  hairy, 
313;  marries  Solomon,  ib. 

Barnabas,  his  apocryphal  gospel,  some 
extracts  thence,  42,  n.,  117,  n. 

Al  Barzakh,  what,  285,  n. 

Becca,  the  same  with  Mecca,  47. 

Beer  (Abu)  attends  Mohammed  in  his 
flight  from  Mecca,  154,  n.;  bears  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  Mohammed's 
journey  to  heaven,  232,  n. ;  his  wager 
with  Obba  Ebn  Khalf,  330,  n.;  strikes 
a  Jew  on  the  face  for  speaking  irreve- 
rently of  God,  56,  n. ;  gives  all  he  has 
towards  the  expedition  of  Tabuc,  158, 
n. ;  purchases  Belal,  492,  n. ;  compared 
to  Abraham,  146,  n. 

Bedr,  Mohammed's  victory  there,  36,  50, 
&c. 

Bees  made  use  of  as  a  similitude,  219. 

Believers,  the  sincere  ones,  described, 
281 ;  their  reward,  67  ;  their  sentence, 
119. 

Benjamin,  son  of  Jacob,  195,  &c. 

Birds,  omens  taken  from  them,  228,  n. 

Blessed,  their  future  happiness  described, 
364,  404. 

Blood  forbidden,  20. 

Boath,  the  battle  of,  48,  n. 

Bodeil,  a  dispute  concerning  his  effects, 
occasions  a  passage  of  the  Koran,  96,  n. 

Boheira,  the  monk,  223. 

Bribery  to  pervert  justice,  forbidden,  22. 

Burden,  every  soul  to  bear  its  own,  358. 

Caab  Ebn  al  Ashraf,  a  Jew,  Mohammed's 
inveterate  enemy,  45,  n.,  204,  n. ;  slain 
by  his  means,  45,  n.,  443,  n. ;  mistaken 
by  Dr.  Prideaux  for  another  person, 
45,  n. 

Caab  Ebn  Asad,  persuades  the  Jews  in 
league  with  Mohammed  to  desert  him, 
345,  n. 

Al  Caaba,  appointed  for  a  place  of  wor- 
ship, 16,  276 ;  built  and  cleansed  by 
Abraham  and  Ismael,  16  ;  the  keys  of 
it  returned  to  Othman  Ebn  Telha,  67,  n. 

Cafur,  a  fountain  in  paradise,  474. 

Cain  and  Abel,  their  sacrifices,  85  ;  kills 
his  brother,  ib. ;  instructed  by  a  raven 
to  bury  him,  ib. 

Caleb,  vide  Joshua 

Calf,  the  golden,  of  what  and  by  whom 
made,  7,  n.;  animated, i6. ;  worshipped 
by  the  Israelites,  ib. 

Calumny  forbidden,  78. 


Camels,  an  instance  of  God's  wisdom, 
488;  appointed  for  sacrifice,  277  ;  Jacob 
abstains  from  their  flesh  and  milk,  47,  n. 

Canaan,  an  unbelieving  son  of  Noah,  179. 

Caravans  of  purveyors  sent  out  by  the 
Koreish,  501. 

Carrion  forbidden  to  be  eaten,  20. 

Cattle,  their  use,  112,  388;  superstitions 
of  the  old  Arabs  concerning  them,  95, 
113. 

Al  Cawthar,  a  river  in  paradise,  502. 

Ceylon,  the  isle  of,  vide  Serendib. 

Charity  recommended,  65. 

Chastity  commended,  82. 

Children,  to  inherit  their  parents'  sub- 
stance, 28,  60. 

Christ,  vide  Jesus. 

Christians  declared  infidels,  83  ;  and  ene- 
mies of  the  Moslems,  ib.     Vide  Jews. 

Collars  to  be  worn  by  the  unbelievers  in 
the  life  to  come,  200. 

Commandments  given  the  Jews,  236,  n. 

Commerce,  from  God,  233. 

Companions  of  God,  what,  112. 

Congealed  blood,  the  matter  of  which 
man  is  created,  494. 

Contracts  to  be  performed,  81. 

Cow  ordered  to  be  sacrificed  by  the  Is- 
raelites, 9. 

Creation,  some  account  of  it,  389,  390. 

Crimes  to  be  punished  with  death,  230. 

David  kills  Goliah,  30,  227  ;  his  extraor- 
dinary devotion,  372 ;  the  birds  and 
mountains  sing  praises  with  him,  352; 
makes  breastplates,  30,  270;  his  re- 
pentance for  taking  the  wife  of  Uriah, 
372;  his  and  Solomon's  judgment,  270. 

Days  appointed  to  commemorate  God, 
276. 

Dead  body  raised  to  life  by  a  part  of  the 
sacrificed  cow,  10. 

Debtors  to  be  mercifully  dealt  with,  34. 

Devil,  vide  Eblis  and  Satan ;  the  occasion 
of  his  fall,  4,  117. 

Devils,  included  under  the  name  Genii, 
111;  the  patrons  of  unbelievers,  56, 
118,  308;  their  plot  to  defame  Solo- 
mon, 13  ;  were  permitted  to  enter  all 
the  seven  heavens  till  the  birth  of 
Christ,  210,  n. 

Dhu'lkarnein,  who  he  was,  246,  n. ;  builds 
a  wall  to  prevent  the  incursions  of  Gog 
and  Magog,  247,  &c. 

Dhu'lkefl,  the  prophet,  opinions  concern- 
ing him,  271,  n. ;  saves  a  hundred  Is- 
raelites from  slaughter,  375,  n. 

Dhu'lnun,  vide  Jonas. 

Dhu  Nowas,  king  of  Yaman,  a  Jew,  per- 
secutes the  Christians,  458. 

Disputes  to  be  carried  on  with  mildness, 
328. 


662 


INDEX. 


Ditch,  (War  of  the)  342,  &c. 

Divorce,  laws  concerning  it,  28,  62,  348. 

Dogs,  &c.  allowed  to   be  trained  up  for 

hunting,  82. 
Al    Dorah,    the    celestial    model    of  the 

Caaba,  425,  n. 
Drink  of  the  damned,  104,  105. 
Dying  persons,  what  part  of  the  Koran 

is  usually  read  to  them,  316,  n. 

Earth,  its  creation,  389,  390;  remonstrates 
against  the  creation  of  man,  4,  n. ;  is 
kept  steady  by  the  mountains,  215,  335, 

Earthquake,  a  sign  of  the  approach  of  the 
last  day,  496. 

Eblis  refuses  to  worship  Adam  at  God's 
command,  and  why,  4,  117,  211,  232, 
243,  &c. ;  his  sentence,  ib. ;  occasions 
the  fall  of  Adam,  ib. 

Eden,  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  Ara- 
bic, 157,  n. 

Edris,  supposed  to  be  the  same  with 
Enoch,  252,  n. 

Education  makes  a  man  an  infidel,  332,  n. 

Elephant,  (War  of  the)  499. 

Elias,  vide  al  Khedr. 

Elisha,  the  prophet,  107. 

Enoch,  vide  Edris. 

Entering  into  houses  and  apartments  ab- 
ruptly forbidden,  290,  294. 

Envy  forbidden,  64. 

Esop,  vide  Lokman. 

Eucharist,  seems  to  have  occasioned  a 
fable  in  the  Koran,  97,  n. 

Eve,  vide  Adam. 

Evidence,  vide  Witness. 

Evil,  vide  Good. 

Examination  of  the  sepulchre,  145,  n., 
112. 

Exhortation  to  the  worship  of  God,  384  ; 
to  a  good  life,  186. 

Ezekiel  raises  the  dry  bones,  29,  n. 

Ezra  and  his  ass  restored  to  life  after 
they  had  been  dead  a  hundred  years, 
31,  n. ;  called,  by  the  Jews,  the  son  of 
God,  and  why,  152. 

Faith,  must  accompany  good  works,  177  ; 
the  reward  of  those  who  fight  for  it,  69, 
140,  150,  153,  227,  411,  &c.;  apostates 
from  it  to  be  put  to  death,  230,  n.,  par- 
tial faith  not  sufficient,  77,  n. 

Famine,  afflicts  the  Meccans,  284,  n. ; 
ceases  at  Mohammed's  intercession,402. 

Fast  of  Ramadan  instituted,  22. 

Fatema,  Mohammed's  daughter,  one  of 
the  four  perfect  women,  458  ;  favoured 
of  God  like  the  virgin  Mary,  40,  n. ; 
her  charity,  474,  n. 

Al  Fatiha,  the  first  chapter  of  the  Koran, 
often  repeated  by  the  Mahommedans 
in  their  prayers,  1,  n. 


Fidelity  recommended,  149. 

Figs,  their  virtues,  493,  n. 

Fire,  the  manner  of  striking  it  in  the 
East,  365,  n. 

Fishing  allowed  during  the  pilgrimage,  94. 

Flood,  vide  Noah. 

Food,  what  kinds  are  forbidden,  20,  81, 
110,  113,  225,  295. 

Forbidden  fruit,  what,  5,  n. 

Forgiveness,  to  whom  it  belongs,  346. 

Al  Forkan,  one  of  the  names  of  the  Ko- 
ran, 296,  n. 

Fornication  forbidden,  61,  230;  its  punish- 
ment, 61,  63. 

Fountain  of  molten  brass  flows  for  Solo- 
mon, 352. 

Fountains  of  paradise,  475,  483. 

Friday,  set  apart  by  Mohammed  for  pub- 
lic worship,  and  why,  450,  n. 

Friendship  with  unbelievers,  forbidden, 
89. 

Fruits  of  the  earth,  their  production  an 
instance  of  God's  power,  108. 

Fugitives  for  the  sake  of  religion  shall 
be  provided  for  and  rewarded,  73,  279. 

Gabriel,  revealed  the  Kor^n  to  Mahom- 
med,  13 ;  assists  the  Moslems  at  Bedr, 
36,  n. ;  appears  to  Zacharias,  40,  n. : 
the  angel  of  revelations,  13,  n. ;  the 
enemy  of  the  Jews,  ib. ;  appears  twice 
to  Mohammed  in  his  proper  form,  427  : 
appears  to  the  virgin  Mary,  and  causes 
her  to  conceive,  250 ;  the  dust  of  his 
horse's  feet  animates  the  golden  calf, 
261 ;  generally  appeared  to  Moham- 
med in  a  human  form,  99,  n. ;  com- 
manded to  assist  Mohammed  against 
the  Koreish,  214,  n. ;  orders  Mohammed 
to  go  against  the  Koradhites,  345,  n. 

Gaming  forbidden,  25,  93. 

Ganem  (Banu)  builds  a  mosque  with  an 
ill  design,  which  is  burnt,  162,  n. 

Garden,  story  of  the,  461. 

Genii,  what,  109,  n. ;  some  of  them  con- 
verted on  hearing  the  Koran,  467. 

God,  proofs  of  his  existence,  332,  334; 
his  omnipresence  asserted,  442;  his 
omnipotence,  31,  438;  his  power  and 
providence,  conspicuous  in  his  works, 
19,  175,404;  his  omniscience  asserted. 
73,  351,  392;  knoweth  the  secrets  of 
men's  hearts,  315  ;  and  of  futurity,  468  ; 
five  things  known  to  him  alone,  338, 
n.;  his  goodness  set  forth,  24,  164,  214, 
428,  432;  in  sending  the  scriptures 
and  prophets,  24,  111;  the  author  of 
all  good,  220 ;  his  word,  laws,  and 
sentence  unalterable,  110,  332,  421; 
his  mercy  set  forth,  51,  300,  322,  395, 
428  ;  the  only  giver  of  victory,  51,  331 ; 
his  promise  to  the  righteous,  335 ;  who 


INDEX. 


663 


acceptable  to  him,  150;  ruleth  the 
heart  of  man,  141;  his  tribunal,  31; 
his  throne,  176;  praiseworthy,  220, 
&c. ;  his  attributes,  13G,  n. ;  ought  not 
to  be  frequently  sworn  by,  26  ;  hath 
no  issue,  15,  171,  2S5,  370;  nor  simili- 
tude, 335,  377  ;  rested  not  the  seventh 
day  through  weariness,  422 ;  his  wor- 
ship recommended,  ib. ;  his  fear  recom- 
mended, 168. 

Gog  and  Magog,  247,  272. 

Goliah,  vide  Jalut. 

Good  works,  who  shall  be  redeemed  by 
them,  437. 

Good  and  evil,  both  from  God,  70. 

Gospel,  vide  Jesus. 

Greaves,  (Mr.)  a  mistake  of  his,  489,  n. 

Greeks  overcome  the  Persians,  330. 

Gudaiz,  the  name  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  227. 

Habib,  his  martyrdom,  362,  n. 

Hafedha,  an  idol  of  Ad,  122,  n. 

Haman,  Pharaoh's  chief  minister,  316, 
320. 

Hami,  95. 

Hamza,  Mohammed's  uncle,  killed  at 
Ohod,  50,  n.;  his  body  abused,  226,  n. 

Handha  Ebn  Safwan,  a  prophet,  278,  n., 
299,  n. 

Hareth,  (Abu)  a  Christian  bishop,  dis- 
putes with  Mohammed,  44,  n. 

Haretha,  (Banu)  reproached  by  Moham- 
med for  flying  in  battle,  343. 

Harut  and  Marut,  two  angels,  their  story 
and  punishment,  13. 

Hasan,  the  son  of  Ali,  an  instance  of  his 
moderation  and  generosity,  51,  n. 

Hateb  Ebn  Abi  Baltaa  sends  a  letter  dis- 
covering Mohammed's  design  against 
Mecca,  which  is  intercepted,  446. 

Al  Hawiyat,  the  name  of  an  apartment 
in  hell,  497,  n. 

Heathens,  justice  not  to  be  observed  with 
regard  to  them,  according  to  the  Jews, 
45. 

Heavens,  the  Mohammedan  belief  con- 
cerning them,  281,  n. ;  guarded  by  an- 
gels, 467  ;  heaven  and  earth  manifest 
God's  wisdom,  265;  will  fall  at  the 
last  day,  280. 

Al  Hejr,  the  habitation  of  the  Thamud- 
ites,  209. 

Hell,  torments  described,  275,  436,  476  ; 
the  portion  of  unbelievers,  49,  176; 
prepared  for  those  who  choose  the 
pomp  of  this  life,  176  ;  and  hoard  up 
money,  153;  shall  not  hurt  the  be- 
lievers, 253,  n.;  will  be  dragged  to- 
wards God's  tribunal  at  the  last  day, 
489,  n. ;  and  will  then  be  filled,  421,  n. 

Al  Hodeibiya,  the  trial  there,  94  ;  the 
expedition  thither,  415,  &c. 


Holy  Spirit,  who  is  meant  thereby,  12,  n. 

Honein,  the  battle  of,  151. 

Honey,  an  excellent  medicine,  219. 

Hospitality  recommended,  65. 

Al  Hotama,  the  name  of  an  apartment 
in  hell,  499. 

Hud,  the  prophet,  his  story,  122.  See  Ad. 

Hunting  and  fowling  forbidden  during 
the  pilgrimage,  81,  94. 

Husband,  his  superiority  over  the  wife, 
27;  his  duty  to  her,  26,  &c. ;  difference 
between  them  to  be  reconciled  by 
friends,  65,  76.  See  Divorce,  Wives. 
Marriage,  &c. 

Hypocrites  described,  451,  &c. ;  their  sen- 
tence, 157. 

Jacob  bequeaths  the  religion  of  Islam  to 
his  children,  16  ;  grows  blind  by  weep- 
ing for  the  loss  of  Joseph,  197;  reco- 
vers his  sight  by  means  of  Joseph's 
garment,  and  goes  into  Egypt,  198. 

Jadd  Ebn  Kais,  155,  n. 

Jahl  (Abu)  a  great  enemy  of  Mohammed, 
274;  his  injustice  to  an  orphan,  501, 
n. ;  his  advice  concerning  Mohammed, 
142,  n. ;  slain  at  Bedr,  144,  n. 

Al  Jallas  Ebn  Soweid,  157,  n. 

Jalut,  or  Goliah,  sent  against  the  Israel- 
ites, 227,  n. ;  slain  by  David,  30. 

Al  Jassasa,  the  beast  which  will  appear 
at  the  approach  of  the  last  day,  315,  n. 

Jawwas  Ebn  Omeyya,  415,  n. 

Idolaters  compared  to  brutes,  299  ;  to  a 
spider,  328  ;  not  to  be  prayed  for  while 
such,  163;  their  sentence,  119. 

Idolatry,  the  heinousness  thereof,  25  ;  un- 
pardonable if  not  repented  of,  67. 

Idols,  their  insignificancy,  20,  287,  333, 
364  ;  will  appear  as  witnesses  against 
their  worshippers,  168,  169;  worship- 
ped by  the  antediluvians,  467. 

Jesus,  promised  to  Mary,  40  ;  his  miracu- 
lous birth,  41,  &c. ;  compared  to  Adam. 
43  ;  speaks  in  his  mother's  womb,  41 ; 
and  in  his  cradle,  ib. ;  the  apostle  of 
the  Jews,  ib.,  animates  a  bird  of  clay 
when  a  child,  ib. ;  performs  several 
miracles,  but  not  by  his  own  power, 
ib. ;  raises  three  persons  to  life,  ib. ; 
causes  a  table  with  provisions  to  de- 
scend from  heaven,  97;  his  miracles 
deemed  sorcery,  ib.;  rejected  by  the 
Jews,  42;  sends  two  of  his  disciples 
to  Antioch,  who  work  miracles,  361  ; 
a  curse  denounced  against  those  who 
believe  not  on  him,  43  ;  the  Jews  lay 
a  plot  for  his  life,  but  are  disappointed. 
42;  not  really  crucified,  78  ;  whether 
he  died  or  not,  42;  not  God,  nor  equal 
to  God,  84,  152;  but  an  apostle  only; 
30,  92, 400  ;  Word  of  God,  40  ;  variou* 


664 


INDEX. 


opinions  concerning  him,  251;  will 
descend  on  earth  before  the  resurrec- 
tion, and  kill  antichrist,  &c.  Prelim. 
Disc,  57,  58,  400. 

Jethro,  vide  Shoaib. 

Jews,  vide  Israelites.  Particularly  ap- 
plied to,  6,  15;  accused  of  having  cor- 
rupted the  scriptures  and  of  stifling 
passages,  G,  n.  44,  G6  ;  accuse  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  of  fornication,  78 ;  plot  against 
Jesus,  42;  their  unbelief,  12,  77;  co- 
vetous of  life,  13  ;  reproved  for  war- 
ring against  one  another,  11 ;  proof  re- 
quired by  them  of  a  prophet's  mission, 
57 ;  their  punishments  at  different 
times  for  neglect  of  their  religion,  84; 
metamorphosed  into  apes  and  swine 
for  tlieir  infidelity,  9,  84,  97,  n. ;  pre- 
tend their  punishment  in  hell  shall  be 
short,  11,  38:  their  law  confirmed  by 
Jesus  and  the  Koran,  88  ;  their  laws 
concerning  food,  114;  dispute  with  the 
Mohammedans  concerning  God's  fa- 
vour, 275;  Mohammed  refuses  to  de- 
cide a  controversy  between  them,  88  ; 
league  with  the  Koreish  against  Mo- 
hammed, 67 ;  demand  that  Mohammed 
cause  a  book  to  descend  from  heaven, 
78  ;  a  controversy  between  a  Jew  and 
a  Mohammedan,  68  ;  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians accused  of  condemning  one  an- 
other, 1 5  ;  and  of  corrupting  the  scrip- 
tures, 44;  guilty  of  two  extremes  as  to 
their  opinion  of  Christ,  79;  none  of 
them  shall  die  before  he  believes  in 
Christ,  ib. ;  their  different  behaviour  to 
the  Moslems,  92;  to  be  protected  on 
payment  of  tribute,  152. 

Ilhiz,  a  sort  of  food  used  among  the  Arabs 
in  time  of  scarcity,  284,  n. 

llliyyun,  the  meaning  of  the  word,  483. 

Ilyasin,  who,  369,  n. 

Imam,  the  meaning  of  the  word,  16,  n. 

Immodesty  condemned,  290. 

Immunity  declared  to  the  idolaters  for 
four  months,  148. 

Imposture  charged  on  all  the  prophets,  283. 

Imram,  father  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  35 ; 
whether  Mohammed  confounded  him 
with  the  father  of  Moses  and  Miriam, 
38,  n. 

Infidels,  how  they  will  appear  at  the  last 
day,  101 ;  will  drink  boiling  water, 
105;  would  have  believed  had  the 
Koran  been  revealed  to  some  great 
man,  398 ;  if  not  convinced  by  the  Ko- 
ran, will  not  be  convinced  by  miracles, 
109,  n.;  have  some  notion  of  a  future 
state,  314;  their  blasphemy,  370;  to 
be  made  war  upon,  22,  25 ;  those  who 
die  such  not  to  be  prayed  for,  159,  163  ; 
forbidden  to  approach  Mecca,  151. 


Inheritances,  laws  relating  thereto,  60,  SO. 

Injury,  to  forgive  the  same  is  meritorious, 
396. 

Intercalation  of  a  month  forbidden,  153. 

Job,  his  story,  271,  375. 

John,  the  son  of  Zacharias,  his  character 
40 ;  his  murder  revenged  on  the  Jews 
by  Nebuchadnezzar,  227  ;  the  miracle 
of  his  blood,  ib. 

Jonada  first  practises  the  intercalation 
of  a  month  among  the  Arabs,  153. 

Jonas,  his  story,  173,  370;  called  Dhu'l- 
nun,  271. 

Joseph,  his  story,  187,  &c. 

Joshua  and  Caleb  sent  as  spies  into  the 
land  of  Canaan,  83,  n. 

Journey,  Mohammed's  to  heaven,  226. 

Jowadh  (Abu"l)  the  hypocrite,  finds  fault 
with  Mohammed's  distribution  of  the 
spoils  at  Honein,  156. 

Irem,  the  city  of  Ad,  488. 

Iron,  its  usefulness,  440 ;  some  utensils 
of  that  metal  brought  by  Adam  down 
from  paradise,  ib. 

Isaac  promised,  182;  his  birth,  183. 

Islam,  the  proper  name  of  the  Moham- 
medan religion,  37,  n. ;  the  only  true 
religion,  48 ;  the  only  religion  till  the 
death  of  Abel,  167,  n. 

Ismael,  vide  Abraham. 

Israelites,  their  males  slain  by  Pharaoh, 
6  ;  pass  the  Red  Sea,  130  ;  God's  good- 
ness to  them,  130,  405 ;  miraculously 
fed  in  the  wilderness,  133  ;  lust  for  the 
herbs  of  Egypt,  8  ;  worship  the  golden 
calf,  7,  11,  132;  their  punishment,  7, 
11;  change  the  word  put  into  their 
mouth  at  Jericho,  8,  134  ;  commanded 
to  sacrifice  a  red  cow,  9,  &c. ;  demand 
to  see  God,  and  their  punishment,  78  ; 
refuse  to  enter  the  holy  land,  and  their 
punishment,  84 ;  their  transgression, 
227  ;  desire  a  king,  29 ;  cursed  by  Da- 
vid and  Jesus,  92;  vide  Jews. 

Judgment,  day  of,  Mohammedan  tradi- 
tion concerning  it,  38,  n. ;  described, 
297, 425, 429 ;  the  signs  of  its  approach, 
273,  n.,  402,  411 ;  called  the  hour,  101 ; 
unknown  to  any  besides  God,  136 ; 
will  come  suddenly,  ib.;  and  inevi- 
tably, 170,  435. 

Al  Jxidi,  the  mountain  whereon  Noah's 
ark  rested,  171. 

Just  and  unjust,  the  difference  between 
them,  395. 

Al  Kadr,  the  name  of  the  night  on  which 
the  Koran  came  down  from  heaven,495. 

Kail  sent  to  Mecca  to  obtain  rain  for  Ad, 
123. 

Karun,  or  Corah,  his  story  and  fearful 
end,  323. 


INDEX. 


Kebla,  the  part  towards  which  the  Mo- 
hammedans turn  in  prayer,  47,  n. ;  in- 
different, 15;  changed  from  Jerusalem 
to  Mecca,  17. 

Kendah,  a  tribe  who  used  to  bury  their 
daughters  alive,  112. 

Keys  of  knowledge  (the  five),  338,  n. 

Khadijah,  Mohammed's  wife,  one  of  the 
four  perfect  women,  458,  n. 

Khaibar,  the  expedition  thither,  414,  n. 

Khaithama  (Abu)  a  story  of  him,  164,  n. 

Khaled  Ebn  al  Walid  puts  Mahommed's 
horse  to  flight  at  the  battle  of  Ohod, 
52,  n. ;  demolishes  the  idol  of  al  Uzza, 
380,  n. ;  drives  Acrema  and  his  men 
into  Mecca,  416,  n. 

Khantala,  vide  Handha. 

Khawla  bint  Thalaba,  her  case  occasions 
a  passage  of  the  Koran,  441. 

Khazraj,  vide  Aws, 

Al  Khedr,  the  prophet,  his  adventures 
with  Moses,  244,  &c. 

Khobaib,  his  martyrdom,  224,  n. 

Khozaa,  the  tribe  of,  held  the  angels  to 
be  the  daughters  of  God,  266,  n. 

Kitfir,  Joseph's  master,  1 2,  n. 

Koba,Mahommed  founds  a  mosque  there, 
162,  n. 

Kobeis,  Abu,  a  mountain  near  Mecca, 
whence  Abraham  proclaimed  the  pil- 
grimage, 276,  n. 

Koran,  the  signification  of  the  word,  187, 
n. ;  by  whom  composed,  223  5  twenty- 
three  years  in  completing,  298,  n. ; 
could  not  be  composed  by  any  besides 
God,  169 ;  men  and  genii  desired  to 
produce  a  chapter  like  it,  169,  235;  no 
forgery,  464  ;  sent  down  by  God  him- 
self, 110;  its  excellency,  48,  n.  324, 
392;  consonant  to  scripture,  176,  321, 
&c. ;  no  revelation  more  evident,  136; 
contains  all  things  necessary,  221,  273  ; 
all  differences  to  be  decided  by  it,  68  ; 
its  contents  partly  literal  and  partly 
figurative,  35 ;  traduced  by  the  unbe- 
lievers, 296  ;  as  a  piece  of  sorcery,  166  ; 
as  a  poetical  composition,  364 ;  as  a 
pack  of  fables,  314;  the  sentence  of 
those  who  believe  not  in  it,  406  ;  when 
revealed,  402  ;  not  liable  to  corruption, 
175;  ought  not  to  be  touched  by  the 
unclean,  437. 

Koreidha,  tribe  of,  their  destruction, 
345,  n. 

Koreish,  the  tribe  of,  their  nobility,  54, 
501 ;  their  enmity  to  Mohammed,  111, 
n. ;  demand  miracles  of  him,  203 ; 
threaten  him  for  abusing  their  gods, 
380,  n. ;  propound  three  questions  to 
him,  235 ;  some  of  them  attempt  to 
kill  him,  but  are  struck  blind,  361  ;  lose 
seventy  of  their  principal  men  at  Bedr, 


36,  144;  persecute  Mohammed's  fol- 
lowers, 217 ;  plagued  with  famine, 
284,  n. ;  and  several  diseases,  214; 
their  manner  of  praying,  142;  make  a 
truce  with  Mohammed,  416,  n. ;  vio- 
late the  truce  and  lose  Mecca,  413,  n. 
Kosai,  names  his  sons  from  four  idols, 
137;  the  Koreish  demand  him  to  be 
raised  to  life  by  Mohammed,  141,  n. 

Laheb,  Abu,  Mohammed's  uncle,  and 
bitter  enemy,  504,  n. ;  his  and  his  wife's 
punishment,  ib. 

Lapwing,  gives  Solomon  an  account  of 
the  city  of  Saba,  310;  carries  a  letter 
from  him  to  the  queen,  311 ;  her  saga- 
city in  finding  water,  310. 

Last  day,  vide  Judgment. 

Law,  given  to  Moses,  7 ;  confirmed  by 
Jesus,  42;  and  the  Koran,  6. 

Laws,  relating  to  inheritances,  60,  80 ; 
legacies,  21,  95;  to  divorce,  vide  Di- 
vorce ;  to  murder,  vide  Murder,  &c. 

Laws  of  Moses  and  Jesus  set  aside  by 
the  Koran,  87,  n. 

Laws  of  God,  the  punishment  of  those 
who  conceal  them,  57,  n. 

Lazarus  raised,  41,  n. 

Leg  made  bare,  the  meaning  of  that  ex- 
pression, 462,  n. 

Leith,  Banu,  thought  it  unlawful  to  eat 
alone,  295,  n. 

Letters,  initial,  explained,  116,  n. 

Life  to  come,  how  expressed  in  Arabic, 
2,  n. 

Lobaba,  Abu,  his  treachery,  141,  n. 

Lokman,  his  history,  335,  &c. ;  whether 
the  same  with  Esop,  336. 

Lot,  his  story,  125,  182,  212,  313;  his 
wife's  infidelity,  457. 

Lote-tree  in  heaven,  427. 

Lots  forbidden,  25,  93. 

Madian,  a  city  of  Hejaz,  125;  its  inha- 
bitants destroyed,  307,  n. 

Magog,  vide  Gog. 

Malec,  the  principal  angel  who  has  the 
charge  of  hell,  401. 

Malec  Ebn  al  Seif,  a  Jew,  48,  n. 

Man,  his  wonderful  formation,  377;  cre- 
ated various  ways,  274 ;  shall  be  re- 
warded according  to  his  deserts,  64  ; 
ought  to  be  thankful  for  the  good  things 
of  this  life,  365  ;  his  ingratitude  to  God, 
332;  his  presumption  in  undertaking 
to  fulfil  the  laws  of  God,  351 ;  why 
destroyed,  186. 

Manna  given  to  the  Israelites,  7. 

Marriage,  laws  relating  thereto,  62,  291  ; 
Mohammed's  privileges  as  to  marriage, 
347,  &c. ;  apt  to  distract  a  man  from 
his  duty,  453. 


666 


INDEX. 


Martyrs,  not  dead,  but  living,  18  ;  the  suf- 
ferings of  two  Mohammedans,  224. 

Marut,  vide  Harut. 

Mary,  the  Virgin,  her  story,  249,  &c. ;  free 
from  original  sin,  39,  n. ;  miraculously 
fed,  40,  n. ;  one  of  the  four  perfect  wo- 
men, 458,  n. ;  calumniated  by  the  Jews, 
78;  a  woman  of  veracity,  92. 

Al  Masher  al  Haram,  23. 

Masud,  Ebn,  a  tradition  of  his  in  relation 
to  Pharaoh,  386,  n. 

Maturity  of  age,  60,  n. 

Measure,  ought  to  be  just,  126,  483. 

Mecca,  the  security  and  plenty  of  that 
city,  47.     See  Caaba. 

Meccans,  their  idolatry  and  superstitions 
condejTined,  112,  398;  imagined  their 
idols  interceded  for  them  with  God, 
166  ;  reproached  for  their  ingratitude, 
207  ;  threatened  with  destruction,  390  ; 
require  Mohammed  to  show  them  the 
angels,  109,  n. ;  send  their  poor  out  of 
the  city  to  Mohammed,  103,  n. ;  hold 
a  council  and  conspire  Mohammed's 
destruction,  142,  n. ;  applied  indecent 
circumstances  to  God,  218,  n. ;  chas- 
tised with  famine  and  sword,  284,  381, 
n. ;  promised  rain  on  their  embracing 
Islam,  468,  n. 

Medina,  its  inhabitants  reproved  for  de- 
clining the  expedition  to  Tabuc,  164. 

Menat,  an  idol  of  the  Meccans,  -74,  427. 

Merwa,  vide  Safa. 

Mestab,  one  of  the  accusers  of  Ayesha, 
288,  n. 

Midian,  vide  Madian. 

Michael,  the  friend  of  the  Jews,  13,  n. 

Milk,  its  production  wonderful,  219. 

Mina,  the  valley  of,  24. 

Miracles  required  of  Mohammed,  203, 
n.,  235. 

Months,  sacred,  to  be  observed,  23,  81, 
95,  153. 

Moon,  split  in  sunder,  429. 

Mohajerin,  or  refugees,  who,  161,  n. 

Mohammed  promised  ta  Adam,  6  ;  fore- 
told by  Christ,  449 ;  expected  by  Jews 
and  Christians,  495  ;  sent  at  forty  years 
of  age,  167,  n. ;  complained  of  by  the 
Koreish  to  his  uncle  Abu  Taleb,  372, 
n. ;  his*  revelations  ridiculed  by  the 
Meccans,  168,  n. ;  his  journey  to  hea- 
ven, 226  ;  enters  into  a  league  with 
those  of  Medina,  142,  n. ;  discovers  the 
conspiracy  of  the  Mccans  against  his 
life,  t6.,  n. ;  gains  some  proselytes  of 
the  genii  by  reading  the  Koran,  409,  n. ; 
sent  as  a  mercy  to  all  creatures,  273  ; 
the  illiterate  prophet,  133;  excuses  his 
inability  to  work  miracles,  109,  201; 
his  promise  to  those  who  fly  for  reli- 
gion, 329,  n. ;  accused  of  injustice  in 


dividing  the  spoils,  54,  n.,  156;  flies  to 
Medina,  154;  foretells  the  victory  at 
Bedr,  431,  n. ;  an  account  of  that  vic- 
tory, 36,  138,  &c. ;  loses  the  battle  of 
Ohod,  where  he  is  in  danger  of  his  life, 
50 ;  reported  to  be  slain,  52,  n. ;  lays 
the  fault  on  his  men  for  disobeying  his 
orders,  ib. ;  endeavours  to  quiet  their 
murmurs  for  that  misfortune,  ib..  &c. ; 
goes  to  meet  the  Koreish  at  Bedr,  ac- 
cording to  their  challenge,  55,  n. ;  fore- 
tells the  battle  of  the  ditch,  344;  the 
fear  of  his  men  at  that  battle,  ib. ;  his 
men  swear  fidelity  to  him  at  al  Hodei- 
biya,  415,  n.;  his  generosity,  416; 
makes  a  truce  with  the  Koreish  for  ten 
years,  ib. ;  his  courage  at  the  battle  of 
Honein,  151,  n. ;  expostulates  with  his 
followers  on  their  unwillingness  to  go 
on  the  expedition  to  Tabuc,  154,  &c. ; 
some  account  of  that  expedition,  125, 
n. ;  a  conspiracy  to  kill  him,  158,  n. 
361,  n. ;  another  attempt  on  his  life, 
from  which  he  is  miraculously  pre- 
served, 83,  n. ;  is  almost  prevailed  on 
by  the  Jews  to  go  into  Syria,  234 ;  re- 
proves the  hypocritical  Moslems,  69 ; 
his  mercy  to  the  disobedient,  54 ;  his 
wives  demand  a  better  allowance,  on 
which  he  offers  them  a  divorce,  345 : 
they  choose  to  stay  with  him,  and  he 
lays  down  some  rules  for  their  beha- 
viour, 346  ;  the  Jews  reproach  him  on 
account  of  the  number  of  his  wives, 
240,  n,;  his  privileges  in  that  and  some 
other  respects,  348,  &c. ;  his  divorced 
wives  or  widows  not  to  marry  again, 
349 ;  his  amour  with  Mary,  an  Egyp- 
tian slave,  456  ;  disputes  in  a  Jewish 
synagogue,  37,  n. ;  decides  a  contro- 
versy in  favour  of  a  Jew  against  a 
Mohammedan,  68,  n. ;  reprehended  for 
a  rash  judgment,  73;  not  allowed  to 
pray  for  reprobate  idolaters,  163 ;  ut- 
ters blasphemy  through  inadvertence, 
279,  n. ;  no  revelation  vouchsafed  him 
for  several  days,  240,  n.  492,  n. ;  en- 
joined to  admonish  his  people,  426  ; 
his  near  relation  to  the  believers,  342; 
demands  respect  and  obedience  from 
them,  295,442;  challenges  his  oppo- 
nents to  produce  a  chapter  like  the 
Koran,  3  ;  put  out  of  conceit  with  ho- 
ney, 455 ;  desires  nothing  for  his  pains 
in  preaching,  300  ;  acknowledges  him- 
self a  sinner,  411  ;  commanded  to  pray 
by  night,  469 ;  refuses  the  adoration 
of  two  Christians,  46,  n. ;  refuses  to 
eat  with  an  infidel,  298,  n. ;  prophe- 
sies the  defeat  of  the  Persians  by  the 
Greeks,  330 ;  reprehends  his  compa- 
nions' impatience,  325;  and  their  imi- 


INDEX. 


667 


tating  the  Christians,  93 ;  speaks  by 
revelation,  427 ;  his  dream  at  Bedr, 
143,  144;  his  dream  at  Medina,  417; 
his  doctrine  compared  with  that  of  the 
other  prophets,  407  ;  is  terrified  at  the 
approach  of  Gabriel,  471;  is  repre- 
hended for  his  neglect  of  a  poor  blind 
man,  480 ;  demolishes  the  idols  of 
Mecca,  235 ;  warned  to  prepare  for 
death,  003. 

Mohammedans  believe  in  all  the  scrip- 
tures and  prophets  without  distinction, 
17  ;  forbidden  to  hold  friendship  with 
infidels,  49,  89;  the  hypocritical  threat- 
ened. 1G9  ;  the  lukewarm  deceive  their 
own  souls,  413;  the  sincere,  their  re- 
ward, 321 ;  their  description,  417, 

Moseilama,  the  false  prophet,  89,  n. 

Moses,  his  story,  127,  &c.,  255,  &c.,  301, 
&c.,  316,  &c. ;  his  miraculous  preser- 
vation in  his  infancy,  25G,  &c. ;  the  im- 
pediment in  his  speech,  how  occa- 
sioned, i6.,  n. ;  kills  an  Egyptian,  and 
flies  into  Midian,  318;  is  entertained 
by  Shoaib,  319;  receives  his  rod  from 
him,  ib.  n. ;  sees  the  fire  in  the  bush, 
309  ;  is  sent  to  Pharaoh,  and  receives 
the  power  of  working  miracles,  236  ; 
his  transactions  in  Egypt,  127,  &c.,  172, 
&c. ;  brings  water  from  the  rock,  8, 
133,  n. ;  cleared  from  an  unjust  asper- 
sion by  a  stone's  running  away  with 
his  clothes,  350,  n. ;  treats  with  God, 
and  receives  the  tables  of  the  law  from 
him,  7,  131 ;  breaks  the  tables,  and  is 
wroth  with  Aaron,  on  account  of  the 
golden  calf,  132;  threatens  the  people, 
ib.]  part  of  his  law  rehearsed,  114; 
reproved  for  his  vanity,  244,  n.;  his 
expedition  in  search  of  al  Khedr,  ib. ; 
his  and  Aaron's  relics  in  the  ark,  30  ; 
his  law  now  corrupted,  37,  n. 

Moslems,  vide  Mohammedans. 

Murder,  laws  concerning  it,  21,  72,  86, 
230,  279. 

Mussulman,  whence  the  word  comes, 
16,  n. 

Mysteries,  how  expressed  in  Arabic,  2,  n. 

Al  Nadir  (the  tribe  of)  expelled  Arabia, 
443,  n. 

Nebuchadnezzar  takes  Jerusalem,  227,  n. 

Night,  part  of  it  to  be  spent  in  prayer, 
469. 

Nimrod  disputes  with  Abraham,  31 ;  his 
tower,  216,  n. ;  attempts  to  ascend  to 
heaven,  269,  n. ;  his  persecution  of 
Abraham,  and  his  punishment,  ib. 

Noah,  his  story,  121,  171,  305,  326,  466, 
&c.;  his  prayer,  430;  his  wife's  infi- 
delity, 457. 

Al  Nodar,  one  of  Mohammed's  adversa- 


ries, his  opinion  of  the  Koran,  100,  n.; 
introduces  a  Persian  Romance  as  pre- 
ferable to  it,  335,  n. 

Oath,  an  inconsiderate  one,  how  to  be 
expiated,  93 ;  an  extraordinary  one,  488. 

Oaths,  cautions  concerning  them,  26  ;  not 
to  be  violated,  222. 

Obba  Ebn  Khalf  disputes  against  the  re- 
surrection, 214,  n. ;  his  wager  with  Abu 
Beer,  330,  n. ;  is  wounded  by  Moham- 
med, 298,  n. 

Oda  Ebn  Kais,  an  enemy  of  Mohammed, 
214. 

Ofierings  to  God  recommended,  277  ;  a 
large  one  made  by  Mohammed,  ib.,  n. 

Og,  fables  concerning  him,  84. 

Ohod,  the  battle  fought  there,  50,  n.  52. 

Okail  (Abu)  his  charity,  158,  n. 

Okba  Ebn  Abi  Moait,  professes  Islam 
and  apostatizes,  298,  n. ;  publicly  abuses 
Mohammed,  ib. ;  taken  and  beheaded 
at  Bedr,  ib. 

Olive-trees  grow  at  Mount  Sinai,  282. 

Olivet  (mount),  Christ  taken  thence  by  a 
whirlwind,  43,  n. 

Omar,  his  deciding  a  dispute  between  a 
Jew  and  a  Mohammedan,68 ;  compared 
to  Noah,  146,  n. 

0mm  Salma,  one  of  Mohammed's  wives, 
242,  n. 

Omeyya  Ebn  Abi'lsalt,  135,  n. 

Opprobrious  language  forbidden,  418, 419. 

Orphans  not  to  be  injured,  59,  492 ;  a 
curse  on  those  who  defraud  them,  60 : 
to  be  instructed  in  religion,  ib. 

Ostrich's  egg,  a  fine  woman's  skin  com- 
pared to  it,  367. 

Othman  Ebn  Afian,  sent  by  Mohammed 
to  the  Koreish,  is  imprisoned,  415,  n. : 
contributes  largely  to  the  expedition 
of  Tabuc,  158,  n. 

Othman  Ebn  Matun,  his  conversion  occa- 
sioned by  a  passage  of  the  Koran,  221,  n. 

Othman  Ebn  Telha,  has  the  keys  of  the 
Caaba  returned  to  him  by  Mohammed, 
67,  n. ;  embraces  Mohammedism,  ib. 

Oven,  whence  the  first  waters  of  the 
deluge  poured  forth,  178,  n.  282. 

Ozair,  vide  Ezra. 

Parables,  32,  207,  220,  241,  292,  373. 
Paraclete,    the    Mohammedan    opinion 

concerning  the  person  thereby  meant, 

449,  n. 
Paradise   described,  203,  411,  433,  &c.; 

where  situate,  5,  n. ;  its  fruits,  4;  the 

portion  of  the  distressed,  25. 
Pardon,  will  be  granted  to  the  penitent, 

149. 
Parents,  to  be  honoured,  229,  408  ;  make 

their  children  infidels,  232,  n. 


INDEX. 


Patience  recommended,  59,  387  ;  the  sign 
of  a  true  believer,  162,  n.  391,  410. 

Patriarclis  before  Moses,  neither  Jews 
nor  Christians,  17. 

Pen,  with  which  God's  decrees  are  writ- 
ten, 460. 

Penitents,  their  reward,  162. 

Pentateuch,  vide  Law. 

Persians  overcome  by  the  Greeks,  330,  n. 

Peter  (St.)  his  stratagem  to  convert  those 
of  Antioch,  361,  n. 

Pharaoh,  his  story,  127,  172,  &c.,  316,  &c., 
384  ;  the  common  title  of  the  kings  of 
Egypt,  127;  a  punishment  used  by 
him,  372;  his  presumption,  399. 

Phineas  Ebn  Azura,  a  Jew,  his  disho- 
nesty, 45,  n. ;  his  indecent  expressions 
concerning  God,  56,  90,  n. 

Pico  de  Adam,  vide  Serendib. 

Pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  commanded,  23 ;  di- 
rections concerning  it,  23,  47,  276,  &c. 

Pledges  to  be  given,  where  no  contract 
in  writing,  34. 

Plurality  of  worlds,  the  belief  thereof 
imputed  to  Mohammed,  1,  n. 

Poets  censured,  308. 

Pomp  of  this  life,  of  no  value,  322. 

Polygamy,  vide  Marriage, 

Prayer,  commanded  and  enforced,  6,  14, 
264,  328,  331,  &c.;  directions  concern- 
ing, 58,  73,  82,  234,  237;  not  to  be  en- 
tered on  by  him  who  is  drunk,  65;  be- 
fore reading  the  Koran,  222,  &c. ;  for 
the  penitent,  383. 

Predestination,  52,  228. 

Pre-existence  of  souls,  a  doctrine  not  un- 
known to  the  Mohammedans,  135,  n. 

Pride,  abominable  in  the  sight  of  God,  230. 

Prideaux  (Dr.)  charges  the  Mohammed- 
ans with  cruelty,  without  foundation, 
444,  n.;  confounds  Salman  with  Ab- 
d'allah  Ebn  Salam,  223,  n. ;  his  par- 
tiality as  to  the  story  of  Abraha's  over- 
throw, 500,  n. ;  confounds  Caab  Ebn 
al  Ashraf,  the  Jew,  with  Caab  Ebn 
Zohair,  the  poet,  45,  n. ;  misled  by  El- 
macinus,  444,  n. ;  misquotes  a  passage 
of  the  Koran,  456,  n. ;  mistaken  in  as- 
serting Mohammed  might  marry  his 
nieces,  348.  n. 

Prodigality,  a  crime,  229. 

Prophets,  their  enemy  will  have  G<)d  for 
his,  13  ;  rejected  and  persecuted  before 
Mohammed,  101,  169  ;  not  chosen  for 
their  nobility  or  riches,  111;  vide  Sinai. 

Prosperity  or  adversity,  no  mark  of  God's 
favour  or  disfavour,  489. 

Punishments  and  blessings  of  the  next 
life,  119,  &c. 

Quails  given  the  Israelites,  7  ;  what  kind 
of  birds  they  were,  i6.,  n. 


Quarrels  between  the  true  believers  to 
be  composed,  418  ;  to  be  avoided  on 
the  pilgrimage,  23. 

Quietism,  Mohammedans  no  strangers  to 
it,  490,  n. 

Rafe  (Abu),  a  Christian,  ofliers  to  worship 
Mohammed,  46. 

Rahun,  vide  Serendib. 

Raina,  a  word  used  by  the  Jews  to  Mo- 
hammed by  way  of  derision,  14. 

Al  Rakim,  what,  238. 

Ramadan  (the  month)  appointed  for  a 
fast,  22. 

Ransom  of  captives  disapproved,  146. 

Al  Rass,  various  opinions  concerning  it, 
299,  n. 

Razeka,  an  idol  of  Ad,  122,  n. 

Religion,  no  violence  to  be  used  in  it,  31 ; 
fighting  for  it  commanded  and  encou- 
raged, 22,  52,70,  140,  149,  151,  278, 
449  ;  divided  into  various  sects,  283  ; 
harmony  therein  recommended,  48 ; 
whether  those  of  any  religion  may  be 
saved,  9,  n. 

Repentance,  necessary  to  salvation,  62; 
a  death-bed  one  ineffectual,  ib. 

Resurrection  asserted,  231,421,473,485; 
described,  285,  421 ;  the  signs  of  its 
approach,  473  ;  its  time  known  to  God 
alone,  339,  &c. 

Retaliation  (the  law  of),  21. 

Revelations  in  writing  given  to  several 
prophets,  2,  n. ;  what  are  now  extant 
according  to  the  Mohammedans,  ib. 

Revenge  allowed,  279. 

Riches  will  not  gain  a  man  admission 
into  paradise,  355,  employ  a  man's 
life,  498. 

Right  way,  what  the  Mohammedans  so 
call,  1,  n. 

Righteous,  their  reward,  168,  325,  339. 

Righteousness,  wherein  it  consists,  20. 

Rites,  appointed  in  every  religion,  280. 

Rock,  whence  Moses  produced  water,  8. 

Saad  Ebn  Abi  Wakkas,  138,  329,  n. 

Saad  Ebn  Moadh,  his  severity,  146,  n. ; 
dooms  the  Koradhites  to  destruction, 
345,  n. 

Saba,  queen  of,  vide  Balkis. 

Saba,  the  wickedness  of  his  posterity, 
and  their  punishment,  353. 

Sabbath,  the  transgression  thereof  pu- 
nished, 134. 

Safa  and  Merwa  (mountains  of),  two 
monuments  of  God,  19. 

Safiya  bint  Hoyai,  one  of  Mohammed's 
wives,  419,  n. 

Al  Sahira,  one  of  the  names  of  hell,  479,  n. 

Saiba,  95. 

Sajaj,  the  prophetess,  89,  n. 


INDEX. 


669 


Sakia,  an  idol  of  Ad,  122,  n. 

Sakhar,  a  devil,  gets  Solomon's  signet  and 
reigns  in  his  stead,  374,  n. ;  his  punish- 
ment, ib. 

Saleh,  the  prophet,  his  story,  123,  &c., 
305,  &c.,  313;  vide  Thaniud. 

Salemil,  an  idol  of  Ad,  122,  n. 

Salsabil,  a  fountain  in  paradise,  475. 

Salutation,  mutual,  recommended,  71. 

Al  Sameri,  the  maker  of  the  golden  calf, 
who,  7,  n. ;  2G0,  n. 

Sarah,  wife  of  Abraham,  her  laughing,lS2. 

Satan,  his  punishment  for  seducing  our 
first  parents,  117;  believed  to  assist 
the  Koreish,  144. 

Saul,  his  story,  29. 

Sects  and  their  leaders,  shall  quarrel  at 
the  resurrection,  20. 

Sejjin,  what,  482,  n. 

Sennacherib,  227,  n. 

Separation  (the  day  of)  a  name  of  the 
day  of  judgment,  403. 

Serab,  what,  292. 

Serendib  (the  isle  of),  Adam  cast  down 
thereon  from  paradise,  5,  n. ;  the  print 
of  Adam's  foot  shown  on  a  mountain 
there,  ib. 

Sergius,  the  monk,  223,  n. 

Serpent,  his  sentence  for  assisting  in  the 
seduction  of  man,  127,  n. 

Seventy  Israelites  demand  to  see  God  ; 
are  killed  by  lightning,  and  restored 
to  life  at  the  prayer  of  Moses,  7. 

Al  Seyid  al  Najrani,  a  Christian,  offers 
to  worship  Mohammed,  46. 

Shamhozai,  a  debauched  angel,  his  pe- 
nance, 14,  n. 

Shas  Ebn  Kais,  a  Jew,  promotes  a  quar- 
rel between  Aws  and  Khazraj,  48,  n. 

Shechinah,  misinterpreted  by  the  com- 
mentators, 30,  n, 

Sheddad,  son  of  Ad,  makes  a  garden  in 
imitation  of  paradise,  488,  n. ;  is  de- 
stroyed in  going  to  view  it,  ib. 

Sheep,  the  prodigious  weight  of  their  tails 
in  the  east,  114,  n. 

Shem,  raised  to  life  by  Jesus,  41,  n. 

Shoaib,  the  prophet,  his  story,  125,  &c., 
184. 

Signs,  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  the 
Koran,  6,  n. 

Al  Sijil,  the  angel  who  takes  an  account 
of  men's  actions,  272. 

Sin,  the  irremissible  one,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Moliammedans,  1 1,  n. ;  the  seven 
deadly  sins,  64,  n. 

Sinai  (mount)  lifted  over  the  Israelites, 
9,  12;  the  souls  of  all  the  prophets 
present  at  the  delivery  of  the  law  to 
Moses  thereon,  46,  n. 

Simon  the  Cyrenaean,  supposed  to  be 
crucified  instead  of  Jesus,  42,  n. 


Sirius,  or  the  greater  dog-star,  worshipped 
by  the  old  Arabs,  429. 

Slaves,  how  to  be  treated,  291  ;  women 
not  to  be  compelled  to  prostitute  them- 
selves, ib. 

Slander  forbidden,  419;  the  punishment 
of  those  who  slander  the  prophets,  157, 
&c.,  499. 

Sleepers  (the  seven)  their  story,  238,  &c. 

Smoke,  which  will  precede  the  day  of 
judgment,  402. 

Sodom  and  Gomorrah  destroyed,  183. 

Sodomy,  62. 

Sofian  (Abu)  commands  the  army  of  the 
Koreish  at  Ohod,  50,  n. ;  and  the  con- 
voy of  the  Caravan  at  Bedr,  139,  n. ; 
challenges  Mohammed  to  meet  him  at 
Bedr  a  second  time,  52,  n.;  but  fails, 
55,  n. ;  embraces  Mohammedism  on 
the  taking  of  Mecca,  447,  n. ;  expostu- 
lates with  Mohammed,  284,  n. 

Sohail  Ebn  Amru,  treats  with  Moham- 
med on  behalf  of  the  Koreish,  416,  n. 

Soheib,  flies  to  Medina,  24,  n. 

Solomon,  succeeds  David,  310  ;  has  power 
over  the  winds,  270,  374  ;  his  and  Da- 
vid's judgment,  270;  his  manner  of 
travelling,  310;  what  passed  between 
him  and  the  queen  of  Saba,  311,  &c.; 
a  trick  of  the  devil's  to  blast  his  cha- 
racter, 13 ;  cleared  by  the  mouth  of 
Mohammed,  ib.;  orders  several  of  his 
horses  to  be  killed,  because  they  had 
diverted  him  from  his  prayers,  374 ;  is 
deprived  of  his  signet  and  his  kingdom 
for  some  days,  ib. ;  his  death  concealed 
for  a  year,  and  in  what  manner,  353,  n. 

Soraka  Ebn  Malec,  the  devil  appears  in 
his  form,  144. 

Soul,  the  origin  of  it,  235. 

Spoils,  laws  concerning  their  division, 
138,  143,  444. 

Stars  darted  at  the  devils,  210,  n. 

Stoning  of  adulterers,  37,  n. 

Striking,  an  epithet  of  the  last  day,  497. 

Supererogation,  234. 

Sura,  or  chapter  of  the  Koran,  156,  n. 

Sun  and  moon,  not  to  be  worshipped, 
391 ;  are  subject  to  God  and  the  use 
of  man,  121,  137,  &c. 

Swearer  (a  common)  not  to  be  obeyed, 
460. 

Swine's  flesh,  vide  Food, 

Table,  caused  to  descend  from  heaven 
by  Jesus,  97  ;  of  God's  decrees,  102. 

Tables  of  the  law,  131. 

Tabilc,  the  expedition  of,  154,  164. 

Tagat,  the  meaning  of  the  word,  31,  n. 

Taleb  (Abu)  Mohammed's  uncle,  163,  n.; 
Mohammed  refuses  to  pray  for  him, 
on  his  dying  an  infidel,  ib. 


670 


INDEX. 


Talat,  vide  Saul. 

Tasnim,  a  fountain  in  paradise,  483. 

Tebala  and  Jorash,  their  inhabitants  em- 
brace Mohammedism,  151. 

Temple  of  Mecca,  vide  Caaba;  of  Jeru- 
salem, built  by  genii,  352. 

Thalaba,  grows  suddenly  rich  on  Mo- 
hammed's prayer  for  him,  158,  n. ;  re- 
fusing to  pay  alms  is  again  reduced  to 
poverty,  ib. 

Thakif  (the  tribe  of)  demand  terms  of 
Mohammed,  which  are  denied  them, 
233,  n. 

Thamild  (the  tribe  of)  their  story  and 
destruction,  123,  278,  282,  390;  vide 
Saleh. 

Theft,  its  punishment,  86. 

Throne  of  God,  31 ;  will  be  borne  by  eight 
angels  on  the  day  of  judgment,  463. 

Thunder,celebrates  the  praise  of  God, 201, 

Tima  Ebn  Obeirak,  his  theft,  73,  n. 

Time  computed  by  the  Sun  and  Moon,  108. 

Titian,  tlie  name  of  the  person  supposed 
to  be  crucified  in  Christ's  stead,  42,  n. 

Tobba  (the  people  of)  destroyed,  403. 

Toleihah,  the  false  prophet,  89,  n.,  342,  n. 

Towa,  the  valley  where  Moses  saw  the 
burning  bush,  479. 

Tribute,  its  imposition,  152. 

Trinity,  thebelief  thereof  forbidden,  80,92. 

True  believers,  who  are  such,  281. 

Trumpet,  will  sound  at  the  last  day,  315, 
382. 

Variety  of  languages  and  complexions 
hard  to  be  accounted  for,  232,  n. 

Victory  of  the  Greeks  over  the  Persians 
foretold  by  Mohammed,  330. 

Visitation  of  the  Caaba,  23. 

Unbelievers  described,  356 ;  their  sen- 
tence, 19,  67,  309,  404. 

Unity  of  God  asserted,  504. 

Unrighteousness  punished,  170. 

Usury  forbidden,  34,  333. 

Al  Uzza,  an  idol  of  the  Meccans,  74,  n. ; 
380,  427. 

Al  Walid  Ebn  al  Mogheira,  a  great  enemy 
of  Mohammed,  was  a  bastard,  460,  n. ; 
derides  Mohammed  for  calling  God  al 
Rahman,  136  ;  has  his  nose  slit,  460,  n. ; 
his  prosperity  and  decay,  471;  hires 
another  to  bear  the  guilt  of  his  apos- 
tasy, 428  ;  his  death,  214. 

Al  Walid  Ebn  Okba,  418,  n. 

War  against  infidels,  commanded  and 
recommended,  70,  146,  410,  &c. 

Waraka  Ebn  Nawfal,  acknowledged  one 
God  before  the  mission  of  Mohammed, 
70,  n. 

Wasila,  95. 


Water  produced  from  the  rock  by  Mo- 
ses, 8. 

Weight  to  be  just,  126,  482. 

Whoredom,  laws  concerning  it,  61,  287. 
See  Unbelievers. 

Wicked,  their  sentence,  171,  209,  476. 

Widows,  to  be  provided  for,  29 ;  laws 
relating  to  them,  28. 

Wife  ought  to  be  used  justly,  76  ;  may  be 
chastised,  65 ;  the  number  of  wives 
allowed  by  the  Koran,  59  ;  their  duty 
to  their  husbands,  27  ;  see  Adultery, 
Divorce,  and  Marriage. 

Wills,  laws  relating  to  them,  95. 

Windsj  their  use,  333 ;  subject  to  Solo- 
mon, 270,  374. 

Wine  forbidden,  25,  93. 

Witnesses,  laws  relating  to  them,  76,  82; 
necessary  in  bargains,  and  to  secure 
debts,  34. 

Witchcraft  used  against  Mohammed,  505. 

Women,  ought  to  be  respected,  59  ;  and 
to  have  a  part  of  their  relations'  inhe- 
ritance, 60 ;  not  to  be  inherited  against 
their  will,  62;  to  be  subject  to  the 
men,  64;  unclean  while  they  have 
their  courses,  26  ;  some  directions  for 
their  conduct,  290,  387 ;  the  punish- 
ment of  those  who  falsely  accuse  them 
of  incontinence,  287,  289 ;  those  who 
come  over  from  the  enemy,  how  to  be 
dealt  with,  448. 

Works  of  an  infidel,  will  appear  to  him 
at  the  last  day,  101. 

Al  Yamama,  its  inhabitants  a  warlike 
people,  415. 

Al  Yaman,  the  inhabitants  thereof  slay 
their  prophet,  265,  n. ;  they  are  de- 
stroyed by  Nebuchadnezzar,  ib. 

Yathreb,  the  ancient  name  of  Medina,  343 

Al  Zabir,  mount,  131,  n. 

Al  Zacat,  vide  Alms. 

Zacharias,  praying  for  a  son,  is  promised 

John,   40,    248 ;    educates    the    virgin 

Mary,  40, 
Al  Zakkum,  the  tree  of  hell,  232,  367. 
Al  Zamharir,  what.  111,  n. 
Zeid  Ebn  Amru,  acknowledged  one  God 

before    the    mission    of    Mohammed, 

70,  n. 
Zeid,  the  husband  of  Zeinab,  his  story, 

346  ;  the  only  person,  of  Mohammed's 

companions,    named    in    the    Koran, 

347,  n. 
Zeinab,  her  marriage  with  Mohammed, 

347. 
Zenjebil,  a  stream  in  paradise,  475. 
Zoleikha,  Joseph's  mistress,  189. 


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safely  introduced  into  domestic  use,  and  exert  its  influence  where  medical 
assistance  is  not  to  be  obtained." — Messenger. 

BIBLIA  HEBRAICA.  Secundum  Editiones.  Jos.  Athiae, 
Joannis  Leusden,  Jo.  Simonis  Aliorumque,  inprimis  Eve- 
rardi  Van  Der  Hooght,  D.  Henrici  Opitii,  et  Wolfii  Heiden- 
heim,  cum  additionibus  Clavique  Masoretica  et  Rabbinica, 
Augusti  Hahn.  Nunc  denuo  recognita  et  emendata  ab 
Isaaco  Leeser,  V.  D.  M.,  et  Josepho  Jaquett,  V.  D.  M.  The 
above  is  stereotyped  from  the  last  Leipsic  edition,  and  beau- 
tifully half  bound  in  the  German  style,  thick  8vo.,  price  re- 
duced to  $2  25. 

"  Its  typography  is  beautiful,  and  it  is  justly  admired  by  Hebrew  scholars 
who  have  examined  it.  Its  superior  accuracy,  it  is  believed,  will  be  ac- 
knowledged, on  a  comparison  with  any  Bible  extant.  One  thing  which 
gives  elegance  and  excellence  to  the  work,  should  be  particularly  noticed 
by  all  who  desire  a  Bible  that  can  be  easily  read,  all  the  vowel  points  and 
accents  are  in  their  right  places,  which  cannot  be  said  of  all  former  editions 
—and  therefore  the  student  can  never  be  in  doubt  respecting  the  letters  to 
which  they  belong." — Christian  Observer. 


THE  FAMILY  SHAKSPEARE,  in  one  volume;  in  which 
nothing  is  added  to  the  original  text ;  but  those  words  and 
expressions  are  omitted  which  cannot  with  propriety  be 
read  aloud  in  a  family.  By  Thomas  Bowdler,  Esq.  From 
the  sixth  London  edition,  royal  8vo.,  cloth,  $3. 

"  The  nature  and  object  of  this  work  are  too  well  known  to  require  ex- 
planation, and  many  a  i'amily  will  feel  obliged  to  Mr.  Moore  for  furnishing 
an  edition  of  the  immortal  dramatist ;  garbled,  indeed,  because  expurgated — 
but  in  many  respects  less  garbled  than  some  of  the  separate  plays  as  pre- 
pared for  the  stage — which  can  be  recommended  to  parents  and  guardians, 
and  introduced  into  the  mixed  domestic  circle  without  hesitation  or  fear."- 
North  American. 


PARTNERS  FOR  LIFE:  A  Christmas  Story.  By  Camilla 
TouLMiN.  With  illustrations  by  John  Absolon.  12mo., 
cloth,  75  cents;  gilt,  $1 ;  paper  covers,  38  cents. 

"Another  Christmas  book  by  a  lady!  and  by  one  whose  short  tales  and 
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will  extend  her  influence,  both  abroad  and  home  ;  for  it  is  always  exercised 
for  good." — Art  Union. 

THE  FOREST  MINSTREL.  A  Collection  of  Original  Poems, 
by  Mrs.  Lydia  Jane  Pieuson.  Edited  by  the  Rev.  B.  S. 
Schenck.     1  vol.  12mo.,  cloth,  75  cents;  fancy,  $1. 


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